Seressia Glass: Blog Me

Seressia January 29th, 2008

As I was swimming through all the post-vacation emails, I saw the Romantic Times newsletter.  This little tidbit caught my eye:

“Also new to the agenda… Bertrice Small has rounded up her fellow historical romance buddies Roberta Gellis and Jennifer Blake to present a research workshop of a different kind — How to Use Historical Facts Without Crossing the Line Into Plagiarism. Bertrice feels it’s necessary for historical romance authors to know what’s acceptable and what is not when embellishing your fiction with historical facts.”

Other than the fact that the woman hardly ever attends events, I hope people will attend this workshop–and actually pay attention to what she has to say.

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Seressia January 29th, 2008

Just found out that my February anthology, WHAT WHITE BOYZ WANT, received 4.5 STARS from Romantic Times Magazine! I don’t have the issue just yet, but here’s what the review said:

“Five phenomenal authors collaborate on this collection of hot and steamy tales of interracial romance. It’s usually difficult to like every story in an anthology, so it’s refreshing to find so many well-written, engaging and entertaining stories. Not only do readers feel the characters’ energy, they also become one with the storyline.”

Happy back-from-cruising for me!

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Seressia January 28th, 2008

I am back from my cruise. It was great, but I am tired. Mercury’s retrograde has kicked my ass (already!) and I think I need to go hide until March…

Updates on the cruise when my brain allows.

EDIT: Some things I learned on my cruise:

1. Bottled water is your friend.
2. Escargot is best swallowed, not chewed. Better yet, put it on a bit of pumpernickel unless you like to overdose on butter.
3. Long Island Ice Tea and 3 tequila shots doesn’t make me tipsy but does give me a potty mouth. Apparently I was quite funny about it.
4. There’s nothing like lying on a beach beneath a palm tree and blue sky. Except lying on a beach beneath a palm tree and blue in Mexico when it’s sleeting in Atlanta and I have a guy named Natcho bringing me margaritas whenever I lift my hand.
5. Mixing MLK’s I Have a Dream speech with Pump up the Jam is just wrong.
6. Most night time events on the ship ended with the phrase “Let’s go to The Dungeon in self-defense.”
7. Cruising with a group of singles was not the awkward train wreck I thought. Goes to show what I know. Jennifer Whalen and the people at Singles Travel International know how to do it right, and we had a great time.
8. Yes, I’ll be writing a story about it.
9. No it won’t be based on actual events (who do you think I am?)

Continue Reading »

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Seressia January 23rd, 2008

Today the Smart Bitches posted a blog about the Reference and User Services Quarterly’s Romance 101 Core Collection. The article gives an excellent definition of romance and divides them into five categories: historical, Regency, contemporary, paranormal, and suspense. Each librarian writes an intro to her chosen category before listing 5 titles that should be in every romance collection.

African-American romance gets a mention:

Loosely defined as a romance set after World War II, contemporary romances often incorporate many of the aspects of other romance subgenres, such as African-American, paranormal, and suspense, and other genres, such as chick-lit, women’s fiction, and urban fiction.

And

African-American writers and characters also have an adaptive home in contemporary romance today, as do inspirational romance writers and their fans.

Unfortunately, no African-American romances made the list. I’m not really surprised by that. No category romances are listed in contemporary, and there aren’t any inspirationals either. However, they do mention author’s names in these other unrepresented categories. So why aren’t African-American romance authors named?

It’s entirely possible that these ladies haven’t read enough AA romance to make a determination on who’s the best and brightest of the genre. If not, I’d like to suggest a list of them to share. Maybe they can do a follow up article next month. There’s an email address on the article that I linked to (I’m not cool on publishing folk’s email addys without permission) if you’d like to email her directly.

But let’s blog about this and get the conversation started. Who do you think should go on an African-American Romance 101 list?

(I’m on vacation until Tuesday, but I’ll be sure to respond when I return!)

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Seressia January 21st, 2008

So, Dear Author posted a review of No Commitment Required today. I got a “B,” which delights me to no end. What I like about Dear Author and their reviews is the sheer amount of thought they put into them. If they don’t like something, they say why–and give an example. So I can’t be anything but thrilled that they reviewed my story.

