Black Balled: Enemies to Lovers M/M Romance

Black Balled: Enemies to Lovers M/M Romance

Two dominant males, two worthy adversaries, in a business that takes no prisoners, will soon face off...
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Voted Top Ten of Best M/M Romances of 2015
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Voted BEST READ of 2015!
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READER'S CHOICE for BEST M/M Book of 2015!
BLEEDING HEART BLOG
"WTF???I think it's obvious who the reviewer is. Thank you. *sarcasm* Oh, and I just decided to rate this piece of $hite with one star. #sorryamnotsorryatall
Baba (Goodreads)

Synopsis

VOTED BEST M/M ROMANCE OF 2015!

My name is Babu and I'm a reviewer. No, scratch that...I'm a living god in the review world!
I have no filter and for that my flock of humble followers on Greatreads and The Bluffington Gazette are forever grateful. If not for me, they wouldn't know what to read. I have no patience for the weak-minded attention seekers, nor do I have respect for the self-proclaimed "geniuses" of the Indie world. My advice to all Indie authors is to never break the Cardinal Rule in this cut-throat business.

My name is L. Blackburn and I'm an Indie author.

My literary genius is loved and worshipped throughout the book world except, of course, by one self-centered reviewer who goes by the name of 'Babu.' Apparently I broke some Cardinal Rule and now I'm paying the high price for it. But then, if a predator attacked your cub, wouldn't you go for the throat?

Game on, Babu . . . Game. Is. On.

ADULT CONTENT

Release date: May 4, 2015

Publisher: Meatball Taster Publishing, LLC

Print pages: 324

Content advisory: 18+

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Behind the book

Eva and I set out, quite accidently, to write a book that would be entertaining and just maybe, a bit thought-provoking. We literally had no outline, or synopsis prepared, we went chapter by chapter, she writing one character, and I writing the other.

But along the way, it became so much more than that, and we knew that at the end of the day--after the banter between the characters had been digested, and the misconceptions that each of them possessed about the other revealed (a bit satirically) along with the mutual exposure of their individual imperfections and biases, that one common theme must ring loud and clear.

The right of expression is one of the most cherished and inalienable rights a human being possesses. And no matter where you live, what language you speak, or what God you choose to worship, you have every right to defend your freedom of speech and expression, whether it comes in the form of music, art, literature or simply one's opinion.

And as we sent our manuscript off to editing, and started the process of pre-release marketing, posting the synopsis we had devised onto the social media platforms, it became abundantly clear that misconceptions of our work, and the intent of this book's message, had caused an outburst of angry accusations, derogatory comments, and a concerted effort to boycott it across  the various channels of social media as a result.

Eva and I tried our best to clarify the book's content, and to provide assurance that this book was not the product of some vendetta against any group for any reason, but it became clear that many people have chosen to believe otherwise--and that's fine, that's all part of their inalienable right to an opinion. We won't argue that for one second.

The definition of censorship is the practice of limiting access to information, ideas or books in order to prevent knowledge or freedom of though. Banning controversial books is an example of censorship. However, like expression, censorship is a two-way street. At the end of the day, it rests with an individual's right of choice.

I want to thank those 100+ people on Goodreads who took the time to 1-star, leave comments, and shelve "Black-Balled" on one of their cleverly-named bookshelves before it was released, and subsequently going on to social media to spread the word, because at the end of the day, that is your inalienable right to do so.

In a way, you have given me a gift--I won't speak for Eva, but for me you have provided an opportunity to practice restraint, something that hasn't always been one of my strong points. I'm an imperfect individual as many of you have pointed out, and I own that. No denying it, folks. I am flawed and imperfect. I've made mistakes, and I've been judgy at times, and not always receptive to criticism.

There's no denying that, but what you gave me over the past several days after listing Black Balled on Goodreads was the perfect opportunity to practice restraint, and for the most part, I've done just that.

It's not easy.

I'm not going to lie to you. But before it's over, I hope that I'm just a smidgeon less imperfect, and maybe a trifle more tolerant. Baby steps.

So go ahead and express with 1-stars or insults against me and the book if that is your desire, because how can I be a hypocrite? Your freedom of expression is every bit as important and precious to you as mine is to me.

And while I may not like what you do or say, I will defend your right to say and express it however you so choose. Because at the end of the day, this planet is big enough for all of us.

That's all.

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