Month: May 2016

Long before the internet, cover models became viral sensations. As “The Topaz Man,” Steve Sandalis graced the covers of over 700 novels. CJ Hollenbach has been a fan favorite at conventions for over twenty years. And the average shopper probably can’t walk past the dairy case without thinking of Fabio (the undisputed king of romance) and his disbelief with regards to imitation butter spreads.

For as long as modern romances have existed, male models have been an integral part of their marketing. Readers love them, and love interacting with them. In 2016, Nightline somehow managed to go to a convention full of women and single out these men to profile (rather than the female authors or readers who drive the industry).

How important are models? You can see the perspectives of readers in the video, but as one woman bluntly stated, “If the book ain’t good, you can always put it on the shelf and look at it, honey.” Author Beth Williamson stated that the cover of the book was “almost” more important the content, because it was all about making a first impression with the reader. That’s not a reality that’s lost on authors or publishers. But recent developments within the romance community have many questioning just how important these men are to the success of the genre–and how much authors and readers are willing to put up with.

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Since Fabio’s heyday, fan interaction has been an important part of a model’s career. In a 2015 story for Jezebel, Romantic Times founder Katheryn Falk explained the appeal that made the golden one so popular:

Katheryn Falk, the founder of Romantic Times, says a great cover model can “look a woman in the eye.” Falk adds, “Like Fabio, he was bigger than life. He thought every woman was beautiful. And he had a lot of charisma. The accent, the name. He wasn’t overdoing it, but he would pay attention. He would look them in the eye. He appreciated women and it was part of his nature and part of his charisma that all women ruled over him.”

The personality of a model was once as important as looks in becoming the object of reader fantasy. Respecting the authors and readers wasn’t just a key to success; it was a job requirement.

So, where did it all go wrong?

Recently, Faith*, an author, pleaded with romance readers and writers via Facebook, warning them of a model she’d worked with who’d harassed and stalked her. Faith says the model repeatedly asked her sexually inappropriate questions via text message, tried to pressure her into signing a contract guaranteeing him a portion of her royalties, and physically threatened her at an event. Faith initially feared retribution from her publishers and from convention directors who’d warned her against going public. Even when she eventually did, she declined to mention the model’s name. Emboldened by Faith’s story, other authors who’d had similar interactions with the model came forward, and were more than willing to name Jackson Young as their tormentor.

Public content on Young’s Facebook page features bible verses and a profile photo declaring that he loves his mother. Readers and authors have tagged him in photos from the Romantic Times convention in Las Vegas, declaring how much they enjoyed meeting him. This public persona of the aww-shucks-cornfed-country-boy has given him ample camouflage to abuse the women signing his paychecks, as well as the voracious readers who swoon over his appearance on their favorite novels. When the story went public, readers and authors alike rushed to defend him and declare Faith a liar and an attention seeker.

Another model, Paul Blake, recently posted the following tirade on Facebook:

I’m going to keep this real simple. If I see you post anything that has to do with body shaming I will delete you. Let me clarify. If you are That person that has a weight problem and your always posting these memes about how it is wrong to “body shame” I am deleting you!!!! Becaaaaaaause you are the reason many of our youth is thinking it’s okay to be obese. Idiot!!!!! You SHOULD be ashamed of yourself.

When one woman objected, Blake responded:

you should go eat your last Dairy Queen Blizzard and then hang yourself in the closet

Screenshots of the altercation quickly circulated on social media, yet some of Blake’s fans still felt that his “honesty” was refreshing. One wrote:

I know so many “big girls” who are big by choice because of poor diet and lack of exercise that have passed their poor eating habits on to their children and it frustrates me so much! Then yeah will be like curvy girls do it better and I just want to slap them because curves means you have big hips and a smaller waist line not a muffin top hence the word “curves”! I agree with you completely. Preach on, I love it!

Blake’s response?

Thank you that’s what I’m talking about I care nothing about book covers or a following. Im not a fuckin celebrity.

When damning evidence of his behavior circulated, he warned one woman via Facebook messenger:

You and all the other fat slob offers going screenshot this and pass it around I don’t give two f**** what you old horny b****** think about me that’s why your big fat ass sits behind the f******* computer and types romance novels about the dick you will never have you will all pathetic lazy b******* so you can say what you want just like I say what I want I don’t give two s****

How did the genre move from readers worshipping at the feet of Fabio, a man who worshipped and valued each and every one of them right back, to muscle-bound meatheads who proudly degrade women and tell them to kill themselves?

Romance novels have always been the domain of women, from the majority of editorial staff, agents who represent clients within the genre, to the authors and readers. Even romance novels about gay men are written and consumed predominately by cis heterosexual women. The genre has made millionaires (Nora Roberts, E.L. James, Danielle Steel, among others), and boasts a loyal and hungry fanbase. So then why, in an industry driven by women, are these abuses allowed to happen?

