Month: November 2024

Well, it happened. Handsome Devil has cropped up on pirating websites.

It isn’t surprising. Most people who release an ebook—or any creative work—on the internet can expect it to be stolen eventually. But it’s that “eventually” that sticks in my craw. After all, if someone cares enough to steal it, that means I’ve made it, right?

But I know my own numbers, and that just isn’t the case. The flip side is that if people aren’t really searching for it, anyone hosting illegal copies is doing so on their own dime with little to no gain. That’s my little consolation prize.

It’s funny—compared to some other creators, I have a pretty lenient attitude toward piracy. I understand that money can be tight and entertainment is often one of the first luxuries to go. But art and entertainment are essential for staying sane. Living under capitalism is tough enough without losing these small comforts.

However, creators face these same financial pressures. We need money to survive and to justify continued creation. While some authors may be big enough not to notice sales lost to piracy, most indies aren’t. So I guess I’m okay with piracy the same way I’m fine with shoplifting from Loblaws—but don’t pull that shit at a locally owned corner store.

Lastly, for the love of god, don’t donate to piracy websites. If you can afford to donate to them, you can afford to support the authors whose stolen works they’re profiting from.

At the end of the day, please don’t download stolen books. And if you’re here because you read and enjoyed a pirated version of Handsome Devil, please at least leave a review and sign up for the newsletter.

Until next time, travelers. Gael

P.S. The extra insult is that the listing doesn’t even have it categorized under the right genres. If you’re going to peddle my stolen wares, at least get the audience right.

Sometimes you get the darnedest compliments.

It was a few weeks ago when someone in my life reported in that they had finished reading Handsome Devil and expressed how impressed they were with my writing style and the story (although they weren’t big on the intimate scenes). They even cited a specific passage to illustrate why they felt compelled to give the praise.

But then she said something funny.

“I just feel like you’re too good to be writing romance.”

It gave me pause. After all, what does one mean by that? While there are certainly a lot of romances that can be generously described as ‘stinkers’, that’s true for any category of book. And many romance authors truly shake my soul with what a beautiful picture they can paint with just 26 characters and a little punctuation.

My first thought is that it comes down to the age-old disparagement of genre fiction. As a former bookseller and sci-fi enthusiast, I can attest that it is alive and well (although certainly softened in recent years). It was always discouraging to try recommending a title to someone on the basis of its intense emotional impact only to see their eyes glaze as soon as they realized the aisle we were walking down. “Do You Dream of Terra Two?” by Temi Oh is one of my all-time favourite books and will leave you as a quivering, sobbing mess, but fuck me if I could get people to give it a chance.

Of course, we all know it isn’t that simple.

Genre fiction as a whole is undermined, but romance, as the genre that is aimed specifically at women, has to fight twice as hard and show up twice as well to be taken seriously. Certainly, one of the more irksome requests that I got in my bookstore days was from a young man who specifically wanted the worst, cheesiest romance to give as a gag gift to one of his friends. Because romance is a thing to be mocked. Because things that cater to women are inherently jokes.

If you have been this person before, I intend no shade and at the end of the day, I did sell him some fine cheesecake. I just think it’s interesting that I never encountered women looking for the stupidest, most misogynistic dad-on-the-toilet spy thriller to be a gag gift. I’ve certainly encountered more of the latter.

At the end of the day, romance has quality authors. Romance deserves quality authors. Romance is something special that deserves to be cherished and respected.

The TL;DR?

Until next time, travelers,

Gael Romer