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See, the truth is, we’re not always all worked up about things. For example, right now, we’re very happy to note that Tim Rutten has been promoted and, as part of his new duties, will be overseeing the Los Angeles Times Book Review section. If we weren’t so pleased about this (and we are because […]

Since the growing market for Christian romance isn’t news (just as street lit isn’t news and so on), we are going to, once again, note that the so-called “paper of record” clearly has no respect for its female readers. Not only does it persist in perpetuating an image that, frankly, hasn’t existed since we were […]

If we were the subtle type, we’d let the story speak for itself. We’re not. We’re such that we will guide you to our favorite thoughts. One, the creator of the art is not necessarily making the most money. Two, lower production costs have not translated to lower consumer costs. Three, lower production costs have […]

For the first time since this morning…ouch, it even hurts to type those words. We know our readers can’t get enough of copyright stuff. It’s like caffeine. Except maybe it doesn’t act as quickly. No drug is perfect. Or so we’ve been lead to believe. This story from Wired touches on something that comes up […]

We are on a personal mission this year: we, with a little help from our friends, are going to reprogram minds. It won’t be easy, mostly because each of us failed brain surgery in high school. And it strikes us that we weren’t particularly successful with persuasive writing. Nor speaking. But never you mind — […]

While our focus, if we could be accused of having one, is primarily on fiction writers, novelists, if you will, we retain a wide interest in all things that affect writers. That and we live in a town where we are apparently the only one not working on a screenplay. The Writers Guild of America […]

We think it’s okay to lie in headlines. Nobody believes them anyway, right? Sony’s acquisition of MGM is a minor source of fascination for us, not only because we were witness to Sony’s revamping of the MGM lot. We like the weird full circle aspect of the story. But it makes us wonder: do brand […]

If there is one* universal truth, it is something like this: independent publishers and labels will always have distribution woes. The machinery is set up to accommodate the big guys. Last week, we reported on Imajinn and their Chapter 13 filing; this was, in part, because the cash going out the door exceeded the cash […]

This article about Damian Loeb and his use of photographs (by other artists) as the basis for his paintings leads us to wonder: what does copyright represent? We are not being obtuse. Much. Where does stealing end and homage or inspiration begin? If Loeb had identified his sources, would that have changed the nature of […]

Once upon a time, we took an art history class. We still remain perplexed that art was defined as sculpture and painting with a smattering of architecture. Are those areas not broad enough on their own that they deserve individual treatment like the various forms of literature and music? Are literature and music not art? […]