VW Tries to Beat Audi When It Comes to Star Trek

While fun, the commercial doesn't quit live up to Old Spock vs. New Spock.

Money for Nothing and Your Songs/Books for Free?

Over the weekend, Taylor Swift's label Big Machine Label Group and Spotify couldn't come to terms over their contract negotiations. As a result, Swift's music is no longer available on the popular streaming service.

The backlash has been epic. People have been screaming that their access to music is being censored. The anger is on a scale not seen since the Amazon/Hatchette negotiation dispute started earlier this year. The difference is the scorn is heaped on...

Taylor? (Here's one of the few articles standing up for ALL artists' rights.)

What happened to the greedy distributor meme using the poor artist as a pawn in their plan for world domination? Nearly every news organization in the U.S. (and quite a few in Europe) accused Amazon of trying to rule the world by refusing to sell Hatchette's books.

But here's the funny thing. Amazon HAS NOT taken Hatchette books off their website. They are still selling ALL PUBLISHED Hatchette tomes. In fact, I can buy Lilith Saintcrow's The Damnation Affair through the Evil Empire's One-Click(TM) right now. Or I would if I hadn't already I bought it last week through Barnes & Noble because I had a $5 credit.

Nor has Hatchette pulled their books from Amazon. They continue to ship both paper and e-books to the retailer despite their pretty hostile and very public catfight.

And that's the difference between the Amazon/Hatchette battle and the Big Machine Label Group/Spotify dispute. BMLG had the balls to pull their catalog when the companies couldn't come to an agreement.

Maybe Amazon and Hatchette are more sensitive to public opinion than BMLG since they snipe at each other, but neither has taken the step of totally severing their relationship. Maybe BMLG really is looking out for their artists by refusing a contract that pays $0.006 and $0.0084 for every play.

Probably what is more disturbing is the attitude of Swift's fans. They accuse Swift of greed in removing her music from a "free" service. However, Spotifiy charges $5 or $10 per month for access depending on the package the customer selects. Also, Swift's music is still available via other retailers and streaming services. (Ironically, Amazon is one of them.)

So how does either corporate dispute really harm consumers? It doesn't. The public can buy Hatchette's books and Swift's music through a multitude of alternatives.

Is it censorship? No. The government is not halting distribution of either Hatchette's books or Swift's music. No retailer is required to sell either parties' materials. A case can be made for collusion is all retailers and services joined together and refused to distribute Hatchette's books and Swift's music. But as I pointed out above, such a scenario has not happened.

Unfortunately, there is a sense of entitlement among a certain class of consumers. They believe all art should be free. That artists only do it for the love. That's part of the backlash against Swift. She's the most prominent of BMLG's artists and part owner of the label. So why can't Swift decide what to charge for her work?

That's right. How dare she! She sings for LUURVE!

Do they also expect their waitress to serve them out of love? Their mechanic? Their doctor?

Do these people do their job without any expectation of recompense?

Of course not. Artists have every right to charge for their services as anyone else does for theirs. And maybe that's what bugs the entitled most of all. How dare someone claim they are the same social status as they are!

Movies I Can't Wait to See!

Not that I'm excited about this or anything! (Keep an eye on Thor's reaction when Cap tries to lift Mjolnir. LOL)

On the Road Again

I love road trips when they're for fun reasons. The adventure of seeing new places. Trying out new restaurants. Marveling how similar and yet how different areas of the United States are.

But over 5,000 miles in less than a month when I'm still sore from getting the house on the market and a bad cold on top of that? Definitely not as fun.

If you're reading this on the day it posts, I should be somewhere between Houston and Memphis. Memphis, being the rough halfway point between Houston and Toledo. As DH comments every time we make the drive, it's the most boring leg of interstate on the trip.

And before any Arkansas and East Texas folks get their panties in a wad, DH is not into logging, camping, fishing or country music. Which, let's face it, is all there is between the mighty Mississippi and the Gulf Coast.

And if y'all feel the need to bitch, I'll include your crystal meth production in my list. At least the rednecks where I grew up produce something a little more beneficial like pot.

Anyway, my convertible has a new heart (engine), new brakes, new tires, and she's purring again. I'm so very glad not to be in a mini-van anymore. Before anyone gets their dander up about THAT, (1) I've been driving either my Saturn or the convertible for the last twenty-three years, and (2) I tend to forget that a mini-van has a higher center of gravity and can't take turns as fast or as sharp as a sports car. So far I haven't had any mishaps. (*knocking on wood*)

So I've got my CDs (my baby's a '98, i.e. before MP3 connections became standard) and my trail mix (Archer Farms Cashew, Cranberry & Almond--best stuff evah!), and I'm on the road. Can't wait to be writing and cooking our new place!

