Dear Lord.

[erastes]

I’m reading a gay historical right now which is probably the worst I’ve read. It needs to held up as “how not to do it,” to be honest.

NO NO NO – don’t panic, it’s no-one here, no-one I know. But…GAH. It’s so BAD.

I’ll be reviewing it, if I can stop laughing long enough, soon.

There’s the worst Gary Stu in the universe.

There’s OKHOMO that’s so widespread you wouldn’t believe

There’s infodumping in every SINGLE paragraph. “Oh yes, I remember Oscar Wilde, he went to prison for two years and did hard labour in Reading Gaol, he wrote a poem called The Ballad of Reading Gaol which I read in XX year. I was so glad when Queensberry died in XX year.”

AND SO ON. GAH!!!!!! Just… awful.

And look at these – so pretty! The new versions of Frost Fair, and Lee Rowan’s Ransom and Winds of Change.

Check out The Macaronis or the Speak Its Name Yahoo Group tomorrow as we will be running a week’s worth of promo, give aways interviews and stuff. I’ll remind you tomorrow with links.

       

Comments

[joannesopercook.livejournal.com]

Those covers are JUST GORGEOUS!!!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

The inside of FF is beautiful too - they've taken into consideration that it's about a printer and the first letter of each chapter is a wood-cut. i'll scan a page in tomorrow.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Alex Beecroft has turned out to be a wonderful cover artist, and incredibly patient with my fussing.

[bethbetter.livejournal.com]

I just had to google OKHOMO right now, because I had no idea what it was. Such a noob. ;)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

it's googleable???? *dies laughing *

It was a term I made up a few years ago, so am very amused that it can be found on Google.

:)

[bethbetter.livejournal.com]

Well, I found the definition on Speak Its Name, so it makes sense, really. *g*

[spindriftdancer.livejournal.com]

http://photobucket.com/images/OKHOMO/

Google it. It's becoming more widespread than just on your own webpage...

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*dies* Well, I'm sure those instances of it are just a coincidence, but that's so funny!

:)

[beckyblack]

I'm looking forward to the review! Gosh I hate info-dumping. That very quickly leads to book dumping for me. I'm always looking for advice about what not to do!

we will be running a week’s worth of promo

I'm clearly a perv, as I initially read that as "a week's worth of porno" :D

Covers are the pretty.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I don't blame you for making that mistake. It is me, after all.

Lowering the tone on LJ since 2003.

:)

[crawling-angel.livejournal.com]

I thought my FF looked just like that. I'll have to check it out.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

How many new people will buy it, I don't know, but I hope the new covers will attract people more than the horrible old ones.

[m-barnette.livejournal.com]

I don't know what's going on with your dragons but they aren't registering clicks or views.

I hope it's not the damn cave glitching up again.

Those are very nice covers.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I think it was the way I linked to them - couldn't be bothered to copy and paste the links, so I just copied the pictures from the page by selecting them all, seems you can't cheat!!!!

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Looking forward to finding out which book this is...and hoping it's not one I've already bought.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I bought both books by the author, and am regretting the expenditure, particularly as one was a hardback.

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Having read some of your later comments, it's not John Simpson, is it? He infodumps like a library on acid.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*giggles* No - I have read one by JS - haven't reviewed it yet because it annoyed me hugely and I wanted to rest and read it again - it's by Nick Heddle.

[probodie.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh I wondered if it was Mr Heddle. I didnt say too much as I didnt want to *cough* spoil it for you.

[lexin.livejournal.com]

I've the books by Nick Heddle on my 'maybe' list - they're not really my period unless the protags are Jeeves and Wooster.

I annoyed Mr Simpson by drawing to the attention of the "Why God Why" forum his book "Peter's Chair" which I still (and as an atheist) say has to have the most ridiculous plot I ever heard of.

But that could be just me.

[pfodge.livejournal.com]

I love the covers. I'm reading "Transgressions" right now. I had to order it online. I went to 3 Barnes & Nobles stores and one Borders. They were all out of it.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Well, lets hope they had sold out, and not sent it back to the publisher in disgust.

:) Hope you like it, dear.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Ransom and Winds have little anchors separating scenes.

I'm glad I read the whole post -- I saw the pictures and that first line, and wondered...

