[jamthecat]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I don't know if you've seen my previous posts, but I may be the only person on this thread who looked at the books (besides you, of course). I completely agree with your description. I was only able to read the samples because the B&N prices are out of my budget. (My limit for ANY book right now is $6; I would have purchased them both otherwise.) My assessment was that it was not pornography. In fact, I stated that though it was labeled as gay erotica, I felt this was done for purposes of reaching a niche market. (Novels with gay sexual content haven't quite gone mainstream yet.)

I think anyone who is claiming it is porn clearly hasn't even looked at it. It doesn't even meet my definition of erotica in the usual sense. The characterization and story development is more like that of a contemporary novel. But someone, apparently your publisher, made the decision to clearly market it as gay erotica. I see the value of this in terms of where you started, but I fear that will make things a lot harder where you are now and I have no idea how that can be overcome.

I wish you luck in this. My advice would be what someone else has mentioned - consult legal counsel before continuing your internet attack. I know you want to scream at everyone right now - anyone would in your situation - but you need to protect your interests going forward. You know how media works - that's what started this mess. If they decide to bite again, they will twist everything they can find to "prove" that they were right, and they will turn it on YOU instead of your books. Limit the ammo they have available to them.

If you want to continue to use the internet as your platform, can you find a blogger who will post a review? I think honest discussion about the books is more likely to be helpful than attacking Amazon's actions. Just like people who jump on the "pornography" bandwagon, lots of people will jump on the "Amazon is evil bandwagon". That seems good in terms of numbers, but when it comes down to protecting yourself, your interests and your reputation, those people can't help you. They can cheer you on, and that feels good, but ultimately it's only distracting everyone from whatever legal grounds you may be able to pursue.

I hope you'll at least think about this. I'm glad that B&N hasn't made any moves yet, your stuff is still available there. I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks, CWatkinsNash. It's my intention to read through all of the comments; problem is finding the time to focuson them. You make some good points and offer some fine suggestions. So far I've tried asking Amazon to reconsider their actions, politely (albeit still a bit angrily), and gotten no response. I also contacted the reporter who did the profile and interview with the head of Kindle and pointed out the...oh, shall we say, incongruity(?) of his stated purpose. No response. Now I'm doing the screaming thing. And still no response. I'm sure eventually I'll calm down enough to figure out the next step. Almost sounds like the five stages of being pissed off.

I'm sure Amazon thinks if they ignore me long enough, I'll give up and go away. They don't seem to get the idea that an author's book is like his child; and if you diss my kids, I'm comin' after you.