I just need to remember to slow down through the tiny burgs along U.S. 59. I don't need Officer Bailey pulling me over for speeding for the second time in a week.

(*sigh* Yes, I broke my ten year, seven month record for no tickets.)

Status Report - November 2014

The last eighteen months haven't been the greatest for me and my family. We had plans. Plans that would be best for each of us to fulfill our personal goals. And the great god Murphy laughed maniacally and did everything he could to fuck those plans up.

As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel room hundreds of miles from our new home, waiting for my car to be repaired. Yep, Murphy has been so good to me lately. (If you couldn't tell by the dripping sarcasm.)

But all the problems doesn't mean I haven't been writing! However, it does mean that the 2014 production schedule has been officially shredded into more pieces than Iran-Contra documents.

So here's the 2015 plan:

The Bloodlines Series
I'm writing the last four books as we speak. In edition, I've re-proofed the first three books, and I'm half-way through re-proofing #4. I've already talked with someone about contracting her to format the entire series for both e-book and print starting in January. I'm also on the search for a new cover artist so there's a unified theme and style for the covers. The plan is to re-launch the entire series late winter/early spring. I'll post a chapter from the new books once a week over at the Blood Lines blog.

The Justice Series
I've thought long and hard about how I want to launch this series. There's a particular artist I want to hire for Justice Anthea's stories, but he's expensive which means I need to save my pennies. Also, I don't want leave readers hanging between books, so I plan to release the first three books, A Question of Balance, A Modicum of Truth, and A Matter of Death, hopefully around next Halloween.

Nnnnnnnnnnnn Series
I'm collaborating with another ex-attorney/fantasy writer, Xxxxx Yyyyyy. (P.S. I highly recommend her book, Aaaaaaaaaa!) This is my first time working with someone, and I'm really enjoying it! It's about a couple of attorneys who handle the legal problems of superheroes. Our projected release date for the first book is May 1st.

All the credit for the series tagline goes to Xxxxx:

Franklin & Winters, Attorneys at Law — You saved the world. Let us handle the cleanup. For a free consultation, call 888-555-HERO.

Seasons of Magick Series
If I have any spare time next year, I plan to do a collected edition of the Seasons of Magick series.

* * *

The money side
As far as sales go, they are down. We're talking the $200/month ballpark collectively across all platforms for all of 2014. I blame it on my lack of publishing. I've found the best marketing is releasing a new book every few months, and needless to say, my last releases under the Suzan Harden name were over Halloween week last year.

Ironically, the reason I'm selling anything at all is thanks to Nora Roberts. The title of the third book in her O'Dwyer trilogy is...Blood Magick. So my book of the same name is showing up on e-book searches, and people have been trying it out.

Alter Ego has been doing slightly better in sales because the last novel of a trilogy was released in May and she participated in a charity anthology over the summer.

I'm hoping all of this will improve once I start releasing books from both of us this winter. Keeping my fingers crossed anyway.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Songs I Listen to This Time of Year

You really shouldn't stick Sandy Claws in a box...

Happy Samhain!

Or Halloween. Or New Year's. Or whatever floats your boat.

All Hail the Pumpkin King!

When Writers Pick on Bloggers

What the hell is wrong with writers lately? First, Tina Engler, aka Jaid Black, sues the romance blog Dear Author for libel via Tina's company Ellora's Cave. Then author Kathleen Hale dove into creepy stalker territory because a book blogger gave her a one-star on Goodreads.

For the record, I've gotten a few one-stars. I have commented on a blogger (who I intentionally did not name) here at WWW, but only because she continued to read the Bloodlines series after not liking Blood Magick. My point-of-view was that I wouldn't continue reading someone's work if I didn't particularly like the first book.

But that's me trying to manage my time. I didn't track the blogger down and harass her (and "her" is meant in the generic) for disliking the book. I sure as hell didn't show up on this blogger's doorstep, a la Kathleen Hale. In fact, it's Blogger's opinion, and she has every right to write whatever kind of review she wants about my books or anyone else's.

Just like I have the right to write whatever the hell in my novels and short stories.

But the backlash from the book bloggers has landed.

