If you love being an enslaved author down on the NY plantation, DO NOT read this...

The world needs a whole lot of Lone Rangers, and so does the Kougaress...

Late night yowls, my feisty and fabulous Felines... warmer on the tame prairie, and still a very lovely day... the Kougaress is definitely being spoiled by this stretch of weather... and she's so not looking forward to summer, if it's unbearably hot... and who knows? Given these times of HUGE CHANGE.

After next week nothing will be the same on our precious planet.
~~~~~~

Authoress news and mews ~

Okay, Kittens, the Kougar is still working on the end of her chapter for her WIP ~ Her Midnight Stardust Cowboys ~ it's going good... however... gosh, time slips by way too fast, superspeed fast.

From the Kougar’s Writing Den ~ her latest WIP ~

Her Midnight Stardust Cowboys

X-Rated! The last six REALLY 'unedited' sentences written for Chapter Thirty-Nine ~

"Here it comes," he growled out. Claiming his mate's hips, he positioned himself.

"That long rifle of yours better be on its best behavior," Dontoya roughly purred.

Hearing his pardner's warning as if it was background noise, Zance pushed his engorged reddened head against her slick rim. At Sherilyn's moan, he rocked his crown inside.

"Like satin," he groaned...
~~~

Featured at SHAPESHIFTER SEDUCTIONS & SHAPESHIFTER KISSES ~

Alliance, Shere Khan's Offerings
by Savanna Kougar

Tuesday howls and yowls, shapeshifter lovers.

It's the middle of May... can you believe it?

So, this flash scene stars that omnipresent villain, Shere Khan, leader of the Tiger Yakuza in Talbot's Peak.

Dugger, the dingo man, also stars in the lead role as the hero. With a common, take-no-prisoners enemy threatening The Peak, will a temporary alliance be formed?

~~~~~~

Alliance, Shere Khan's Offerings

As tiger, Shere Khan muscled his way through the night forest. Uncaring about who or what heard his approach, he thundered a roar without a pause in his stride. Shere Khan listened with satisfaction as the sound echoed around him.

Because of their agreed-upon mind connection, for now, he knew Dugger, the dingo shapeshifter, had been alerted. The negotiation for their tête-à-têt had been quite the mental challenge, and by the end, Shere Khan had gained a new respect for the crafty down-under canine.
~~~

If you love being the enslaved author down on the NY plantation, DO NOT read this... [Really, DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION]

Also, before you continue, if you have any doubts, check out the Kougar's previous blog rant on this topic ~ ...instead of the greedy, evil-dragon BIG PUBLISHERS... ~ kougarkisses.blogspot.com/2012/05/instead-of-greedy-evil-dragon-big.html

AUTHORS ~ REALLY, unless you're in a very limiting circumstance, or are going for stardom status... WHY DO YOU NEED AN AGENT? Especially a bad, stupid, greedy agent.

What follows is a comment this Big Cat agrees with. Since she didn't get permission to republish from the author, this is a quote for educational/entertainment purposes only:

"I'm guessing most of you have read the post by a former Harlequin author discussing her compensation (or lack of it,) on Joe Konrath's blog last week. The comments are as interesting as the initial post.

Agent Scott Eagan posted a response on his blog. The initial post has been wiped off Eagan's website, but some other authors made screen shots of his comments.

~ thepassivevoice.com/05/2012/many-authors-are-able-to-make-a-living-with-their-writing-with-harlequin ~

We now have an agent admitting that his first allegiance is to the publisher, not to his clients. He also claims it's the author's responsibility to understand all contract terms. If this is so, why does anyone need an agent? Are they or are they not "experts" in the subject of literary contracts, and should advise clients accordingly?

One of the better things about what's happening in the industry right now is the fact that stuff like this is finally getting flushed out into the open."

So, no confusion follows on the 'contract' issue, here is additional info:

With all due respect, it IS the author's responsibility to understand all contract terms. We hire agents to help us with that understanding (although you'd be surprised how few agents have any background at all in contracts). Some of us hire lawyers. Some of us choose to go it on our own.

But when we put our names on a contract - any contract, whether we're authors or mortgagees or anything else - we'd damn well better make sure we understand all the things we agree to.

I had an agent for my Berkley mysteries. I didn't expect her to tell me what to do or what to sign. That's not her job. I hired her to negotiate for me, and I asked her to let me know if she noticed any red flags in the contract, but I read that thing cover to cover myself, and made sure I understood everything in it. Ultimately, the contract is between me and the publisher, and the agent is not part of it. So yes, responsibility for understanding contract terms rests firmly on the author.

BIG CAT NOTE: If the agent considers that they work for the publisher, really in the long run, how does that help an author?

AND of further importance!

