I've been a little quiet here, of late...you may be asking why. I do have reasons!

In the past two weeks, I've managed to complete and send to my editor not one, not two, but THREE stories...two novellas and a Quickie. Yes, I know, I haven't had a new release since October, 2005 (that was seven months ago -- an eternity in reader's minds), but I really have been working!

Two of the three are now in edits (one novella and the Quickie). It's my hope that I can get the Quickie turned around quickly and out by the end of July-ish. Don't quote me on that...in my little world, however, everything goes smoothly and there are no glitches or emergencies that take me away from writing.

Not that the Romantic Times conference that starts today (I'll arrive there tomorrow afternoon) is a glitch or an emergency! It will take me away from writing, but to be honest, I'll welcome the chance to recharge my batteries and meet friendly faces. I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones...and getting my picture with a model or two!

No, I'm not releasing titles just yet. :) Not trying to be a tease, but I want these babies done before I celebrate. I will tell you one of the novellas definitely comes out in November and is a part of the Winter Studs stories that Ruth Kerce, Ruby Storm and I have put together for you. But the other two? I'll announce those in a few weeks...after I've finished edits. And I'll include excerpts then, too!

(Yes, I know that those of you who are determined will do a little detective work and figure out which stories are forthcoming...solving a little mystery is a good way to keep the mind young! Go ahead and post your guesses here. First one to get either story's title correct will win a small prize. Chocolate is always good. LOL)

If I can get a good Internet connection at the hotel in Daytona Beach, you can count on posts to keep you up-to-date on all the doings. My plane leaves home at 6:05 AM (yes, that means I need to be to the airport between 4-4:30 in the morning) with a layover in Atlanta. I should get to Daytona around 11:00 am and to the hotel shortly after that.

For those who are already there...make room at the bar!
For those who are coming...see you soon!
For those who will not be there...I'll send reports as often as I can!

Play safe,
Diana

There has been some discussion in the blogsphere lately concerning the honesty of reviewers. Sybil, at Romancing the Blog posed the question: Would an author prefer 5 glowing reviews or 15 honest ones that were all over the board? I answered there, but then had some more thoughts.

First off, my personal preference is 15 honest reviews all over the board. Okay...my ego loves the glowing reviews. They make me think I'm the hottest writer since F. Scott Fitzgerald. They make me feel good and encourage me to keep writing.

But I also know that my particular kink in the sexual portions of my romances, tends not to be everyone's cup of tea. BDSM isn't for everyone. In fact, I have to admit a sort of perverse satisfaction to writing out of the mainstream. I like being different and on the edge (or is that fringe?). When I started at Ellora's Cave three years ago, there were only three BDSM books. Although BDSM is becoming much more popular as a separate genre (a fact that will push me in a different direction at some point), it still isn't for everyone.

Now, if a reviewer hasn't read much (or any!) romances with a BDSM twist and they pick up one of mine as their first attempt...then I deserve whatever they give me. THAT's an honest review. Either they'll love it or hate it. I'm afraid I've seen very little in the middle.

But if a reviewer has a pre-formed prejudice against BDSM? Then please, please, please! Don't bother reading (and trashing) my book! If you've formed an opinion before you've even cracked the spine of the book, then what's the point? Just to be mean? Just to lash out at a kink you don't like? THAT ticks me off. Those are the only reviews I ignore. If you don't like the genre, don't read it.

Of course, this begs the question: what's the difference between a review and a critique? Which would readers rather read?

Play safe,
Diana

I can't believe the RT Convention is just around the corner! Thought I'd post my schedule here so all who want to find me...can. I'm looking forward to meeting so many of you who are only email addresses to me at this point. Putting faces with names is so much more fun!

So...

Wednesday, May 17th

My flight gets into Daytona around 10:30 am, so I expect to have registered at the hotel, signed in at the conference, put out promo stuff on Promotion Lane and still make the luncheon with Waldenbooks at noon. Okay, so I like my dream world. Think positive!

The afternoon's schedule is a bit flimsy...figure whatever I didn't get to do before lunch, I'll do after. But at 9:00 at night...you know I'll be at the EC Fantasy Party! Best party of the week! There will be cover models (of course), fun prizes (anyone here as into scrapbooking as I am? I'm supplying one of the doorprizes: a craft carrier filled with scrapbooking supplies...and one of my books, of course!). I expect this day may last into the next...

