Ellora's Cave: It's Time to Speak Up

Greetings everyone! I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I hope you'll stick with me for a post that is certain to be long.

You may have noticed an uptick in former Ellora's Cave authors and/or staff speaking out about their experiences with a publisher that once rocked the mainstream publishing world with innovative, sexy, erotic, and adventurous oftentimes hardcore romances that broke the mold. For that alone, I say, bravo to Jaid Black, who decided not to kowtow to New York and write sexy stories about aliens from another universe, a result that launched EC into a huge financial success. Long before Fifty Shades of Grey, Jaid, along with many other erotic and erotica authors were venturing into sub-genres such as BDSM, Older Woman/Younger Man, Menage, M/M, and horror, just to name a few.

Many of those authors have gone on to become huge bestsellers on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, and B&N lists, and to them, I can only tip my hat.  Likewise, I continue to believe that Jaid's Trek Mi Quan universe is one of the most creative series I have ever read. Is it for everyone? Maybe not, but, again, props to her for writing what she loved, for sticking to her guns, and giving those books life through a lot of hard work and determination during a time when the concept of electronic books was as alien as her hot, sexy characters from a far away world.

Keep in mind, e-publishing has come a long way since the time of downloading files, printing them out or reading on a PC. With the advent of the Kindle, Nook, iPads/Tablets, buying eBooks is as easy as a 'click', and it's on your device in the matter of seconds. Self-publishing, of which I am now a huge fan of as a result of my last few years experience with EC, has become very popular and eBooks tend to be priced in such a way to make them affordable. Now, if I was J.R. Ward or Sherrilyn Kenyon, perhaps a reader would be willing to pay upwards of $6.99-$7.99, and at some third party vendors even higher, for a 100K+ novel on their iPad or Kindle. But generally, that's a lot to ask for a digital book.

That said, the following is my account and my experience with Ellora's Cave Publishing, and while it's not intended in any way to bash anyone or TPTB at EC, and I will not go into any contractual information that I have with them, I've had enough with the vitriol going on or being said about my fellow former EC authors and/or staffers and editors who are only telling their truths and their experiences. 

My first book was published with Ellora's Cave under the Cerridwen Press imprint, titled Seductive Persuasion, and was the first of an historical-paranormal four book series. Soon after the third book in that series, Sea Captain's Ghost, released, I learned that the imprint was going on hiatus. Eventually Cerridwen Press would become known as Blush. More on that in a bit. As I tended to write more sensual than erotic or explicit, this was awesome to me. But, I still had one book in the series left and wondered what would become of it. I debated turning it into an erotic story, however, given the time period it was written in, late-Georgian, and it just didn't seem to be right.

Instead, I set it aside and went back to a book I'd started a year before and stopped because it was 'out of my comfort zone', translation, erotic, featuring an older woman and a younger man as the heroine/hero. During an RT Convention in Columbus, Ohio, I'd attended an EC spotlight in support of my publisher and learned that older woman/younger man scenarios were selling very well, and, I immediately went home and wrote what would become Quarterback Blitz. To this day, that book is and continues to be very popular with readers, it won Best Erotic Contemporary from several online book review websites, and it launched a series of six books, a series titled Ink and Kink, Let me just say that I am proud of each and every story in that series, as well as those that I wrote separately or featured secondary characters in the Maddox brothers/Ink and Kink universe. In between, yes, I'd finally completed the Panthera series with Arrington's Claim for the Blush imprint.

Around the time the last Ink and Kink book was released, Switch Master, I'd begun tracking my royalty statements, primarily because sales dipped dramatically. I figured there were several causes, EC was releasing a lot of books, some re-releases, some in trade paperback per week. And, while that is their prerogative to release that many books in a given week, I also saw that more and more eBook publishers were on the rise, ditto for self-publishing, and the costs of those books were much more attractive to consumers than the pricey MSRP of my admittedly long stories. Yes, I write big books and I cannot lie. Yes, I think they are worth every penny, but I'd wished that the market would've been a bigger factor in the pricing.

The problem with the downturn in the market, therefore, my royalties, which were starting to come later and later, or in one case, a new release's sales figures were not accounted for, though quickly and professionally corrected within days, had dropped to the point that I could not afford to attend the Romantic Times Booklovers Conventions or many other conventions with the exception of Ellora's Cave's conference known as RomantiCon, and my local RWA chapter conference. I also couldn't afford blog tours. Book reviews declined dramatically and eventually stopped altogether.

