Okay, beating a dying horse here. #amazonfail is now officially (because I declare it to be) #apologyfail.

Too many people are referring to Amazon's brief and only statement on this weekend's debacle as an "apology" when in truth, it is nothing more than an explanation of what went wrong. Some even go so far as to say WE should be apologizing to Amazon! This is kowtowing to corporate elitism of the highest magnitude. Yes, Amazon screwed up and had explained how it happened. But no, Amazon has not yet apologized for their mistake.

For me, it is too early to post a "post-mortem" on the entire affair. It isn't finished. Not till the apology comes.

Randy Pausch says a good apology consists of three things: 1) I'm sorry, 2) It was my fault, and 3) What can I do to make it better? Amazon has done only the second of those two, although they do imply they will make it better by not doing it again.

I'm a writer -- language is important to me. I want the words. I need to hear the words, "I'm sorry" come out of Jeff Bezos' mouth as he accepts that his company did 1) a lousy job of responding to this publically (they can learn from Dominos) and tells us what the company will do in the future to assure us such a thing won't happen again (and I don't mean giving away trade secrets as to the arcane world of coding, but the safeguards they will put in place so one person cannot hold so much power to wreak so much havoc).

Come on, Amazon -- an apology is what we're truly missing here. We've all learned from this episode. But before I can even entertain the thought of ever using your company again, I need to know I'm important to you.

Diana

By now I'm sure most of you are aware of the story of the Giant Bookseller Who Didn't Give a Rat's Ass. Yesteday I spent much of my evening watching the twits come in, hundreds at a time, as Twitter kept pounding against Amazon like relentless waves against the sea cliffs.

The metaphor is apt. Over and over people have asked for explanations, being given only two explanations that are far from similar: "it's policy" / "it's a glitch". The waves kept pounding, the rock of Amazon kept ignoring. In a world where information travels at nearly the speed of thought, this company that runs it's business at those same incredibly fast speeds -- just closed it's collective ears and turned it's behemoth back on authors, publishers, journalists, readers. This is never a good business decision. In fact, Kelley Eskridge has a great post explaining just why this is Bad Business Practice on so many levels.

In the meantime, the blogosphere has erupted with the same vehemence as the Twitter posts (#amazonfail is the hashtag to follow, although #glitchmyass is addictive as well). All day long people have hollered at the cliffs, first asking, then demanding, then pleading for some sort of answer as to the largest question of them all: Why?

Amazon has finally answered and truth to tell, the answer is sadly lacking. The reply is a bare three paragraphs with little information. The whole thing was an "accident" -- no one should take anything personally, or seriously for that matter. Just a little mistake. Go away and everything will be fine. Why do I think the White Cliffs of Dover just turned into the Wizard of Oz and we're all citizens of Munchkinland?

As of last night, all Amazon links have been removed from my website and will not return. While some Twitterers have wondered (sarcastically) what will happen to the brouhaha once Amazon apologizes (sorry, would link the tweets, but they are already lost in the waves of new tweets), the reality is, I will not go back. The trust is broken -- I cannot count on them to take care of matters in a timely matter, nor can I trust them to be honest with their clientele. While I think it's premature to predict this will lead to their downfall, the entire episode has lessons for us all about doing business in this instant-message age (again, see Kelly's post).

Join the conversation -- everyone else is! And btw, no...the rankings are not yet back for any of my books.

Play safe,
Diana

(edited to fix link)

I don't always agree with the Smart Bitches, in fact, sometimes they tick me off. But that's okay, 'cause that's their purpose in life and on the web: to keep the rest of us from becoming complacent -- about anything.

But when the gals are right, they're right. And so I provide this link to support their effort to add a phrase to the lexicon. In case you haven't heard...

