Will read and discuss on our podcast (Submission and Coffee, episode 162). Thank you.

MWD

People have to grow up and take responsibility than in this world there are places with content that, while legal, is not suitable for minors and the easily offended.
If you know you won’t like adult content don’t click on a link that is specifically labeled as such. And if you insist on being curious don’t blame someone else when your whiskers get singed.

I am an adult and when the children are safely tucked up in bed I like to enjoy a little adult or explicit content.

On the other hand I do enjoy sharing other aspects of entertainment with my children.
But finding an interesting midpoint between The Tudors and Cartoon Network seems to be becoming more impossible with everyday that passes.
PG-ization has led to MTV-style romance-o-porn infiltrating just about every program on TV which my children find as off putting as I do.

I prefer good labeling to censorship and an acknowledgment that while bare tits and sex are interesting of themselves not every subject is improved by the addition of them.

We’re giving away two signed copies of the printed book.

(contest directions are in new SUBMISSION AND COFFEE episode, 158. No purchase required. Must be of legal age.)

http://www.askdollie.com

In response to the concern “Children might see this!” (pleae try to image a 40something clasping her beaded handbag close to her chest screaching this in abject horror) firstly if your children are under 13
a) they should not be using the internet unsupervised
and b) There is a whole lot worse they could find than Thorndaddy talking about his respect for women and desire to give them what they need.
secondly if your children are over 13 they already know the word “Fuck”, they probably use it with thier friends when you’re not around , they’ve heard it the films they watch and in the computer games you let them play. Get over it, if the book was called “How to turn a Women into a Cum Guzzling Whore” even i’d have a problem with that.

Thank you Thorndaddy and Dollie - i’m getting started on Plump Buffet

That being said, if *I* come out with the language in front of them, it’s one thing, but I’d be irritated (not upset, just irritated) to have it right out in the open without any sort of “screen” in place. It’s a common courtesy thing.

I applaud the Podiobooks.com team for being willing to distribute this and the other adult titles that they have. After all, “The Internet is really, really great! (For porn!)”. Bravo, folks!

While it is true that this site is home to literature aimed at many age groups, not all of them of an appropriate age (or maturity level as age has only so much to do with it) for this book, or it’s title. It is also true that this site should not have the ability not to include this book based on it’s nature. I am pleased to see that for the most part response to this title has been mature and calm, and would urge the staff of podiobooks not to give into any objections to this title, or god forbid, demands that they more harshly sensor their material. The internet is a free space, lets keep it that way, and learn to integrate our various views more soundly. If you object to the nature of this book, avoid it, do not attack it.

We can have a big tent. But we invite children into this tent. In all carnivals, the bawdy stuff is in a separate sideshow.

Give the book a listen, or don’t…. but don’t worry, nothing in it will hurt you or cause the world to stop turning.

Now one thing I would suggest to the team, if they don’t have it in place already, is to add an age check of some sort to these explicit books. We all know the unwatched kids will find a way around it anyway, but at least it will give pause to the parents as they watch their kids on the internet.

If you don’t feel comfortable reading the TITLE, then obviously this book isn’t for you. If you don’t feel comfortable reading the title, I would rather not think about how awkward sex is for you.

I look forward to hearing Thorndaddy and Dollie’s voices on the podiobook!

That being said, I personally defend the author’s right to choose the title (no matter how ill-considered) and the distributor’s right to choose exactly when and how to distribute the book, with that title as one of the considerations involved. If it’s a mistake, it’ll come out in time, and everyone involved will learn from the experience.

It’s important to note that podiobooks.com is a distributor, not a publisher. They do not do any of the functions of a publisher.

I’ll be watching this title… from a distance. In the meantime, I’ll be working to provide alternatives to this title that I hope will be slightly less prone to controversy.

My wife’s book is called “Diary of an S&M Romance”, and the cover is pretty, kinda feminine, has a pink background, pastel colors, and the cover is fairly PG. That book has been out for two years, sold lots of printed copies, had a lot of downloads here on Podiobooks yet has received NO negative publicity. My Podiobook has been live a few hours and people are worried.

“Diary of an S&M Romance” is every bit as sexual as my book, and actually more explicit in places.

I guess one CAN “judge” a book by its cover. lol….

And why is the word “Fuck” a “forbidden word”? Because someone decided it was, a long time ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profanity#Western_history

All languages have forbidden words and phrases. The words vary, but they are always something to do with sex, excrement, God, or someone’s mother. Everywhere. And the words only have power because everyone agrees to fear them, and people do this because they are told and taught to fear them.

I say it’s time to defuse the false power of isolated words.

Two little ironies: In Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearing, descriptions of his sex life, in very graphic detail, were entered into congressional record, then posted on the internet by the government, on a site with no age warning.

