Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
New cover art!
This is for "Heart of Stars" the free read available only to the attendees of GayRomLit in October!
Isn't it pretty???!!!
Isn't it pretty???!!!
Check out my interview...
at Elizabeth Morgan's blog!
http://xxxxmyworldxxxx.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-world-guest-interview-dc-juris.html
http://xxxxmyworldxxxx.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-world-guest-interview-dc-juris.html
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Wanna see mah undies?
They're right here, on my guest post at Romance with SASS!
http://blog.romancewithsass.com/2011/09/24/fancy-panties-and-other-things-im-taking-back.aspx
http://blog.romancewithsass.com/2011/09/24/fancy-panties-and-other-things-im-taking-back.aspx
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Are Readers Stupid? (CONTEST!!!)
Now, before you grab the pitchforks and form a mob, let me just say, my answer is "NO!"
But I wonder if all industry professionals feel that way?
Case in point: I recently read a few short stories with the intent of doing reviews on them. None of them gained higher than a 3.5, in my opinion (and we all know reviews are simply that - opinion.) There were editing issues, including punctuation, grammar, and spelling. There were plot holes and dialog issues. There were continuity issues, and issues with fact-checking. Even some of the sex scenes had issues. My reviews pointed out all these, and I honestly tried to be fair.
I mentioned to another industry professional that perhaps I was too picky to be a reviewer. I expected them to say something like, "Poppycock! Readers deserve honest, hard-hitting reviews, and authors should take notice, old chap!" (because everyone's British in my head). What I got was an agreement with my assessment, and, I quote: "I'm not even sure if many people know what line editing is; they just want to be entertained."
O.o orly?
This reminded me of something I'd read another author say a couple years ago. I'm paraphrasing here, because I'd have to dig back through thousands of someone else's blog to even find the reference, and frankly I'm too lazy to do that, but the general idea was that it's okay to get a couple historical facts wrong in your work because most readers don't know shit about history, nor do they care.
O.o
WTF?
That was my reaction back then, and it still is. It's okay to give sub-par work because no one will notice??? Seriously?
If I'd purchased the books I read for review, I'd have e-mailed the publisher and demanded my money back. Some of them hadn't even been edited--or if they had, the editor needs to be fired. I've heard all along there's a feeling of ebooks not being quite as professional as print books, and gee...I wonder why that's the thought? Is it because we deliver crap?
Now, I know what you're thinking: some mistakes are honest. Take my works for example. I've found typos in the finished product a couple of times. I can tell you, with all honesty and integrity, that my books go through three edits before they're submitted, and another three to four with my editor, and then the proofreader gets them. Things still get through. The fact of the matter is the human brain sees what it wants. It forces things to make sense. Otherwise, this passage would be unreadable:
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.
And we all know there are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who noticed the car in the background during the theatre release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kENzRvSoP-A) and those who were too caught up in the movie to see it. So...perhaps...just perhaps...there might be some small vein of reality in what my industry professional friend said about readers just wanting to be entertained. But...
But herein lies my question, and the entire reason for the post. Readers - what do you guys and gals think? Do you notice typos? Do you notice when a character uses a word that wasn't around when the book is set? (say he uses the phrase "ass munch" in a historical set in Victorian England or some similarly glaring WRONG) Do you notice when spellings of characters names change? Do you notice when sexual positions are just completely beyond the realm of possibility for the human body to conform to? Do you notice plot flaws, slow/unbelievable dialog, and the characters referring to each other by their names 8,000 times throughout the story?? (okay - to be fair, 8,000 is an exaggeration. I didn't count the times. But a lot. A. Lot.)
IF you notice them, do you chalk them up to things that just slipped through, or are you (as I was) insulted?
Well? To sweeten the deal, and so you'll have a reason to air your complaints, leave a comment below with your thoughts, and I'll pick a random winner to receive a free pdf copy of my newest release, "Relearning the Ropes." In which I hope to God we found all the typos. :-p
But I wonder if all industry professionals feel that way?