Thursday, May 18th

10:00 am -- Sorry, I'll be unavailable for a little while this morning...I'll be attending EC's business meeting. But when we're done, I hope to have some juicy news for everyone! Stay tuned...I'll be blogging from the convention floor (if they have wireless) and from my room (if they don't).

But by 3:00...catch me at Club RT (formerly the Hospitality Suite). Stop by and chat...enter to win another great gift...don't leave me at my table all by myself!

And of course, that night is the Vampires of the Caribbean party...watch out for those fangs!

Friday, May 19th

I'll be in Club RT earlier today...11:00 am. Just late enough to allow me to sleep in a bit (I think I may need to!). I should mention I'll be hanging out at the Club quite a bit beyond my scheduled times. Not sure if EC will have a separate table again this year, but if they do, I'll be there as well. Be sure to stop by!

Now in between all these parties, there IS work to be done...workshops to attend, people to meet, Promotion Lane to restock. So if you see me in the halls, or on the elevator, be sure to stop and say hey!

Saturday, May 20th

The big Booklover's Convention. Three hundred romance writers in one huge room. Ah, the madness! The rush! The wonder! If you've never been, it's quite the experience. Theoretically, authors are arranged alphabetically, but I've never seen it completely accurate. So look around...I'll be there, pen in hand and ready to sign. It opens at 10:30 for registered conference attendees and at 11:00 opens to the public. We're there till 3:00 pm...and I love the hustle, bustle and general chaos. Bring me a waterbottle and I'll love you forever!

Sunday, May 21st

Alas, all good things must draw to an end. My flight for home leaves Daytona around 10:00 am...so I'll be up and out early this morning, with memories and smiles...and lots and lots of books collected over the week.

So, I hope to see you there...till then,

Play safe!
Diana

I'd like to send out a special thank you to two great writing pals, Ruby Storm and Ruth Kerce. We were put together two years ago to write a Valentine's Day anthology for Ellora's Cave. Up until that point, we had never had a conversation with each other, let alone written together.

But Fate, God or Inspiration was at work the day EC assigned the three of us to work together. Writing Diamond Studs with them was tremendous fun...and the contests we've held together (mostly designed by Ruth...I just ride her technological coattails) set new records for entries.

Because we had so much fun the first time around, we're writing stories together again. Winter Studs will be our next endeavor and although each story will be released in ebook form separately (as it stands now), the print stories will be bound together in one volume for release later.

So why the thank you to Ruth and Ruby? Over the past two years we've become great online friends. Although I've met Ruby only twice and Ruth not at all in person, I count the two as special friends and just needed to let them know their support and encouragement is appreciated. So Ruth and Ruby...listen up, Stud-dettes! {{{{Hugs}}} and thank you!

And if you haven't read any of their work? Head on over to their sites and take a peek...you'll be glad you did!

Ruby Storm Ruth D. Kerce

Play safe,
Diana

I feel so much like I've been spinning my wheels these past few months when it comes to writing stories. So many started...and so few finished. The story for Lady Jaided had the first deadline, but it took three starts to find the one that stuck. The story for WINTER STUDS ... a new anthology of STUD stories from Ruby Storm, Ruth Kerce and me is now half done (and is supposed to be submitted by March 31st...sigh). I have so many started, I finally wrote them down:

Frankenstein's Captain (formerly the "Lady Jaided story"-- now complete and actually in my editor's in-box!)

12 Days of Christmas (a semi-whimsical/semi-serious look at bondage throughout the last 2 1/2 centuries, tracing bondage toys passed from generation to generation, each chapter a new generation and a new addition to the collection. I got to day four and realized it's going to be HUGE...a plus novel for sure!)

The Smith Opera House Mysteries (murder-mystery type with romance aplenty. Set in the Smith Opera House in Geneva, NY, taking full advantage of my love of theatre. I've performed on that stage a few times and it's the perfect setting for ghosts, murder...and love. One of the stories is almost half done, the other just started. Will be at least two books. If I ever get the time to write them!)

A Devil of a Winter (for the WINTER STUDS anthology...is half done).

Those are the ones I've been working on since October. So when I look back, I can see I've been busy. But since so little is actually finished...I'm a bit frustrated. And that's not even including other stories I've got floating around in limbo:

New York Oasis (originally written for EC's 2006 anthology series, now under consideration as an independent novella. Finished, but needs massive rewrites as I'm rethinking the characters somewhat)

Diamond Heat (actually, my first attempt for the DIAMOND STUDS anth. but I like it and would like to get back to it someday)

and a bunch of others not far enough along to be considered. Can you blame me? I think I've enough above to deal with. The others will just have to wait their turns! LOL

So if you want to know what's coming from the pen of Diana Hunter? One, some or all of the above!

