| Mood: calm |
| Music: With You - Jessica Simpson |
It was so weird last night. I honestly thought it was Friday throughout the day and evening hours. I couldn't just get it into my head it was Thursday. I think its because all the shows are off for the year. I seem to schedule myself based on what television programs are on. I ventured out again today to pick up my pictures. Some of me and of my cats. I put a picture of my up in my profile. It won't show on my sidebar since I'm using a non-standard template. I might work on adding that myself later maybe. I think my going out more is screwing with my set schedule. I am really a homebody, and I don't go out all that much. Most of my days are spent at the computer working on stuff. I don't think I've got this month as much as I have in months. It's good for me though. I was too stuck in computer mode. Getting out is a good thing.
I actually almost came back to my blog last night when I read about the bit of controversy that came out regarding the RWA. If you're not sure what is in the works go on over to Jordan Summer's Blog and Alison Kent's Blog. I am not a member of the RWA, but I was in the process of getting ready to join within the next few months, and now I am re-thinking doing so because of the latest happening. The RWA is making it so it won't show objectionable covers or excepts with certain words used in them. From what I can see, they aren't even going to be willing or allow the linking to author's sites with this content on them. This would directly affect those in the erotic romance and gay fiction genres, plus any others that have covers or scenes with just a bit of heat in them.
The RWA has not come out and said if you have this content on your own site as an author they will not link to you from a chapter or national site, but it looks like things are headed in that direction. Which is bothersome to me because I would be one of the author's directly affected if this is the path the RWA decides to walk down. I am just one author, and my joining or not joining the RWA is not that huge of a deal in the grand scheme of things. I do write content that some might think would be objectionable. It is a sub-genre though that does have a good number of readers.
When I first read about the controversy last night, I was at first very angry, and my coming to my blog at that point and time might have been bad. I would have ranted, and a bit later I read a blog written by PBW that made a lot of sense to me, and it made me glad that I waited to write about this issue. What is the point in ranting? The RWA is going to do what it wants. Yes, we can voice our opinions, those in the RWA, and maybe something will change in the future. That is always possible.
Those in the erotic romance and gay fiction genre's have never had it easy. Both genre's are only recently gaining more popularity. There are readers, and there are writers. Both of which are growing in numbers by leaps and bounds. The genres will never totally disappear because there is enough of a base built up by writers and readers. There is a need for such stories told well by writers. Readers love to read it. Most of those that read gay fiction come from those readers of slash fan fiction, and being one of those that has read a good deal of slash and know a great deal of readers and writers of it, slash readers are picky. They don't want to read just any old story. They want a good story, well told, strong characters, believable plots, etc.
Erotic romance has it hard because those that see the erotic before the romance think they are about to read porn. That is usually the first thought that comes to their mind. Erotic romance is not porn. It is a story with a love story as its base, with some hotter than hell sex too. There has been so much controversy in recent weeks about erotic romance, and there is an erotic romance chapter of the RWA in the works as well. Check out Sylvia's blog for more on that if you're interested. This incident with the RWA does have some odd timing because of the erotic romance chapter being worked on. I know those behind it have decided to push onward with it, but it just seems if the RWA is making it difficult for those in the genre, it might be hard to get the chapter up. I hope that isn't the case.
I guess as writer's we need to keep an eye on the situation. It could change. Getting angry and ranting isn't going to change it though. The only way to change is to move forward, support those authors you enjoy in those genres, buy their books, make your voice if an opportunity does arise. We just need to continue moving forward.
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