Hop for Visibility Awareness and Equality

Hi! Welcome to the Hop for Visibility Awareness and Equality. You might know them as the Hop Against Homophobia, Bi and Transphobia.

Hop for Visibility, Awareness & Equality Official Site

Their mission statements (find here): “The mission of Hope for Visibility, Awareness, and Equality is to foster an environment of inclusion and positivity within the LGBTQI+ community. We hope to bring awareness to discrimination and celebrate our diversity not only within the community at large but within our own genres and books. We also hope to engage authors, readers, bloggers, and artist to get involved in ending discrimination while promoting visibility, awareness and equality for all sexual orientations and gender identifications.”

It’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

It always fascinates me that we call hatred a phobia. I’m not sure when it happened or why. But I’d guess it came around the time when saying you feared it meant you had an excuse to kill it.

I’m going to go off course a little, but I fear spiders. It’s irrational, they’ve never done anything to me, and yet I squeal and make a huge fuss whenever one is near me. The bigger the more I fear it. And for a long time, hell, until recently I said I hated them. I hated spiders. It wasn’t until the last time we had a spider in our house and the first thing my children did was tell me to kill it. Just like that, as if it wasn’t anything in it. As if it’s life didn’t deserve to be lived because I was scared. The same thing happened on facebook. I put a picture up of the nasty looking beast and suddenly my comments were filled with death. Everyone screaming (in a sense) for it to be dead. To be cast from the world because we have a fear.  

The thing is I do honestly fear spiders. I don’t know why. There’s no reason behind it. They scare the shit out of me to a point where I sweat. I shake and I break down completely just from seeing one. Just from knowing it’s around. To be honest, because it was in my bathroom, the room where my toilet was, I stop going until I was about to burst and even then I had real thoughts of just wetting myself, or going outside and peeing, because I couldn’t handle being in the same room as this spider.

That’s what fear is. That’s what we are saying these people are. That we are to a point of breaking down in fear at the idea of someone having a different sexuality to ourselves, a different idea of what we want them to be. Of what we assume they should be, because we’ve been told countless times that there is only one way of seeing things, one way of living. And yet if you were a straight white couple then you’re allowed to break the mould a little by wearing all black or dying your hair, of having children young of not having them at all. You’re allowed to break that mould because deep down you’re still in it. You’re still what other people want you to be.

The thing is, no one is that anymore—hell, no one has been that since the 70’s and yet we are still so clueless as to anything outside ourselves while we judge everyone who isn’t exactly the same as what we are. And that’s not fear, that’s saying you’re allowed to call it fear which makes it irrational which then allows you to never actually look outside yourself and learn something new. Something that you should already know, which is that it’s none of your business, nothing outside yourself is your business.

It’s hatred. It’s hatred labelled as fear because they want the world to stay blind and to create war and hunger and class. That’s what it is, calling it fear is allowing the world to strip us of our rights as equals and allows us to class someone as lesser then they are, and if you’re lesser that means you don’t actually deserve the common decency all human beings should get.

And apparently this is a strong point for me, but you know what I’m not sorry and I’m sick of the fact that we call something a phobia when it’s purely hate. Hate designed to make those less educated follow the rolls of people who should know better and should teach them better.

Giveaway

First Prize: 1 random winner will get paperback of BonyDee Press Anthology (if wish for it signed, you will have to allow for extra time in delivery)

Second Prize: 2 random winners will get 2 e-books from my backlist 

comment on this post, it can be anything, and I will pull the winners at the end of the hop (please note you must come back to the blog in order to see if you've won, I will post links in my social media places) 

Other Participants

Read Last Week

#MySexySaturday

#MSS141 theme is A Sexy Letter

SHAMELESS PROMOTING & HOP INFO

Randomness Friday

April Kelley and I are starting something different, instead of blog swapping we will be answering questions along with sharing bits of our research into 2nd BonyDee Press challenge; click name for rules

Please, after reading below, go and check out April’s Post

What’s your fav book April Wrote?

Until recently it was A Tarnished Strength it was one of the best books I’d read in a long time, everything about it was wonderful and I have judged every book she’s written with that one (honestly, ask her).

But now… now she has this new book out and it was better. Okay, no, yeah it’s the best book she’s written so far. It’s just wonderful, full of emotion, of personality, of world building. Its so sweet. Making me tear up and everything.

