There is only one thing I really love about my LJ, and that's my friends list. But I really can't take it any longer. My LJ days are coming to an end.

So my new blog will be at http://www.veinglory.com/blog.html -- I hope to see of you over there from time to time.

I will keep this LJ going so I can visit the friends list and salvage and copy the posts I want to keep for the new blog which will have less ranting and whining, more book reviews and promo for my own books.

Sound dull? Perhaps so. Perhaps blogger has infested my brain. But they let me upload pictures for free.

So, some time last year I was on the statcounter forums when some guy goes there to spam. He is promoting forum-er forums in a pseudo-stealth spam mode. This is a forum provider I happen to use, but at the time it had been suffering from a *lot* of unannounced down time and I was kind of annoyed. Since then it has steadied up nicely and I am pretty happy with them.

However, all the down time back then combined with what was clearly some kind of deliberate spamming meant I made a few terse comments to the spammer.

Now the internet provides me with this forum discussion.

Um, yeah, how could I possibly tell it was spam without inside information?

The spamminess, dude. Really.

If I wake up with a horse head in my forum, you'll know why.

'The Temptation of Sebastian' is now available at fictionwise: http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook44937.htm?r=4a2

Fictionwise is a funny beast. My recent best-seller there is my very first novel, Broken Sword. The highest rated is Journey's End. The only MF I have listed, Ebb Moon, has "poor' and "great" ratings, but none for "good". I am probably obsessing over this more than I should.

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/EmilyVeingloryeBooks.htm

Proven Guilty ****
by Jim Butcher
Dresden Files (8)

There really isn't much I can say about this book that isn't a spoiler. So you are going to get some random comments instead.

1) The "as seen on Sci Fi" sticker on the cover annoyed me. It should say "loosely related to something you saw first on TV only if you don't read much". As a fanficcer I am quite capable of understanding two separate but closely related fiction worlds but the disparities still bug me a little. They couldn't get an actor who was tall? VW wouldn't pay for the product placement? Magic staffs are too non-Christian?

2) Boy, this guy writes like a roller coaster. I read them as fast as I can every time.

3) Does have have to spend *all* of *every* book beaten up exhausted and depressed. Couldn't he get through just the first chapter in one piece, for the sake of contrast?

4) So, it was good.

5) But, can anyone say "Anita Blake". Sure, Harry is a guy and he is getting less and less sex in each subsequent book--but he is getting more and more powerful and more and more angsty (about getting more and more evil). It's going to start wearing a bit thin... well, in three or four more books, I guess.

p.s. Harry/Michael slash, it exists, right? It should. Even though it is *so* wrong.

The top tags used on Emily Veinglory.

Book Review, Dog, Gay

[from technorati]

You wouldn't normally mistake me for a timid person. But just this morning at Panera bread my loaf got stuck in the slicing machine. They yank all the pieces out and sell them to me. So I ended up paying $3.99 for a loaf of bread that looks like it's already been eaten.

My only defence is that I had also just realised I couldn't find my car keys so I was in a hurry to get out to track them down. Fortunately I had also forgotten to lock the car.

Okay, back into the swing of things. I am starting to update my main review pages at veinglory.com with more thumbnail reviews and links to longer reviews on the blog--geting started with this one :)

---

Buildup 1: Mindscan
by Jules Jones
ebook/Loose Id

Mindscan is set in a science fiction world with space ships, inter-stellar conflict, aliens with sinister powers and other grand events--but this novella is very much a story with an intimate scale. Mindscan about how two men buffeted by much greater forces form an enduring relationship. Reeve is a ship’s captain for the Union (the good guys). He is drawn to Marc Frampton from the moment the spiky scientist gets himself included in a rescue mission Reeve is leading. Frampton is fleeing the Protectorate, an oppressive regime, and he is scarred psychologically by interrogation and abuse he suffered after an attempt at defection.

To some extent the rescue scene, although extensive, is a prequel to the real story. In fact, the rest of the crew and even the exact nature of the ship’s usual duties fade very much into the background. However, most readers will probably not be bothered by the change in focus as this is the point at which Reeve discovers Frampton’s unusual sexual proclivities. Reeve’s growing fascination with Frampton is absolutely engaging, he is a highly sympathetic protagonist and soon I was hoping fervently that Frampton’s small hints of reciprocal feeling would grow stronger.

The core of the Mindscan is a story of a sexual relationship that, only through complete mutual acceptance and understanding, develops into a real romance. The sexual scenes are frank and believable without being fully hardcore--and complemented well by the subtle shifts and changes in Reeves understanding of Frampton’s sexual needs and the basis of his own willingness to satisfy them. I think this story would be of particular interest to readers interested in submission without the standard trappings and roles of BDSM as they are commonly written in erotic romance.