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I have little swirly things - I have to admit that I really like it when a publisher makes the inside of a book as pretty as the outside.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Ooh, they look lovely in the flesh :) Now I want the new editions. I guess I can always put my old ones in bubble wrap in the loft as collector's items, and buy myself a new set :)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

don't you dare buy FF - you'll be getting one of my copies as a thank you for all your hard work.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thank you! I'm quite excited because we're going to Detling this year, and this year I'm going armed with a camera. I'll come back with more photos of people in historical costume than you can shake a stick at :)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

The link didn't work. sadness.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

http://www.military-odyssey.com/

[erastes.livejournal.com]

ooo! Get lots of military ones! I'm planning a Franco-Austro war one (hopefully a novella for cheyenne) at some point!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I might go and do a stall next year.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

My spirits are slightly dampened by the idea of having to get people to sign a model release form! I had hoped to get away without that, given that they aren't necessary in the UK. But maybe if I intend to use the photo in the USA, I still need one :( I don't see any reenactor anywhere signing something like that. I know I wouldn't.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Bah. is it necessary if you don't use their faces?

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I'm going to have to pass that one over to Mark, I think.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Same here.. I'm a bit surprised you don't get a cover-artist copy, the way we do author copy. You need them for your Portfolio!

I'll send you a copy of the photo release form...

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Eee! Thank you :D And thanks for the model release form. It's a bit sad that I might need it, because I don't see reenactors as the sort of people willing to sign anything let alone a legal document. They aren't necessary in the UK, and I'm looking into whether they would really be needed in the USA given that I'm not intending to sell the photos, only to use them for cover art (which may be considered 'editorial' use rather than commercial.)

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Cover art is commercial, and. I wouldn't try it--if one person chose to take it to court, the legal fees would sink us all. I wouldn't worry so much with a regular romance, but even Running Press had trouble finding a photog willing to do gay covers.

Maybe if you assure folks that their faces will not be used and they'd be credit for the costume if they like...? I'd be happy to put a kudos of some kind on my website.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I'd actually be in more legal trouble here in the UK if I recorded their names and addresses (at least, I would if I did it on the computer). Here images are not protected, but names and addresses are, under the Data Protection Act. Possibly I'd be OK with the form only on paper and held in a filing cabinet.

I should have known there would be a drawback to this! I don't think it's something I could bring myself to do - ask a friendly stranger whether they would just fill in and sign this legal document. That would be just too rude and intrusive.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Well, it's Mark's decision--probably something a lawyer needs to give an opinion on, since the image isn't protected at its source. Could you post a notice or something, saying you do cover art and appreciate people who would let you photgraph them in costume? The info would be confidential--it's just to guarantee that nobody makes it onto the cover of the Purple-Passion Pirate unawares...

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'll ask him to look into it. It's something he needs to be aware of anyway, and he's in a better position to find out about USA law than I am.

[rwday.livejournal.com]

Pretty covers!

Awful sounding book, though - how on earth does crap like that get published?

[spindriftdancer.livejournal.com]

Prettypretty!

And seriously, I'm almost glad it does. It gives ME much more hope! I h'ain't perfect, but at least I'm not prone to *those* errors... ;p

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I admit I got very excited, as the publisher - Melrose Books - is an English publisher and one of the author's books is in hardback (a dream of mine!) but now I've read half of the paperback I am not going to be rushing to submit Junction X to them.

[copperbeech.livejournal.com]

I, too, cringe at bad writing. I cringe even more at the editor who let that author think that was his/her best effort.

Hope you're well!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I feel a little bad for him, because maybe he does think that is how gay historicals should go, that we NEED to be told every single fact - after all, it worked for Dan Brown didn't it? Perhaps, by being a Maverick, he doens't have a website and hasn't networked with any of the others of us, as far as I can see, he didn't have any feedback from people that said "ER..no, this isn't what people want to read." But then you'd think the publisher would have said "info dumping is bad" - wouldn't you?

[copperbeech.livejournal.com]

Yes. Do you know if the author has other works in the queue? I would be mortified if I wrote something that was really poorly written and no one told me. Catch 22, but still.

Hope you're well!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Not as far as I know - he has no website, so it was impossible to find out anything about him at all. I might drop a note via his publisher telling him about The Macaronis and perhaps inviting him to join. Although if he dees the review, he probably won't want to!!

I'm ok - got a bit of a sore throat this morning, and I hope it's only hay fever/run-downishness, rather than the pig-flu!!