The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 91

Welcome to The Prince’s Boy by Cecilia Tan, a tale of a prince and his whipping boy ensnared in a plot of dark erotic magic. Warning: explores themes of dubious consent and situations of sexual jeopardy. NSFW.

A new chapter appears every Wednesday. This week is Chapter Ninety-One: Kenet

91: Kenet

kenet-theprincesboy

We were making our way through the twisted tunnels that would bring us within sight of the Rose Gate when I heard the sound of footsteps ahead of us, someone climbing in a hurry.

Before I could react, Kan came bounding up the steps, his sword sheathed. He stopped short and just stared at the three of us in the gloom. “Kenet?”

“Yes, and Bear is with me, and… and our father.” Continue reading The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 91

The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 90

Welcome to The Prince’s Boy by Cecilia Tan, a tale of a prince and his whipping boy ensnared in a plot of dark erotic magic. Warning: explores themes of dubious consent and situations of sexual jeopardy. NSFW.

A new chapter appears every Wednesday. This week is Chapter Ninety: Jorin

90: Jorin

jorin-theprincesboy

Kan followed me through the passages. We went past the room that Kenet and I had shared in the years we had lived here, but there was no time to pause for nostalgia.

I was making for the tower that Seroi called his own. “If he is holding Bolan’s son and the other boys hostage, I would wager that is where they will be,” I said to Kan. Continue reading The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 90

The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 89

Welcome to The Prince’s Boy by Cecilia Tan, a tale of a prince and his whipping boy ensnared in a plot of dark erotic magic. Warning: explores themes of dubious consent and situations of sexual jeopardy. NSFW.

A new chapter appears every Wednesday. This week is Chapter Eighty-Nine: Kenet

89: Kenet

kenet-theprincesboy

“My prince, this is… this was not in the plan,” Bear said nervously.

“Rescuing my father most certainly was in the plan,” I answered as I picked my way to the top of the Snake Ladder.

“You gallivanting off alone was not in the plan,” he clarified. “And, I’m sorry, my prince, but I will not fit down there.”

Indeed, it looked as if his shoulders would get stuck after only a few steps. “I am just going to have a look. If I can, I’ll speak with him, and then bring him with me back to you. We must get him out of the mage’s clutches.” Continue reading The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 89

The Censoring of LGBT Covers & Posters at #RT18

Hi folks! Cecilia Tan here, reporting from the RT Booklovers Convention in Reno.

If it’s your first time hearing about RT, this is a massive annual convention that brings together thousands of readers with hundreds of authors, mostly in the romance genres but also a lot of YA, fantasy, mystery, and science fiction. (“RT” stands for Romantic Times, the original magazine that founded the conference.)

RT typically has nonstop promo parties thrown by publishers and authors, and every hotel where it takes place (it move around all over, Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, Las Vegas) is usually plastered with giant posters of romance novels. It’s typical to see each elevator door with a massive add on it, for example. Here at the Peppermill much of that type of advertising seems to have been moved to large video screens that rotate through, but there are also floor clings, large ads on the floor as you walk to and from the convention area. Thus far my impression is that there is less advertising than in past years, but I don’t know if that’s because the Peppermill is pickier about what can be displayed, or if fewer ads were bought (romance publishing has suffered some big blows this year), or what.

What I can tell you is that in particular, though, the advertising floor clings purchased by the Rainbow Romance Writers, the chapter of the RWA (Romance Writers of America) that promotes specifically LGBT romances, have been censored. I know because I just heard from a Circlet Press author, Elizabeth Schechter, about this:

Example:
Censoring of LGBT book covers at RT by the Peppermill Resort

Censoring of LGBT book covers at RT by the Peppermill Resort

Detail:

Censoring of LGBT book cover Heart's Master by Elizabeth Schechter

Here’s the cover that the Peppermill Resort thought was necessary to censor:

Heart's Master Elizabeth Schechter

For contrast, here is the larger-than-life-size floor cling RIGHT NEXT TO the censored one:

Leveque floor cling

It’s got all the abs, all the muscled thighs, all the SEE THROUGH CHAIN MAIL, but apparently it’s OK because…? Ropes are too much…? Or is it because they gave gay and lesbian and queer books more scrutiny?