Off to write (Devil in Winter has my attention at the moment...)

Play safe,
Diana

Oh, my glory, you have GOT to be kidding! I found this site today and cannot believe my eyes. Not sure whether to laugh, cry...or be insulted. It's disturbing on so many levels, I'm not even sure where to begin! And yet, it provided me with a good belly-laugh...something I sorely needed.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

Diana, who should spend more time writing and less time surfing!

Great news for the ebook community! Thought I'd just post this link to the Business Week article about the newest ebook readers. The E Ink sounds particularly fascinating. I love the smell of real books with pages and ink, don't get me wrong. Honest books that I can hold in my hand and feel the paper under my fingertips still have a place in my heart...and my hands. But there is a definite appeal to these new readers. Especially if you're a college student with a ton of books to carry around. Why not drop a Diana Hunter erotic romance in the middle of your science and math texts?

Just remember...play safe!
Diana

Warning...I'm getting on my soapbox. Beware!

By now, some of you already know that Lady Jaided magazine has been put on hold. Jaid gives her reasons, among which is: " the grim reality that all the major distributors think we’re too shocking for bookstore shelves...". It is this I intend to rant about. You've been warned. Twice.

I love men. Those who read my books know I respect and adore them. If given the choice between spending an evening with either a group of men I don't know or a group of women I don't know...I'll take the men every time. On an individual basis, men are incredibly fascinating.

So understand I make these statements not out of some man-hating extreme...but out of anger for a male-dominated industry that will allow (and distribute!) porn magazines like Playboy and Hustler (to name two of the tamer ones), but will not distribute a hot, sexy magazine for women. Sure, Playgirl gets distribution...because its porn. Lady Jaided isn't porn...it's down-and-sometimes dirty articles about female sexuality told in what, apparently, is a non-politically correct way.

Maybe that's the core issue here. Women's magazines fall into several categories: the self-help, the decorating, and the bridal. All of them are tasteful and restrained...what ladies are supposed to be. Not one of them is wild and abandoned. Not one of them is frank and sassy. Some of them started out that way, but lost that edge in their need to conform in order to be distributed. Exactly what Jaid says in her letter she won't do. Good for you, Jaid!

In the interest of full disclosure here, I do need to mention I had a story (3-part novella) under consideration for publication with Lady Jaided. I'll find somewhere else to place the story. That's not a concern for me. What is a concern is the attempt to muffle women once again. Heaven forbid we should speak out on topics that interest us using the tone and the words we want to use! THAT's what's ticking me off right now.

What can be done? Raise a stink at your local magazine kiosk. Tell them you want Lady Jaided and tell them to tell their distributors you want it. Call your local distributor, or better yet, put it in writing and let them know where you stand. Blog about it. Raise your voice. Do not go silently into that dim night...where women, apparently, belong.

You were warned. I'm ticked off...and am not going to keep quiet about it.

Play safe,
Diana

Sorry folks, just a little technical playing around here for a bit. Am posting some HTML code in this post to see if I can get technorati.com to finally admit I (and my blog) exist. Here's the tag:

diana hunter


Thanks for your patience, and play safe,
Diana

Valentine's Day...a day made for romance. For lovers and hearts and flowers and happily-ever-after endings...a day made for the dreamers and optimists among us. Ya gotta love a holiday that no one gets off from work, yet everyone likes to celebrate. A non-denominational day that just says, "Love is important."

And so it is.

May you love and be loved in return...

Diana

I started this year with only one story in my head...and stress in my stomach. For the past two Januarys, I've had a book somewhere in the pipeline. A sure-fire release that would assure me of at least one book for the year.

This year, I began with only the story for Lady Jaided...and dumped it partway through the month to begin another (see previous posts). Ruby Storm, Ruth Kerce and I have been burning up the cyber highways with emails concerning our newest venture together, but at the beginning of January, we hadn't yet presented it to anyone to see if it would even get off the ground, much less fly.

So one story...and stress galore. Can one consider one's self a writer if there is nothing on paper worth looking at? Was I all dried up? Would I ever release another book?

