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Amazonfail

As many of you are already aware, Amazon have stirred up a storm online over the sudden removal of sales rankings from gay related literature, and compounded it by a stock response.

To quote

tehdely "Basically, #amazonfail is the name for a brewing Internet shitstorm that started some time on Easter Sunday regarding Amazon.com's sudden decision to blacklist any books with LGBT(QQI) content from appearing in best-seller lists or search results. The blacklist also apparently extends to books with feminist themes, books about dealing with rape, etc. Initial complaints to Amazon resulted in the following stock response, which just angered people more:

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature."

The anger was compounded by the fact that a)het porn was left untouched (giving the lie to "we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists") and b)non-adult themed LGBT books were removed from the listings/search engine such as John Barrowman's autobiography (again giving the lie to "we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists")

See

blackbird_song for more information, and see

tehdely for the troll theory on why this has happened, which actually makes a lot of sense. Whatever, this is a PR disaster for Amazon, and I won't be buying anything from them until they sort this out.

Write to Amazon and sign a petition here: http://tinyurl.com/d5dbo3

And the word of the day is...

Courtesy of Dictionary.com (actually it was yesterday's word for the day, but I only checked my inbox this morning, so bite me):

froward \FROH-werd\, adjective:

not easily managed; contrary

c. 1300, Old English fromweard "turned from or away," from, from + -weard. The opposite of toward, it was Latin pervertus in early translations of the Psalms, and also meant "about to depart, departing," and "doomed to die."

Pervertus? :D Yes, please.

I think we have some of the best ingredients of fanfic there. Drama!Frodo not easily managed? Check. Angsty!Frodo about to depart or doomed to die? Check. They've missed one definition though: Froward: leaning or inclined towards Frodo...

Hobbit Month post: The Gift of Ilúvatar

Welcome to my LJ. :) Hobbit Month 2006 gave me the impetus to start writing this story, and in my Hobbit Month post last year, I linked to the first part. If it therefore seems familiar in the beginning, that's why.

This story is dedicated to

aliena_z and to

annwyn55, in memory of lost loved ones.

Author: Elenya
Genre: Slash
Pairing: Frodo/Sam
Rating: NC-17 for sexual content.
Disclaimer: I make no money from these stories. These beautiful characters are sadly not mine; I merely borrow them because I love them. With grateful thanks to JRR Tolkien for providing us with such a richly imagined world to play in.

Acknowledgement: My grateful thanks to

ghyste and

mariole for many useful suggestions and comments, and to

aliena_z for her very thorough grammar beta.

The theme of death as the gift of Ilúvatar is explored in this story, but it is not a death fic. I have used the mythology that Tolkien created for Middle-earth. For those of you who hold that there is no life after death, remember that this story, like The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, is a work of fantasy. It forms an epilogue to my story All That I Had, and at the beginning briefly follows the fate of characters from The Adventures of Tom and Barard. If you haven’t read the latter, it really doesn’t matter; all you need to know is that Tom is Tom Gardner, youngest son of Sam, Barard is the youngest son of Pippin; their friends, Catos and Faros, are Haradrim lords. The idea of a telepathic bond between Frodo and Sam is explored in All That I Had (see notes for chapter 19) and continues in this story. Ninquelótë is an elf, both unassuming and highly regarded, who befriended Frodo on his first arrival in the West, and played an important role in his healing.

THE GIFT OF ILÚVATAR can be found here.

The Gift of Iluvatar: advance notice

It's Hobbit Appreciation Month, as I'm sure you all know (but if you don't, see

hobbit_month), and I'll be posting on the 26th. Just to let you know, my offering will be my epilogue to All That I Had: The Gift of Iluvatar. :)

Entry tags:

cmem-07

CMEM-07: Preview to The Gift of Ilúvatar

It's passed time I posted something for Celebrate Middle-earth Month or CMEM-07. Looking back, it was Frodo and Sam Appreciation Month that kick started me into writing an epilogue to All That I Had. That was back in August, and you might be forgiven for thinking that the project had died a death. Instead, I have been working slowly but steadily on it. I need to finish it in first draft before I send it out for beta. I hope you enjoy this preview, and that

layne67 will accept it as a small birthday gift, with apolgies for it being so late.

Title: The Gift of Ilúvatar (preview)
Category: Slash
Pairing: F/S
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I make no money from these stories. These beautiful characters are sadly not mine; I merely borrow them because I love them. With grateful thanks to JRR Tolkien for providing us with such a richly imagined world to play in.

