catherinehaines

disdainful_soul

Well, the day has finally come.

As of next month it will be two years since I started blogging on Disdainful-Soul.net. It’s an odd sensation to be sitting here now and writing this post. But I’ve finally stopped putting it off and putting fingers to keys.

Some of you may have already noticed this, but I have started to use my full name on most things, and now it has reached the logical conclusion: Catherine-Haines.com. It will be a combination of D-S.net and Working Title, and hopefully when I find me an agent who gets me a publishing deal, I can have a nice author website all set up (with a nice pre-built fanbase to go with it :P). I’ll be renewing the domain names for both when the time comes, so I have a whole year to work out what to do with them while the content stays up. It’ll also mean that all the stuff on the subdomains will be fine too. My bank balance… not so much. Oh well.

So please, come and check out Catherine-Haines.com, with its shiny new layout I am very proud of. I’d be tickled pink if you stopped by.

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

Originally posted at On The Nightstand.

Online bookseller Amazon.com is in deep doo-doo. You see, in a move tagged with #amazonfail on Twitter, the company has started deranking “adult” titles, which removes them from search queries.

Sounds okay, right? Wrong.

The problem lies in what they are classifying as “adult”: literature with GLBT content or leanings. Even books that don’t have any graphic content, such as non-fiction books, have been labled “adult” and thus deranked.

You can imagine my fury when I saw that Stephen Fry’s memoir and (the hardcover edition of) John Barrowman’s autobiography had both been deranked and removed from search engine result. The same goes for Heather Has Two Mommies, a children’s book. There is a list of affected books over on Meta_Writer.

So what can you do? Let Amazon know that they have done wrong, of course. Tweet about it using the #amazonfail tag. Blog about it. Sign the petition. Get the word out.

Other Links On #Amazonfail

• DearAuthor.com - Amazon Rank
• Jezebel.com - Why Is Amazon Removing The Sales Rankings From Gay and Lesbian Books?
• Mashable.com - Amazon Accused Of Removing Gay Books From Rankings
• BookSquare.com - Open Letter to Amazon Regarding Recent Policy Changes
• Petition - In Protest at Amazon’s New “Adult” Policy
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books - New definition of Amazon Rank

Looking for an Amazon alternative? Try The Book Depository - same prices, with FREE worldwide shipping.

Originally published at Disdainful-Soul.net. You can comment here or there.

• 00:11 @hellioncat Whee openoffice. :) #
• 12:18 @Amemait Hooray! Kill it, kill it, KILL IT! #
• 12:33 My mother just hit me with a giant foam letter D. It was heavier than it looks. Ow. #
• 12:45 @Kittyskirt My grandmother has been singing naughty airforce songs lately. Oh, and swearing. I got quite a shock the first time. XD #
• 12:56 @reverieBR You lucky, lucky thing! :P That is on my WANTWANTWANT list. #
• 12:58 @Senfaye Hence why it's a WANTWANTWANTWANTWANT! :P Is that enough "wants" or do I need more? #
• 13:02 Okay, off to have lunch, watch Doctor Who and do some writing for The Dead Girl. TDG is my determined project - 500 words a day, I hope... #
• 13:05 @LisaMantchev WANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANT!! #
• 13:05 @LisaMantchev I ran out of characters for the tweet. :( #
• 13:19 @LisaMantchev Yeah, it won't. The only trading for books I have been doing is web design, since other freelance design work is... less out. #
• 13:32 Has everyone seen the design for the Wicked Lovely fanforums I designed? wickedlovely.com/forum1/index.php #
• 14:13 @MichelleZink Yeah, did it and all my other layouts too. I'm quite fond of this one though: amynta.org My most... "out of the box" #
• 14:20 New post at Working Title: A Million and One Ideas. tinyurl.com/dau5y3 #
• 14:21 @compelledtoread Which book is that? #
• 14:28 "When the doctor came in finally and spoke to her, he used words she didn't know but still scared her – like osteosarcoma and metastases..." #
• 14:33 @compelledtoread Hooray! That's amazing! #
• 14:59 @reverieBR You gonna be on AIM eventually? #
• 15:04 @reverieBR Then why no answer? #
• 15:22 @Amemait Is GTalk possible? #
• 15:27 JK has just suggested "Bones" as a title for "The Dead Girl". Hm. #
• 15:38 HarryPotterFanfiction.com has switched sides! Oh noes! It is now www.twilightsauce.com/ :P LOL #
• 15:44 @rowijo Thanks. It got me to recode SMF on a design thing, and I got to reuse the skeleton for bibliocon.amynta.org #
• 15:47 And it looks like THE DEAD GIRL is now being called BONES. #
• 15:52 @reviewerx I'm on too! #
• 16:06 @rowijo I thought that was implied, seeing as my titles never last. :P #
• 16:17 Oh, since some people have asked: the icons used on catherine-haines.com and On The Nightstand are here: is.gd/q0lx #
• 16:19 @Maudelynn Gee, no wonder he's with her: she's hot AND not batshit! #
• 16:38 I almost fell into the trap of having the MC look in a mirror to describe her appearance. Almost. *deletes two words* #
• 16:43 @diaua Oh, it's just overused is all. A lot of people don't like it so much. :P #
• 16:45 @reviewerx Um, let me think and make an educated guess... you? #
• 16:59 @rowijo Yeah, that's what I normally do, hence why I backed out so quickly when I realised what was happening with Dinah. #
• 17:01 @rowijo Yep. And Dinah's hair and appearance is important, since she's a living dead girl - looks like a corpse and her hair is the live bit #
• 17:40 And that naked (well, cut-off slightly) pic of RPattz is really making the rounds... #
• 17:48 Hey book bloggers on my twitlist... care to join a book blogging webring? nightstand.amynta.org/ring/ #
• 17:57 @reverieBR Hooray! #
• 18:40 @Tuttlebird Word. #
• 18:57 New post at On The Nightstand: Looking Back on March cli.gs/LyYq6z #

