Friday, June 1, 2018

Getting closer to Enlightenment

Enlightenment has been delayed a bit. I found myself closely following the whole freedom of expression case going on in the indie writing community. Because of that, I rejoined Twitter. Many of us writers have been restless to get to a point that we know that the first amendment is on our side and that trademark trolls can't steal our creative freedom from us.

There is a point and a place for trademarks, but hoarding words and threatening writers who use them is not that. Today, a judge reaffirmed that right, but there is more to come in this. It isn't over yet, but this first step to unraveling this mess frees me from worrying and watching the Twitter feed for updates.

While the whole incident is focused on the romance genre, it affects writers of all genres, including science fiction and fantasy. Where one troll started this, there have been many more popping up, although none quite so bitter. The rulings in this case will set a precedent for everyone, and, to our relief, it seems that freedom of expression is more important to the law than one person's marketing monopoly. Trademark was not meant to be a weapon for writers but a protection. A hammer can be used as a tool or a weapon. Once it becomes a weapon, all bets are off--the victims will defend themselves.

So, now that the first victory in this long road has been achieved, we can all breathe a little easier.

I have been working through this, but my attention has been split. It has delayed editing on Enlightenment. I've also been very picky about fixing every little detail. I'm a perfectionist, but I also know that no one person is perfect, not even in editing. I know that no matter how many edits a book receives, I will always find something to change, especially as I improve or have better days of focus.

At the earliest, I will have Enlightenment ready for release on June 10. It's looking like Eternal may be released in early July. This is why I didn't set up preorders of either book. When they're ready, they'll be available. (Preorders generally require a 2 week lead time to get the final version uploaded.)

Thank you for your patience.

ps--later this summer, I hope to have an announcement about the next segment of the Starfire Angels series.

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