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Harlequin is celebrating 60 years of publishing bliss. And you can celebrate, too!

Just go to http://www.harlequincelebrates.com/ and you will have the opportunity to download… are you ready for this? Sixteen free full-length romance novels. 16!

They cover the spectrum of romance sub-genres, from inspirational, to paranormal, to the classic storyline of “The Gazillionaire Foreign Guy’s Pregnant Virgin Bride”. (Huh?)

Actually, the Harlequin Presents they’re giving away is Susan Napier’s “Price of Passion,” and it looks fun. The first one I grabbed was Michele Hauf’s “Kiss Me Deadly”, but then again, I really like paranormal romances… and isn’t it a good cover?

Harlequin is celebrating all through 2009, but I don’t know how long these books will be up for grabs - so go grab yours before they’re gone. If Harlequin didn’t know how to publish books romance readers like, they wouldn’t have lasted for 60 years.

There’s a news story today that Facebook has backed down on a measure that has people up in arms… but I’m going to go out on a limb and question what the cafuffle is about.

According to MSNBC.com, “Users complained would grant the social-networking site the ability to control their information forever, even after they cancel their accounts.” Really?

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, had to step in to try and clear the air. Without the license, he said, Facebook wouldn’t be able to help people share information. “When someone shares a photo, a message or a status update telling friends what they are up to at the moment, they first need to grant Facebook a license so the site can pass that information along to authorized friends.”

On Sunday, the “popular consumer rights advocacy blog” (emphasis mine) Consumerist.com pointed out the changes to the Facebook terms of service.

Here are my problems with this:

1. Facebooks users are wrong. Why are users surprised when companies who offer a free service want to use patrons’ information to make money? If it’s made clear what information is going to be used, and at what level of anonymity, then what do you expect for using a free service?

2. Mark Zuckerberg is wrong. Obviously, he and his company have not made it clear what information would be used, and how. Transparency? They didn’t tell anyone! And now they’ve got to back-pedal and deal with a public relations problem.

And this isn’t the first time. MSNBC also reported that, “In late 2007, for example, a tracking tool called ‘Beacon’ caught users off-guard by broadcasting information about their shopping habits and activities at other web sites. After initially defending the practice, Facebook ultimately allowed users to turn Beacon off.”

So… they’ve learned nothing, obviously.

3. MSNBC is wrong. The entire article was slanted toward Facebook being the Big Bad Company, with little explanation of the actual details of the story. “Popular consumer rights advocacy blog”? Please. I now know more about Consumerist.com than I do about what Facebook actually changed in their terms of service. That’s pretty much the definition of bad reporting.

So what’s going to happen now?

Mark Zuckerberg wrote on the official blog, “Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised. We concluded that returning to our previous terms was the right thing for now.”

For now. Grief. I’m going to go have a cup of tea and pretend I didn’t read about any of this.

Again, we have a small digression. I was over at the Horror Writers Association Website that I talked about in an earlier post and I read their FAQ page.

Oh, the horror. I know there are people out there who ask the occasional silly question, but how bad do things have to be for this?

Frequently Asked Questions
How can I submit my story, screenplay, or novel to HWA?
Please don’t send us your stories, story ideas, screenplays, novels, or pitches. The Horror Writers Association is not a publisher. The books listed on the HWA Books page were written by HWA members, and then sold to traditional publishers.

IF ONLY publishing houses really were run by writers associations. Let’s think about that for a moment…. Sigh. What a wonderful world it would be.

I’m not a member — can my book or story be considered for a Stoker Award?
You do not have to be a member of HWA in order for your work to be considered for a Stoker Award. Click here for information on how to promote your work for a Stoker.

I’m not a member. Can my book or story be considered for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?

Will you send an e-mail to my favorite horror author for me?
Your best bet for contacting an author directly is to search for their website on the Internet. If the author you wish to contact does not have a web site, but you know that they’re an HWA member, we’ll be glad to forward any correspondence you’d like to send.

Na-ahhhh. That’s quite sweet, actually. I’m actually surprised that anyone is reading enough fiction to be writing fan letters, anymore. This gladdens my darkened heart.

I would like to say for the record that the Horror Writers Association website looks really good. I wish all of my websites looked this good… and they don’t. Trust me.

And the URL: http://www.horror.org/ It’s perfect for a horror writers association. Just say, “Org,” a few times. “Orgorgorg.” See? It fits.

The site is helpful. There are great links. This isn’t a paying market, but think of this as your day off where you can go and look at the scenery–er, well, maybe it’s not exactly a rose garden, but this is a site you want to know about.

And horror writers make great friends because they’ve already vented all of their frustrations, and grief, and fear in their writing. By the time they meet you at the coffee shop, they’re usually a walking Smooth Jazz station.

How can you miss out on that?