All the while, royalties declined, and I thought, I'll write more books and establish a back list. EC started a few marketing campaigns, such as 1st books in a series free for two weeks, and, yes, this helped, some. But readers will rush to get a free book yet when the next book is priced so drastically above other books of similar genre and length, they move on. Now, some of this is taste, not every reader or reviewer is going to like my books, and that's their right and opinion. However, pricing and affordability makes a difference in a consumer's choice when money is tight.

With the last book in the Ink and Kink series, I'd started a new series based on some secondary characters readers had been introduced to already. Those books simply did not sell well and while I understand that opinions vary, I began to think about making some decisions about my future. My favorite genre, in all honesty, is Romantic Suspense, and I really, really wanted to go into mainstream fiction.

In 2014, many things were happening, my royalty checks were coming very, very late, and while contractually EC was to pay quarterly,they primarily paid monthly. Checks came at odd times, likewise, they were dated a whole month before they were actually stamped and mailed. In two cases, there was no date on the envelope. Authors were told this was due to a glitch in the accounting software program. I have no idea if this is true or not, that's what we were told via an author email loop.

In August of 2014, the wheels fell off and my eyes were opened. While on a family vacation and very concerned because I'd not received royalties in a while and an email inquiry as to whether my check was lost in the mail or sent at all went unanswered, and in the midst of content edits for what would become the last book I've published with Ellora's Cave word was sent to the private author email loop that many EC staffers, including freelance editors, mine, too, were being let go due to a downturn in the market and blame seemed to be placed on Amazon. In my opinion, Amazon is a powerhouse in the eBook world and will remain so, and most of the sales I'd been making came from that vendor. I was devastated, not only for myself, but for the editors, especially my editor, whom to this day is one of my favorite people on the planet and continues to be my editor for my self-publishing ventures. For many reasons, I've chosen not to include her name in this post, though I'm sure she knows that I've the utmost respect for her. I'd also like to thank her for taking a chance on a newbie and helping me through the publishing process.

Within an hour, maybe less, of the announcement sent to the authors about the layoffs, an unknown party shared that same message on a public forum. I saw and read it on Absolute Write, but it was shared elsewhere and within a very short time, I received countless messages from readers and authors outside of EC sharing their concerns for the stability of the publisher. I had them too, but I wanted to believe it would be okay. My editor graciously finished the last round of edits for Pleasure Trove and the book received a release date within two weeks of the books final draft and FLEs, Final Line Edits, were done in a rush. Guess what? Despite blogging and doing as much promo as I could, the book tanked, I couldn't get it to sell, no matter what. A few of my faithful readers were concerned that I wouldn't receive the royalties and asked what they should do. I didn't know and did NOT EVER ask anyone not to buy the book or any of my titles. I still haven't done so. However, they have graciously purchased my self-published title, UnMAsKed, and are eagerly awaiting the next, also a Romantic Suspense titled Lipstick and Camouflage.

In September of 2014, I was attending a weekend writer's workshop in Connecticut. It was a great weekend, especially as I was able to get away from the stress of what was happening with EC. I had finally received a check dated in late July 2014 that arrived in my mailbox a month later, at the tail end of August. I was grateful. Yes, my checks were coming later and later, but they did come eventually. The problem was that EC became radio silent on our private loop, primarily, I believe, because private messages were being shared on public forums. For the record, I did not like that private emails were being made public and felt that this was hurting authors more than anything else going on. Again, my opinion.

I started talking to my husband about what I should do going forward. Okay, actually, we'd been talking about this for a long time but things were heating up. Should I ask for rights back based on contract terms? Let it go and hope checks come as they were supposed to? But then at that same writer's workshop, everything got drastically worse. NOT because one of the ladies at Dear Author had written a very long 'writer beware' type of article titled The Curious Case of Ellora's Cave. That article is on DA's blog and I'm not going to go into specifics, except to say that the blogger corrected a few details recently, yet the majority of it remains.