Case in point: I recently read a few short stories with the intent of doing reviews on them. None of them gained higher than a 3.5, in my opinion (and we all know reviews are simply that - opinion.) There were editing issues, including punctuation, grammar, and spelling. There were plot holes and dialog issues. There were continuity issues, and issues with fact-checking. Even some of the sex scenes had issues. My reviews pointed out all these, and I honestly tried to be fair.
I mentioned to another industry professional that perhaps I was too picky to be a reviewer. I expected them to say something like, "Poppycock! Readers deserve honest, hard-hitting reviews, and authors should take notice, old chap!" (because everyone's British in my head). What I got was an agreement with my assessment, and, I quote: "I'm not even sure if many people know what line editing is; they just want to be entertained."
O.o orly?
This reminded me of something I'd read another author say a couple years ago. I'm paraphrasing here, because I'd have to dig back through thousands of someone else's blog to even find the reference, and frankly I'm too lazy to do that, but the general idea was that it's okay to get a couple historical facts wrong in your work because most readers don't know shit about history, nor do they care.
O.o
WTF?
That was my reaction back then, and it still is. It's okay to give sub-par work because no one will notice??? Seriously?
If I'd purchased the books I read for review, I'd have e-mailed the publisher and demanded my money back. Some of them hadn't even been edited--or if they had, the editor needs to be fired. I've heard all along there's a feeling of ebooks not being quite as professional as print books, and gee...I wonder why that's the thought? Is it because we deliver crap?
Now, I know what you're thinking: some mistakes are honest. Take my works for example. I've found typos in the finished product a couple of times. I can tell you, with all honesty and integrity, that my books go through three edits before they're submitted, and another three to four with my editor, and then the proofreader gets them. Things still get through. The fact of the matter is the human brain sees what it wants. It forces things to make sense. Otherwise, this passage would be unreadable:
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.
And we all know there are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who noticed the car in the background during the theatre release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kENzRvSoP-A) and those who were too caught up in the movie to see it. So...perhaps...just perhaps...there might be some small vein of reality in what my industry professional friend said about readers just wanting to be entertained. But...
But herein lies my question, and the entire reason for the post. Readers - what do you guys and gals think? Do you notice typos? Do you notice when a character uses a word that wasn't around when the book is set? (say he uses the phrase "ass munch" in a historical set in Victorian England or some similarly glaring WRONG) Do you notice when spellings of characters names change? Do you notice when sexual positions are just completely beyond the realm of possibility for the human body to conform to? Do you notice plot flaws, slow/unbelievable dialog, and the characters referring to each other by their names 8,000 times throughout the story?? (okay - to be fair, 8,000 is an exaggeration. I didn't count the times. But a lot. A. Lot.)
IF you notice them, do you chalk them up to things that just slipped through, or are you (as I was) insulted?
Well? To sweeten the deal, and so you'll have a reason to air your complaints, leave a comment below with your thoughts, and I'll pick a random winner to receive a free pdf copy of my newest release, "Relearning the Ropes." In which I hope to God we found all the typos. :-p
Saturday, September 17, 2011
I'm guesting at Full Moon Dreaming...
and I've answered the Infamous Rick Reed Questions! Go check it out!
http://julielynnhayes.blogspot.com/?zx=78f0710780d66d71
http://julielynnhayes.blogspot.com/?zx=78f0710780d66d71
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Omarati and No Place Like Home in PRINT!!!
That's right! Omarati and No Place Like Home are both available in PRINT!
Omarati: https://www.createspace.com/3690616
No Place Like Home: https://www.createspace.com/3690623
I'm guesting over at Sue Brown's today!
Go check it out and leave me some lurve!
http://suebrownsstories.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome-to-dc-juris-things-im-glad-i.html?zx=b0c25eb916cbda9f
http://suebrownsstories.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome-to-dc-juris-things-im-glad-i.html?zx=b0c25eb916cbda9f
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Final Round of Voting is Here!
