Dusk

Jay wrote: "If a story forces a font that I don't like" My father (who's a book designer) has strong feelings about people reading his site in his preferred fonts, but even he doesn't try to strong-arm them into doing so. I happen to think that one of the strengths of the Web is that - except when bullying attempts take place - readers can read in whatever manner they choose. Jack Scribe wrote: "Some sites, for whatever reason, don't allow the Windows IE 'text size' feature to enlarge the size of the font on HTML postings." <Rolls eyes.> The ones that really get me are the sites (usually discussion boards) whose text bleeds off the end of the screen if you raise the type size higher than "smallest." Dusk (who reads in 28-point type)

Those of you who are professional writers - or even just readers - may want to know that a big U.S. distributor of books has filed for bankruptcy, causing headaches for many big presses and trauma for small presses. Among the publishers affected are Cleis Press, which is one of the oldest and largest GLBT publishers, and Green Candy Press, which carries gay titles, among other things. Here's a New York Times article about the impact on big publishers, a blog entry about the impact on small publishers, a list of the affected small presses, an abridged list of the affected big presses, and a post about Cleis's situation by erotica author Violet Blue. She mentions that Cleis is having a "buy three, get one free" sale right now. (Shipping is always free from Cleis.) Perhaps now is a good time to support Cleis if you'd been thinking of doing some GBLT book-shopping.

"My brother is a graphic artist, and he's often told me that most typesetting experts agree that serif fonts (Times Roman, etc.) work best for readability" This is definitely the prevailing opinion where print is concerned; for onscreen reading, the situation is less clear-cut. Here's a summary of the controversy, which also provides a handy explanation of common typography terms. What everyone seems to agree upon is that readers tend to feel most comfortable with what is most familiar. At the moment, that means Times New Roman in most cases. That typeface was originally intended for newspaper use, not story layout (it's a very condensed typeface, so you can get a lot of words onto one page), but because it's the default font in most word processors, people think of it as the "normal" typeface. That may change as more and more readers encounter sanserif online. Another possibility is simply not to specify a font. Then the reader's default font will be used.

Neat! I maintain a number of Web directories for blind readers (including blind readers of gay writings), and I didn't know about this page, nor about the text reader software page it linked to. Thanks! As it happens, I've been corresponding with a dyslexic reader, and I was just about to recommend some text-reading software to him. I'm going to recommend both of these pages to him.

Razor wrote: "Perhaps I should've included the option of bittersweet." Yup, yup, yup. My liking for bittersweet so outweighs the other options that it would be misleading for me to vote.

If one has the time and the energy, providing alternative formats is helpful to readers. Baen Free Library, for example, offers its e-books in HTML, Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket Reader, Rocket E-book, and RTF. I'd suggest HTML, plain text (which can be read by most e-book readers, I've heard, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong), RTF (which can be read by most word processors), and - if it becomes more common - Open Document Format, which is a non-proprietary format similar to RTF.

For those of you who are interested, the annual Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll has opened. The poll is sponsored by the Critters Writers' Workshop, and it "honors print & electronic publications published during 2006." According to one of the organizers last year, self-published works are eligible for nomination. Quite a few gay works are nominated each year. You can nominate your favorite novels, short stories, poems, artwork, editors, publishers, magazines/e-zines, forums, workshops, and resources. The poll closes January 14 (though I've heard rumors it may be extended, due to technical problems at the beginning of the month). In addition, the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are open for nominations. Those awards "honor outstanding works of science fiction, fantasy and horror which include significant positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues." Self-published works are also eligible for this contest.

It sounds to me as though this gentleman Has Issues. I'll be kind and assume that he's some closeted writer who's scared to death you'll find the children's stories he wrote under his real name and report him to his boss. Regardless, he's not making things any easier for himself by being rude to his fans.