Want to read on? Find it here.

Follow this link for more on Celebrate Middle-earth Month-07

Thought for the day

The Radio 4 early morning news and current affairs programme, the Today Programme, always has a "thought for the day". Two speakers I always enjoy listening to on this spot are Rabbi Lionel Bloom and The Reverend Dr Giles Fraser. Today it was Dr Giles Fraser, Vicar of Putney, debunking the idea that all Christians in this country are opposed to legislation giving gay people the right not to be discriminated against.

You can here him here http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ (You need RealPlayer), but this is a transcript of what he said:

As a Christian, I’m protected by the law against discrimination, and I’m grateful for it. No one can legally deny me access to goods or services because of my faith; no one is allowed to put up a sign in their window that reads “No Christians”, or “No Muslims”, for that matter. Discrimination on the grounds of race and gender is equally outlawed, all of which is an unambiguously good thing. As indeed I believe is the extension of these provisions to include sexual orientation. No one should be allowed to display a sign that reads “No Gays”, either. Some Christians, however, are strongly resisting this legislation. They argue that being obliged to provide goods and services to gay couples makes them complicit in what they regard as sin, and that this complicity compromises their deeply held religious convictions. For others, however, these so-called religious convictions are little more than a mask for simple prejudice. Why, they argue, aren’t these same Christian hoteliers up in arms at their legal obligation to provide hotel rooms for unmarried couples? After all, conservative Christians believe sex outside marriage to be no less a sin, yet they haven’t been protesting about this. Indeed, many of them may well believe that gluttony is a sin, but they haven’t been campaigning for Christian waiters to have the right to refuse fat people extra chips on moral grounds. No, there is real inconsistency in the way some Christians apply the argument of complicity, and this inconsistency is indicative that they are treating homosexuality as a special case. In other words, this inconsistency is evidence of prejudice, and the sad truth is that there’d be little need for this sort of legislation if there wasn’t so much prejudice about both in the church and elsewhere. Of course, it’s worth saying that discrimination doesn’t only shelter behind religious belief; there’s prejudice outside the churches and mosques, too. For the idea that this is an argument between Christian prejudice and secular enlightenment is the distortion of a lazy media that likes its arguments simple and binary. Within the church itself, there’s real debate and much disagreement; many Christians like me don’t believe homosexuality is a sin at all; in fact, I believe it is a gift of God. Sure, it is a gift that can be abused like any other, but often it is a channel of grace, a means by which some human beings show love and commitment and generosity just like anybody else. There’s a hymn we often sing in church which goes like this,

“For the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind,
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind,
But we make his love too narrow, with false limits of our own,
And we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own.”

(no subject)

Here is a short piece I wrote in early 2003 on Frodo and denial.

abby_normal had just asked me if she could host it on her site, - thank you, Carole.:) - but I didn’t expect Middle-earth News to link to it. As a result, you may already have read it. You can find it here.

As a bonus, I originally also posted a link to an early draft of an epilogue to All That I Had. If you didn't read it at the time, sorry, I've taken it down, but you can read the final version in the fullness of time. Just don't hold your breath, it's going very slowly...

A big hug to

frodosweetstuff for such a lovely idea as Hobbit Month. :)

ETA: sorry to post early (for some). I had intended to post at my daughter's today, but I discovered late last night that she doesn't have internet access. Have fun. I'll be back tomorrow.

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

ATB inset chapter will be coming

The inset "chapter" has turned into a mini-series in three parts, but it is finished. Parts 1 & 2 are out to grammar beta, part 3 is still awaiting some content beta comments. I won't be around for a while to post it, though. But have patience. It is coming...

Since no one guessed the scene correctly, it is of course possible that you're not interested in having this expanded:

( Read more... )

For those who are interested, I discovered recently that Michelangelo has drawn Catos as a young man.

( Read more... )

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

Title:The Adventures of Tom and Barard
Category: slash.
Rating: NC-17 for sexual content. Contains violence, some references to non-consensual sex, and lots of hurt/comfort. I make no money from these stories, and give grateful thanks to JRR Tolkien for providing us with such a richly imagined world to play in.

Chapter 15 has been posted in its entirety, and can be found here

Earlier chapters can be found here

This is the last chapter of the story. I’d like to thank all the lovely people who helped me with beta comment and encouragement. My main betas on this story have been Ghyste and Mariole (content) and Aliena and Peachy (spelling and grammar), but I have also had “guest” betas from Laurelindorian, Notabluemaia, Princess of Geekland and Elycia at various times along the way. Thank you all; I am overwhelmed by how much time and effort people are prepared to put into helping in this way. Mistakes that remain are due to my own stubbornness.