The actions of these men are their own responsibility, and only they are accountable for them. But the fostering of the toxic culture within romance that has elevated them to near untouchable status lies squarely on the industry. Authors, publishers, and conventions have gleefully touted the importance of a square jaw and rock-hard abs as an integral part of fully enjoying the romance experience. Some authors even hire their cover models to attend their signings, in the hopes of drawing a larger crowd. When the models begin to believe that they’re so important or noteworthy that they no longer need the authors or readers, something has to give.

Change in the genre must come from within. While many authors and readers stepped up to publicly shame Blake and Young, social media outcry isn’t enough to protect future victims of harassment. Authors and publishers must agree to stop hiring any amateur with a nice body because he’ll settle for a low paycheck. Background checks should be mandatory before models can attend reader events (during the social media backlash, Blake boasted to one author that he had spent time in prison on weapons charges). And when an author or reader levies serious accusations against a model, those accusations should be investigated, not hushed up. Romance is a billion dollar industry. Surely it can afford to safeguard its readers and authors.

*Name changed to protect the individual

When last we met, Hamech had arrived and was blasting the college all to hell. Dr. Z had just headed directly into danger and probably died (the way he should have long ago, when the Hero’s Journey demanded it), and everyone is in the big government warehouse.

Quick rundown of the episode: Vorenus dreams that he’s in bed with Niobe (Indira Varma got before-the-credits billing for just rolling over, smiling, and kissing Kevin McKidd, so things are really coming up Indira), but he’s slept with an Egyptian woman. He’s been in Egypt for a while. Long enough for Posca to become a pot head who avoids Antony and Cleopatra, because they’ve become tyrants with no respect for human life. They’re using slaves dressed in deer skins for a hunting game involving real arrows and real death, and barely paying attention to the Roman senators who have come to negotiate a deal with Antony. Rome needs grain because its people are starving. All Antony cares about is his popularity with the people in Rome, and the chances of getting Octavian to declare war against him.

So, how long has it been since the last episode, exactly? Long enough that Cleopatra has bore Antony two children who are now preschoolers, and Gaia has moved easily into Eirene’s place. Pullo has also moved up, taking over Vorenus’s place as leader of the collegium. Because of the grain shortage, he’s not a popular dude. Starving people are demanding more grain rations, which Pullo can’t give them.

Vorena the Elder appears to have joined whatever religious order her aunt has, and Lucius has finally aged. That kid was five for five years, I swear. After the big fight at the end of the last episode, Pullo has been keeping a now-tongueless Memio in a cage and feeding him scraps. So, don’t cross Pullo, I guess.

Even though Antony is refusing to send grain, and the newsreader is telling everyone what’s up, the people still love Antony more than Octavian, and Octavian knows that if he declares war against Antony, everything is going to go to shit real fast. Octavian suspects Antony’s weakness is probably Cleopatra, and gets this great idea to send Octavia to Egypt to negotiate with her husband. Octavia says he should send Atia, and Octavian is like, yeah, you should both go. Atia is all for it, because she’s still waiting for Antony to send for her. Also, because both women are still under house arrest. Atia puts the squeeze on her son, asking for a villa in Capri, and cash for Octavia.

Vorenus tells Caesarion about his father. Not Caesar, but Pullo, the kid’s real father, dressed up as stories of Caesar. Vorenus is the only member of the household who doesn’t coddle Caesarion, and it seems to be something the kid wants, and he respects Vorenus for it.

When Octavia and Atia arrive in Egypt, Antony won’t see them. He’s too busy getting all opiumed up with his his new girlfriend, who wants Antony to murder Atia as proof of his love. When Atia refuses, it sparks a huge fight that goes from Antony and Cleopatra beating the fuck out of each other to Antony and Cleopatra just fucking, all while Atia and Octavia wilt outside in the heat. Jocasta comes outside to chat about styles and bitch about the queen, but Posca comes and herds her back inside. Cleopatra insists that it’s a good idea to send Octavia away and start a war, and Antony agrees; Vorenus tells Octavia and Atia that they have to turn around and go home. Atia is crushed and humiliated, and it would be heartbreaking if you don’t remember that in the grand scheme of things, getting dumped is hardly payback for all the evil shit she’s done in her life.

Because war is on the way, Posca and Jocasta intend to flee Egypt with nothing more than what they can carry. Vorenus catches them, but Jocasta begs him not to tell Antony. Vorenus lets them go, and sends a message for Pullo and the children. When he sees Antony, he tells him that things did not go well. They did not go well at all. Vorenus gives Antony Octavia’s message about him being cowardly scum. Vorenus tells Antony that he’s not a coward, but that he has a disease in his soul, and Vorenus knows because he has the same disease. And Caesarion watches this whole exchange like, fuuuuuuck, this is what I have to be when I grow up?