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Seressia January 21st, 2008

Charity Silent Auction on Romantic Inks
(permission to forward granted)

Did Santa leave you cold? Romantic Inks has just the thing to warm you up!

RI is going to help send some lucky aspiring author to the 2008 RWA Conference and we’re looking for your support! For our Silent Auction we’re offering fabulous books including books from many genres, critiques from authors who will make your toes curl, web designs and even promotional space. Take a look at the list we have…

Romantic Inks Auction

Bidding begins January 20th! Please use the Bidding Form or if you do not wish to bid, we are accepting Donations.

Bid your max amount, and check back often. Your first name and last initial (example: Suzie B.) will appear beside the items you’ve bid on and are currently winning. Please read the terms and conditions of this auction.

Critiques: Click Item number for description.

Remember if you bid on a critique, you are responsible for sending it. Also, pay close attention to the listings requirements, each critique has different formats, page counts and genres that are acceptable.

* #30100–First chapter critique by Anna Campbell
o Current Winner:

* #30200–50 page critique by Sela Carsen
o Current Winner:

* #30300–First 3 Chapters Critique by Christine Diehm
o Current Winner:

* #30400–First 3 chapters w/ synopsis by Candice Hern
o Current Winner:

* #30500–First 50 pages including synopsis of Georgian or Regency by Kalen Hughes
o Current Winner:

* #30600–First 30 pg. critique by Toni McGee Causey
o Current Winner:

* #30700–First Chapter w/Synopsis Critique of Regency by Diane Gaston
o Current Winner:

* #30800–First 3 Chapters w/Synopsis Critique of Georgian/Regency by Nicola Cornick
o Current Winner:

* #30900–First chapter critique w/ synopsis by Christie Kelley
o Current Winner:

Books: Click Item number for description.

* #10101–Rare ARC of The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long
o Current Winner:

* #10102–Signed copy of Untouched by Anna Campbell
o Current Winner:

* #10103–Signed copy of Every Night I’m Yours (Debut Novel) by Christie Kelley
o Current Winner:

* #10104–Signed copy of Love & Lore by Sela Carsen
o Current Winner:

* #10105–Download of Not Quite Dead and Heart Of The Sea by Sela Carsen
o Current Winner:

* #10106–Signed copy of Scandal’s Daughter by Christine Wells
o Current Winner:

* #10107–Signed copy of For the Sheikh’s Pleasure and The Greek Tycoon’s Unexpected Wife (UK Edition) by Annie West
o Current Winner:

* #10108–Signed copy of Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks
o Current Winner:

* #10109–Signed ARC of Let Sleeping Rogues Lie by Sabrina Jeffries
o Current Winner:

* #10110–Signed copy of Unleashed and Infinite Worlds by Jennifer Colgan/Bernadette Gardner
o Current Winner:

* #10111–Signed complete set of Kimberly Logan’s books
o Current Winner:

* #10112–Signed ARC copy of Exotica by Eden Bradley
o Current Winner:

* #10113–Signed Set: Kiss From A Rogue, What An Earl Wants and Confessions of A Viscount by Shirley Karr
o Current Winner:

* #10114–Signed copy of Spying In High Heels by Gemma Halliday
o Current Winner:

* #10115–Signed Stillwater Trilogy by Brenda Novak
o Current Winner:

* #10116–Signed copy of Once Upon A Wedding and Too Wicked To Tame by Sophie Jordan
o Current Winner:

* #10117–Signed copy of Marked By Moonlight by Sharie Kohler
o Current Winner:

* #10118–Signed copy of A Kiss To Remember by Teresa Medeiros
o Current Winner:

* #10119–Signed copy of His Captive (Bonus coverflat and bookmark) by Diana Cosby
o Current Winner:

* #20120–Signed copy of Deceived and Lord of Scandal by Nicola Cornick
o Current Winner:

* #20121–Signed copy of Simon Says and Servant: The Awakening by Lori Foster/L.L. Foster
o Current Winner:

