Impressed/Not Impressed post

[erastes]

Unimpressed in a giggly way: Vadrial Vail by Vincent Virga

I loved Gaywyck, I didn't see the purple it was accused of, but Virga goes completely off the edge with VV.  Here's a snippet and I'll say no more about it. "Fingers tightened and arms clamped as both engaged in the intense business of grappling with embrocated bliss. Exultantly, in various ways, they shed by turns - and twice together - the pearly tears of Eros."

And I've been taking stuff OUT like this, from Transgressions.  Perhaps I should bung it all back in again. Embrocated bliss? Pearly tears of Eros... Oh dear lord...

Impressed: The Charioteer by Renault

I have no right to be impressed, I mean, the woman is a goddess, I knew that having read 2 or 3 of her others, but this is fabulous, fabulous writing. It's not what her characters say, it's what they don't say, the pauses, the hints, the body language. There's a wonderful scene where Laurie is picked up in a bar and his picker-upper uses underground language to assess whether Laurie is that way inclined, it's clever and subtle and wonderful.  When I grow up I want to instil emotion the way she can.

Impressed against my will; Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer

It's taken me weeks to get this finished, for such a small book, and although I liked the premise of the book, which concentrated more on an older character, an unmarried aunt of all things, and an older man I couldn't really get into it because of the oft complained about by me, jargon.  But I soldiered on, and it did get better, although I skipped a lot of the dialogue because of the gobbledegook.  But the last few pages completely enraptured me, and I fell heavily (and far too late) in love with the characters.

Not Impressed: Clean Sheets

I don't know if I'll bother submitting to them again.  They responded quite quickly and accepted the piece, said that someone would be in touch "shortly" to "work closely with me regarding edits" 

No one got in touch for months.  I queried them a couple of times, to be told they were behind, but repeated that someone would be in touch. No-one did. After about six months (They accepted the story in September 06) I asked them if they were still interested and they came back quite quickly to say yes they were, but still nothing about editing.

Then suddenly out of the blue, I got an email from someone called "noblebill" with no text in the email - no "Hi Erastes" or anything, just a link to the galley-proofs on the site.  There were a couple of errors I spotted, so I emailed them and told them.  Guess what? No response.  When the story went live I didn't even know until I started getting hits on the website, and yes, the errors are still there.

I still hadn't had any contract, or indication of when I'd get paid. (There is nothing on their submission details detailing rights of publication either, so I don't know what they expect as to rights.  They could consider that they have right "forever" -  but as I haven't been given a contract, wasn't told of rights assigned, haven't signed anything, and haven't recieved a penny, It's hardly even a publication!) 

Finally, as a last straw - I emailed them today and have been told I need to wait another 60 days for payment.  That's not exactly professional in my book. Granted they are "busy" but if being busy is interfering with dealing with your source material (authors) so badly that authors won't be bothering with you again, then you are TOO busy and you need to look at your set-up. Sorry.

Unimpressed.