• 00:09 @reverieBR It's midnight and I am off to bed actually. Just discussing a novel idea with a friend, and glad the MCs finally have names. #
• 00:11 @reverieBR You're not even gonna ask the characters' names? :P #
• 00:21 She is called Dinah, and he's Gregory. :) #
• 09:06 I am such a meanie poo. Finalising the details for a death of a major character for a book. #
• 09:32 All Together Dead and From Dead To Worse just arrived this morning! Whole set of published Sookie books = mine! *dances* #
• 12:46 @rowijo Oh, I'm not a weenie - the whole point of this novel is that this character is dying! :P #
• 12:47 @rowijo I'm just a meanie sometimes, killing characters and making their lives even more painful than the plot requires. :D #
• 12:54 @ColleenLindsay Oh geeze, not Lorne! #
• 12:56 Well, I'm sorry Dinah, but your creator has finally decided what is going to kill you. At least I can start writing your story. & Gregory's. #
• 15:29 Bom bom bom bom! #
• 15:37 My foot has pins and needles. Owowow #
• 15:53 Okay, time to write. "It was supposed to be the beginning of a new stage in her life. Not the end of it all." Prologue, then murder mystery. #
• 16:39 I am playing "horrify the Twilight n00b". It's so fun! #
• 17:01 Reviewers on Amazon.com make me wonder what the general population think the marketed age range for YA is... #
• 17:07 @rowijo Heh, I am reading reviews and they're all basically, "THIS BOOK IS BAD THERE IS SEX AND SWEARING!" YA != for 12 year olds always... #
• 17:32 @rowijo How does this header variant look? tinyurl.com/cfwopz #
• 17:49 @reverieBR I design and build themes in exchange for books. :P #
• 17:55 Shrinking my CSS, oh I'm shrinking my CSS... #
• 18:00 Titles are always the hard part for me, and my working titles not so great. BB was "Ordinary People" and a current WT is "The Dead Girl". #
• 18:06 @starlightwriter It took me a while to come up with Dinah's name because I had set initials and then had to pick one that fit. #
• 19:01 Oh gosh, True Blood livejournal icons are so hilarious, especially the Eric ones: tinyurl.com/d9danq #
• 19:32 @rowijo Well, we can always change the headers around and stuff later on. I think the theme is almost ready - you'll just have to make tiny #
• 19:32 @rowijo changes to links (in the header) etc. by hand. #
• 19:34 @rowijo Let me check out a few things and then I think I can send you the theme in a zip. :) #
• 19:41 Snopes.com on "Go Ask Alice" being a work of fiction: www.snopes.com/language/literary/askalice.asp #
• 19:45 @rowijo But the point is it's not real and it doesn't "fit". If we believes the lies like GAA we lose the truth in things. #
• 19:46 @rowijo And even if it was made up, after the pain the "editor" caused the family of Jay... no thanks. #
• 20:01 @rowijo Colours are too vibrant (tone the colouring down a tad) and smooth up the edges. Use a layer mask. But better! Much better! #
• 20:03 @rowijo It means you can "delete" parts of images but not cut it out permanently. It makes things invisible, or uninvisible #
• 20:28 @rowijo .psd for header and the zip file for the theme. I think it's done, apart from those tweaks you need to do. :) is.gd/pO4Z #
• 20:32 Whee! Bloodhound comes out in a month! *saves monies* #
• 20:34 @rowijo Nah, don't bother. I'll just be buying a nice, shiny pretty copy of it for myself anyway. #
• 20:40 @rowijo You don't happen to have any spare copies of Fragile Eternity lying around, hm? :P I kid, I kid. Any suggestions? :P #
• 20:44 @rowijo While I look up that book, you need to adjust your main navigation file (header.php). I need to make some CSS adjustments. #
• 20:50 @rowijo is.gd/pO4Z Upload the footer.php and bg.jpg files to the directory #
• 21:00 @rowijo footer.php again. *grrr* www.sendspace.com/file/lm3mc3 #
• 21:02 @rowijo Oh, and are you talking about Need by Carrie Jones? Yeah, I'm interested. Looks interesting. :) #
• 21:06 @rowijo Okay, I think I know why navigation vanished in footer - put it outside the darn loop. #
• 21:06 @rowijo Am uploading replacement files. Please let it work this time! #
• 21:08 @rowijo tinyurl.com/d2fm28 #
• 21:09 @rowijo Try now? #
• 21:09 The Dead Girl: It was only when she fainted in art, spilling paint all over herself & the floor, did she think something was seriously wrong #
• 21:11 @rowijo The previous/next page links aren't there. Hang on, will try and upload again. RAWR #
• 21:12 @rowijo www.sendspace.com/file/wyruai index.php #
• 21:12 @rowijo www.sendspace.com/file/qccxmx footer.php #
• 21:13 @rowijo And it works@ :) #
• 21:14 @rowijo You may sleep now. Any other edits can wait. :) #
• 21:20 New post at On The Nightstand: Teaser Tuesday: All Together Dead cli.gs/gB5A56 #
• 23:52 "Do you want to save your changes?" *saves changes to file "The Dead Girl.odt"* I have got to come up with a better title. #