I appreciated the ending which develops and resolves the sexual themes without being implausible. It isn’t a trite happy ending but is satisfying in its own way. Mindscan ends with the formation of a mutually satisfying relationship between Reeve and Frampton but opens the door onto the wider setting, one revisited in, “Buildup 2: Pulling Strings” (review coming soon). My personal preference is to see a little more development of setting and secondary characters but by focusing on the two main heroes of the piece Jules Jones brings unusual poignancy and subtlety to their developing relationship which is refreshing free of the clichés that often surround characters who have a need to be sexual submissive, and those who choose to satisfy that need.

SPAMMER:

Hello

I am attaching brochures for our Writing Competition in the hope that members of your writing group may be interested in entering.

Regards

-----------------------

ME:

Can you tell me where you saw my email listed so I can remove it. I haven't lived in the UK for years and have requested all listings be removed.


----------------------

SPAMMER:

Dear Emily

I think I found it on a website run by the National Association of Writers Groups.
I had no way of knowing you had moved.

Courtesy cost nothing, my dear. You could have worked at it. We are a volunteering organisation who give so much time to help others. Two minutes of your time to write a few more words to soften the tone of your email would not have hurt you.

Meanwhile, I take it you will not be entering our competition.

------------------------

ME:

Dear [name]

Using my email in this way is spamming and illegal in both the US and UK, my courtesy was not reporting it as such. I asked a direct question on the assumption the error was made by whomever provided you with my personal email address. As such my email was neutral. So maybe I didn't take the time to add courtesy words in response to your spam, but somehow you think you come out looking better by actively adding insults? Reply only if you wish to waste you time as I am adding you to my spam blocker.

"THE LONG DISTANCE SCREENWRITER

'Adrian Mead's classes are brilliant - exciting, informative and
inspirational. Nobody does it better!' Alanna Knight Crime Writer

As an aspiring screenwriter you will quickly learn that the vast majority of
PAID work comes from companies and broadcasters based in London. People
will tell you that in order to get that work you need contacts and "Insider"
information. But what if you live hundreds of miles from the media
capital? How can you build your career?"

1) Both Adrian Mead and Alanna Knight should know better than to engage in cheap spam--or hire promotional staff who do this. Not only is it tawdry, it is illegal and will be reported as such.
2) As a what? Nope, nobody here but us smut peddlers and their significant puppies.
3) Hundreds of miles indeed. As in, I live in America where the belief that London is the centre of the screenwriting world must be seen as, um, outright laughable. I love the BBC as much as anyone but they have a little place here called Hollywood.

Not only spam them, but badly off target spam.

sigh.

I just dropped the dog at puppy prison for his stay while I am at Epicon. Let the puppy guilt commence :(

Said puppy, in the recent snow storm>

Over at GBLT Promos.

I am a finalist in a "personal ads" contest at Dionne's blog. Help me win a book :)

Or vote for one of the other guys, but be warned--I may sulk.

"Happy Almost Spring!," she spams. "I hope you all had a loverly Valentine’s Day. I spent mine with my cats. The Soulmate was out of town on a job and my Sweet Baby Boy not only works hours that aren’t compatible with most folk’s schedules (he’s a chef)"

Etc.

Sucrose overdose alert! Hit delete, hit delete! Unsubscribe! Get thee behind me spamdom!

How on earth do I end up on these email newsletter lists int he first place? because unless I have the oddest sort of sleep disorder on the planet I have never subscribed to a single one.

Title: King of Dragons, King of Men

Author: Emily Veinglory

Publication Date: 27th February, 2007 (any moment now)

Publisher: Samhain (purchase from publisher)

Format: ebook -- paperback version coming later this year

ISBN: 1-59998-330-3

Price: $5.50

About the book:
You can see the synopsis at Samhain :). Basically this is my second novel. I started it back before I got into the whole m/m erotic romance thing. It is a high fantasy romance with two men and one women. Kinda hard to describe but if you like love, angst and dragons this may well be the book for you.

So, you know I have been intending for some time to update my gay and vampire review website. Here is the first full length review I will be listing. It is also what happened to my day--zip--gone. Oh well.

Filthy: Outrageous Gay Erotica
By M. Christian
Alyson Books -- $14.99

“Filthy” is subtitled “Outrageous Gay Erotica”, it could also be called “the book that stole my Saturday”. It arrived in the mail and I intended to slot it into my reading queue after several other books that have been waiting patiently for my attention. I flicked over the somewhat dry preface to the first story and it was all over.

