Thursday, May 16, 2013


http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/

Welcome to my Hop Against Homophobia & Transphobia Blog! It's 2013 and myself and other authors are back again to promote awareness. It is hard to believe that we still have to stand up and fight against homophobic & transphobic people!

May 17th, is International Day Against Homophobia & Tranphobia! So, do your part and hop through these blogs, share on your social networks and support your fellow human beings who do not deserve the discrimination that they live with every day!

"The word homophobia appeared in the 1960’s. George Weinberg, an American psychologist, seems to have been the first to use it in a study in 1969. He used it again in his 1972 book “Society and the healthy homosexual”. K.T. Smith also used this word in 1971 in an article called “Homophobia: A Tentative Personality Profile”. Francophone authors quickly followed suit. Here is how Weinberg defined homophobia in 1972: 'The fear expressed by heterosexuals of being in the presence of homosexuals, and the loathing that homosexual persons have for themselves'"[1].
Consider this from UC Davis LGBT Resource Center 

"The transsexual feminist theorist and author Julia Serano argues in her book Whipping Girl that transphobia is rooted in sexism. She locates the origins of both transphobia and homophobia in what she calls "opposititional sexism," the belief that male and female are "rigid, mutually exclusive categories, each possessing a unique and nonoverlapping set of attributes, aptitudes, and desires." Serano contrasts oppositional sexism with "traditional sexism," the belief that males and masculinity are superior to females and femininity. Furthermore, she writes that transphobia is fueled by insecurities people have about gender norms." [ISBN-13: 978-1580051545] [2]

Homophobia & Transphobia can manifest in many ways (attitudes, actions, words, etc.) and the only way to fight it is to raise awareness and speak out against it! Believe it or not, you are doing that by just joining this blog hop tour! Thank you!

For my own part, last year I joined the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Nothing like being a 21st century drag nun to make a statement and do some good for my community. The "Sisters" are an international Non-Profit organization, founded in 1979, whose volunteer members perform many out-reach programs to educate safer sex practices and provide free condoms to the community. If you want to give back, the "Sisters" is a great organization to become involved with!



For hopping by today and doing your part, I am giving away my best selling novel. So, just enter the drawing below if this blurb strikes your fancy!


 Brothers By Bond
Johnny Baxter has been Mike Morgan's best friend for the last seventeen years and his adopted brother for the last fifteen. They have been attached at the hip since they were kids, all through high school and even through the Army with the buddy system. From being stationed as MP's in Germany to graduating the police Academy and riding in the same patrol car night after night, where one was found, so was the other. They shared everything.
Until six months ago… when Johnny got divorced.
Mike's feelings for his best friend and brother changed; became more than just brotherly love and avoidance was his way of coping. However, the night he traded shifts to avoid his brother, once again, was the night he almost lost him. And more than anything else, that is Mike's biggest fear.
Author Note: Contains M/M sexual practices and is intended for readers of legal age for the country in which they reside. 


Happy Hopping to the hundreds of other blogs! 



Friday, April 19, 2013

I am still alive!! Really, I am!

Hello my twisted lovelies! 

I know, I know, I am slacking in the blog department but once I catch you up to date on what I have been up to, maybe you will forgive me. 
As you know, I am a volunteer with the Tampa Bay Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Through my affiliation with the Sisters, I have been doing a weekly web radio show on GSHRadio

 
Recently I took a break from both so I could play catch up on my writing. 

However, I am still involved with The Tampa Leather Club and on the board for Tampa Bay Leather n' Fetish Pride but they don't take up much of my time.

 So, you ask, what has kept me so busy?
For starters, conventions. March was a crazy, crazy month for me and I loved every minute of it! The second weekend of March, I went to a leather event, Alt Life Bike Fest, down at Vitambi Springs Resort & Campground. It was a blast! The following weekend, I was at MegaCon, in Orlando, and successfully sold out of two titles. This convention will now be a staple on my tour schedule (as soon as I send them payment for next year!) The 3rd weekend in March found me at another leather event, Mr. Code Contest, at the Flamingo Resort in St. Petersburg (FL). 

I had a short break the last weekend of March before I headed to Beyond Leather in Ft. Lauderdale. Now, I want to say a few words about BL, as it is affectionately call by the regulars. This was my first time attending and if you are into leather, fetish, BDSM or even write about these topics, you should go to an event like this. The classes were excellent and included demos, as well as hand-on experience. The people were great and happy to talk about anything or answer any questions. This is going to be another annual event for me but more as a mini-vaca than an author.

Well, that catches you up to this month, April. Can you hear me finally able to take a breath? That being said, you will be happy to hear how much work I have gotten done!

Destiny, the sequel to Fates, now sits at 51k+ (only 10 chapters) and still has a way to go. My goal is to have it finished and published before Necronomicon this year since I had so many inquiries for it last year (and that gave me lots of warm fuzzies!)
I also have a new novel in the works called Not For Sale. It is sitting at 35k+ and should land somewhere around 50-60k. I finished the cover (as you can see) so I could share the eye candy with you. That's Rick by the way... isn't he a hottie? I am aiming to have Not For Sale ready for my next convention.

What convention is that, you ask? Well, I am hitting up some of the adult venues to see how well books will sell along side corsets, floggers, leather, and other goodies. My first stop will be The Florida Bash (May 30 - June 2nd) and after Bash I will be at Tampa Bay Escapes (July 18-21).

Now that I have you all caught up with that is going on with me, I want to share something disturbing with you about what some of my author friends are going through. Noble Romance is a publisher that several of my friends have contracts with. Sadly, calling them a publisher at this point is an insult to all the great publishing companies out there. 


My friend, Brita Addams, (you may remember her as one of the authors who donated books for the Billiards, Books, & Booze...Oh My! fundraiser I did last year to benefit Trans*Action Florida) has shared her wretched experience and links to other authors nightmares in dealing with Noble Romance. Notice I am not giving you the link and once you read the horror story that Brita has gone through (yes, it's long, but worth the read), you will understand.

You are probably asking yourself why you should bother reading a blog about an author's nightmare with their publishing company, right? Well, let me give you some food for thought.... Publishers make their money from authors work (deservingly so when they are doing their job and abiding to the terms of the contract) but when a publisher does not do their job, it not only affects the author but it also effects the reader. So, please, if you love to read, even if you have never read any books that are published by Noble Romance, Britia, or myself, take a moment to check out her blog. If you are a 'reader' and consume books like I do, help spread the word about what Noble Romance is doing to their authors. Authors who should get what they are promised in their contracts and who should be spending their time writing the stories we so love to read instead of trying to get the publisher to do their job, as dictated by the contract.

A reader boycott has began against Noble Romance for the way they are treating their authors. Thankfully, I am not affiliated with them in any way but to see what my friends are going through breaks my heart and it's this heartbreak that has me encouraging you to check out Brita's blog while I send lots of positive energy to my friend's muses!

That's it for now, my twisted and kinky friends...
I'll try (really I will) to blog more often to keep you up to date on what I am up to!
XOXOX

P.S. Brother's By Bond (Amazon top 100 on 3 lists for 5 days!
is now available in every format!


XOXOX