No, the title of this post doesn't refer to an alternative lifestyle erotica romance. But, I love women. Women are some of my best friends. I am a woman. But, admit it, when you get a group of us together, we can be a bit...vicious...at times. Put 9000 of us together in the same organization (minus the few men in the Romance Writers of America), and as George Carlin says, every twenty-eight days there will be intense negotiations.
Oh, that was naughty. What I'm trying to say is this. When men have confrontations, it usually ends in, at best, a trip to the local pool hall to have a brewski with no hard feelings, or at worst, weapons of mass destruction. When women have confrontations, they will smile and nod and go home and sob and plot the downfall of the race. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when after the Reno Nationals conference, I arrived home to discover a swirling controversy had erupted over the awards ceremony. I rather enjoyed the ceremony myself, though I seem to be in the minority. I will never forget my idol, Susan Squires, mispronouncing my first name after making me say it for her correctly several times in a row, then quickly correcting herself and shouting, "I got it right!" at me. That was fun. But many have since brought up some good points about the inappropriateness of some of the material presented. I won't go into that here--other blogs have done a far better job than I could. What I do want to say is this--I don't think we need to drag those people through the mud who did their best, or attempt to destroy careers and instigate revolution. As Rodney King once said, "Can't we all just get along?"
Let's move forward. I suggest a representative committee of the membership--from all spectrums (left, right, central, outside the box, under the table, next to your armpit) be put together to plan next year's ceremony. That way, these issues can be vetted before they become a problem. That, of course, is just my two cents, and worth every penny, I might add.
Take care, TJB
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