Thursday, May 31, 2018

The #CockyGate Conundrum - Why Is She Doing This?

I have been following #cockygate since it broke.

I'm a long-time reader of Faleena Hopkins - I found her on KU when she released the second Werewolves of New York book and I had been reading her ever since up until Cocky Heart-Surgeon which I didn't read before #cockygate broke and now I probably never will.

I'm a long-time reader of Tara Crescent, ever since her Nights In Venice series, and have been honored to virtually meet her on Facebook through another author whom she co-writes with, and have chatted with her in groups and PMs often enough that she's one of the authors I've come to consider a friend. Caveat - I have no idea if she feels the same way about me =P But that's how I feel about her.

I'm an indie author.

And so, because of these three things, I have been heavily invested in watching #cockygate unfold. But I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about the question I keep seeing come up, over and over again, which is "Why is she doing this?"

That question is often followed by others - "Does she seriously see herself as the victim?"

I kept thinking to myself - This feels so familiar. Why does this feel so familiar? And it finally hit me today, when I was reading her blog post. I've seen all of this before. Recently.

It had nothing to do with books or publishing, it was actually a man - a friend at the time - who had made several women of mutual acquaintance feel harassed and unsafe in his presence. Many of us who were mutual friends tried to explain to him 1. why they felt harassed and 2. that just because he didn't MEAN for them to feel harassed didn't mean that he was falsely accused, and that it actually didn't matter that he didn't mean for them to feel harassed. That his response was to demand further contact with them so he couldn't explain why they shouldn't feel harassed was even more troubling to the rest of us, and he didn't understand that either.

Suffice to say, we're no longer friends, but even though these situations are vastly different, this morning I realized that they have a lot of similarities too.

He didn't see himself as the bad guy. In his head, the bad guy would have malicious intentions to do harm, to harass, to make someone else feel unsafe, and because his intention was NOT that, then he couldn't possibly have done anything wrong.

I feel like this can be applied to Faleena too. I honestly don't think she sees this as punitive to other authors. I think she DOES feel as though she has claim to the word. I think that she has been isolated enough from other indie authors that she hasn't seen first hand the amount of sharing and support within the community and that she views other authors with 'cocky' books as competition rather than compatriots or a support system. She doesn't think she's the bad guy, and because her intention is to protect herself, not necessarily to hurt others, it seems to her like she's being falsely accused and picked on for trying to create and protect her brand.

Everyone is the hero in their own story.

The problem is, there often comes a point in the heroes journey where he/she makes a mistake that needs to be rectified before the happily-ever-after can come. And instead of listening to the others who reached out to her, she interpreted anyone with a differing opinion from hers as attacking her or not understanding where she was coming from or as being against her. I'm sure she's received some truly awful private messages, I don't doubt that at all, but I also have no doubt that she's received quite a few from people saying "Hey, here's what the problem is, can you not do ______, can we talk about this?"and somehow those got lumped together on the "side of people against me"

Granted, it is not an easy thing she's being asked to do - she's being asked to realize and acknowledge that she's wrong. Not only that she's wrong, but that she's been wrong for months. That she was wrong to send C&Ds, wrong to contact Amazon about other authors' books, wrong to have trademarked the word cocky in the first place. There are so many steps that she would have to backtrack, so many points along the way where she's felt that what she's done is absolutely right, that I'm sure it is an incredibly difficult thing to realize, even more difficult to admit to after all the time she's spend defending her actions, and just as difficult to see - where do I go from here if I give this up?

At this point, I don't see her turning back. She's too wrapped up in her quest to see anything else, and that makes me incredibly sad for her. There were so many points where she could, and should, have turned back. Just like my male friend, she's going to keep losing people over this because she won't look at anything other than how SHE feels about it.

How to make someone realize? If anyone can figure that out, let me know.

I just know I won't be reading her books and I truly hope that her trademark for the word "Cocky" gets shut down because it's not just an overreach, it's an incredibly dangerous precedent - but these were just my thoughts on the question of "Why? Why is she doing this?" and that was something I hadn't really seen being addressed and for some reason I felt like writing a blog post about it.

Maybe because this week I've said multiple times that I really need to do more with this blog. At any rate, I use this blog to ramble sometimes and that's what I'm doing here. Not sure if it'll be of interest to anyone else, but honestly I feel a little better after typing all my thoughts out.

Let's all hope that June brings less drama <3

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

ARABELLA'S TAMING NOW AVAILABLE! 99c through June 5th!!!


She'll behave however she pleases...
Until Lord Hood has his say in the matter.
Arabella's Taming by Golden Angel is LIVE!!!

And it's JUST 99 PENNIES until June 5th!

GET YOUR COPY ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM:

Lady Arabella Windham, sister to the Duke of Manchester, has given up on ever
attracting the positive attention of Lord Thomas Hood. After discovering he still
sees her as the same hoydenish young woman she was in the past, no matter
her current perfectly ladylike behavior, and realizing she will never match up to
his infamous list of attributes for a wife, she throws caution to the wind
and becomes more reckless than ever.

Why bother being good if it's not going to even be noticed, much less acknowledged?

When her return to feckless and indiscreet behavior results in disgrace however,
it's Lord Thomas Hood who is caught up in the scandal with her. With a strong-willed
bride determined to make her new husband dance to her tune and a stubborn lord
determined to curb his new wife's imprudent ways, is a happily-ever-after e
ven possible?