What’s this book, It’s The Journey of Jimini Renn which is a dystopian romance and honestly it’s a must read. It’s not so very character driven like every other book of hers so if the ‘dystopian’ aspect is something you sigh away from, you really shouldn’t. it’s a journey and that’s what the book focus’ on. It’s the MC who the story is about, about growth and his understanding that there’s more to life. It’s about the idea of what the world had turned into and the wonders of the one that came before it. It’s about friends, love, and family and it’s got one of the sweetest, nearly unapologetic naive and that’s what drives this story, it’s what makes it so much more.

And to end here’s the info, it’s available on the 10th of May

In a world without surface water, Jimini Renn wants nothing more than to live inside the protective walls of Adam City for the rest of his life, but his little brother has other ideas.

As far as Jimini is concerned, Adam City has everything he needs. It has a well that provides much-needed water, food, and safety from the dangers of the outside world. When his bookworm of a brother leaves to chase waterfalls, Jimini must follow even though he knows it will probably mean his death. When the first person he meets on the outside pulls a gun on him, he’s proven right. No one who calls himself a slaver and has a gun has Jimini’s safety in mind, even if he is sexy. The journey Jimini expects isn’t the one he gets.

BUY HERE

SHAMELESS PROMOTING

Pick Me A Book ǀ Backwards

Here again, with a review of the next book you guys picked for me to read. And don’t forget to follow to the bottom and vote again.

BAKCWARDS and ROUND & ROUND (Bronco’s Boys #3&4) by Andrew Grey

RULES:

·         Comment on the book you think I should read

·         The one with the most comments wins

·         On Thursday, I’ll do something with the book in question. A review. An impression. Something a big different but about the book – I feel this might not be the same thing ever week (am trying to talk myself into doing a video chat about it)

Indigo Tour: Guest Lor Rose with Freeing Pain: Annex

Smash it with a hammer!

While writing Annex I faced some of my worst writer’s block ever. My normal tricks weren’t working:

1.      Work on something else to free up my mind: yeah right

2.      Color something pretty to forget about it: ha!

3.      Spend time with my interrupting cats: meh

4.      Procrastinate by playing my favorite games: shesh

5.      Talk it over with my sounding board: not happening

6.      Ride my horse on a nice relaxing trail ride: nope

7.      Take the dog to the dog park: sure

8.      Clean: bah

9.      Shop: by this point I forget that I hate shopping

10.  Have sex: book? There’s a book?

By method number ten I was honestly starting to panic a little. One or a combination of these things had always helped me in the past. What was I doing wrong? Why weren’t my methods working! Why? Why! Why?!

I was doomed. Readers wanted this book. They’d been waiting for a long time. No more waiting!

Then it hit me.

I was stressing out about getting this thing done. Why? Because people had been waiting so long for this book. Once I calmed down and took a big breath writing Annex became a little easier (with Kash’s help of course).

If you’d like to learn more about Freeing Pain: Annex visit my website (www.LorRose.com) for my next stop on this tour.

We Meet Again

Again this week I’ve found I’ve done nothing, though unlike last when I could list off what I’ve actually done, this one I wasn’t as successful.

What did I do? Let’s see… I did edits on my Birthday Bash posts. I have 13 flash fictions but unlike last time this time it was a look into the characters of my books. Or at least the ones I was still able to write about. Unfortunately, one couple that missed out really needs to get their act back or they’ll never get that finished story they are waiting for. Saying this, the reason I wasn’t able to was more because I didn’t know what to write when there story is still only in the beginning stage.

I beta read two book while apparently ignoring another. Honestly, I’m the worse beta alive as I’ve had this story for so long and I keep on forgetting about it. It’s not the books fault, it’s all mine. I’ve just had so much crap in my RL that a lot of things have been forgotten. That too and I think I’m working my way out of a depression fog, it’s only been over the last two days but I’m seeing a lot of shit I’ve left untouched.

And that’s about it. I’ve read 2 novels which I wasn’t meant to and I have just been stressed as hell and hoping I can be fixed enough to be able to go on with my life. though it’s still there its not as horrible as it has been the last week because unlike last week, this one I don’t have anything to fall back on.

What’s up this week? That’s a good question; it’s the same thing I wanted to be doing last week. Writing. I’m nearly halfway through the year and I need to write 7 books. 6 at 20K each and one at 10K. Plus I’d like to finish another 10K story but in all honestly that can wait till 2017 and still be able for me to use it.