Since we're discussing disability issues, I might as well mention that, being partially sighted, I try to make things as easy as possible for blind and partially sighted readers. This means using alt text on any images at my site, making the navigation easy, and keeping in mind that readers using screen readers can't easily hop around a page to find what they're looking for - unless I provide them with a handy set of links. I go so far as to write my stories in such a way that it's obvious who's talking, even if my reader can't see the quotation marks because his computer is reading the text aloud. Fonts and color contrast don't concern me much as a reader, because my browser is set to override the Webmaster's preference in most cases, but in the rare cases where I come across a story that's anything other than very dark type on a very light background, I skip that story. I'm sure other readers do as well.

True Tales: An Erotic E-zine of Masculinity and Power is a free online gay magazine. More information is available on the history of the e-zine and the honors it has received. True Tales publishes narrative nonfiction and fiction. Narrative poetry, drama, book excerpts, and blog entries may also be submitted, as well as links to art, photography, and videos. Both unpublished works and reprints will be considered. Erotic and non-erotic works are both welcome. All writings must include a narrative (that is, a series of connected events). All submissions must be on a topic related to masculinity and power, such as masculine icons (cops, cowboys, etc.) or power dynamics between men. Authors and artists may be of any gender and sexual orientation. Bisexual and transgender stories are welcome, provided there is a strong focus on a gay pairing. Submissions may not include erotic depictions of minors. Other than that, any characters/people, plot, setting, theme, genre, length, and lightness or darkness of tone will be considered. Works (including stories) that offer a realistic portrayal of gay life are especially welcome, but fanciful works may be submitted too. Submissions that include societal minorities or that break past the conventions of gay erotic literature and art are also especially welcome. 2006-7 theme (until October 31, 2007): Military Men. 2008 theme (until October 31, 2008): Businessmen. Submissions are accepted at all times of the year. Submissions on topics not related to the yearly themes are also welcome. True Tales is a non-paying market that asks for non-exclusive Web rights in the English language for one year. Visit the e-zine's submission guidelines for more information.

miguelsanchez55 wrote: "I do wonder what it is you're looking for." Was this statement directed toward Graeme? Graeme wrote: "It's just, for personal reasons, I don't intend to write any." 'Tis all a matter of individual taste. I don't write or read heterosexual erotic writing, but I've read and enjoyed plenty of fantasy and historical fiction novels that included non-erotic heterosexual romantic plotlines.

Well (says the romantic fiction writer), if you're not writing romance with erotic elements, then you're right that it's not right for you. But thanks for responding. "It's a big job you're taking on" So everybody keeps telling me. "Courageous" is the word that keeps being thrown my way too. I feel like a groom before his wedding night.

In a few weeks, I'll be taking over as director of the Erotic Authors Association. There are a lot of gay authors in the organization, and GLBT fiction is specifically mentioned in the organization's mission statement. However, for those of you who aren't currently members, is there any way in which you think the EAA could be made especially friendly to writers of gay fiction and nonfiction, or otherwise improved? (The old site will be taken down, and I'll be putting up a new one.)

Four gay, bisexual, and transgender works from my online magazine True Tales: An Erotic E-zine of Masculinity and Power were finalists for this year's Rauxa Prize for Erotic Writing, so I'm listing them all in this post. They're at a site for adults only. In the list below, the bisexual works are "New Orleans Nos 1 to 9" and "Mardi Gras." The vanilla, fully consensual works are "The Deformity Lover" and the first seven poems in "New Orleans Nos 1 to 9." Finally, "Spontaneous" is humorous SM (from the same series as "Leatherdar," which I announced earlier this month). (Press release describing how the works came to be written and published.) Runner-up for the Rauxa Prize for erotic poetry: The Deformity Lover. By Felice Picano. A man searches for what others pass over. Runner-up for the Rauxa Prize for erotic fiction: Spontaneous. By Dusk Peterson. Can an Old Guard top survive in a world with safe words? Finalist for the Rauxa Prize for erotic poetry: New Orleans, Nos 1 to 9. By Master Sade. Gay, straight, gender-bending. . . Master Sade's poems explore a New Orleans that many misunderstand. Finalist for the Rauxa Prize for erotic fiction: Mardi Gras. By Max E. Verga. It was the best Mardi Gras ever: Owen had found a tattooed woman who gave him everything he could have dreamed of. Then the boyfriend came home. If you wish, post comments about the works at my e-zine's blog so that the authors can read them: ( Comment on "The Deformity Lover" ) ( Comment on "Spontaneous" ) ( Comment on "New Orleans Nos 1 to 9" ) ( Comment on "Mardi Gras" )

I'm with what jamessavik says. Find something common you can talk about. The weather, bad cafeteria food, which teachers should be fired, etc.