* #20122–Signed copy of The One That Got Away, Talk of the Ton, Pleasure for Pleasure and Desperate Duchesses by Eloisa James
o Current Winner:

* #20123–Downloads of Mating Call and Dragon Dance (books 1 and 2 of Dragon Queen Trilogy), A Rose Of Any Colour: Maledom (Anthology) and Dream By The Fire: Winter Magic (anthology) by Emily Ryan-Davis
o Current Winner:

* #20124–Downloads of The Cinderella Substitute, Be My Hero and Dangerous to Know by Nell Dixon
o Current Winner:

Website/Promotional: Click Item number for description.

* #40100–Domain and hosting package, complete with costume web design by Websong Designs
o Current Winner:

* #40200–Blog or MySpace design by Enchanted Web Designs
o Current Winner:

* #40300–Business Card Design by Enchanted Web Designs
o Current Winner:

* #40400–Author News space on Romancenovel.tv for ONE month
o Current Winner:

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Seressia January 20th, 2008

Is anyone else completely over the whole “Savage Gate” or “Mean Girls” thing?

I am, and yet I continue to watch it like porn. Even when it’s bad you still get something out of it.

I’m bewildered by people who think bloggers don’t have the right to blog. Or blog how they want to. For instance, Karen Scott’s blog is called, “It’s My Blog and I’ll Say What I Want To!” I think you pretty much know what you’re getting when you visit, and if you don’t, that makes you a “fucktard.”

Same with Candy and Sarah of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. If you can’t tell by the title what you’re in for, I’m not sure that kind of blissful ignorance can be overcome.

I’m bewildered by people who think agreeing with said bloggers makes one a fangirl. I’m too much of a flighty Gemini to be a fangirl of anyone. Oh, and I’m a grown-up, too. That means I’ve learned a few things over the course of my life, and some of them have actually stuck. Innocent until proven guilty is one of them. Looking at evidence and making up my own mind is another. Refraining from making stupid statements when all evidence points to the contrary is another. Visiting sites sure to up my blood pressure is stupid, that’s another.

Just because I learned a few things doesn’t mean that I actually enforce these lessons, because hey, I’m human.

I’m bewildered by people who take others to task for being snarky and using personal attacks by utilizing the very same methods. Can they not see the irony?

Still, I’m bewildered by people who say that there’s nothing wrong with plagiarism. True, there’s nothing illegal about plagiarism, unless the copied text is under copyright. It then becomes copyright infringement, which is a whole other animal I readily admit I’m not qualified to define or determine. (You can check out Teach Me Tonight or Dear Author for that.) But I do know copying somebody else’s work for my benefit is wrong. I learned that in elementary school, way before there was a Google or a Yahoo and the only Mac came with cheese or had a red-haired clown in a jumpsuit peddling burgers.

Anyway this is a rambling post, and I apologize. I just wanted to say that I’m going to attempt to stop focusing on other people’s careers and concentrate on my own. I got stories I need to write and stories I want to write, stories sold and stories I want to sell. Hard to get my shit done when I’m smelling someone else’s.

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Seressia January 12th, 2008

You know, with all the hullabaloo with Savage Gate, there’s been a lot of bandying about of the term “fair use.” You can check out fair use and copyright by visiting the site of the US Copyright Office. But here’s a good explanation from the US Copyright Office’s website:

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

See how I attributed the quote that I used for this non-commercial use of information? That’s an example of fair use. I used someone else’s words with attribution. You should also note that there’s no mention of “in a work of fiction” in the quote. Or anywhere else that I could find on the copyright site.

I know, that’s a lot of eye-glazing content to try to understand. But what I’ve gleaned from various sources is that fair use requires some sort of acknowledgment or attribution of the work used. Example, Vanilla Ice got into a lot of trouble for sampling Queen’s Under Pressure in his song Ice, Ice Baby.

To use someone’s work without acknowledgment of some sort is plagiarism. Without the attribution or acknowledgment, the “fair user” is by default claiming the work as his own. This isn’t necessarily copyright infringement, especially if it’s something that is too old to be protected and is now in the public domain. Check out plagiarism.org’s list of different types of plagiarism.