Having returned to Rome, Atia smacks Octavian, because she’s figured out that he’d sent her to Egypt to be shunned on purpose. She tells him to keep the villa he promised her, she just wants him to destroy Antony and Cleopatra. Speaking of their deaths, Posca has stolen their will. In it, Antony declares Cleopatra is his wife and gives all the eastern provinces to their children, and promises Rome to Caesarion. The newsreader is having the best week ever, telling a horrified crowd that Antony has turned his back on Rome, started wearing makeup, worships Egyptian dog gods, and, perhaps most horrible of all, dances with cymbals. Octavian uses the same sensational news to rile up the senate, and insinuates that Antony has been bewitched by Cleopatra.

Octavian asks Titus Pullo to go to Egypt with him, in the hopes he can talk to Vorenus and get something done from the inside. Pullo is reluctant, until Octavian mentions that Caesarion will have to be killed. And since Pullo knows that’s his kid, that sways him to go. He gives the children the message about Vorenus sending them kisses, and they’re like, fuck our dad, our mom is still dead, so we still hate him.

While Pullo packs to go to Egypt, he notices that Memio has broken out of his cage. Memio attacks Pullo, but Gaia stops him and gets stabbed in the process. As she’s dying, she confesses to Pullo (who’s fallen in love with her and can’t figure out why the fuck this is happening to him again) that she killed Eirene. Pullo goes from “oh no, she’s going to die,” to “fuck this bitch,” in like two seconds. He crushes Gaia’s windpipe, then takes her dead body out into the street and dumps her like garbage.

My favorite part of the episode: The gratuitous violent sex between Livia and Octavian, which involves slapping and choking and actually takes place in a red room. How could I not find that funny?

My least favorite part of the episode: As much as I hate Gaia, I hate the fact that she dies even more. I mean, yes, it’s satisfying to see her get her comeuppance, but that’s only until you remember that she exists entirely to set Pullo up for as much man-pain as possible. Gaia arrives on the scene, kills Eirene, then is killed by Pullo, all so we can see him go through something. And it’s not anything that’s important to the story. You could cut Eirene’s death and Gaia from the plot line and nothing changes. So what was the purpose? Pullo killed Eirene’s bethrothed, so Pullo is punished by Eirene’s death. Gaia killed Eirene, so she’s punished by death at Pullo’s hands. The only real consequence Pullo has faced in the narrative as a result of what he did to Eirene’s boyfriend is that Eriene died. Nothing has happened to him, it’s all just happened to the women around him. That’s some bullshit.

Favorite costume: I’m going to start with my least favorite costume, thank you very much. Cleopatra’s flea market Ankh earrings:

With all the attention to detail this show invests in costuming, why the hell did someone think these clearly modern earrings that someone probably picked up at Claire’s or Icing were a great idea for a closeup?

My most favorite costume? Antony’s man-romper. Antony has had so many wild looks this season.

Team Atia or Team Servilia: Team Servilia is still going strong, as Atia’s life continues to crumble to ashes.

Favorite watch-a-long tweet: 

Antony has a henna douche-tat. SO EGYPTIAN. MUCH CULTURE. #LegionXIII

— Lauren Billingsley (@Noisy_ninja) May 3, 2016

What hairdo or costume would Bronwyn steal? I feel like I’m always picking Octavia for this, but she really does dress in stuff that Bronwyn would covet:

Guess Jess’s head canon. Vorenus telling such fond memories of Pullo to Caesarion only proves that Vorenus misses and loves Pullo.

Now go check out Bronwyn’s post, as Jess is still nursing her injury from the fight she lost to an avocado, and join us Monday at 9 PM EST for season two, episode ten, “About Your Father”. Tweet to #LegionXIII to join us!

On April 26th, I bought Leanna Renee Hieber’s Strangely Beautiful on my Kindle Fire. On May 2nd, I still had the option to return it. I’m not a fast reader, and honestly, I haven’t even cracked it open yet (I read it years ago, before it went out of print, and desperately needed it in my library again), but when my eyes were younger and my attention span longer, I could have easily devoured it in a few days, with room to spare to request that Amazon return my money.

Amazon will refund readers for an e-book purchase within seven days, regardless of how much content has been read. At first glance, this might seem like good customer service. I’ve certainly thought so in the past when I’ve accidentally purchased a digital duplicate copy of a paperback I already owned. Still, this is something I’ve done rarely–twice, if I remember correctly–and each time I worried that my return might affect the book’s sales ranking.

Other people, it seems, do not feel that kind of guilt. Last week, a story circulated on social media that outraged readers, writers, and book bloggers alike. An author (who appears to have removed their original post) received an email from a reader who, writer M.A. Knopp reports, wasn’t happy with the price point of the books they’d enjoyed:

Dear Ms. Author.

