tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59970957587266109672023-11-16T03:03:44.101-08:00Hop Against Homophobia, Bi- and TransphobiaM/M Writing Community Against Homophobia, Bi- and TransphobiaCherie Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15857878847402931997noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-46520985517916634942016-05-15T12:21:00.000-07:002016-05-15T12:21:40.411-07:00Somehow, we missed to post the link, but here it is:<br />
<a href="http://hopforvisibilityawarenessandequality.blogspot.de/">Hop for Visibility, Awareness and Equality</a><br />
<br />
You can still sign up until May 16th.<br />
<br />
Thank you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06936194441042805786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-78860955273283159172016-04-10T10:02:00.001-07:002016-04-10T10:02:04.576-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvRZm6dj9SQ_byAoVyMbReb-c5O4U66lsJy242mfvRwMN3Nw4pXC7NHesNw_Uud6toVINt5-8asgN9d1DOIqinNRes11r3pczE2HrD-AMwvFs6f1cQBrN4l3uwkpO6XEWGn-Clo1bDCA/s1600/12966856_10154139315371214_379554555_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvRZm6dj9SQ_byAoVyMbReb-c5O4U66lsJy242mfvRwMN3Nw4pXC7NHesNw_Uud6toVINt5-8asgN9d1DOIqinNRes11r3pczE2HrD-AMwvFs6f1cQBrN4l3uwkpO6XEWGn-Clo1bDCA/s400/12966856_10154139315371214_379554555_n.jpg" /></a><br />
We're moving.<br />
<br />
As soon we have a link to a new blog, we'll post it.<br />
<br />
Thank you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06936194441042805786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-61414645968407925552015-05-16T17:38:00.000-07:002015-05-16T17:38:02.449-07:00Hop Against Homophobia, Bi- and Transphobia 2015!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpJAcLaj3h27ymOG4YZ6I5oRBjn10-FrCckFHzGnh0aT30GlnWO2khCpkPspOmyZ0tyYuVkqVSb4JA3rOfqmWw8DN8xMXppH9cXM4-xWnyOAaxUH5fa8peP00uNSOyYinwlBr9L4E8Yp1/s1600/HAHABT+2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpJAcLaj3h27ymOG4YZ6I5oRBjn10-FrCckFHzGnh0aT30GlnWO2khCpkPspOmyZ0tyYuVkqVSb4JA3rOfqmWw8DN8xMXppH9cXM4-xWnyOAaxUH5fa8peP00uNSOyYinwlBr9L4E8Yp1/s320/HAHABT+2015.png" width="238" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Today, May 17th, is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. Groups around the world will be celebrating the day in various ways and you can follow it all through the IDAHOT page: <a href="http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/">http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/</a><br />
<br />
We, 117 writers, publishers, reviewers, cover designers, and other people involved in the making of LGBT books, want to make an effort as well by sharing messages with our readers and other blog visitors. This is the hop's fourth year, and in our prior years we've had huge success in reaching a diverse group of people around the globe. We've decided to do it again, because there's no sense messing with success, right? We encourage you to visit all the hop locations. There will be an LGBT-related prize at each stop.<br />
<br />
From the all volunteer staff here at HAHABT, we want to take a moment to extend our gratitude to all who have donated, be it in time, prizes to give away on their blogs, or simply the courage to stand up for what we here at HAHABT believe to be an invaluable message of acceptance.<br />
<br />
Thank you,<br />
Hop Against Homophobia, Bi- and Transphobia 2015<br />
<br />
<br />
<script src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=644125FF-AACF-4A13-A08A-696A562D8FB3" type="text/javascript"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-27161471939863022632015-03-12T02:09:00.000-07:002015-04-17T10:30:54.572-07:00Hop Against Homophobia, Bi- and Transphobia 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMSQ8vMG6G5KSVBpX6D7WMY6lMCeR7Dr_r06Au831tfCN-qA9EQRBD_rsUaAHs81KzpD98j7FIHfYrCW2l4pKGnysj86DTcYxhdCOneZu2xANwZcnd67mX7ufVow-1XqSBnSwHwTRLeB8/s1600/HAHABT+2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMSQ8vMG6G5KSVBpX6D7WMY6lMCeR7Dr_r06Au831tfCN-qA9EQRBD_rsUaAHs81KzpD98j7FIHfYrCW2l4pKGnysj86DTcYxhdCOneZu2xANwZcnd67mX7ufVow-1XqSBnSwHwTRLeB8/s1600/HAHABT+2015.png" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Hop Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (HAHABT) was created to spread awareness of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and to stand together as a writer community against discrimination of our works. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The hop is now open for sign-ups.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Dates:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sign-ups for the HAHABT will end on May 14th.<br />