Despite being part of a series, Arabella's Taming may
be read and enjoyed as a standalone.

CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE BRIDAL DISCIPLINE SERIES!!!

Philip's Rules
Upon marrying the Marquess of Dunbury, Cordelia Astley is relieved to be free of her past. Though
she accepts that her union is not one of love, she's grateful to her new husband and well suited to
him. All would be perfect but for her difficult stepdaughter, Gabrielle. What will become of the
Marquess's new bride and her demanding stepdaughter under his stern discipline?

Undisciplined
Gabrielle Astley is receiving her debut and finds herself drawn to the rakishly attractive Felix Hood,
her guardian's best friend, in her search for a husband. And though Felix is taken with both the
young woman and her smart mouth, he's quite certain he's not ready for marriage.

Gabrielle's Discipline
Wed to protect the bride's honor, it's their lovely country honeymoon that reveals to both Felix and
Gabrielle that they are, at the very least, a smart match behind closed doors. But when the couple
returns to London society, will Gabrielle's affections for her husband be spurned by his eyes for
her stepmother?

Lydia's Penance
The heavy-handed Duke of Manchester is falling for the desperate woman who trapped him into
marriage. And though he's tempted by his bride, he will not rest until he's discovered all of Lydia's
secrets.

Benedict's Commands
Merry widow Lady Christina Rowan realizes she's become far too emotionally attached to her lover,
the dashing Benedict Windham, but dismissing him proves more difficult than anticipated. Can
Benedict convince the Dowager-Marchioness of Stanhope to to once again have a lover that she
truly loves?


Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Bridal Discipline Review Blitz!

What do readers have to say about my Bridal Discipline Series? Check out some of these juicy tidbits...

This regency series isn't for the faint of heart!
Prepare yourself for some super-sexy correction with The Bridal Discipline Series!
AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE!!!

"Beautifully written, erotic, and a couple that has and underlying love and respect for one another." -Kindle Reviewer

Philip's Rules
Upon marrying the Marquess of Dunbury, Cordelia Astley is relieved to be free of her past. Though she accepts that her union is not one of love, she's grateful to her new husband and well suited to him. All would be perfect but for her difficult stepdaughter, Gabrielle. What will become of the Marquess's new bride and her demanding stepdaughter under his stern discipline?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Funny, romantic and touching." -Kelly R., Amazon reviewer

Undisciplined
Gabrielle Astley is receiving her debut and finds herself drawn to the rakishly attractive Felix Hood, her guardian's best friend, in her search for a husband. And though Felix is taken with both the young woman and her smart mouth, he's quite certain he's not ready for marriage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No one does Victorian domestic discipline like Golden Angel. Fun, angst, handsome rakes turned to passionate, doting husbands intent on capturing their wives' hearts in any way they can--including delicious spankings!" -H.L. Savino, Amazon Reviewer and Romance Author 
Gabrielle's Discipline
Wed to protect the bride's honor, it's their lovely country honeymoon that reveals to both Felix and Gabrielle that they are, at the very least, a smart match behind closed doors. But when the couple returns to London society, will Gabrielle's affections for her husband be spurned by his eyes for her stepmother?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The romance is loving, the erotic scenes sizzling and strictly for the daring." -Cajunlez55, Amazon Reviewer

Lydia's Penance
The heavy-handed Duke of Manchester is falling for the desperate woman who trapped him into marriage. And though he's tempted by his bride, he will not rest until he's discovered all of Lydia's secrets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"As usual, you will find a beautiful heroine and a stern but loving hero who together will burn up the sheets." -Barbara Evans, Amazon Reviewer

Benedict's Commands
Merry widow Lady Christina Rowan realizes she's become far too emotionally attached to her lover, the dashing Benedict Windham, but dismissing him proves more difficult than anticipated. Can Benedict convince the Dowager-Marchioness of Stanhope to to once again have a lover that she truly loves?



Find Me Online!
BookBub → http://bit.ly/2G68e3O
Goodreads → http://bit.ly/2rt4rdL
Facebook → http://bit.ly/2Ds7c0e



Website → http://bit.ly/2wczWv7

Friday, May 11, 2018

Arabella's Taming, Coming Soon- 99c Pre-order sale for a limited time!


If it doesn't count, why bother being good?
Arabella's Taming by Golden Angel will be here May 29th!! 99c through June 5th!
FOLLOW ANGEL FOR RELEASE ALERTS → http://bit.ly/2G68e3O


BLURB:
Lady Arabella Windham, sister to the Duke of Manchester, has given up on ever attracting the positive attention of Lord Thomas Hood. After discovering he still sees her as the same hoydenish young woman she was in the past, no matter her current perfectly ladylike behavior, and realizing she will never match up to his infamous list of attributes for a wife, she throws caution to the wind and becomes more reckless than ever.
Why bother being good if it's not going to even be noticed, much less acknowledged?
When her return to feckless and indiscreet behavior results in disgrace however, it's Lord Thomas Hood who is caught up in the scandal with her. With a strong-willed bride determined to make her new husband dance to her tune and a stubborn lord determined to curb his new wife's imprudent ways, is a happily-ever-after even possible?
Despite being part of a series, Arabella's Taming may be read and enjoyed as a standalone.




Find Angel Online!
BookBub → http://bit.ly/2G68e3O
Goodreads → http://bit.ly/2rt4rdL
Facebook → http://bit.ly/2Ds7c0e

Website → http://bit.ly/2wczWv7