Anyway. I’ve also got to get started on working out what the hell I need for October 2017 and yeah it’s a long way off but hell, it’s exciting and I’m obsessive.

So that’s for me, you should click on my newsletter thing in the side bar I have news coming soon that will hit there first.

Read Last Week

#MySexySaturday

My apologies for missing last week. Too much rained down on me in such a short time I was unable to keep up the blogging side of my world. But I’m set now, or as much as I’m able and hope to have no further interruptions without notice *wink*

#MSS140 theme is A Sexy Dance

SHAMELESS PROMOTING & HOP INFO

Randomness Friday

April Kelley and I are starting something different, instead of blog swapping we will be answering questions along with sharing bits of our research into 2nd BonyDee Press challenge; click name for rules

Please, after reading below, go and check out April’s Post

What Your Fav book you wrote?

Hm… this is a hard one. I’m tempted to go with exactly what I wrote on ManLove Fantasy blog but that seems a bit…I don’t know, easy. It’s all true though and so it wouldn’t be that I’m laying it. That book holds it’s head up high, but the reason I love that book is because of the reason I wrote it. Because of the subject matter. But is it my fav in the plan way that a book just becomes that.

I’d love to say the next release of mine is my favourite. And I do love it. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever written. And that comes after saying Outside Sanity was a well written book, at least it’s the best I’ve done so far.

And the thing is I’ve loved all my books, still do. I’m not pushed anything that I haven’t wanted to stand behind. But my favourite? I don’t know. and it’s not a ‘don’t know’ in the way of not being able to pick. It’s honestly I don’t know. I tend to write and then bush it all aside and move on. I end up getting to a point where I never want to see the effing thing again and that makes it hard to choose a favourite because am I choosing it as a favourite of is it the only one that’s come out the other side of the dog house?

I love Loved By A Werewolf, even though it’s horribly written. There are holes everywhere and it just…it’s not a good read. It’s enjoyable if you can get over all the problems with it, but on a whole there are just so many of them. I love the series in full, I love the idea and want to get back into it, but that’s a story for another time. the thing is after writing book 5 I got…it became complicated and I lost sight of the story, the adventure. It became a series I’d think of with dread, because I had to write another and another when I had no passion left.

I then tend to forget books, I forget the fun ones I wrote for other people, like Ben’s Wolf Surprise, or A Road Worth Travelling. I’d forget the ones I wrote to challenge myself Running Scared, Love Without Knowing It, Outside Sanity.

I forget about how I got caught up in the buzz of excitement that continued on, My Outside My Inside, The Way Life Turns.  

And then, because those hold a meaning outside itself. I forget the ones I did just because. Because the story hit, the idea was interesting and didn’t need much from me. Gotta Start Somewhere, Hunted, My Kevin

And then all this gets pushed aside because of what’s coming. because of the new and exciting. Being That For You, The Next Challenge, Greenbelt Wolves, Irritating Outsider.

The thing is as I look back over the blog I think I got everything that’s needed. I don’t have a favourite of my books, I like them all, I loathe them all, and I would kill someone for them *wink* and that’s okay. There my books and I should feel this way about them all. I’m allowed, just as other authors are allowed to pick just one. there’s allowed to sit back and say, yes, this is the best one I’ve ever written, and maybe if I had one that I could do that with this post would have come out a lot differently, but until then I will allow myself to like them all and wait. hope that I’m able to write a book that stands on it’s own and say, “yes, this the best you’ll ever write, the best plot you’ve ever come up against, it’s quite simply the best” and I’ll smile wide, grateful that I have something to say flat out. Until then, this is my blog and I’m not forced to choose one over the other because that’s all you’ve got time for so I’m going to take it and run

SHAMELESS PROMOTING

The Way Life Turns by April Kelley & Bronwyn Heeley

(A BonyDee Press Challenge)

Contemporary Romance

What happens when two men are in very different places in their relationship?

Almost from the start of their relationship, Jonah was in love with Scott. Scott doesn’t share that same sentiment. Jonah finds out exact how Scott feels about him the hard way, when he sees Scott in a compromising position with someone else. How they react becomes the challenge two authors have set out to solve. Will there be forgiveness or misery as Jonah reacts to what Scott has done?

Amazon ǀ ARe ǀ Smashwords ǀ Barnes&Noble ǀ Kobo

Goodreads