• 11:00 @Morgul I has all the Sookie books I need ordered and paid for - two are arriving today. :) #
• 11:01 @awriterofthings Yep. :) I occasionally have good lines tucked away in my novel. :P #
• 11:21 @cindypon Aw, don't worry. I plan on reading and reviewing yours as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. SP is on my WANT NOW list. :) #
• 11:45 Updated the sidebar for On The Nightstand to reflect latest review addition: nightstand.amynta.org #
• 12:00 Best line of a review I have seen: "And while I don't recall if leather pants were involved, there were parachute pants." #
• 12:21 I love having my review blog on self-hosted wordpress. Complete control, plus plugins! #
• 12:23 @rowijo Yup. Did you get my DM? #
• 12:32 @rowijo The email hasn't come through on my end. Where did you send it? #
• 12:37 @rowijo Well, what I'll do is set up the theme skeleton and functions etc. and if there are minor colour changes you want you can do them. #
• 12:37 @rowijo You said you know some basic xhtml and css, right? #
• 12:48 I lollled. tinyurl.com/d7b2l8 #
• 12:52 Why you shouldn't ask for help on the interbutts: is.gd/nJxT #
• 13:10 @Senfaye I am almost at the point of begging. Almost. :P #
• 13:12 @Senfaye Okay, how about an announcement? "WILL WRITE REVIEWS IN EXCHANGE FOR FREE BOOKS!" Does that work? #
• 13:14 @Senfaye Okay, here goes. :P ATTN EVERYBODY! WILL TRADE REVIEWS FOR FREE BOOKS! ALSO FOOD FOR COMPLIMENTS AND MONEY FOR WEBSITES. :P #
• 13:15 @CatherineHaines Hang on, I think I did that around the wrong way. :( I will give reviews and custom web designs in exchange... d'oh! #
• 13:51 @rowijo Okay, wp theme update: the base has now been converted into a theme, and both sidebars widgetised. Now to do the little details. :) #
• 13:52 @Amemait Aw, you poor thing. *pets* #
• 13:54 @Senfaye You lucky thing! Begging worked then? :P #
• 14:05 @MichelleZink I'm in New Zealand, would that be a problem? #
• 14:07 @MichelleZink Nope, I have a list of books and reviews that need to be done. I can be patient. :) #
• 14:12 @Senfaye It has its good points and its bad points. It's pretty and clean and quiet... but books take forever to come out here! :P #
• 14:16 @Senfaye If you want, you can check out my flickr for pics. :) Got some of Napier, Wellington and Marlborough Sounds. is.gd/pzRK :) #
• 14:17 Inspiration for current novel is... www.flickr.com/photos/catherinehaines/3272801631/ :) #
• 14:23 @Senfaye While not all of it is like Lord of the Rings suggests, a fair chunk is. I live in Wellington, the capital. is.gd/pzTI #
• 14:30 @Senfaye Oh, I know. Wellington is on a harbour which is surrounded by hills. :) tinyurl.com/ckb784 #
• 14:43 Watching Dollhouse 107 #
• 14:56 @rowijo I see why you said it was funny! "I am... very British!" #
• 15:16 @rowijo Okay, here's how it is developing (on my old WP test blog, hence the title and stuff). tinyurl.com/cfwopz #
• 15:20 @rowijo Sure thing. :) #
• 15:39 @Morgul That's okay. I has a cold. -_- #
• 16:04 @Morgul Hee! :P And you has an icon, once again! #
• 16:05 @Morgul For a moment I read it as "Poet and the Pendulum" and wondered if he liked Nightwish. #
• 16:11 @Morgul Oh, we have finished beta-ing chapter ten of Blood Bound! 8 more to go! #
• 16:13 @thestorysiren Oh gods yes. It makes me afraid for my own novel. THERE ARE OTHER VAMPIRE BOOKS OUT THERE! #
• 16:18 @thestorysiren I think I have found a new kindred spirit... #
• 16:30 @reverieBR Link doesn't work - I get asked to add it to my RSS reader, not take the poll #
• 16:31 @LisaMantchev Nothing like Twilight? Then I am even more excited for your book! #
• 16:33 @LisaMantchev Oh, rude jokes are just my thing, although my theatre experience is mainly Greek and Roman (classics degree). #
• 16:34 @reverieBR Excellent, thank you. :) #
• 16:35 Oh, how I want to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! #
• 16:36 I suspect Twilight would have been a lot better if SM had based it on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies instead of just P&P. #
• 16:39 @rowijo She has stated this. NM was Romeo and Juliet. Eclipse Wuthering Heights. BD Midsummer Night's Dream and Merchant of Venice. #
• 16:40 @rowijo Of course, not that I see any of those beyond the heavy handed references. Oh, & the "I think my love is dead - time to die!" of NM #
• 16:41 @Morgul A while ago, but I don't remember the specifics. I suspect "fandom" was a big answer? #
• 16:44 “Are you saying dinosaurs can't be vampires? Imagine the size of the holes a Tyrannosaurus Rex vampire would leave in your neck.” #
• 16:46 @LisaMantchev Ha ha ha. It's a line from my novel actually. Discussing what they wanted to be when they grew up. Girl claimed vampire dino. #
• 16:47 @LisaMantchev Ha ha ha no. I was re-reading something, and that line always makes me laugh. #
• 16:49 @reverieBR Have you not seen the movie? #
• 16:51 @reverieBR The explanation for midnight feedings is there. :P #
• 16:52 @reverieBR Gremlins! #
• 16:55 @reverieBR I don't know, I haven't seen the movie. :P I just know a lot about movies - part of the Video Ezy job description. BLUFF POWERS! #
• 16:56 @Morgul What? For Vampisaurus Rex? #
• 16:59 @Morgul But there are no aliens in the BBverse! Unless Athanasios has something from a movie set. *thinks* You know he does. :P #
• 17:02 Just stand still, look pretty... #
• 17:13 @reverieBR That one aired over here on Christmas and we watched it. It helped cheer Grandad up, in his post-heart attack state. #
• 17:26 MS Word paperclip writes Twilight: "It looks like your main character is asleep. Insert creepy stalker moment?" is.gd/pAVS #
• 18:00 Well, it looks like I'll sign up for LibraryThing finally. Will do it when I come back from Guides though. Marbling & peg dolls tonight! #
• 18:13 Dear brain. Stop coming up with ideas for novels. I already have enough on the waiting list - can you at least wait more than a week? #
• 18:14 @rowijo I already am on GoodReads! :P #
• 21:09 "Stephen King" addresses Twilight controversy: "Yes, I am just jealous!" tinyurl.com/cnxq5a I LOLed. #
• 22:03 Checking out my stats for On The Nightstand. Week 1 = 232 visits. Week 2 = 265. Week 3 = 326. 1 day into week 2 and we're at 75 already #
• 22:19 @rowijo Let's see how this week goes, hm? It's definitely climbing though. :P #
• 23:30 tinyurl.com/9kmacn John Barrowman sings "The Doctor And I" #

