tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post6904050801503159941..comments2023-06-20T07:47:24.386-05:00Comments on The Spiced Tea Party: ErastesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-44974598190482044942007-11-07T05:07:00.000-05:002007-11-07T05:07:00.000-05:00Hmmm. Well, I haven't had any problems personally...Hmmm. Well, I haven't had any problems personally in marketing, because I've learned from other people's mistakes in that respect - one of my co-members of the collective I spoke about was treated very badly at the RT's convention due to her picture of a half naked man advertising m/m. She had to take it all down. There were a lot more risque pictures of naked men advertising Hetero romances but none of those were asked to be removed!<BR/><BR/>So I've never sent Standish to be reviewed by RT's as I know that they wouldn't review it. (even if I paid for advertising which then is supposed to ensure me a review - I wouldn't like to be ripped off like that)<BR/><BR/>I think they are being very short sighted, to be honest, but it's their choice. I have faith, things will change. There was a book written recently (I forget the name) by someone relatively well known in the Romance Genre who had a plot including a gay cop and RT's reviewed that, so we'll see.Erasteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02203293017233301227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-64033289243987206462007-11-06T18:26:00.000-05:002007-11-06T18:26:00.000-05:00Erastes, thanks so much for being here and answeri...Erastes, thanks so much for being here and answering questions. I'm asking a follow-up,-have you had any problems with any review sites or advertising venues such as Romantic Times regarding your genre?<BR/><BR/>and yes, falling off a horse 'now' huts a lot more than it did when I was a kid!Kate Pearcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079485861541059016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-73085698364454195292007-11-06T12:54:00.000-05:002007-11-06T12:54:00.000-05:00Hi JenniferThank you, glad you enjoyed it.Re marke...Hi Jennifer<BR/><BR/>Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.<BR/><BR/>Re marketing: You are very lucky that your publisher does some marketing for you! Mine is a little too small as yet, but next year they are going to Saints & Sinners - I wish I was.<BR/><BR/>I'm active, as active as I can be online without (I hope) making too much of a nuisance of myself. I am the Director of the Erotic Authors Association, and Moderate Speak Its Name which helps get the name known.<BR/><BR/>I also try and do as many short stories for anthologies too - I find this invaluable. The pay is rubbish - I get about $100 per story if I'm lucky but hopefully people read the stories, start recognizing the name and are then tempted to go and read the novel, or seek out the website. I always find it amazing when i see a writer has no online presence, it's vital in this day and age.<BR/><BR/>I blog on Livejournal regularly, a daily sort of chatty blog, but I cross post on writely type blogs such as wordpress and myspace. It all takes time that I could be writing in, but I do think that it's worth it.<BR/><BR/>I also belong to an advertising co-operative which has been a real boon - 50 m/m writers who have band ed together and by small monetary sums every month or so - we can afford national advertising in magazines such as MEN and Romantic Times, which would be way beyond my means in the normal course of things. I get at least a third of my hits from that source.<BR/><BR/>If I was in America I'd be a lot more active in conventions and that sort of thing but I haven't really looked into it here yet, although I certainly will be going to the Historical Novelists Society in York in 2008 as it's not too far to travel, and it's only one day. I can't wait to see their faces!!Erasteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02203293017233301227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-91227976403743314932007-11-06T10:12:00.000-05:002007-11-06T10:12:00.000-05:00Wonderful interview Erastes. I was nodding as I r...Wonderful interview Erastes. I was nodding as I read your comment on sex scenes and erotica "...they have to be is relevant to the progression of the plot and some erotic romance seems to be more about the sex and less about the characters or plot." I could not agree more!<BR/><BR/>My critique partner is published in erotica (I write historicals and works forwarding classic lit as you know) and she feels the same way regarding erotica and sex. (Our CP relationship is an odd combination but works...) <BR/><BR/>We have been discussing marketing and was wondering if you had any wise words? Granted our publishers do a lot to market our books, but authors can as well. What do you do? How do you drive traffic to your website? (.. besides the great snippets of sex ;)<BR/><BR/>JenniferJennifer Linforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13301074863198334749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-57624638597796980812007-11-06T06:38:00.000-05:002007-11-06T06:38:00.000-05:00Hi KateYes - I used to do it a bit myself when I w...Hi Kate<BR/><BR/>Yes - I used to do it a bit myself when I was younger and my mother couldn't bear to watch. I think I'd be too chicken to do it these days!Erasteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02203293017233301227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-26843827679104165502007-11-06T06:37:00.000-05:002007-11-06T06:37:00.000-05:00Hi PamI'm female - but when I started out I didn't...Hi Pam<BR/><BR/>I'm female - but when I started out I didn't have the first clue that m/m fiction was written and read by women and so I was writing for men you see. I didn't think that they'd want to read a book by some woman so I invented Erastes and well, now, I'm kind of stuck with him - but I think it's a fairly open secret that I'm not some old greek bloke. :)Erasteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02203293017233301227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-52735649481354943152007-11-06T06:35:00.000-05:002007-11-06T06:35:00.000-05:00Hi Jane - thank you!As for "why Regency?" It was a...Hi Jane - thank you!<BR/><BR/>As for "why Regency?" It was a period I knew a fair amount about - I have lived with Austen and Vanity Fair and all the Gothic Novels all of my life, so I felt comfortable there. I was wrong though, as I still had to do a shedload of research (and still got a couple of things wrong!)<BR/><BR/>As to "why English Civil War" - I rather wish I hadn't. It was my mother's idea, she was my greatest supporter, and she just said "Oh wouldn't it wonderful pathos to have lovers who end up on opposite sides" and I was stung hard by that idea and just had to write it. However, despite having friends in the ECW re-enactment society I found I knew just about zilcho about the period. And also it's a tricky period to research too!<BR/><BR/>There's a huge amount of information about the war itself - battles, uniforms, personalities etc etc etc. I could find out what so-and-so wore at what battle and what the blinking horse was called but the minutae needed to bring the period to life was hard to find - what did people eat? What did their houses look like? How much did they earn? Was a lot lot harder to resource. I ended up having to go to bricks and mortar libraries more than once! How Quaint!Erasteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02203293017233301227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-31368520867312782562007-11-04T15:23:00.000-05:002007-11-04T15:23:00.000-05:00Actually I love three-day eventing because I'm tot...Actually I love three-day eventing because I'm totally in awe of anyone who can make a horse do anything more complicated than the basics (like me) all those other disciplines are amazing!Kate Pearcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079485861541059016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-4356876483158339182007-11-03T18:45:00.000-05:002007-11-03T18:45:00.000-05:00Erastes,I'm enjoying the excerpts and love your pe...Erastes,<BR/>I'm enjoying the excerpts and love your penname. But -- sorry if this sounds naive or childish -- I'm confused by Kate's ambiguous use of pronouns. Are you a guy, a girl, or something in between? (I live in San Francisco, so I'm serious about the in between possibilities, physical and/or spiritual.)Pam Rosenthalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04357928783704661668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882241647734848746.post-25961867520045133952007-11-03T09:13:00.000-05:002007-11-03T09:13:00.000-05:00Hi Erastes,Great to have you here with us. I'm ver...Hi Erastes,<BR/>Great to have you here with us. I'm very interested to see that you have a book coming out set in the English Civil War period, because that's a period I have a hankering for too.<BR/><BR/>So why that period, and why the Regency?JRMullanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09385318200404516357noreply@blogger.com