Racism, Sue, and Suzan

Hello, Dear Readers, I am trying to get myself back into a blogging frame of mind. Not easy but I’m trying. Today, however, I am reblogging Teach Me Tonight‘s excellent post on the past and present racism of Sue Grimshaw and how she is perceived by people on both sides of the issue.

As Twitter filled with authors and readers wondering what possessed two separate small publishers to hire her as an acquisitions editor,  one, Jack’s House, let her go but the other, Glenfinnan, has doubled down on the insistence that Grimshaw is a Nice White Lady and not at all what so many people have the receipts for.

Glenfinnan’s CEO, Suzan Tisdale, even went live  to give us 12 cringe worthy minutes defending her bestie. This link will get you to the post. THen Teach Me Tonight posted her blog with some history of Grimshaw’s past behavior and a transcript of Tisdale’s defense including screenshots of people’s reactions posted on Twitter.

Racism and the Corporate Romance Buyer: a “little fiasco” involving Sue Grimshaw

Laura Vivanco

There’s been a lot of discussion about readers and publishers and who has the greatest role in blocking the publication of particular books/preventing them becoming a success. There’s also been discussion about how the RWA awards (which can help boost an author’s career) might be shaped by racism and homophobia.

Recently, another type of player has been under discussion: the corporate book buyer. In particular, Sue Grimshaw. In 2007, Grimshaw was interviewed at Dear Author and the importance of her role was explained: Link to post.

The next day Vivanco posted a second piece, Shaping Submissions via Omissions, which details how Glenfinnan’s submission requirements keeps any sort of diversity out.

Both posts provide a clear picture of the effect of a pattern of behavior that should no longer be socially, ethically, or morally acceptable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

04/15/2019

POEM

And what then,

once the centuries’ fierce crackle fades,

and at last the flames subside?

 

Only this:

to rebuild and mend what can be mended,

to remember and survive.

Brian Bilston

Holocaust Memorial Day

“What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again.”

Anne Frank (May 7, 1944)

Penguins

It’s Penguin Awareness Day.

Brian Bilston

They were sighted off the south-east coast,
drifting in towards the port;
their boat, a snapped-off block of ice,
melting slowly in the warmth.
 
By the docks, a crowd had formed itself;
mob-angry, it looked on.
Placards were thrust. A chant began:
GO BACK TO WHERE YOU’RE FROM.
 
‘They’re just economic migrants,’
declared a spokesman for the right.
‘They’ve come to rob us of our jobs.
It’s as clear as black and white.’
 
‘Tragic,’ said the Home Secretary,
mock-sadness suppressed his smirk.
‘We’d let them stay but here’s the rub –
they have no paperwork.’
 
‘They’ll undermine Our Way of Life!’
The warnings raged on Twitter.
‘They stink of fish.’ ‘They’ll rape your wife.’
‘There’s bombs beneath those flippers.’
 
‘PENGUIN CLAIMS “MY HOME IS MELTING!”’
The Sun printed in disgust.
‘But whose fault is THAT – except THEIR OWN?
What’s that to do with US?’

View original post 24 more words

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.  -John McCrae

 

Dorian

7/15/2018

“If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.”

Tyler

6/15/2018

“When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts.”-M B Eddy

The best “perennial” I ever found.

The Authors Guild and the Trademark Fracas

Author Kevin Kneupper brought this to my attention on Twitter yesterday. This post is an absolute must read for everyone because, sooner or later, we’ll encounter some misguided author who firmly believes s/he can to pull a Faleena over a word or title and we all end up watching another boozy video by someone who thinks eliminating all competition is the pathway to fame and the #1 spot on the NYT best seller list.

And since I invoked her name, Faleena has reluctantly settled and is withdrawing her trademark applications. She made a (mercifully short) video where she plays the martyr (does she ever not ) and wistfully murmurs about trying to protect her family, the Cockers, who are fictional) and how she was brutally attacked for doing so.

Refresh my memory, wasn’t she the one sending out fake cease and desist letters to indie authors using the word “cocky” in their titles? Wasn’t she the one who managed to get Amazon to remove books using “cocky”? Wasn’t she the one that applied for a TM for the word cocky in a specified font that wasn’t hers to TM? But she’s the victim, riiiight.

Anyway, go read it and save the link somewhere for when you encounter the next Faleena or Michael Scott Earle.

 

 

Felix the Railway Cat

On the first anniversary of its release Felix the Railway Cat has raised over $48,000 for Prostate Cancer UK. A remarkable cat indeed.

Available from Amazon in Kindle, hardcover, and paperback.

“When Felix arrived at Yorkshire’s Huddersfield Train Station as an eight-week-old kitten, no one knew just how important this little ball of fluff would become. Although she has a vital job to do as ‘Senior Pest Controller’, Felix is much more than just an employee of TransPennine Express. Felix changes lives in surprising ways.
She is always ready to leap into action and save the day: from bringing a boy with autism out of his shell to providing comfort to a runaway child shivering on the platform one night. So when tragedy hits the team at Huddersfield, it is only Felix who can pull them back together.
But a chance friendship with a commuter that she waits for her on the platform every morning finally gives Felix the recognition she deserves, catapulting her to international stardom . . .” Amazon