• 11:17 @melissa_marr Ever heard of a musical called Urinetown? He might have an eventual calling as a star of a performance. :P #
• 11:19 Hooray, camera is finally uploading photos to comp. Now I can get closer to doing an In My Mailbox entry! #
• 11:23 @ColleenLindsay Doesn't that make the whole song ironic? #
• 11:34 Books I wish I had right now: Forest of Hands and Teeth, Graceling, Prophecy of the Sisters, Eyes Like Stars... so many cool books this year #
• 11:39 New post at On The Nightstand: In My Mailbox (2) cli.gs/zAPB1Y #
• 11:47 @elae I love the Immortals and Circle ones - Kel doesn't look quite as nice on her covers. -_- #
• 11:58 @elae Ha ha ha, we get different ones to those here. :P There's just something off with her neck etc. in the new ones. #
• 12:04 "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls is one of my favourite songs in the history of ever. #
• 12:42 @reverieBR That's better than having your tits grabbed by a seven year old. #
• 12:51 @reverieBR Have you seen my mailbox? :P #
• 12:57 @reverieBR tinyurl.com/c5u8nx :) #
• 13:01 @compelledtoread It's nice to see that, isn't it? Personable authors are my faves. :) Oh, and I volunteer too. :) #
• 13:34 Attn all book bloggers: Care to join a webring for book bloggers? nightstand.amynta.org/ring #
• 14:08 @reverieBR POTS? #
• 14:08 To quote the Flyleaf song: "I'm so sick" #
• 14:51 Daniel is looking at poesy rings again... #
• 15:10 @reverieBR Yay! What books are those? #
• 15:11 Is there an "I want this book so bad!" equivalent to the pee-pee dance? #
• 15:13 @reverieBR Cool! :) #
• 16:56 149 visitors to On The Nightstand this week, and an hour to go until the clock resets. So close to 150. -_- #
• 16:59 @finesharp Hooray! 150. Now the week can clock over in an hour happily. :P #
• 17:02 @finesharp I've already read it, but now I have my own copy. :) Right now I am working on an author profile entry: Tamora Pierce. :) #
• 17:03 @finesharp How could you be so silly as to let it escape your grasp? #
• 19:22 @reverieBR Actually Go Ask Alice is not a true story. Like all of the other books she's "edited" it's a tale of fiction. Any truth is lost. #
• 21:42 "The days were merely long bouts of pretended freedom that acted as bookends for the night that loved and hated me." #