EXAMPLE:

Say I’m working on a historical romance in which my hero is a free man of color working the Underground Railroad and my heroine is a runaway slave who killed her master’s son. To get my story right, I need to do research into the Underground Railroad, slavery, and runaway slaves. In my research I uncover a first-person account by Frederick Douglass on the Internet. Can’t get much more sourced than that.

So as I’m reading this narrative, the words just touch me. Especially this part:

“I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember any thing. It was the first of a long series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a participant. It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass.”

Reading this, I realize it’s a powerful motivation for my heroine to not only kill her master, but to escape afterward. The words are powerful and give the reader a blunt picture of the realities of slavery. So I decide to use them.

My hero asks, “What made you kill him?”

“It was too much,” she replied, her voice thin. “I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. ”

She knotted her hands together. “The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin.”

Tears burned her eyes, tears of righteous anger. “I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember any thing. It was the first of a long series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a participant. It struck me with awful force. ” She stopped, swallowed. “It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass. With my very soul at stake.”

And my chapter continues. At no point in the story do I mention that Frederick Douglass wrote this in his autobiography either by inserting a footnote, an author’s note, or a bibliography at the end of my novel. I have taken Douglass’ words and put them in my heroine’s mouth as if they were my own creation.

People, this is plagiarism.

EDITED TO ADD: In the just about out Vegas Bites Back, my hero is a werewolf who met Frederick Douglass. At one point the heroine notices the copious stacks of books in the hero’s bedroom and asks him about them. He replies, “Frederick Douglass said, ‘Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.’ I took his words to heart.”

That’s how you attribute something you use word-for-word.

Is plagiarism illegal? Not necessarily. Douglass’ autobiography is of course more than a century old, and as such is in the public domain. Any student or scholar could quote parts of Douglass’ narrative in a research paper or other critique with no worry as long as they acknowledge the source. That’s fair use. Taking the narrative and creating a story about escaped slave Delilah Mae Reddick is plagiarism.

Not illegal, but definitely unethical. I’ve besically allowed people to think my book is composed of my words. My name’s the only one on it, after all. Fraud? Perhaps. Wrong? Abso-freakin’-lutely.

Perhaps there should be an Author’s Code of Ethics.

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Seressia January 11th, 2008

There are update, including the fact that mainstream media has taken up the story. The Smart Bitches created a handy .pdf of everything they’ve uncovered. I couldn’t get it to download, but maybe it’ll be back online tomorrow.

updated AP Article

Dear Author has a list of all their discussions, including emailed responses from Signet in their sidebar.

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Seressia January 10th, 2008

Romance novelist accused of lifting work - Yahoo! News

In the online version of Romanceland, this story began early Monday on the romance reader blog known as Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books when one of the bloggers gave a Cassie Edwards novel to a friend who wanted to get her feet wet in the genre. The friend noticed some peculiar passages that were lyrically dissimilar to the author’s voice in the majority of the book. So dissimilar that the reader Googled the dissonant passages and faster than you could say “Britney Spears needs help”, Savage-Gate began.

Bloggers added their comments. Author loops were a-titter. Silent authors were likened to giving tacit approval/support to the plagiarist. Another large romance reader site, Dear Author (which has a couple of law-savvy folks running it) posted an involved definition of what constitutes plagiarism (which can be different from copyright infringement)

In an email to Dear Author, Penguin denied that Ms. Edwards did anything wrong or plagiarized other works, saying that it was reasonable under “Fair Use” conventions.

Interestingly enough, AP contacted John Barrie, a plagiarism expert. He looked at the passages and agreed that the material was lifted. It looked like it to my uneducated eyes, and if the expert says so, well I gotta go with the dude who makes his living fighting plagiarism.

My opinion? Word-for-word copying of someone else’s work, whether it’s in copyright or not, fiction or reference, and passing it off as your own word is WRONG. Either rewrite the reference material so that it’s your own style, or give credit to the original author. Better yet, cover your assets and don’t use it at all.

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