I’ve been following this thing since late February, when someone I know on Twitter made ominous subtweets about a catfishing scandal (yet again) in the world of male/male romance publishing. This link from The Salt Miners gives a better overview and details. Riptide, one of the most outwardly prestigious publishers in the genre, got caught with…
Read More Diversity, Catfishing, and the Santino Hassell disaster2018 is shaping up to be an interesting year for two of the most venerated (and often controversial) Science Fiction and Fantasy awards: the Hugos and the Nebulas. Here’s a Wikia page about 2018 Hugo Awards nominations, if you are eligible to nominate stories (or just want to see what’s already nominated.) Here’s a handy…
Read More It’s Hugo (and Nebula) Award Season againArtisans make bread-n-butter pieces: smaller, simpler objects that feed the bank account. But they also need room for the big or complicated gonzo works that feed their joy and skill. I don’t have pierced ears, I don’t intend to ever have pierced ears, and clip-on earrings tend to hurt me after about an hour. So…
Read More Earrings and other conundrumsThis will eventually have its own spot on Filigree’s Rule, but I thought the problem merited its own longer post. Literary agents are human: they have likes, dislikes, foibles, and triggers like anyone else. Sometimes an author is lucky and their quirks will mesh with the agent’s. This is one of the major reasons to…
Read More Abusive agents and how to spot themAs per this Facebook post, the erotic romance publisher Loose Id is closing. https://www.facebook.com/LoosenYourId/posts/10156261079630101 The four owners (The Quad, in LI nicknames) have decided not to squander the market’s good will, and are winding down the business by May of 2018. This was my first romance publisher: they took on the first edition of my…
Read More End of an Era: Loose IdHint: if your publisher pops up and declares they will no longer consider submissions from agents, and requires their authors to sever existing ties with agents…your publisher is either predatory, clueless, or both. This post prompted by the hilarious meltdown from Tyrant Books, an independent literary press based in Rome & NYC. Tyrant *has* published…
Read More On agents and publishersThe latest award ribbons are done and delivered! As I mentioned here, they are based on the collage/printmaking work of Erin Curry. Here’s the Festival poster image, a commissioned piece. And here are the award ribbons I made in fiber applique, machine stitching, and hand-sewn beaded embroidery. Materials include polyester felt, commercial printed cotton, digital…
Read More Tempe Festival of the Arts Awards, Fall 2017Okay, we’ll try another version of this. In other words: writing is work. Often very hard work, that might pay little or nothing for an insane amount of time and labor. There is no set ‘destination’, since your career can skyrocket to best-seller and movie status, or crash into obscurity with equal speed. If you…
Read More Crane’s Guide to Writing and BakingI’m contracting THE PURIST to NineStar Press for a release date sometime in 2018. It almost certainly *won’t* have this cover, and possibly not this title, but I look forward to seeing what NineStar does with it. Way back in 1996 or 1997 I wrote a 6K short story set in my Lonhra Sequence fantasy…
Read More ‘The Purist’ has a home with NineStar PressProof that the universe has a questionable sense of humor, or GOP marketers are harvesting emails without researching them, or Weebly sold me out (or all three): Trump’s campaign folks have been sending me begging emails *on the email account I use only for things related to fanfiction*. Often very dark and or seriously raunchy…
Read More Trump Asks Me For MoneySince I’ve a nice uptick in sales lately on this M/M space opera romance, here’s a mood board of my original art inspired by the story, cover background from Natasha Snow, and images from Alphonse Mucha, The Nature Conservancy, and Pinterest. I don’t know any other way to respond to the anniversary of 9-11, or…
Read More Moro’s Price mood boardOr: the state of LGBTQIA SFF and Romance publishing in 2017. Tl:dr…diverse authors may be courted by large publishers not so much for the value of their stories, but for the cachet of representing them as proof of diversity in publishing. Unagented authors and agents need to be wary of this possible trend, and plan…
Read More Diversity BingoI’ve talked before about a wonderful fanfic-writer-turned-agented-commercial-author, Alis Franklin. Time for a bittersweet update. LIESMITH has a great sequel, STORMBRINGER, which you can read. And what looks to be a couple of brilliant follow-ups, which you can’t (not yet anyway). You can find out more about her writing here. Out of respect for Alis and…
Read More Alis Franklin: Books of the WyrdThese lovelies arrived today from AZ Art Supply: Richeson 10″ Female Right and Left Manikin Hands. 2/3 articulated, posing hands in blond wood (probably box, lyptus, or poplar, I’ll have to check.) Meant as an artist’s drawing aide, I find they make amazing jewelry models. I’m resisting the urge to woodburn henna designs on them,…
Read More Show of HandsOne of the best side-effects of online novel-pitch contests: the community around them. Whether or not a writer makes the cut (agent request, mentorship, etc), most writers can find new friendships and even collaborations within the larger pool of the hopeful and hopeless. Mark J. Engels and I met during a pitch contest in 2016…
Read More Mark Engels: ALWAYS GRAY IN WINTERTrying another sales portal, this time on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CraneHanaDesigns I’m conflicted about Etsy. They’re the best game in town for many crafters. They’ve made some colossal blunders in the past, and I feel terrible for them that the only way they can save the company now is at the cost of their allegedly benevolent company ethos.…
Read More CraneHanaDesigns now on EtsyThis has been a *long* time in the works, but I’m so happy to see ‘The Gear’d Heart’, a new steampunk serial by AG Carpenter. I’ve read it in an earlier beta form, and seen the kickass sequel. Now’s the chance to get in on a charming, devious, and dark story, via Patreon!
Read More The Gear’d Heart, by AG CarpenterNow that I have your attention, here’s a little rant about authors asking for reviews. In short, we shouldn’t get grief for this. We shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for asking, or told we’re ‘pandering’ or ‘imposing’ on our readers. Likewise, we shouldn’t hold ourselves loftily above promoting our work in careful, tactful, honest,…
Read More Begging for Eyeballs: authors and reviewsHappy Independence Day, for my fellow US friends (and for everyone else!) While we’re on the subject of independence, do you know about Patreon? The company bills itself as the best way for creators to build a sustained income. From what I’ve seen from many Patreon accounts, it’s succeeding. 35 creators each earned over $150,000…
Read More Patreon Ahoy!As of November 26, 2020, the second edition of MORO’S PRICE will no longer be available. I’ve unpublished it, in preparation for a new self-pub version arriving soon. For some reviews of the first edition, go here. I’m pleased that my longtime friend Sherwood Smith bravely took up an ARC of this version, then gave…
Read More Moro’s Price 2nd Edition