• 07:52 @jo_scrawls Ta! I love how Geras "translates" the fairytale to modern times. The Snow White in the series is in a band. With seven guys. XD #
• 10:00 I smell like bleach and cats #
• 10:02 @LisaMantchev I work for a cat breeder, so i clean out the runs and everything. :) #
• 10:19 @jo_scrawls Yeah. Sleeping Beauty has the fairies as a whole range of eccentric aunts while Snow White is in a band with seven (tall) men. #
• 10:23 @jo_scrawls The trilogy also comes as an omnibus, Happy Ever After if it helps. :) #
• 10:33 It's currently just a stand-in portal, and I will add a bit more, but for now? It's works. :P catherine-haines.com/ #
• 10:44 @FrostedRebekah I'm sorry, what? #
• 10:44 @rowijo I know, it was fixed. Had an FTP problem that meant it didn't upload properly. And thanks - it's what I have been train do. :) #
• 10:54 "Teen allegedly bites 11 students; father blames 'Twilight' movie" is.gd/pjUj *facepalm* #
• 11:26 @rowijo I just want *one* edition of Graceling, stop being greedy! #
• 11:50 @rowijo You have a Bloodhound ARC? Hells yeah I can design you something. :P #
• 11:52 @rowijo You lucky sod! Anyway, DM your email or IM IDs or something and we can hash out what you want for this theme. :) #
• 11:52 @elae Yeah, someone had the hyphen-less version. -_- #
• 11:57 @rowijo Uh, password? #
• 12:35 @rowijo Theoretically... which means I have to pay even more to have it ordered in from a specialty store/online. -_- #
• 12:42 @rowijo Nope. -_- When I ordered a Sookie book to be transferred to my local borders it cost $10 - almost half the price of the book itself! #
• 15:44 If my heart could beat it would break my chest... #
• 19:35 @tehmiminator What happened? :( #