In 'The Greener Grasses' M. Christian shows us immediately that this is not a collection to be trifled with, picked up and put down. I was thrust immediately us into the point of view of a real flawed, sexual, vulnerable protagonist. The sexuality is always frank but blended with charming love stories like 'Heart in Your Hand' or '2+1' or folksy fables like 'Moby'. The writer’s skills are perhaps best shown in the apt blending of sexuality with darker threads such as in 'Bitch' where one man’s bitterness and hate escapes his control or 'Friday Night at the Calvary Hotel' with its queasy look at the blend of sadism and sexuality in religious symbolism. I found the homage stories 'Hollywood Blvd' and 'Suddenly, Last Thursday' just a little heavy handed but still engaging reading.

The stand-outs for me were simple stories, but perfect in their parts. 'Oroborous' uses a botched tattoo to contrast the pain and trouble of “fixing” what is “wrong” about us (not what we would choose) with the joys of embracing it what we are. After reading it I had one of those moments staring at the wall and letting it sink in. And there were actually tears in my eyes at the end of the tragic love story of 'Flyboy'. The speculative stories are also strong: 'Utter West' gives a new meaning to the youthful desire to get out of a dead-end town and 'The Hope of Cinnamon' shows a far future gay community that rescues persecuted gay men from the past and is shown, through their eyes, what may be missing from their apparent utopia.

All of the stories have a strong concept as well as explicit sexual content. I would quibble at calling it “erotica”. Erotic, yes, but not quite in the step-by-step manner intended for one handed reading. It’s one of those oft-quoted phrases that our biggest sex organ in our brain; I’m willing to bet that author M. Christian would agree. Almost every story in this collection is perfectly constructed for the intellect: set up, satisfaction and pay off within a few short pages. Some stories are unapologetically erotic and others nostalgically sensual, only obliquely erotic at all or proudly a little perverse—but the erotic is there to serve the story in the manner and amount the narrative requires.

If you are looking for sexually-charged fiction that also has heart and intelligence “Filthy” is the collection for you—just don’t pick it up until you have the free time to read it from cover to cover.


.

If you have been visiting the EREC blog, or have a link to it, please note that this is the first part of the site to move to our new shiny domain. EREC (the Erotic Romance Epublisher Comparison site) has gradually moved from being my personal hobby to a group project. For that reason it will be moving from veinglory.com to its own domain ERECsite.com

The blog which was at http://www.veinglory.com/pblog.html will now be at http://www.erecsite.com/blog.html -- it will appear at both location for a few weeks. Please update you links and bookmarks :)

If you haven't visited yet, please do. The EREC site is concerned with all types of erotica and romance publishing. It is oriented towards writers but also posts information of interest to readers in these genres. We are always looking for new members.

THEM:
Thank you for contacting us.

Need to add as an external domain ( XXXXX.com ) in your XX Control
Panel. Then give the XXX Nameserver then give it to your current domain
registrar. Kindly follow the instructions below it will be done in your
1&1 Control Panel:

http://faq.the same fucking page the other muppet sent me too

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.


ME (What I wanted to write):
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!! Make it stop, make it stop. Must-resist-urgh-to-kill- Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrggghhh, (whimper).


ME (after a whiskey and soda):
I have already done this. How can I make that any clearer? This is
now my 4th email to report that I *have* both followed the steps to
get the domain, and taken the DNS names given and entered them with
XXXXXX.

It did not work that is why I need help.

regards

Me.

We all make promo mistakes. I sure have, many of you probably remember that. No one is perfect. But when you are actually alerted to a problem it behooves you to take action. I get that people make mistakes, but I don't get why you would keep making them once complaints arrive. I have unsubcribed myself from several WriterSpace newsletters. Or possibly from the same one several times, it never occured to me to check. They keep on coming and each one starts:

"This newsletter is never unsolicited. You are receiving this email because you have visited our site and entered your email to request information on Writerspace Authors. Unsubscribe instructions can be found at the bottom of this newsletter. "

...which drives me totally crazy because I solicite email newsletters much in the same well a fleeing gazelle solicits lions. I even went to the site to discover with some amazement that is is a fee-charging service. So either each author advertised decided to add me to the maling list without asking--or the WriterSpace staff did so and took my multiple 'remove' request simply as a helpful indication that my email was functioning well and the spam was indeed getting through.

Just to be extra clear I sent an email to the site directly, specifically to Cissy Hartley, twice, asking to be put on a 'do not mail' list--something a fee-charging company must sure have to protect the reputation of its service and authors? I already have a negative emotional response just to the sight of the names of their frequently mentioned authors like Angela Knight and Susan Squires. So this is it, I think my fifth unsubscribe attempt and second email complaint. Any future WriterSpace newsletters get reported as spam directly to any abuse service I can find and any author mentioned within.

Edited to add: It seems my first email to Cissy didn't get through. The second one got an immediate response and an assurance that I will receive no more mailings. So if anyone else is having a similar problem I suggest letting Cissy know about it. Perhaps there is a fault with their unsubscribe function (although how I got subscribed in the first place remains, what I will charitably call, a mystery).