And in the current obscenity trial of pornographer Max Hardcore, after his films were shown by the prosecutor to the jury in court (with one juror begging the court to stop making her watch them), Max remarked that it was the first time anyone had ever been **forced** to view his work.

ThornDaddy

For the record, my objection to the book is not the content.

It’s the f-bomb in the title.

I understand that for many people, that’s not a problem. I understand that it’s not regulated in this space. Just looking at the chapter summaries it looks like a very interesting book and I’m sure there are people who will find it informative and entertaining.

But, as an author, my opinion is that putting that title on it makes it LOOK like a cheap play for attention because it’s got a swear word in the title and not just *any* swear word .. the BIG one.

I will give you credit, tho. Using that title means this book has already gotten more attention than the work would have gotten had you used something like “Part the Petals and Pet the Pretty.”

Congratulations.

This past Monday, Representative Dennis Kucinich was on the Congressional floor presenting his resolution calling for Bush’s impeachment. (Video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv2SdTeN7dY
if you’d like proof). It’s a list of 35 charges, mostly Constitutional violations and Geneva Convention violations yet it DID NOT MAKE THE MAINSTREAM NEWS. At ALL.

Why not, and why was Clinton such big news? Why did the free press freely ignore the biggest news of the year this time, yet talk about nothing else back when Clinton’s neck was on the chopping block?

That’s easy: Clinton’s situation involved sex. That gets more negative attention than genocide, torture, election fraud and wiretapping, which is what Bush is being accused of in Congress.

There’s nothing evil and nothing negative in my book, and the entire project was done with love, and with the help of several women. The forward is written by a woman (my wife), the proofreading and editing was done by a woman, and there are interviews with seven women in the appendix. The cover art was done by a woman (not as porn, she drew it as a figure study in a college art class, and she was overjoyed when I bought the rights to the image, it was her first art sale ever.)

And I chose the title to get attention for the book, yes. But this is not a book on “how to pick up chicks”. It’s not erotica and it’s not pornographic. The library category for this book is “men’s health”, and that’s accurate. It’s basically “How to find the woman of your dreams, marry her, and make her ecstaticly happy every day of the rest of both of your lives.”

There’s a lot of love poured into these pages, and into my recordings of them.

Sex isn’t shocking, at least it shouldn’t be. I hate to say “get out of the 19th century”, so I won’t, but let’s put this title (and its title) in context of the current century before condemning anyone for writing, promoting or enjoying it.

ThornDaddy

I’m not submitting it yet.

I’ll see how this is handled by podiobooks powers-that-be, but they should be aware that there are other podbooks sites. The alternative sites have seemed less appealing so far, but the balance could tip…

Don’t confuse freedom of speech with the need for editorial oversight and trustworthy filtering. The brand of podiobooks risks serious damage here.

Suzanne, I recognize your concern and fully expected reactions of this nature. But us releasing this book isn’t without precedent: you’ll find it for sale on Amazon.com and other merchants if you search for it. We took the same approach here.

This site is author-driven. We don’t solicit material for inclusion. Conversely, we don’t exclude titles just because someone may find them offensive. Having said that, we *have* rejected titles that contain hate speech. I see no reason in giving those vermin an additional platform to push their agenda, since their views are so far beyond the boundaries of normal human emotion and behavior. And no, I don’t lump books about consensual sex — however graphic in nature — in with those.

I can *wish* that ThornDaddy had used any number of other titles, because of the negative attention this single title will generate, not for the content or even the cover art, mind. Just the title.

As for recommending the site, I don’t know if it’ll change for me. I know a lot of people who are sensitive about appearances will have problems, and some number of people who’ll tar all of us with the same brush will get turned off. But thinking about the people to whom I have recommended podiobooks over the last two years or so, I dont know that any of them are going to care.

For the most part, the content is pretty well siloed. Anybody who looks under erotica shouldn’t be too shocked by what they find, and I see that the update process hasn’t resulted in the f-bomb hitting the front page yet. When it gains the normal following for a new title and pops to the top ten for the day, that’ll be unfortunate for a few days, but typically it doesn’t last long.

The larger question — which really isn’t about this title at all — has to do with “who gets to censor?” Do we WANT an editorial review board at Podiobooks? Do we want somebody or somebodies who have to approve what voices get heard?

As much as I don’t like ThornDaddy’s choice of title, as much as I think it weakens and cheapens his message, as much as I’m not happy about having to tell people “yea, well … there’s no accounting for taste or lack thereof,” I do have to support the Podiobooks people for accepting the title as it was submitted.

I don’t have to like the title, but I do have to support the rationale and process that permits ThornDaddy to use it.