IBE in Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Let me start off by first saying I really meant to have this up the day after the Indianapolis Black Expo had ended, however, my mean ole muse had other plans for me. I dare not think of anything else until she was finished with me. Any who, this year’s Summer Celebration was still filled with a full week of events leading up to the big weekend with a host of celebrities running around.

It was great to see Pooch Hall, Tweet, Yolanda Adams, Tocarra, and a few others in their respective locations. But, I was amazed they didn’t walk around to really see the actual exhibits. Maybe that’s just what celebrities do, I don’t know. It didn’t matter because my main focus was the authors’ area. Took me forever to find it being that it was shoved in the very back. The entire set up slightly resembled an assembly line. They weren’t laid out like the rest of the exhibits, just one table after another stacked up side by side and hidden behind two curtains

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While those authors located at the front of the line, yeah soror Omegia Keeys, received most of the attention and were pumped up, those at the end seemed less enthused. It would have been easy for me to attest their less than enthusiastic demeanor to their location but as I made my way down to speak with some I realized, no it was just them. Once again I had run into authors at an event who did not what to engage the reader. I had every intent on buying books, that’s what I was there for. Too bad they didn’t want to sell me any. As authors we must be approachable at all times at an event. Just because a person doesn’t buy that day doesn’t mean they never will or pass your information along. Needless to say I only walked out with books by my soror.

As I made my way out the back door of the building it was then that I noticed a sign that said author panels along with a list of times. Now, IBE, what the heck were you thinking? Why wasn’t the sign inside where the authors were? Or, how about an announcement during the day? You keep hollering out raffle ticket winners all day long so I know it could not have been too much of a bother. They surely knew upon placement of the sign that no one walked down that back hallway. I was a witness to that myself. Not a soul was out there.

Overall the Expo was okay but when it comes to your authors quit treating them like the bald headed step-child and do better! I am sure they paid money for those tables too. That’s just my two cents. Until next time.

Golden Pen

Author Spotlight with G.A. Hauser

 About the Author

Award-winning author G.A. Hauser was born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA and attended university in New York City. She moved to Seattle, Washington where she worked as a patrol officer with the Seattle Police Department. In early 2000 G.A. moved to Hertfordshire, England where she began her writing in earnest and published her first book, In the Shadow of Alexander. Now a full-time writer, G.A. has written over sixty novels, including several best-sellers of gay fiction and is an Honorary Board Member of Gay American Heroes for her support of the foundation. For more information on other books by G.A., visit the author at her official website. www.authorgahauser.com.

G.A. has won awards from All Romance eBooks for Best Author 2009, Best Novel 2008, Mile High, and Best Author 2008, Best Novel 2007, Secrets and Misdemeanors, Best Author 2007.

The G.A. Hauser Collection

Single Titles

Unnecessary Roughness

Hot Rod

Of Wolves and Men

The Order of Wolves

My Best Friend’s Boyfriend

Mr. Right

The Diamond Stud

The Hard Way

Games Men Play

Born to Please

Got Men?

Heart of Steele

All Man

Julian

Black Leather Phoenix

London, Bloody, London

In The Dark and What Should Never Be, Erotic Short

Stories

Mark and Sharon (formally titled A Question of Sex)

A Man’s Best Friend

It Takes a Man

The Physician and the Actor   

For Love and Money

The Kiss

Naked Dragon

Secrets and Misdemeanors

Capital Games

Giving Up the Ghost

To Have and To Hostage

Love you, Loveday

The Boy Next Door

When Adam Met Jack

Exposure

The Vampire and the Man-eater

Murphy's Hero

Mark Antonious deMontford

Prince of Servitude

Calling Dr Love

The Rape of St. Peter

The Wedding Planner

Going Deep

Double Trouble

Pirates

Miller's Tale

Vampire Nights

Teacher's Pet

In the Shadow of Alexander  

The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes   

The Action Series

Acting Naughty

Playing Dirty

Getting it in the End

Behaving Badly

Dripping Hot

Packing Heat

Being Screwed

Something Sexy

Going Wild

Men in Motion Series

Mile High

Cruising

Driving Hard

Leather Boys

Heroes Series

Man to Man

Two In Two Out

Top Men

G.A. Hauser

Writing as Amanda Winters

Sister Moonshine

Nothing Like Romance

Silent Reign

 Butterfly Suicide

Mutley’s Crew

Blurb for Of Wolves and Men

‘Cowboy’ Charlie Mosby worked on a horse ranch in Heber, Utah. He loved his work, the owners of the ranch, and his co-workers; wranglers who helped tourists with guided horse tours and trail riding all year round.

But after a chance meeting with a handsome gay man who had helped Charlie change a flat tire on Interstate 80 a month ago, Charlie was beginning to wonder about his sexuality. And if that wasn’t confusing enough, strange things were happening on the ranch. 

Satanic worship? A strange cult ritual? Whatever it was, it wasn’t good for the owners or the horses on it.