What alarmed me and so many authors and reviewers and bloggers, as well as readers, was EC's decision to sue the writer of the post. I was familiar with Dear Author and similar sites, yet, I'm honestly not a frequent visitor or reader of it, primarily because it's a little bit 'mean girl' for my tastes. That said, the blogger had every single right to write what she substantially believed to be true, she'd researched court cases, looked at tax liens accrued against the publisher that are on public record, and listened to author accounts of not receiving royalties. That's called FREEDOM of SPEECH. It's part of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights. And, Ellora's Cave turned around and sued a blogger in what appeared to be a SLAPP suit. From there on the Streisand Effect took root. Readers and reviewers boycotted. The vitriol that resulted since steamrolled, more readers bailed on EC's books out of concern that we weren't getting paid, royalties came later and later and that all meant to me that the publishing company was in serious financial trouble.

A few months ago, EC also launched a new website. I didn't care for it visually, but I'm not a web designer by any stretch. Some say it's more user friendly, some say otherwise, and there appeared to be more than a few glitches that needed to be fixed. What I know is this, during the change something happened to all of the blurbs on my books on EC's site. They're not only missing commas and punctuation, they appear amateurish. Therefore, I have not asked my web guru to change the links on my website that directs readers to purchase my books from the publisher's site, nor have I any plans to. It seems to me that the responsibility for hunting down and correcting typos and punctuation errors is on whoever maintains that site.  

Honestly, I've no idea what the financial status of EC is. I'm not going to guess or take a jab at the ownership or current staff members, other than to say, that I absolutely believe the authors who say they haven't been paid or that their payments are way late or breached. At the time of this blog post, I have not received a check since February 2015's sales that came in September of 2015. Could a check arrive this week? I hope so, we were informed via the private loop that we would receive payment for three months in one check, yet even if it arrives they are still months behind. I hope they really do catch up, authors worked hard on their books and deserve to get paid.

Let me say that up until the last year or so, I've enjoyed my experience as an EC author. I loved RomantiCon and the friends I've made through the convention, both authors and readers. I adored the Cavemen models who danced for us, and I will miss Angelo forever. He was incredibly charming and charismatic and appeared on the cover of Field of Play, not only signing my cover flats to help the book to sell, but also one for me that's now framed and in a place of honor in my office. For those who don't know, Angelo was tragically shot and killed (for the true story I recommend the documentary produced by Joe Manganiello, from True Blood/Magic Mike, titled LaBare). To this day, my fellow EC authors and former editors remain my friends, people I respect, admire, and trust. They are speaking up, they are telling their truths. If they're asking readers not to purchase their books, respect their decision. It is not because their books are poorly written or they are ashamed of it. Despite what's being posted on social media by an EC principle and a few EC authors who are in her corner (that's their right, too), those who are speaking out or speaking up are not liars, they are not misogynists, Bad Apples, or bullies. To sick a very nasty troll after a group that follows a Twitter hashtag known as #notchilled, the same person probably best known for GamerGate, is, by my measure, very low and irresponsible and an another attempt to 'chill free speech.' That's the purpose of #notchilled, not to malign EC, but to come out in defense of a blogger's and anyone else's right to write what they believed to be substantially true.

It is because of the lawsuit that I have chosen not to write for Ellora's Cave any longer. Yes, the case settled, and there's a sense of letdown by all parties of interest, but an attempt to stifle free speech did not sit well with me, and still doesn't. That's why I made the decisions I have since August of 2014. I'll continue to write and publish mainstream Romantic Suspense, and I'm venturing into paranormal again. When or if I get the rights returned on my back titles, I'll heavily revise, re-title, re-cover, and set prices according to what is most affordable for readers. If I go with a mainstream publisher, who knows what's down the road, you can be certain that I will never sign a contract without a lawyer and hopefully an agent's assistance.

Please note that this is my experience, another author or staffer's story may vary. It is not intended to sling mud, there's already too much being thrown around by both sides of the situation. Frankly, I hope the bullying on Twitter from sock puppets and trolls ends. I hope the vitriol stops and business-like discussions resume. I do not hope EC goes into bankruptcy, there are authors, staffers, publishers, artists, copy editors, you name it, who depend upon this publishing house. I do not wish ill upon Jaid Black, Patty Marks, or anyone else involved with Ellora's Cave, nor do I seek to cause trouble for them or create further chaos. It was simply time to speak out.

To authors who remain supportive of EC, I wish you success. To authors who have chosen to speak out or request readers not to purchase their Ellora's Cave titles, whether it's a business decision or something more personal, I support you unconditionally. To my readers, I hope you will continue to support my self-published titles, UnMAsKed is available at Amazon, B&N for Nook, Kobo, and iBooks. For information on this, hit me up in the comment section or check out the following page: http://www.francesstockton.com/romanticsuspense.html#unmasked           

Until the next time,
Frances Stockton

  
     



   

Cover for Hazard's Dare!