"I was surprised that you didn't capitalize Sir." Ah, that's me being nonconformist. I don't like to use nonstandard capitalization for a variety of reasons, one of them being that I communicate to a wide range of readers, some of whom aren't familiar with leather conventions. I try to make things as easy as possible for them. "BTW, I've never seen dom/sub abbreviated that way." Oh? Well, it's meant to be parallel to M/s, mastery and slavery. Personally, I usually abbreviate dominance and submission as DS, but I thought folks here might be more familiar with the other abbreviation. "I'm not sure I'm ready for a fisting exercise" Neither was I, the first time I read a fisting story. The majority of my fiction is, well, somewhere in the no-man's-land between vanilla and leather. Coming out of the fantasy literature tradition, I was used to writing about dark stuff like imprisonment and slavery. Think Lord of the Rings or any other mainstream fantasy series. So when I started writing gay fantasy stories - or rather, started writing down the stories that had been in my head for years - they were naturally on topics like imprisonment and slavery. Only suddenly, instead of my stories being considered mainstream, I found that they were being gobbled down by BDSM readers. Very odd, because I hadn't changed my subject matter at all; I'd just added a smattering of sex scenes and a lot of romance. Reassuringly for me, mainstream readers like my gay fantasy stories too. My leather stories are actually a lot lighter than my fantasy stories. I announce my fantasy stories on forums for "dark" fiction, but I can't do that with my leather stories, because they're humorous. I also find it amusing that I can announce all my leather stories at erotica forums, because not all of them are NC-17. This particular story is PG-13.

DomLuka wrote: "So I guess I'm asking those ready to fight every time they don

I'm too new to know about all the problems that have occurred, but I ran a discussion board once that attracted flamers like fruit attracts fruit flies. Yes, running a forum is a thankless business. A small but vocal minority make clear that they dislike the administration's way of doing business, and they just don't shut up. (This is as opposed to the folks who politely offer constructive criticism. I always welcomed those posts.) So I can fully understand your weariness, Myr. I hope you don't forget, though, that a lot of the reason that the silent majority don't speak up in such situations is that they don't want to make matters worse by contributing to flame threads. They figure the best way to keep peace in such situations is to keep silent till everything blows over. But all of us need to be poked now and then to remember to send thank-you notes. I posted mine when I first got here, a short while ago, but I'll try to remember to do so periodically from now on.

Aw, thanks for the nice comment, Birds. Matthew wrote: "That's what I ask when I'm awkwardly stuck talking to someone and I've run out of my other question, which is asking their name." At St. John's, we just say, "Can you tell me whether virtue is acquired by teaching or by practice; or if neither by teaching nor practice, then whether it comes to man by nature, or in what other way?" We all read the same books; that makes for easy conversation. "when some nostalgic prom queen tries to force her mermories on the unsuspecting student body" "Are the two terms interchangable?" No, not at all. In fact, there are plenty of leathermen who don't practice BDSM of any sort. "Leather" (at least within the gay leather community) refers to a subculture that has two roots: the gay motorcycle clubs (or its descendants, gay fraternal organizations dedicated to charity work) and the gay SM groups. A lot of leathermen practice BDSM, and a lot of BDSM gay men are leathermen, but the two activities don't necessarily go together. "It would seem, from my point of view, that BD is just as much a part of leather as D/s is." Well, you might as well say that D/s is as much a part of leather as BD. The leather community is splint into various groups that don't necessarily share each other's activities. Any leather story that deals with one of these activities doesn't necessarily have to deal with the other activities. For example, a very good online story I know of, Daddy Takes a Holiday, only has fisting and the slightest bit of D/s in it. But the main character is clearly part of the leather culture, so it's a leather story. I could certainly have called this a D/s story instead. To me, the fact that the narrator is trying to draw the other man, not only into his own life, but into the leather world, is an important aspect of the story. He's not just interested in getting someone to share his bed; he's interested in getting someone to share his community. That's part of the reason why the ending is upbeat. "So why call something that simply has some D/s in it a leather story?" Because my narrator isn't just a sir (i.e. dominant) - he's a leather sir. This is more obvious in one of the earlier stories in the series, "Spontaneous." His way of approaching D/s is shaped by his participation in the leather community.

