by Cooper West | May 8, 2012 | Editorial
First, to clarify: I don’t draw much of a line between “pornography” and “erotica.” As far as I’m concerned they are both words that apply to representations of sex, whether visual or literary, crude or artistic, primal or romantic....
by Cooper West | May 7, 2012 | Editorial
I subscribe to a lot of blogs that encourage positive thinking, breaking the mold, seeking personal fulfillment and following your bliss. I get some sarcasm about that, but I figure, we get enough negative messages from pretty much everywhere (news, magazines, TV...
by Cooper West | Nov 29, 2011 | Editorial
I am one of the Muppet generation. The Muppet Show launched when I was about seven years old, ended when I was thirteen, and stayed in heavy re-run rotation all the way up until I went to college. It was absolutely formative. So I was predisposed to like the new...
by Cooper West | Nov 20, 2011 | Editorial, Writing Industry
I am not a yaoi expert, nor even a bona fide fan. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read and I’m a regular reader of Teahouse, but on the whole I’m outside of yaoi in fandom. I can wax poetic about Manchester in 1973 (and believe me, that takes work) but...
by Cooper West | Aug 24, 2011 | Editorial, Writing Industry
Why is everyone telling you to “create a discussion” on Twitter? And “engage your audience” on GoodReads? And “encourage dialogue” on FaceBook? Community. Marketing in the digital era is about building community; this is why we are...
by Cooper West | Aug 9, 2011 | Editorial, Writing Process
It might seem odd that a romance writer, whose whole genre (and therefore livelihood) is predicated on the mythology of “one true love!” which is the foundation of Western ideas of romantic relationships, would be a huge fan of a book which detractors describe as an...