It's the final round of voting in the First Annual BP Awards! Go vote for one (or both!) of my entries - "Sundae Surprise" and "Perfect Christmas". Thanks!!!!!!
http://voting.breathlesspress.org/forums/125865-nominations
http://voting.breathlesspress.org/forums/125865-nominations
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Wanna see my cock?
Seriously! Check out my Back to Smut Week guest post!!
http://www.sizzlinghotbooks.net/2011/09/dc-juris-talks-cock.html
http://www.sizzlinghotbooks.net/2011/09/dc-juris-talks-cock.html
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Christmas Card List
I'm officially starting my Christmas Card List for this year. I know it's September, but I like to do things early! If you were on the list last year, you're still on it. If you weren't but want to be, drop me an email at dcjuris@stny.rr.com with the subject Christmas Card List, and your SNAIL MAIL address. These are not electronic cards, but real, actual hold-them-in-your-hot-little-hand paper cards. And they'll be racy - definitely NOT PG-13. You've been warned! :-P
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Shiny New Cover Art
courtesy of the ever-wonderful Victoria Miller, for my upcoming m/m vampire release, "Orion's Way."
You like??
You like??
Friday, September 2, 2011
I'm up for an award!!
Go vote for me!!! Pretty please!!! http://www.theromancestudio.com/5heart_form.php
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Celebrate Torquere Press's 8th Anniversary!
The Eight Ball will help celebrate our eighth anniversary here at Torquere Press! Join us for the celebration!
We're having a reader scavenger hunt with weekly gift basket prizes and a grand prize (this year, a brand-new 3G Kindle along with a CD of stories from each participating author), plus daily prizes of gift certificates to show our appreciation to you -- our readers! Check our blog, http://glbtromance.blogspot.com/ where we'll have a number of our authors visiting the whole month. We'll post excerpts, hang out to chat, and talk about our stories.
In addition to the grand prize of the Kindle, we're giving away gift baskets every week! Some are silly, some are smutty, and all are fun. The themed ones are: m/m, ménage, BDSM, and lesbian plus our authors have chipped in with extra goodies.
Here's how to play. Visit our contest page, http://www.torquerebooks.com/contest/contactmain.html and start scavenging for the Eight Ball answers. Visit the author pages and find the graphic somewhere on their site. An online form is set up, and we'll randomly choose a winner for the Kindle from all of the correct entries. Plus, every day, readers will have the chance to win a Torquere gift certificate and a gift basket.
Help us celebrate our eighth anniversary and ask the Eight Ball your question… Like, will I win a prize from Torquere Press?
Thanks, and have fun playing.
We're having a reader scavenger hunt with weekly gift basket prizes and a grand prize (this year, a brand-new 3G Kindle along with a CD of stories from each participating author), plus daily prizes of gift certificates to show our appreciation to you -- our readers! Check our blog, http://glbtromance.blogspot.com/ where we'll have a number of our authors visiting the whole month. We'll post excerpts, hang out to chat, and talk about our stories.
In addition to the grand prize of the Kindle, we're giving away gift baskets every week! Some are silly, some are smutty, and all are fun. The themed ones are: m/m, ménage, BDSM, and lesbian plus our authors have chipped in with extra goodies.
Here's how to play. Visit our contest page, http://www.torquerebooks.com/contest/contactmain.html and start scavenging for the Eight Ball answers. Visit the author pages and find the graphic somewhere on their site. An online form is set up, and we'll randomly choose a winner for the Kindle from all of the correct entries. Plus, every day, readers will have the chance to win a Torquere gift certificate and a gift basket.
Help us celebrate our eighth anniversary and ask the Eight Ball your question… Like, will I win a prize from Torquere Press?
Thanks, and have fun playing.
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