Now that the Holidays are over, and a New Year has begun, there's so much to blog about. First and foremost, I have news!

As you might have guessed, I have a new release coming soon from Ellora's Cave Moderne titled Hazard's Dare. I can't give you a date quite yet, but very soon I'll post all the information readers might need.

Hazard's Dare features Trevor Hazard Osbourne, the middle linebacker for the Alexandria Griffins, a fictional pro football team, and his agent's sister, Avery Grant. The two acquaintances unexpectedly meet up in a Vegas-like town in Dare, Nevada for a week of hot sex and a bucket list of positions and fantasies to act out. With no rules and no promises, what starts out as temporary quickly becomes something far more significant.

Check out the cover by the very talented Syneca! I absolutely love it.

Previous books, Quarterback Blitz and Field of Play also featured players from the Griffins, Kyran Black and Dallas McKay.

Until next time, read often and write well,
Frances

RomantiCon 2012: Great Friends, Fabulous Readers and EC Staff

Greetings everyone!!
This blog comes to you several days after the close of RomantiCon 2012, Ellora's Cave Publishing's annual convention for readers, authors and staff to mix, mingle and celebrate red hot Erotic Romance and the women who write and read them.

I can't tell you how many wonderful people help to bring the convention together with style, class and dedication to detail and planning. As a former conference chair and the president of an RWA chapter, I know what it takes to pull off a conference of any size, but every year Ellora's Cave staff manages to impress and make the planning look and feel effortless. It should go without saying, but I will anyway, thank you Ellora's Cave for all you do for authors, readers and staff members.

Believe it or not, planning for RomantiCon 2013 is underway, and the dates are set. Check out EC's RomantiCon 2013 website for details! And if you're a RomantiCon virgin, don't be nervous about attending. Everyone is welcome and before the convention is through, you'll have 300+ new friends. The minute you step into the convention, you're drawn into a safe environment where you can be free to be yourself, read the books you love and write the books fans crave. Here's a look at next year!
http://ecromanticon.com/

Note the date, October 10-13, 2013, the theme, Old Hollywood, New Bollywood, make costumes if you're crafty (unlike myself) and be free to push reality to the curb for a few days and live a fantasy that will leave you smiling, laughing and partying with follow readers and authors, and have I mentioned the Cavemen? If not, let me tell you, you cannot miss the Cavemen.

Here's a look at the beautiful man who was named Alpha Caveman of the year this past Saturday night! http://ecromanticon.com/alpha-caveman-contest The Cavemen dance, charm and pose throughout the convention without fail and are always ready with the warmest of smiles and the sweetest of personalities to boot. The one thing that stood out to me this past weekend was the fact that not only are the Cavemen incredibly talented, they are genuinely nice! Some are quiet-spoken, and yet, their intensity and dedication to detail and their natural sense of charm makes any woman melt and feel like a woman, no pun intended.

At RomantiCon 2012, the Cavemen included this year's winner, Nick, who led an incredible Zumba class that must be witnessed, David, Ace, Christian, Georgio, Ryan (a South African who was not only gorgeous, tall and chiseled, he was also gracious and well-spoken, just listening to him for five minutes was an honor), Eli, Bryan, Taylor and Justin (both of whom wrote 'Take it Off' available now from Ellora's Cave, and Cole.
If you want to learn more about them, click the links:  Georgio: http://ecromanticon.com/georgio
Cole:http://ecromanticon.com/cole Ryan: http://ecromanticon.com/ryan  Eli: http://ecromanticon.com/eli Taylor: http://ecromanticon.com/taylor Justin: http://ecromanticon.com/justin  David: http://ecromanticon.com/david 
Bryan: http://ecromanticon.com/bryan  and Ace: http://ecromanticon.com/ace

Next year, I'm sure many will return, as well as new Cavemen and some who were unable to attend this year due to other obligations. They're really super nice and make the weekend all the more special. Of course, the fact that they're incredibly gorgeous and grace the covers of our books, as well as have moves on the dance floor that will leave you breathless, is one of many, many reasons attendees return year after year.