As for my readers, I have valued all your feedback. Thank you. I don’t know if you appreciate how encouraging you have been.

Although this is the end of the story, there is room for a little more. I am currently writing an inset chapter, expanding on a scene that is mentioned in chapter 15. If you send me an email, guessing the scene correctly, I will send you a preview of what is to come...

The lovely icon is

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

ATB: an interim update

I had hoped to get chapter 15 posted on Sunday, but as it's Monday here already, doesn't look like that's going to happen. However, this chapter splits neatly into two parts, and part 1 is corrected, so...

The Adventures of Tom and Barard
Category: slash.
Rating: NC-17 for sexual content. Contains violence, some references to non-consensual sex, and lots of hurt/comfort. I make no money from these stories, and give grateful thanks to JRR Tolkien for providing us with such a richly imagined world to play in.

The lovely icon is

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

( Chapter 15, part 1, to be going on with... )

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

aliena_z the wrong date for my window of opportunity to post this chapter, I haven't had all her grammar corrections. She usually manages to tease more sense out of my words, so I apologise for my incompetance. Corrections will come along later. Thanks to

mariole and

ghyste for their valuable comments on content, and to

peachy for catching some of my missed punctuation and spelling errors.

The lovely icon is

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

Current Mood: tired

An apology

My betas have given me too much food for thought, and as a result chapter 12 of The Adventures of Tom and Barard will be delayed while I try to lick it into shape. RL is very busy at the moment, which isn't helping. I'm sorry. If I can't get the chapter sorted in the next 2 weeks, I'll post "as is".

The Adventures of Tom and Barard, and other matters...

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Golden Mushroom Awards. :) Congratulations to the other winners and excuse me while I squee a little... And maybe someone more technically minded than I am can tell me why my text to take you behind the cut only says "Golden" when I wrote "Golden Mushroom Awards"?

ETA: thank you, Ghyste. That's done the trick. :)

( Golden Mushroom Awards )

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

Thanks to all the snow here, I've stayed at home today rather than driving to Cambridge for a course, so I can bring you, a little earlier than expected...

Title:The Adventures of Tom and Barard
Category: slash.
Rating: NC-17 for sexual content. Contains violence, some references to non-consensual sex, and lots of hurt/comfort. I make no money from these stories, and give grateful thanks to JRR Tolkien for providing us with such a richly imagined world to play in.

Chapter 10 has been posted, and can be found here

Earlier chapters can be found here

The lovely icon is

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

The Adventures of Tom and Barard

trilliah's artwork. Manip by

shoesparks

Erm, just a few nominations, then... :D

Sam threw down his pen as he heard the post arrive and rolled his shoulder to ease the strain. He glanced over to where Elenya was sorting through the mail.

'What have you got there, my dear?'

'Oh, erm, nothing.'

'No? So why are you blushing, and looking smug, all at the same time? Hm?'

'Oh, well, you know, GMA time.'

'Oh, that. Load a' nonsense, if you ask me.' Sam turned back to his writing. He wasn't best pleased with Elenya over the Best Crybaby award the previous year. 'Least you can't go getting me and mine labelled as some weepy woman this time round.' The room went very quiet, and slowly Sam turned. 'What? What have you done now, you daft wench?'

'Erm...'

'Oh, no. Not my Tom! You ain't telling me you've got him nominated as a Crybaby. Here, let me see those!' Sam snatched the pile of letters from Elenya and muttered his way through them. 'Poor Frodo, always giving him something to suffer with ain't you... Rivendell? When did my Tom go there?... Foot fetish? What will you sorry wenches think of next?... AU? What's AU about my Tom, that's what I'd like to know?... Tongue twister, well, I'll grant you that one; my Frodo has a fine tongue that can tie a knot in a...' Sam broke off with a cough. 'And what's this? Have you been hiding up and watching my youngest? I think you should be ashamed of yourself, my girl. When you've given the smial a good clean, and brought me a beer, you'll have done a useful bit of work! Go on, get on with you.'

'Yes, Sam. Sorry, Sam.'

'Oh, and Elenya?'

'Yes, Sam.'

'When you've brought me a beer, I can raise my glass and wish you good luck.' Sam winked, and went back to work.

( Read more... )