"I guess it just struck me as odd because it's so far removed from the college experience I'm going through." My alma mater is far from typical. But I believe that there are a few other colleges left that cling to the tradition of occasional ballroom dances. "I will admit that anything described as leather smacks of BDSM to me." Well, D/s is a part of BDSM, of course. I've written bondage and SM stories in this series, but my main interest is in exploring the D/s aspects of the narrator's life. "I'd be delighted to hear your take on it since it seems to be a matter of expertise for you." Hardly an expert - I'm still making my way through most of the famous leather books. But I can point you to John Preston's I Once Had a Master as an example of a leather classic where the focus isn't primarily on BDSM (though there are certainly BDSM scenes in the book). The book is about an assortment of people: nice, liberal, nonjudgmental academics who, when confronted with an actual demonstration of alternative sexuality, fall to pieces; a self-centered youth (the narrator) who abandons his older lovers; an arrogant youth whom the now middle-aged narrator can't get off his mind, even though the other man is simply supposed to be a passing trick; two young men who are dressed up in all the leather trappings, but who don't really have any interest in the spirit of leather; a formerly obese man whose life is transformed when the narrator asks him to do erotic modelling; a man who has lost his lover and feels adrift . . . I think what makes the book work so well is that all of the stories were based on episodes in Preston's own life. I wish that Preston could have continued writing stories like this - but after the arrival of AIDS, alas, he began constructing fantasy worlds that I don't find as appealing as his realistic stories. Preston is the best example I know about of an author who uses leather stories as a way to delve into non-leather topics, but there are a number of other leather authors who either minimize BDSM scenes or else use those scenes as a launching pad to talk about deep topics. (I can see John Preston's ghost glaring at me, saying, "SM is a deep topic.")

"it's not at all what I pictue when I think of a 'leather story'" The genre has frequently fallen into a rut, alas, but there are a fair number of leather stories out there that fall outside the stereotypes. But perhaps I should ask you what you envisioned as a leather story before I start pontificating. "Do colleges actually have ballroom dances?" My alma mater does. When I attended St. John's College in the 1980s, the parties were about 50/50 waltz and swing. These days, alas, swing has almost entirely taken over, but I started this story after attending one of the parties last year where they were still playing waltz music. And yes, there were two gentlemen there who looked just like my main characters. Convenient, that.

Gosh, thanks for the kind words. "I shocked myself first by reading . . . this story." Leather stories not your usual thing? Mine are a bit unconventional.

Sharon wrote: "And just what is up with the influx of so many sci-fi/fantasy stories?" Myk echoed: "I do like the scifi/fantasy stories but sometimes I just need to reach for something more...realistic." What, a historical fantasy story set in a prison isn't realistic enough for you guys? That's it. Next story I announce is going to be set in twenty-first-century America at, um . . . a waltz party! Featuring a leatherman! Is that realistic enough for you?

"I don't know what to call the way I can always pick out those guys in a crowd. My friend Martin calls it 'gaydar,' which leads to us having long arguments over whether being able to tag a guy who doesn't know he's gay counts as gaydar. "Master Trent has another word for it. He calls it 'corruption.'" A leatherman goes on the hunt at a college ballroom dance. Leatherdar.

(Hope it's okay to post this notice about my e-zine.) Death, danger, and desire are a potent combination, as generations of soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen have shown. This year, True Tales: An Erotic E-zine of Masculinity and Power looks at the long-running tradition of homoeroticism in the military. EDITORIAL: "Gay Warriors: Aspects of a Lost Tradition." In their eagerness to promote equality in the military, have proponents of gay military men lost sight of past lessons? "'Give me a whole squadron of such sinners