new coming this weekHi guys! I hope you are all doing well. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse than last week, our reading community faced another crisis this week as we got really upsetting revelations about things going on at Riptide Publishing. So before I get too far, I want to fill you guys in on what is happening, as well as what it means for us here at the blog.

Statement About Riptide Publishing

As many of you know, it has come to light that a senior editor at Riptide Publishing was found to have been making inappropriate sexual comments and exhibiting sexually harassing behavior as part of her position at the company. She also made remarks that demonstrated a lack of support for POC authors and stories. She resigned soon after these revelations came to light, but it is obviously very upsetting that this behavior and attitude was going on there and it seems to have affected more than one author.

Riptide has issued a statement apologizing and saying that they will take some time to reflect on how to fix their problems and do better. They have also agreed to give authors their rights back to Riptide books, both already published and under contract for future release, and many authors have taken them up on the offer. So at this point, there is not a lot of clarity as to what will be publishing with them going forward, as well as whether these books will release when originally planned.

So first let me say how deeply troubled I am by everything that I am hearing about what was going on there. I share concerns of readers and authors alike and I feel deeply sorry for those who have been victims of these actions, as well as those who have had their books, and in some cases livelihoods, put in jeopardy by this situation. I realize that not every author has the skills or the finances to be able to pull books from Riptide to self publish. Not only can self publishing be costly, but it also means a potential loss of revenue while books are out of circulation, and not every author can absorb that kind of financial loss. Therefore, we are looking to support all authors who are dealing with the fallout of this situation, regardless of what they choose to do with their books.

Given that, along with the lack of clarity as to what is publishing where and when, here is our plan as to how we will proceed. I’ll note that things seem to be changing on a daily basis and so our plan will likely change as more information comes out.

  • Riptide books we have already accepted for review:We have some review books we have already received and, in some cases, even already read that are still being published by Riptide. Our current plan is to honor our commitment to those authors and review these books as their release information becomes clear.
  • Riptide books that are now being self published: I have contacted all the authors of books that we had on our review list who are now self publishing and told them that we are still interested in a doing a review. As release dates are clearer and the books become available through self publishing, we plan to review them if they are made available to us.
  • Riptide blog tours: Like with books we have already accepted for review, we will honor our commitment to hosting authors for blog tours we have already booked. I have also reached out to the authors who will now be self publishing books for which we are signed up for tours and offered to let them use the space we have booked for their self published books.
  • Future Riptide books: This is the part that is still uncertain. We do not want to penalize authors who are unable to pull their books for various reasons. But we also want to see how Riptide responds to these problems and what actions they take to fix them before we make further commitments. So this will be a bit of a wait and see.

In an effort to contribute to helping folks move forward from this crisis, I have also offered to support authors through some free advertising. I am offering two free ad spots per month for up to six months. One will be for current/former Riptide authors who need help promoting their work, and the other will be for authors who are POC or who are writing POC books to help bring these books to readers’ attention. I have more information here that explains the program and how to request one of the free spots.

If anyone is intrested in talking with me further about this, please feel free to get in touch. And like I said, this is a work in progress and we will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.

Ok, so on to the books. Here is what we have planned this week:


Monday
  • Review: Witchbane by Morgan Brice (Jay)
  • Audiobook Review: Mark Cooper Versus America by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock (Jay)
  • Review: Fox and Birch by Sam Burns (Elizabeth)
  • Guest Post and Giveaway: Cutie Pies by Barbara Bell
  • Audiobook Review: Survivorby T.M. Smith (Kris)

Tuesday
  • Movie Review: Love, Simon (Jay)
  • Review: Dirty Games by HelenKay Dimon (Jay)
  • Guest Post: Out of the Ocean by Lynn Michaels
  • Review: Mage of Convenience by Parker Foye (Sue)
  • Review: Hard to Let Go by Jaclyn Quinn (Kenna)

Wednesday
  • Review: Imperfect Match by Jordan Castillo Price (Jay)
  • Guest Post: Dirty Games by HelenKay Dimon
  • Audiobook Review: Off the Beaten Path by Cari Z (Elizabeth)
  • Review: Fake Out by Eden Finley (Michelle)
  • Review: Secret Seth by Ki Brightly (Camille)

Thursday
  • Review: The Moth and the Moon by Glenn Quigley (Sue)
  • Review: The Vampire’s Angel by Damian Serbu (Elizabeth)
  • Guest Post: Surprise Delivery by D.J. Jamison
  • Review: Love My Children First by Kory Stead (Kenna)
  • Review: Captive Hearts by A.E. Ryecart (Kirsty)

Friday
  • Review: One Under by J.L. Merrow (Sammy)
  • Review: Jace’s Trial by J.M. Wolf (Kenna)
  • Guest Post: Witchbaneby Morgan Brice
  • Guest Post and Giveaway: Captain Merric by Rebecca Cohen

And that should do it for this week!

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