Now it is February...and the story for Lady Jaided is almost complete, our Winter Studs anthology has gotten a green light, and I have not one, but TWO abandoned manuscripts that will make excellent stand-along books once my other commitments are complete. Ah, life is good!

I know, I know...stop talking and get back to writing...

Play safe,
Diana

OH! For those who have asked...there is no movement on the Ebay/Secret Submission front. The book is available in print via other avenues (Amazon and direct order at Ellora's Cave), but Ebay remains firm.

Ya gotta love it when a story practically writes itself. To go back...

I'm working on a three-part novella for consideration by Lady Jaided magazine. Started at the end of October with one story...when it didn't go anywhere after a week, I set it aside and started another.

Worked on that one right through December and into the first week of January. Wrote 11 thousand words...that's two-thirds of the novella. Decided it wasn't sexy enough, nor paranormal enough for the magazine. Set it aside.

Now in between these two stories, I also started one for EC's Christmas bonanza. But when that got to 10 thousand words and I was only half done, I knew it needed to be it's own stand alone novel. But since I didn't really have time to write one of those AND get the novella done for the magazine...I set it aside.

My deadline looms. I need to have an erotic paranormal with my signature BDSM twist by the first of March. It's the second week of January. What do I do? Why, start another story, of course!

THIS one sticks. Today I have a terrible cold. Can't stop sneezing, so I'm spreading my germs all over the place. Decided since I'm worthless at doing anything physical, I'll write. As of this morning, the first section of the novella was done, the second barely started. Usually I have time enough in a day to write about a thousand words. But being ill today, I set aside all my normal activities.

Are you ready for this? I think I broke my record. Today I wrote FOUR thousand, one hundred and sixteen words to this sucker! The stars were in their right places today! Finished the rough draft of the entire second section of the story. My fingers were flying!!!

And now I'm exhausted. Feel like I've run a marathon. Gonna take my sniffly nose and my sneezing to bed...

Play safe!
Diana

added: The story referred to in the last post? Set aside!

It's amazing what a few weeks vacation will do for one! I just sat down this morning and wrote ten pages for the novella I'm submitting to Lady Jaided magazine. Ten pages! Because I write only part time, that's a lot for me. I love it! Wish I could do it all the time.

Have a great and safe New Year tonight...and if you play...Play Safe!

Diana

For the past two weeks I've been doing something I haven't done in two years...taking a vacation. Yes, you read that right. While I've gone away with family for weeks at a time, my trusty laptop has always gone with me. This time, however, I haven't gone anywhere...but I haven't written either. This has been the longest spell away from writing that I've taken since Ellora's Cave first accepted Secret Submission. It was needed, believe me.

There are always so many plots and characters vying for my attention, that taking time away from them has been unthinkable. I don't want to lose any of them who might pay a short visit before the Muses pull him or her away and give her or him to someone else. But I've found it difficult to focus these past few months, ever since Cabin Fever was put to bed. In the past 12 weeks I've started and abandoned no fewer than six stories. SIX! And not just a few paragraphs...I've written between 2 and 6K on some of these. Enough to start developing character and plot...enough to introduce conflict and desire!

And yet, each one loses focus...or at least, I lose focus and then the story stops spinning. So I decided, with the holidays approaching, that I would take some time off. Walk away and refresh. And that's exactly what I've been doing. Just enjoying my family, enjoying the bright lights, the shopping and the bustle, the quiet and the scents of church. Just enjoying life.

Today I went so far as to boot up my laptop. It still works. I love the Myst games and got both Myst V for Christmas as well as the soundtrack to the original Myst. While I answered emails and took care of business on the family computer, I listened to the sounds of Myst on my laptop. Didn't write...but have spent several hours today in someone else's world...puzzling out their secrets and learning their culture. Makes me think a fantasy of my own is in my future....

Rest assured, I am not stopping my writing career. I'm having way too much fun to stop. But this time was needed to "sharpen the saw" (thank you Stephen Covey!). Very soon I shall pick up that laptop, sort through the various beginnings I have vomited into files and see if there isn't something there that can be salvaged. If not, I'll start anew. Sort of fitting...a new year...and a new story.

Play safe,
Diana

PS. Ruth won first place in Annie's poll...congrats writing pardner! You're the greatest!!!

And I'm third, for those who wanted to know....LOL... I'll take the bronze!