I really like your books. I think they are well-written and I enjoyed reading them. (So far, so good, right? Hang on.) However, I have returned them all because you priced them at $0.99 to $2.99, and that is too much to pay for them. I can’t afford to pay that much for a book, even though I liked it. In the future, can you make sure you make all your books free so I don’t have to return them?

Free e-books, which were once considered a promotional tool or a gift from authors to their loyal readers, are now an expectation. Despite the endless options for free digital reading from sites like Wattpad and An Archive Of Our Own, some readers feel that all content should be free, regardless of whether or not the author is a professional who relies on writing for their income.

“Why would you think our job is any different than your job–you know, the one you are supposed to go to so you can pay for your entertainment?” author Becky McGraw asks. “Authors work twelve to sixteen hours a day at our job to produce books for your entertainment.”

On the surface, Amazon return scams seem no different from piracy. But whereas readers who pirate ebooks seek out a particular torrent with a title already in mind, Amazon’s return policy allows unscrupulous readers to browse at their leisure and easily download the content to their devices.

Author Bianca Sommerland understands the difference between piracy and what’s happening at Amazon: “With pirates, it sucks. It’s horrible, but those people aren’t buying books. That isn’t money I would have made. They wouldn’t have given me a cent.” Since Amazon doesn’t seem interested in dealing with the issue, Sommerland says, “I almost want to raise my prices so those people worry a little more about the charges, but I won’t punish the rest of my readers for the few assholes.”

The results of an informal survey asking authors to report their April sales and returns showed numbers ranging anywhere from 1.2% in overall returns, to a whopping 40.1%. Losing 40% of a monthly income would be devastating to any household; to authors, it could mean future releases are spaced out further or cancelled altogether.

The timing of the returns is also particularly cruel. Author Stella Price reported that her return rate can be devastating during the week of a book’s release, usually the most financially profitable time for an indie author: “I might end up selling 70, but I have 20-30 returned in a day.” It’s become such a problem that it has influenced Price’s recent decision to stop publishing in the e-book market. It’s a choice that has made some of her readers unhappy, but with such a high digital return rate, she sees no other option.

That’s not to say that all returns are fraudulent. Books purchased by accident in the Kindle app can be easily returned within seconds by clicking a link on the purchase screen. Honest mistakes happen; anyone can fumble their device and hit the One-Click button. But not all mistakes are so honest.

“I had a group of at least 5 returns on each book in the Cobra series last month,” Sommerland says. “They came close together. Maybe I’m imagining things, but the way they were spaced, it seemed like the books were read, then returned as each person in this group finished the book.”

When customers return a book due to formatting errors or an egregious number of grammar offenses, Amazon sends the author a notice asking for corrections. But in the case of Sommerland’s books, “There’s no report of errors or anything that would explain this. And if you don’t like a book, you don’t get the next one, right?”

Some readers recognize the potential harm return scams can inflict on authors who make their living writing. Blogger Alisha Webber started a Change.org petition in the hopes that Amazon will take notice and change their policies. “They’re blatantly stealing from authors and Amazon is sitting on the sidelines pretending it isn’t happening,” Webber writes. “We need to prevent the return of books read past 15% along with refusing returns after a few days. We can’t allow this theft to continue.” At the time this article was written, the petition had over 7,000 signatures.

Compared to Amazon’s policies on returning downloadable software (you can’t) or streaming movies (within twenty-four hours, and only if you haven’t accessed the content), Webber’s proposal seems modest. Amazon allows generous sampling of e-books prior to purchase, allowing customers a chance to gauge not only their interest in the content, but the quality of the work. This courtesy isn’t extended to software, games, or movies, yet those items are considered a final sale after purchase or partial consumption. Amazon has the ability to track the reading progress of an individual e-book; it’s how they evaluate royalties paid to authors in their Kindle Unlimited program. If the ability to prevent fraudulent returns exists, why would Amazon allow them to continue?

As more writers are forced to change their business model or hike their prices due to abuses of the Amazon return policy, readers will feel the pinch, too. “Actors don’t act for free, painters don’t paint for free, and authors don’t write for free,” McGraw points out. “You want us to keep writing books? Stop the freaking theft!”

The original title of this post said “cover real”. It is the real cover, obviously, but more importantly, it’s a cover REVEAL.

Good Monday, everyone! I promised everyone I would have information today about Ian and Penny’s second book(s), Second Chance. Here’s the cover:

Now, about that release date: You don’t have very long to wait at all! Second Chance will be available in e-book on May 31. I’ll have a blurb and preview post to remind you as the day approaches, don’t worry.

Now, a spoiler warning: It picks up just a few hours after First Time left off, so if you haven’t read The Baby from the Sophie Scaife books, and intend to, definitely read The Baby while you wait for Second Chance to be released.