"Yes, but in Harlequin's case, they created shell companies, sold the books to themselves at a huge discount, then gave the author a percentage of the discounted amount, which turned a 50% ebook royalty into 3%. No agent, attorney or author could have seen that coming in contract language. And ebooks are just now becoming a big money-maker, it's just now coming to light.

And for the records, hundreds of Harlequin authors formed a group and hired a literary attorney to challenge some of their more insidious practices. The authors are not doormats, but they are fighting a huge monolith whose parent company cares nothing for authors or art.

Also, if you talk to old-time Harlequin authors, they will tell you that their books used to sell over 200k copies. But as Harlequin created more lines, added more books to lines and lost enormous audience when book clubs were no longer "the thing," it has become almost impossible to make a livable wage writing for them any longer. And they do not care in the
least. They have come right out and stated so.

This agent is clearly in the wrong. He's taking the side of a publisher against clients, which is exactly why so many agents will be out of business in the near future. Agents who have been advocating on behalf of their clients do not have to fear going under. But all those who've been playing politics with other people's livelihoods may want to start worrying."

Follow up info-comment: "They hired an attorney over the change in our percentage.

THE FOLLOWING 'QUOTED' COMMENT SAYS WHAT THE KOUGAR HAS BEEN YOWLING FOR DECADES!!!

"If any agent finds Harlequin's boiler plate contract acceptable or industry standard, then they have no business being in business. On that, you and I will simply have to disagree.

My agent got a lot of points changed for me (that they claim they won't change) but she still hates their contracts with a passion.

The reality is, too many people, both agents and writers, are afraid of "rocking the boat." I don't see it that way. I am a business, just like them, looking for the best price for my work. It's really that simple. Anyone who makes it personal is not someone I want to do business with."

LATER COMMENT: "And before anyone asks, because I know it's coming - this is why I still write for Harlequin:

Because I love the Intrigue line. I love the books and read them for over a decade before I wrote for them. I love the other Intrigue writers, some of the most fabulous people I've met. I love my editor. I love the readers. I simply hate the corporation's business policies and disdain for artists and will continue to fight tooth and nail to get what I think is fair payment for my work. But I'm not going to quit and throw the baby out with the bathwater."

BIG CAT NOTE: While this is perfectly understandable, and this Big Cat can't say she wouldn't do the same... yet! This is what hooks authors in to a corrupt corporate system... the good people, the good readers... and believing they can fight the good fight. Harlequin will never change just like so many of the BIG CORPS in today's world. As long as they publish, Harlequin will remain the chew-em-up monster it's always been. All of us GOOD people need to wake up, and start our own enterprises. This is MUCH easier said than done obviously. Especially when having enough money/time/energy is the issue. But, the more of us who try, the more of us who are out there, the more these evil-empire dragons will be slain, and all of us authors, readers, publishers will benefit.
~~~

IT JUST GETS BETTER ~ BIG CAT SNARK ~ The Big Media Industry Corps are frightened to death of real authorly freedom. So, here they go cracking the slavery whip. One more GOOD reason NOT to purchase anything from them, or as little as possible. Again, here's the basic info quoted:

"This is not a Trademark notice...but a Copyright infringement for using a first name! This started late Friday afternoon.

My group blog received a C&D notice about a blog posted by one of our members, Adele Dubois. Seems that SONY filed a complaint:

"Copyright Work Description": Adele

"Location of Copyrighted Work": the link goes to MY nonfiction book (written by Marianne Stephens). It has nothing to do with Adele. AND, I own the copyright to my book. It has nothing to do with SONY.

G/B removed the 5/4 post Adele had done and put it in draft status in our blog file list.

The Authors Guild gave us some advice and we're following it. Adele has filed a counterclaim with G/B. I'll probably do the same thing.

You can read about all this in a Washington Post Blog, "She Blogs". I won't post the link here since it might be considered promo. But, consider it a warning as to what the "big" companies try to do."
~~~

AUTHORS/ASPIRING AUTHORS ~ Is your heroine/hero a MacGyver type?

Man builds Tesla gun that can shoot 20,000 Volts of electricity
By Tecca | Today in Tech

Add this to the increasing number of unusual weapons straight out of a sci-fi movie: A repurposed Nerf gun equipped with a Tesla coil that can shoot up to 20,000 volts of electricity.

~ tecca.com/news/2012/05/15/rob-flickenger-tesla-gun-lightning
~~~~~~

Big Cat by-the-numbers ~

11:44 pm... 11:55 pm... 1:11 am... 2:12 am... 2:22 am... 5:55 am... 11:11 pm... oh, oops, another media hoax... Dr. Ron Paul HAS NOT dropped out of the presidential race...
~~~~~~

The most powerful weapon is the human soul on fire.

~ Have a magickal month of May ~

~ MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH ~

And, May you live the dreams of your heart, not in interesting times...

Feisty and fabulous and dreamy kisses from the Kougar...