One night Charlie stumbles upon Roman Burk in the woods, naked, bleeding and shivering in the cold. What Charlie never imagined was who -or what- Roman was. Even though the handsome stranger seemed to vanish at times and reappear as if by magic, Charlie was infatuated by this man.

Roman was fearful of revealing his secret. Most of all to a cowboy who was spending more time hunting him, than loving him. 

In this shape-shifting story of sexual bonding and discovery, can both Charlie and Roman find what they’re looking for? It’s a question of honor; one that has been up for debate since the first time man set his eyes on this formidable predator. It’s about the mutual respect of Wolves and Men.

Up Close With G.A.

1.          What inspires you as a writer?

Everything and everyone. I get inspiration from situations regarding meeting Mr. Right, or individuals whose character is outstanding or quirky. I also hope to change the prevailing attitude in the world right now that gay marriage is wrong and same sex couples shouldn’t fall in love or be partners.

2.  When did you have that ah ha moment when you knew you were a writer?

I have always written stories for as long as I can recall. But I pursued art instead; painting , sculpting, and drawing to fulfill the creative side of me. Unfortunately fate didn’t have art in mind for me, she decided to give me writing to express myself instead. My Aha! moment came when I actually fell in with a decent publisher. 

3.  What is your writing process?

My novels are character driven. I allow my men to decide where and what to do. They already have their story in their minds, I just tell it.

4.  Tell us about your favorite character and why you chose to write about them?

Mark Antonious Richfield. Mark is a fabulously handsome model who is terribly flawed. I suppose Mark is always struggling to come to terms with his life, his past, his aging process. Perhaps there is a little bit of Mark in everyone, and certainly in me. But somehow Mark always manages to survive. He has become a fan favorite, and is in nearly a dozen of my novels, including the Action! Series.

5.  What are you currently working on?

I publish one book a month, so right now I am working on Happy Endings, but that is now a complete rough draft, so I am editing Down and Dirty which will be released in September.

6.  Any upcoming events?

Yes, I have a book signing at Book Soup in LA on August 13^th, and I am going to be at the West Hollywood Bookfair on October 1^st.

7.  If you could be anyone you like, who would you be?

My fictional character, Steve Miller. After all he gets to be with Mark Richfield.

8.  Do you have any advice for new writers and something that a seasoned vet can learn?

Never give up! Never give up! Never give up! (You get the idea)

9.   Where can your followers find you?

www.authorgahauser.com 
 http://gahausersblog.blogspot.com/

www.facebook.com/people/Ga-Hauser/1486624188

10.              Any last words?

I hope those of you who have never considered reading manlove romance will give one of my novels a try. They range from comedy to drama, and everything in between. I think many people would be surprised that women make up a large part of my readers. Nearly 70%.

Thank you for having me.

GA

Thank you so much for stopping by G.A.! Great insight from a seasoned vet. Be sure to leave a comment.

Do You Really Want to Be Published?

In a resent conversation with a fellow author, and dear friend, the topic of getting published came up. Yes, my friends know all conversations are fair game for my writing and blog. It seems my friend was upset because of a rude email she received from a publisher. Being the curious person I am I asked if I could see the email. What I read made me question her more than the publisher. The publisher in question simply stated for her to pay attention to the publishing guidelines prior to submission to them or any publisher. To further feed my curiosity I looked up the publishing guidelines on the publishers website. Clear as day it stated to submit the first three chapters of the manuscript and provided a simplistic form. What my friend sent was a note addressed as 'Dear Agent', information about needing to hurry up and find a publisher or else she would self publish, and several reviews. She even had the audacity to respond back to the publisher that their form was not in the lines of what she wanted to submit and they should in turn change their guidance. Now after that what the heck did she really expect from them?

Reality check time. Not all publishers want a query letter, especially one not addressed to them. Some publishers could care less about your reviews and certainly are not about to pick up the phone and call you based on them. Publishers want to see your work. Nicely put together work, preferably. Furthermore their guidelines are there for a reason. Arguing with them to change it to fit your specific wants is like a bulls eye indicating you will be more trouble than it's worth to publish. No one wants to deal with a bratty kid throwing a temper tantrum. If you want things your way then by all means self-publish then you will only have yourself to fuss at.

There are simple rules to follow when seeking a publisher. Do yourself and the publisher a favor and pay attention to their guidelines. Heck go a step further and Google Publisher Do's and Don't s, or Ways Not to Get Rejected. I did and it pulled up several pages with great tips. Some even had sample rejection letters.

Here are some of the top rejection reasons I found:

-Not following the submission guidelines
-Bugging the publisher about whether or not they have reviewed your manuscript
-Poorly submitted work
-Saying how many offers you have for your work
-Mentioning that you are the next (insert famous author name)




Bottom line if you expect to get published without following the rules, then are you really ready to be published in the first place?  

Until next time,

The Golden Pen