First is the #notchilled hashtag flying thick and fast on Twitter. Let's face facts. The Ellora's Cave lawsuit is all about getting bloggers to shut up about the company's problems. The harder you try to shut up the public, the more the public talks about you. It's called the Streisand Effect for that very reason. A certain diva with the first name of Barbra tried to squelch coastline photos that included her mansion. No one would have paid any attention to the picture if she hadn't pitched a temper tantrum. So, instead of silencing her critics, Tina's made sure that nearly everyone in the country is talking about her, and not in a positive way.

The latest event starts today--The Blogger Blackout, aka #bloggerblackout on Twitter. Reviewer Tez Miller gives a succinct account of why book bloggers are participating.

You know what? I totally agree with Tez. No blogger should have to worry about lawsuits or their personal safety just for discussing online what they like or don't like about books they read. Or they didn't finish. Or anything else they damn well please.

Here's where advice from the late Jay Lake comes into play. When a writer publishes a book, it's no longer the writer's story. It's the public's. And each member of the public brings her own baggage and peccadillos to the party. It's neither right or wrong. It simply is.

If you're a writer, remember Jay's wise words. Readers have every right to dislike your book and talk about it as they do to like your book and talk about it.

A Not-So-Funny Saturday

I know I normally post something funny on Saturday nights, but this issue was too important to wait until Monday.

Ellora's Cave models and authors, Axl Goode and Taylor Cole, were on their way home from EC's Romanticon a couple of weeks ago. They also happened to be on the same flight as Amber Vinson, the nurse from Dallas who was diagnosed with ebola shortly after her trip to Akron to visit her family. Both men are now under a mandatory 21-day quarantine because they were sitting within three feet of Ms. Vinson. Since they cannot work their days jobs during this period, they have a fundraiser on GoFundMe to cover their living expenses.

Assuming Axl's account is accurate, his conversations with both the Dallas County Health Department and the Center for Disease Control are disturbing at the least. They're dealing with a virulent, highly contagious and deadly disease. Yet, the delays in responding to the men show what could be construed as a lack or knowledge and/or concern.

This scares me because it shows the same disregard for public safety by government and medical personnel that was shown during the AIDS epidemic in the '80's. Lack of accurate information in how the disease is transmitted and how to prevent transmission was disseminated to the public. Why? Because it was considered a gay disease and who cared about gays. No compassion. No common sense.

That attitude made me sick then, and it still does now. I wanted to believe Thomas Duncan's care, or lack thereof, was born of ignorance, but I have to wonder. If he'd been white and American, instead of a foreign-born black, would he have received an appropriate diagnosis the first time he went to Texas Presbyterian's ER?

Because, yes, Mr. Duncan was sent home by the staff while he was in the early throes of an ebola infection. He could have contaminated a large number of people, not just two of his nurses after he was re-admitted. And right now, there's no answers of how the nurses became infected. Spokesmen for Texas Presbyterian swear up-and-down the ladies followed infectious care protocols. But this is the same hospital that's looking at huge liability for the original ER screw-up.

So there's a lot of rumors and misinformation running around. In fact, as I paid our bill at one of the local Bob Evans' restaurants in Ohio, the cashier noted that I use a Texas debit card, and asked me if I was in the medical profession.

Really? Has it come to where anyone from the Texas medical community is a suspected carrier? Then I reminded myself just why I left rural Ohio twenty-five years ago.

All I can say it's the combination of arrogance and ignorance that will be our downfall despite the common sense displayed by men like Axl and Taylor.

Legal Shake-ups in the Publishing Biz

We're still in the middle of moving into the new place. The new mattress DH and I ordered won't be delivered until next week, so we're still crashing at the in-laws.

Which means I'm finally getting caught up on industry news. Two major events happened on the legal side of the publishing industry.

The first is the lawsuit by Ellora's Cave against blogger Dear Jane was removed to federal court. Both The Passive Guy and romance author/attorney Courtney Milan have more intelligent commentary than I can provide.

I will say that I've been on the receiving end of of a relatively mild rebuke by a federal judge. It was not pleasant. If Tina Engler thinks she'll get away with the antics she's pulled in Summit County, she's sadly mistaken.

The other big news is the resurrected case against Harlequin for its slight of hand with author royalties was certified as a class action suit by the trial judge. By no means does this indicate the screwed-over writers will win their case. But the judge's cert along with Torstar's quick divestiture of Harlequin to HarperCollins doesn't indicate good things ahead for the publisher. Once again, The Passive Guy has posted the legal paperwork for those who enjoy reading court documents.

Catch y'all on the other side of the weekend!