On Thursday night at RomantiCon 2012, attendees gathered during the Meet and Greet, a time when everyone can gather at the bar, grab a drink and catchup or meet for the first time. Within minutes new faces became instant friends, past attendees reunite and the Cavemen dance, talk and socialize. Now, I admit that I arrived this year on Wednesday evening, giving a whole day to explore before the events kick off Thursday evening. Next year, I'm determined to attend the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was literally down the road from the hotel and I'm a HUGE football fan.

After a day of workshops and discussion panels that featured everything from open discussion of writing BDSM, to sexy Pictionary games and what books make a reader's keeper shelf and why, not to mention Poi and hula hoop dancing (I'll get to the lap dancing lesson next), and plenty of opportunities to mix and mingle with 80+ authors and many, many readers of Exotica, Romantica and Blush romances, everyone gathered in the banquet hall for a night of food, fun and dancing. The theme this year was 'Party Like There's No Tomorrow', and attendees dressed in costumes ranging from Cleopatra to Hollywood-chic, and Carnival! The Cavemen entertained us with skillfully crafted choreography and dancing, here's a link.

Warning in advance, it's about 25 minutes long!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4G0x9jKHkI

Also, this brings me to Rodney and CJ! Both men are important parts of the RomantiCon experience. Rodney was named the Ultimate Caveman, acts as the event emcee, and is all-around charming, friendly, open and possibly the nicest man on the planet. The moment Rodney walks into the room, women get all giddy because we all know that he can charm your socks off, all while remaining respectful and seeing the beauty of a woman, inside and out, no matter who they are. CJ, is the original Caveman and he loves to pose with attendees and is really, very sweet. He also helped to hand out awards at the Saturday evening ceremony, his smile is wonderful and his hugs are even better!!

This brings me to Saturday evening, this theme being Survivors vs Zombies after the Mayan apocolypse! The costumes were incredibly creative, everything from walking dead, blood-soaked brides, angels, military specialists and vampires. This was the night Nick was crowned Alpha Caveman of 2012, giving him the honor to be 'the' Caveman, he'll appear in a national magazine, many covers and become the cover boy for EC's annual calendar, among other benefits.

Sadly, this draws me to think about an incredibly wonderful man who was tragically killed shortly before RomantiCon. An angel in his own right, Angelo/Ruben, will always, always be missed by those who knew him and called him a friend. Angelo was the reigning Alpha, and it is only fitting that his good friend, Nick, received the honor this year. I know that Angelo was smiling down from Heaven when Nick's name was announced. And it's no surprise that Nick won. He is charming and genuine, not to mention gorgeous, and man, can he move! There's something incredibly sexy about a man who can dance, and this man can dance!

On a happier note, Saturday marks the author awards ceremony. Rising Stars, featuring authors new to EC, to Superstars, authors who are awarded with beautiful, dazzling crystal trophies, for their books or something in their book that made the editors stand up and take notice. I was honored to learn that Cuff Master received an award for 'Best Race to Orgasm', and when I heard the title and then my name, I was so shocked, I nearly fell over. The room roared with laughter and cheers. To be honored in such a way will always mean the world to me. Thank you EC!

Now, of course, every night there is dancing. Dancing, and more dancing. In addition to our gorgeous Cavemen leading the way with another choreographic masterpiece, this time Survivors vs Zombies, and when the zombies look like the Cavemen, (I'd gladly let them bite!) attendees danced late into the night, then we all converged in the lounge and socialized some more.

Sunday at RomantiCon is the SEXPorium, a 4 hour event featuring a book signing by the authors, and more entertainment from the Cavemen and the local burlesque troop from Cleveland Exotic Dance. These ladies are really, really sweet, and fit right in at RomantiCon. One thing I'd forgotten to mention, early on Saturday, we learned all about lap dancing. No, we didn't do anything that would make our husbands or significant others nervous, but we did learn some moves that would entertain them! We also learned a startling difference between how a woman's sensuality can be enhanced during a lap dance and how a man can be both physically charming and dominant, and yet, not once put her in an awkward or dangerous position. The men of RomantiCon do this with class and perfection, making certain that every woman feels safe in their company.

It is with sadness that I must end this blog post, or I fear tears, because I do love being at RomantiCon and the friends I've made there. Each year gets better and better, this being my third, and next year will definitely be my fourth. Don't miss it. Attend, even if you think you're too shy, don't let that stop you. Come and be part of the EC family and you will find friendships that last and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Until next time,
Frances