Man pleads guilty to child porn, then allowed to view child porn in jail

Anyone who thinks that the legal outrages described in my vigilante thriller, HUNTER, are exaggerated, ought to check out this A.P. story:

A legal loophole is allowing a Washington state man accused of child sex crimes to view child pornography in jail.

Weldon Marc Gilbert is acting as his own lawyer in the case, and that means he's entitled to review the evidence.

The evidence in the case includes more than 100 videos seized from Gilbert's Lake Tapps home after his 2007 arrest. Authorities say some of the footage was shot by Gilbert.

MY INTERVIEW ON "1ST AUTHOR INTERVIEWS" WEBSITE

A website, "First Author Interviews," has just published an interview with me about HUNTER.

I think that many of you will find it informative. (My only objection: the poor formatting of the book excerpt.)

5 traditionally published authors who have gone "indie"

Here is an absolutely fascinating roundtable interview with five women, each traditionally published, who have decided to self-publish. Why? They provide a host of details about their experiences and the reasons for their respective decisions. Here is just a small sample:

How does self-publishing compare for you to your traditional publishing experience?

Kathryn Shay: For me, self publishing is a lot easier, and more lucrative, than traditional publishing. I’m thrilled so many of my earlier books are getting readers (over 38,000 people have downloaded AFTER THE FIRE, which just went free on Amazon). And in some ways, writing is more enjoyable for me because I get to write about what I want and write the way I want to. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed working with editors in many respects. But I’d rather have control of the content and style of my work.

Beth Orsoff: I’ve had much more success self-publishing than I did as a traditionally published author. I’ve sold many more books, earned ten times as much money, and I’m able to write what I want instead of what an agent or editor thinks will sell.

Patricia Ryan: Self-publishing has been a revelation for me! I love having control over the packaging and distribution of my books, and the high royalties, paid monthly, provide a steady income, something writers rarely get to enjoy.

Julie Ortolon: No comparison. I love everything about self-publishing. The freedom, the lack of stress, the control. That said, writing under contract for major print publishers was a great training ground. Succeeding at self publishing without that experience would probably be harder for me. Writing for a publisher taught me to think about the whole picture: the marketing, packaging, target audience. Working with editors and copy editors really helped me hone my craft. Does that mean I couldn’t succeed in self-publishing today if I were just starting out and hadn’t had that training ground? No. But writers who choose self-publishing need to know it’s not a short cut or easy out. You gotta put in the work. Sloppy craft just won’t cut it.

There is a wealth of experienced-based perspective here for any author or would-be author contemplating options. As ever, read the whole thing.