Wow! If you haven't seen Anne's Page, you need to take a look. She's a great fan of Ellora's Cave books (and others), and next week she's running a poll just for fun. I'm torn, however. While it would do my ego good to see me place in the top three, I really want Ruth Kerce to place first...she's an incredible author and a good friend. Too bad Ruby Storm isn't on the same list...or maybe that's a good thing. The three of us wrote DIAMOND STUDS together and have become great online pals ever since.

You'll note there are now a few links in the sidebar. Sooner or later I'll figure out how to put headings for them, but for now they're just listed with one blog under my own and EC's webpage. I'll get Lauren Dane's and Anne's links up soon. Blog on!

Off to see King Kong...
Diana

I have been playing around with this blog's formatting...trying to add a counter (not successful) and trying to add a set of links along the side (moderate success there). I do not "speak" HTML, but in order to change the look or accoutrements of the blog, it is into the code I must wander.

And wander is a good word for what I do when I get there. "Code," according to Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (my favorite edition, copyright 1963) means "a system of words or other symbols arbitrarily used to represent words." I like that word: arbitrarily. It seems so...appropriate. For to me, HTML (HyperText Markup Language, in case you were wondering), is a code in the truest sense of the word. You cannot just read it, you must first understand what each of the signs, symbols and words stand for. User friendly, it ain't.

I love technology. I love the gadgets and gizmos and the ease. Point and click technology is the best thing since sliced bread. And I chose www.blogger.com to host my blog precisely because they have templates and I don't have to do much other than type. But then one looks about and sees all the toys on other people's blogs (if you haven't seen Lauren Dane's, you're missing a real treat) and one wants all that, too!

But "all that" requires HTML knowledge. Sigh. So I've been trying...mostly by trial and error. So if the blog on occasion looks odd, or things don't point quite to the site I meant it to, please bear with me. I added a set of links along the side today and at the bottom of the page, I added a link to a place that will show you who links to my blog. Except the link at the bottom is pointing to someone else's stats...and you have to put my name in the search on the top.

Dinner is ready...and I must go. Life calls. Please forgive the wierdness and check back again later. Perhaps the HTML fairy will have visited and fixed it all.

Play safe,
Diana

PS. Okay, I successfully moved the "who links to me" link to the sidebar (Yay for me!) and it now points to me, and not some other dude (whew!). Off to try and limit the archive list that seems inordinately long....

Curiouser and curiouser...

There are times I definitely understand Alice. This is one of them.

Exposition: Ebay tells Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc, that it can no longer carry Secret Submission on EC's ebay store. Reason? Near as I can tell, the book should be listed in the Mature Audiences section of the site, not the General Public section. Will set aside discussion on that at the moment and continue...

Rising action (or complication): A few moments ago, I happened to be checking other online booksellers to see how many of the eight books I've written (and published with Ellora's Cave) each of them carry. None carry all eight. Borders (and hence, Amazon, since the search is one and the same) carries five of them; Barnes and Noble carries four.

Out of curiousity, I went to Ebay's homepage and checked the listing for Diana Hunter; books. Imagine my surprise when I found FOUR booksellers selling the same book the publisher of the book had been told NOT to sell! Check the search results yourself! (for the record, I am not Regine Sands and we have never met, and I am not the author of The Ritalin Free Child...although her book looks quite good.)

As Artie Johnson used to say, "Verrrry interesting....but stoopid!"

Climax and denoument to come...

Play safe,
Diana

It's official...I'm going to attend the Romantic Times Conference in May. Just bought my airline tickets and registered for the conference.

I need to say a public thank you to my husband here. Making reservations and trying to decide between this flight or that one and waiting through the load-in times as I change from one to another trying to find the best deal...gives me a gigantic headache. After ten minutes, the numbers start to blur and I just want to take the computer monitor and send it through the window. Especially when I find the flights I want and then get the, "I'm sorry, we cannot process your flight at the moment. Try again on Tuesday when the moon is full and Mars descends to Earth."

Okay, so I'm being a bit sarcastic. The error message isn't nearly so mythic. I'm a bit cranky and out of patience. So Thank You, honey! You found flights that get me where I need to be with a minimum of fuss. So come on, May! I'm ready to party in Daytona Beach!

Been working hard...am trying to write a book in a month. It's not a new concept, although I've never tried it before. Hope I end up with decent material! Won't give any spoilers just yet...it's only the 12th and there are still 2 1/2 weeks to the month...anything could happen!