The board of the Rainbow Romance Writers apparently found out yesterday (Tuesday) when the floor clings were being installed that the hotel objected to the images. They had the choice of either censor or pull the clings entirely. These ads were paid for by the authors of the books who each chipped in hard-earned dollars to have their book displayed. I can’t really blame them for making the snap decision to censor the covers rather than risk not having any of the books displayed and losing their money.

But I think the Peppermill Resort had better be prepared to give Elizabeth Schechter and TL Travis back their money. And I think they better be ready to defend their decision to censor these LGBT covers and not any of the heterosexual imagery (at least so far as I’ve heard): that’s what we call anti-LGBT discrimination folks.

(And if it’s the ropes… hello, folks, we are at a casino in RENO not DISNEYLAND? Didn’t 50 Shades of Grey prove that BDSM is mainstream? They sold bondage kits in TARGET for f’s sake…)

Anyway, that’s what’s going on here. If you’d like to show Elizabeth Schechter some love and help us turn lemons into lemonade, please share her censored cover far and wide?

Elizabeth Schechter Heart's Master Too Hot for Reno

(And maybe let the Peppermill Resort know you think censorship is wrong and slightly ridiculous? Did they not know what RT Booklovers is about?)

UPDATE! Edited to add:

The Peppermill Reno has apologized and will be reprinting the ads without the coverups! Text of their tweet:

(1/2) Our sincere apologies for the miscommunication, as the two book covers in questions were never taped over due to their LGBTQ nature. As a family-friendly resort with many guests not here for the convention, we made a mistake in covering the original artwork.

(2/2) We’re now in the process of getting the ad reprinted and replaced, which should be done tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. Again, we’re truly sorry this was ever misconstrued as a bias against the LGBTQ community.

From author Elizabeth Schechter:

According to @RenoPeppermill, the ads are being reprinted and replaced and they’re calling me tomorrow to apologize. I’m satisfied with that and have thanked them.

UPDATED AGAIN: As of Wednesday midday I am happy to report the unexpurgated ad was in place on the floor cling! And I heard from Elizabeth Schechter who spoke with the hotel’s GM to get his personal apology. Thank you, Reno Peppermill!

The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 88

Welcome to The Prince’s Boy by Cecilia Tan, a tale of a prince and his whipping boy ensnared in a plot of dark erotic magic. Warning: explores themes of dubious consent and situations of sexual jeopardy. NSFW.

A new chapter appears every Wednesday. This week is Chapter Eighty-Eight: Jorin

88: Jorin

jorin-theprincesboy

We approached the Rose Gate on horseback, in what felt like the most brazen sneak attack in the history of war. We marched right through the village, me and Kan in the lead, our faces hidden by the hoods of our cloaks, with several men on horse coming behind. Roichal and Marksin were not among them, however. They hung back, dressed as traders.

The people of the village eyed us nervously, but we were not challenged.

I jerked suddenly as it looked like our enemy appeared in the road, and my horse danced aside, but as I blinked I saw nothing was there. Continue reading The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 88

Writing Through Depression video workshop by @JenWilliams13

In this video Circlet’s own Jennifer Williams provides tips and tricks for staying in the “write” frame of mind while struggling with depression. From word counts to accountability partners and even touching on the value of binge watching, Jennifer guides you through what she’s learned during her own journey through major depressive disorder. We hope you enjoy this video and find it to be a useful toolbox for your creativity.

Jennifer Williams can be found on Twitter at @JenWilliams13 and on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/JenniferWilliams

Video was recorded at the Circlet Press Writers & Editors Retreat, May 2018 in Cambridge, MA.

The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 87

Welcome to The Prince’s Boy by Cecilia Tan, a tale of a prince and his whipping boy ensnared in a plot of dark erotic magic. Warning: explores themes of dubious consent and situations of sexual jeopardy. NSFW.

A new chapter appears every Wednesday. This week is Chapter Eight-Seven: Kenet

87: Kenet

kenet-theprincesboy

Bear came with me, and six of the Night Riders, and four of Marksin’s best men. My breath caught as we cleared the trees for the first time and I caught sight of the castle up the mountainside. Maldevar is the name of the castle, and the mountain, and the village which houses those who do not live inside the castle walls. Inside the walls, though, the castle was like a city unto itself, not so large as Port Aris, but quite sizable.

Looking up at the towers and the dark bulk of the buildings molded into the mountainside, I considered it a miracle that I had ever escaped from there. Continue reading The Prince’s Boy: Chapter 87