The #CockyGate Rages on...
Hello hello. It's Monday morning, I'm sipping on my coffee, scrolling through my news feed and what am I seeing? Bull-Cocky! It's insane, and I should know, I run the Pages of Insanity page on Facebook. We're used to seeing stuff like this, just not as.... shall I say stupid? #IfYouDontWantSarcasmDontDoStupid but they did, so here I am, being Cocky!
#CockyGate #FreeCocky #NotCockyBlocked #NoBullCocky You name it, it's been tagged and this shit storm is rolling along strong, but what do you expect when someone pulls stupid to this extent? I've been following along with this #Cockyspiracy, collecting bits and pieces that I'll share below, but I think Courtney Milan on Twitter said it best.......
Now bullying is not something to be taken lightly, and we all know she brought this on herself. She publicly announced she was doing this, and why. She called out her fans for not being smart enough to look for her Author Name when purchasing a book with the word COCKY in the title. The Author in me is screaming, Holy Mother of All Hells, she didn't? But she did. She's alienated the very people she claims to be protecting; so I'm gonna step into the role of a reader for this part of the blog. Here I am, browsing through a selection of adult orientated books. Keep in mind, in today's world, they all pretty much look the same. Take a hot, muscular guy, remove his shirt and give him a tan and some wicked tattoos. Now, slap him down on some makeshift, plain Jane background and voila! Right? Wrong! I like a little spice in my stories, a man with attitude and brains. Arrogant and yet loyal. Romantic with a side of dirty. I want a COCKY Bastard to sweep me off my feet and show me the world through his eyes. Well to me, one look at that cover and your world looks pretty boring. Sure, I'm supposed to use my imagination, but these covers don't offer much. I mean look at them. We want variety. Okay, I want variety; but still. Some are pretty cool looking, others, dull and duller.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good showing of eye candy, but today, with everyone doing it, Dammit people, give us color. Give us life. Put him in a park or on a beach. Hiking through the woods with the sun shimmering down between the leaves, those delicate shadows cast against the curves of his bare chest.... I may need to write my own Cocky novel, but before anyone says anything, I'm in Canada. #CockyGate technically doesn't affect me, but let me tell you, as a reader, looking at the covers above and knowing that one of those Authors was COCKY enough to think that I, a reader, maybe even could have been one of her fans in the future, was too dumb to look for her name, or make sure the synopsis on the back of her books was about her Cocker family.... I CAN'T EVEN! And what if the readers did make a mistake, I highly doubt it was the word COCKY that distracted them; but that's just my opinion. Maybe your Author name should be flashier? Try trademarking that! Now, you wanted to protect me? Seriously? Because, as a reader and fan of erotic novels, I'm not smart enough to know that Cocky Bastard was written by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland, and not Faleena Hopkins? Or that, Her Cocky Doctors (The Cocky Series #1) was written by Tara Crescent. There are tons of COCKY books out there, and I for one plan to read some of them; just not the ones by Faleena Hopkins. How will I do this, without making the same mistake as the fans she claims sent her messages?
Because I know hos to look past the sexy eye magnet on the cover and find the Author's name. Not because I write books too, BUT BECAUSE I READ LOTS OF BOOK AND I FOR ONE AM NOT AN IDIOT! Seriously, Lady, give your head a shake! I can't say the same for everyone, but for Miss Faleena Hopkins to assume such a thing is beyond COCKY, it's downright demeaning; and the whole internet world is talking about it. Her fans are choked. I'm choked and I hadn't even made it that far. She's supposed to be worth a cool 17million, or so I'm told so don't hold me to that, for I've never heard of her until now; and I read a lot. Now I'm thinking, do I want to read her books? Do I want to support an Author who treats others this way? Hell no, there are hundreds if not thousands of Indie Authors just waiting for me to dive into their books and explore what they have to offer. Why would I want to read a story about a family of arrogant brothers, no, not why, how? How can I knowingly read a story written by an Author who takes no pride in her work? And no, Faleena, that wasn't pride, or protecting, that was you being a cocky little brat who thinks the world should revolve around her series. So, let's take a look at that series...