Off to watch the second half of Return of the King...I love Tolkien and enjoy Peter Jackson's movies. Yes, I own the extended edition. Yes, I've watched every single extra on the DVD...not only for this movie, but for all three. Yes, that makes me a Tolkien geek...and I'm proud of it!

Till later, play safe,
Diana

Update on the Ebay banning...Secret Submission is still banned. Not my other books, however. It appears it was definitely removed because of a complaint. Wish I could figure out the exact policy. How many complaints about material does it take for them to remove it? And is it permanently removed or does the publisher (in this case) have the right to ask them to reconsider?

So many questions...and not many answers. Thank you to all of you who have written me or commented here on this matter. I wish I had more information for you. The best I have is that Ebay considers the book "misfiled"...it should be under their Mature Audiences section of their site. Guess I really don't have a problem with that...but then why aren't ALL the books there? Is that a better placement for them? At the moment, it appears to be a rather selective and subjective application of their code.

I've decided I cannot let it get to me. EC is looking into it from a legal standpoint and I'm going to wait to see what happens on that end. In the meantime, I'm going to continue writing hot, sexy romances (okay, I never stopped ) . And I'm going to continue playing around with forms and structures...and subjects...that may make some people uncomfortable. It's good to be pushed out of one's comfort zone every once in a while and discover that life has many flavors. I just happen to enjoy exploring the sexual flavors of BDSM. Let others take the more common tastes.

But that's what's wonderful about a free society...each person has the opportunity to try whatever taste they wish. I can go down the street and choose between a Mexican, Chinese and Italian restaurant...why can't I choose what kind of sex I want to write about? I'm very lucky I'm protected by a Constitution that, so far, still guarentees me that right to free expression. Are there people who would like to curb that right? You bet!

Oh, dear...I seem to have climbed onto a soapbox that really has little to do with Ebay and their removal of my book. They are a private company and have the right to allow...or disallow...items from their Internet Garage Sale. I understand that and respect it. It is my hope, however, that they will examine their own policies and not let censorship creep in their back door.

As for me, I'm going to continue to write...and watch.

Till later...play safe!
Diana

I"ve been banned!

Ack! Erk! Gahhhh......

LOL So much for death scenes... Never was any good at them anyway.

I've just recieved word that Ebay, that incredible marketplace that sells anything... Ebay, where everyone can be a capitalist...will no longer allow Ellora's Cave to sell my first novel, Secret Submission (still available in print if you order through www.amazon.com or via an email to orders@ellorascave.com).

You heard me right. Secret Submission has been deemed too hot for Ebay. How was that determination made? I haven't a clue. Probably someone saw the cover or read the blurb, saw that it was about BDSM and then freaked. By the way, Jaid Black's The Possession, Lora Leigh's Menage a Magick and Tawny Taylor's Private Games were also banned. All books that have BDSM as a theme.

Theme? Wrong word. BDSM isn't so much a theme as it is a sexual flavor...one I obviously feel should be savored, explored, tasted in many different ways. I remember the first time I had a cup of coffee and told my mother later that it was disgusting. I didn't understand how anyone could drink it. She asked me how I had it and I told her it was "black." She laughed and told me I needed to experiment to find out how I would enjoy it. Two sugars? Cream? There were thousands of ways to prepare the drink most American's can't start the day without.

I never did learn to like coffee...but BDSM as an expression of one's sexuality should be approached the same way. Silk scarves and spread-eagled? A simple blindfold as he explores your body...or perhaps has you explore his while you can't see. Perhaps it's just one telling the other, "don't move and let me taste every inch of you." Simple, yet not vanilla.

And if it's more? If it goes to whips and chains and Doms and subs...heck! all the way to Masters and slaves...what is it but still an expression of sexuality between consenting adults? Just as some need their coffee strong and black, so some need their sexuality with hearty flavors.

Banning books is never right. Voltaire said it best: "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." The free and open exchange of ideas...even when couched in romanterotica...is vital to a democracy, is vital to a society that sees itself as healthy and growing, is vital to an enlightened people that understand the most dangerous weapon an enemy can have is a closed mind.

So, what to do about Ebay? Not sure on that one. Am open to ideas. In the meantime, I'm going to continue to write sexy, romantic stories exploring the various flavors of BDSM because I want to and because I need to speak out against those who would silence me. This author is not going to go silently into the cyber-void.

Without apologies...and waving my red flag of defiance, I am still playing safe...

Diana