Amazon has recently (yesterday) stripped all gay, lesbian, transgendered, erotica, romance and other "adult" content of their rankings, making all such books in these genre difficult to find on their site. No longer will such works containing any of the above be allowed to be on any bestseller list for Amazon. And yes, that means SECRET SUBMISSION is no longer on the Bestselling Erotica list -- because Amazon no longer has a Bestselling Erotica list. If they don't list it, it doesn't exist, you see.

And that's the worst of it. If you go to Amazon and type my name into the search bar? Only one of my books comes up (Getting What She Wants) and that's because they haven't realized Pocket books also published some erotica titles yet. Give it time. EVERY SINGLE OTHER BOOK OF MINE NO LONGER EXISTS AS FAR AS AMAZON IS CONCERNED.

So my website will be changing links as soon as my webmistress can get to them and will send people directly to the publisher for all print AND ebook copies. I will no longer support a business that doesn't want to acknowledge my work.

Be warned, Amazon is setting itself up as the morality police and censoring the search results. Please spread the word...if you're on Twitter #amazonfail is the tag. Link to the lexicon change and let's get this news out there!

Play safe,
a fuming Diana

Hello A/all!
After nearly a year of writing and a little tweaking, STRESS RELIEF is ready for release. Mark your calendars for April 17th to get my newest ebook from Ellora's Cave. Want a sneak peek? You can see the cover here and let me say, you're going to LOVE the colors! A big change from the dark past :). You want more? Okay, here's the blurb:
Meg Turner needs to relax. Between her job, her mother and the loss of a good Dom, she’s all wound up and needs a good flogging to relieve her tensions.
Rand Arthur is a busy man with a company to run. He doesn’t need commitments, but when his friend asks him to take Meg on as a new sub, he agrees, knowing there’s nothing that relieves stress like flogging a willing back.

But by the end of their first session, both see something in the other neither expected. And neither wants to change the rules of their relationship and risk losing it all.

Don't forget to vote for me as Best Writer at the Bondage Awards . You can vote once a day till Saturday, midnight. Thank you!

Oh! Did you know SECRET SUBMISSION has been on the Bestselling Erotica list at Amazon for nearly two months? I'm thrilled! If you're one of the one's responsible, thank you! And if you want the sequel, SUBMISSION REVEALED , you can check it out here.

More? You want more of my newest? If you insist...Here's a brief excerpt from STRESS RELIEF to help you through your day...

Prologue
The whip fell across soft white shoulders that had never done hard lifting or heavy labor. These were shoulders used by friends to cry on, shoulders that pushed nothing stronger than a pen, shoulders that carried little more weight than a heavy wool coat in winter.
But now the whip cracked across their whiteness, leaving a trail of raised skin behind, forcing a cry of pain from the woman who hung from chains by her wrists. The woman who gave her shoulders to another to abuse—and excite.
Her head see-sawed back and forth as second crack raised another welt across her shoulder blades. The penis-gag in her mouth gave her the freedom to scream as loudly as she wanted and she gave into the urge, channeling the pain out of her body through the use of her voice. Her muffled cries came out as moans as a third stroke left its mark on her unblemished skin.
With her legs cuffed to a spreader bar that, in turn, fastened to the floor, keeping her balance was out of the question. So was keeping her sanity. When a fourth and fifth blow followed in quick succession, she threw her head back and howled, the pain forcing a catharsis of all her pent-up stresses. Tears that never came easily coursed down her cheeks as her cries turned to sobs and the bottom of existence came up to hit her in the face.
All the troubles her friends had laid on her shoulders, all the issues with money, her parents’ divorce, all the problems facing the world came pouring out of her soul. Barely aware that her legs were released, Meg’s heart poured out all the poison she’d held inside for far too long in salt tears that striped her cheeks in sympathy with the stripes borne by her shoulders. Each crack of the rawhide whip pulled the pressures from her, and when Jack released her wrists, she collapsed into the strength of his arms as he lowered her to the floor and held her tight.


Remember, this book releases April 17th! Only a week to go (and a day, but whose counting? Okay, so I AM!!!)

Play safe,
Diana