"Wait, what? This is a blurb from one of her teasers?" "Has this woman ever seen a real cock?" "Uh, his manhood's mushroom tip? She can't say cock, even though it's supposed to be her word?" "If it's veiny, I ain't touchin it!" ^^^The general consensus from this morning's trip to drop the kids off at school. Yes, #CockyGate has reached the cul-de-sac and the erotic fans there have some issues with three sentences alone. His long, rock hard cock had escaped from his trousers, throbbing before my eyes as he cupped his massive length in his hand. I should have known he'd be big, he was a Cocker after all. I couldn't help myself, nor could I handle reading anymore of her stuff in online snippets. I create stories too. I love to write. I love the people I meet and the things we all create. We're a community, a team of Authors, Designers, Publishers, Editors and Promoters. We work together, to offer our fans an escape from daily life. She spent two years working on her series? Awesome, so did I, but you don't see me putting Trademarks on Spunktrumpet and Arsebadger, because I didn't create them. She didn't create Cocky, it is a descriptive word in the English language, like Arrogant, Mischievous, Sinful and Seductive. If this continues, before we know it there will be no words left to use. It, And, The and Then.... wonder who's gonna take it upon themselves to Trademark them? No words, no stories. No stories, no fans. No fans... then what the hell do we write for? As an Author, I'm not afraid to express my fears on how this is going to end. The answer is, badly. As a Reader and a Fan of all Authors, I'm still stuck on being called stupid; and I'm not the only one. I'll leave an assortment of Twitter and Facebook posts from others who find this little endeavor more than COCKY, but down right disgusting and hilariously funny to watch. I won't go out and purchase her book, but I will join in the moment and see what other books are out there. This has peaked my curiosity, just not in her direction.
*She trademarked the word Cocky and the font used on her covers in May 2018 ( A font I might add, that was not hers to Trademark. The actual owner may be on vacation, but has responded and will be dealing with it shortly) (There are so many things wrong with her trademark, it's nuts. Clearly, someone didn't do their job right and it may bite her in the a**!- We're using Asterix now, right? LOL) *SHE, sent out Cease and Desist letters from her own email, NOT her lawyer, bullying others into changing their covers or risk being sued, and for using names she claimed were her characters. *SHE, gets upset when similar names are used, but she can change the lead quarterback's name for the Atlanta Falcons, they also have gotten involved. *The Romance Writers of America is putting out the call for any and all affected by this COCKY business to contact them, as they have started an investigation and I for one can't wait to see what they uncover....
I could go on about this all day, but these people have pretty much summed up all the stupid for me. If you want more, you'll have to do your own homework for a while. I have to get back to writing, in fact I'll leave a little blurb of my own, below. It's not edited yet, as this is a Work In Progress, so enjoy.... He was handsome enough, but Marena sensed a bond between her Valkyrie and the male she'd tossed into her lap. "And what exactly, do we do with him? What does he have to offer?" "I'm right here, you know?" He protested best he could, but she slid her hand over his mouth. "Toys, do not speak until spoken to!" She growled at him and Malice giggled. "This toy, holds a secret, my love!" Malice pointed out, running her hands across his chest as she moved higher, grinding her hips against his. "Oh, now we can't have that!" Marena's mind was churning, she yearned to see what he hid inside that head of his. "He brought us a gift, but won't tell us what it's for!" The Valkyrie sighed, letting her claws extend until the tiny red drops formed beneath them. "He's always making trinkets for me, but this one smells of my sister!" She growled and Loki hissed, the pleasure rising as he squirmed beneath her. Taken from Valkyrie III: Song of Darkness, co-authored with the Petals in The Rose. If you don't know what that is, you haven't been stalking me enough :O Until next time, when the world offers us up another dose of insanity. And remember, I just collect it, post it and offer my own opinion. #YouBeTheJudge