The hop begins on May 17th and runs through May 24th. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Participation requirements:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To sign up for the HAHABT, you must be an author, publisher, reviewer, or cover designer of LGBTQ fiction (you do not have to write, publish, review, or cover design LGBTQ works exclusively) and provide a link to your blog and active email address. That's it!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We encourage you to mention the blog in its lead-up. We'll be doing our part in promoting the event, but the more people talk about it, the bigger and better it will be.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What participating entails:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Participating requires that you post a post on your blog for the hop on May 17, 2015. The post must include:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» The HAHABT image, with a link to the official hop site: <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/">http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Note that it's the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia in the post, and include a topic that relates to LGBTQ.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» An LGBTQ-related prize, such as donations in the winner's name, paperbacks or ebooks (your own or someone else's), swag, t-shirts, or anything you like that is connected to the LGBTQ community.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Links to the other blog participants (we'll offer a code that you can put at the bottom of your post to link to multiple other participants).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We'll be sending out a reminder email with all the specifics once we get closer to the kick-off date of the hop, so watch your email in May.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Restrictions:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Any direct links to sales pages will be removed. You must link to your blog.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Any non LGBTQ participants will be removed.<br />
» We expect that those who sign up will be legitimately interested in participating in a positive manner. Therefore, those who sign up to express negative views of the hop will be removed from the links.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Your post must be up no later than one day after May 17th. If your post isn't up on the 18th, you will receive a reminder. If the post isn't up by the 19th, your link will be removed. You can pre-schedule posts in most (if not all) blog programs, and we encourage you to do so.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>When you sign up:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #20124d;">Please provide a correct link to your blog and an active email address.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #20124d;">Please use the following indicators behind your names (i.e. NJ Nielsen (M/M)), whichever applies:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: red;"><b>Gay: (M/M) or (GAY)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: orange;"><b>Lesbian: (F/F) or (LES) </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Trans: (TR)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <b style="color: #6aa84f;">Bi: (BI)</b> - M/F/M and F/M/F are not bi if there's no romantic/sexual interaction between the same sexes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <b><span style="color: blue;">Reviewers: (REV)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Publishers: (PUB)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: magenta;"><b>Cover designers: (DES)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <b><span style="color: red;">Multiple pairings: (MULTI)</span></b> - or list what you do, e.g. (M/M, F/F, REV). This option is for those who write e.g. M/M and Trans stories. Please note that M/F stories are not a part of this hop yet, so if you write F/F and M/F, please only add the F/F behind your name. The LGBT character(s) must be a main character in your story.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Finally:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Those who add the HAHABT badge to the sidebar of their blog and keep it there until the hop starts will be added to our blog roll. The blog roll will stay up until next year. Please promote the event to your readers and fellow writers to help make this hop a success.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Have any questions? Please take a look at our <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/p/faq.html" target="_blank">FAQ page</a>. If you don't find your answer there, feel free to ask us :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<script src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=644125FF-AACF-4A13-A08A-696A562D8FB3" type="text/javascript"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-58619215569450037112014-05-17T04:53:00.002-07:002014-05-17T04:55:46.893-07:00Welcome to the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px; text-align: justify;">
Today, May 17th, is the <i><a href="http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/">International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia</a></i> (also known as IDAHO). Groups around the world will be celebrating the day in various ways and you can follow it all through the IDAHO page: <a href="http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/" style="color: #9966cc; text-decoration: none;">http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px; text-align: justify;">
We, right around 130 writers, publishers, reviewers, and cover designers of LGBT books want to make an effort as well by sharing messages with our readers and other blog visitors. This is the hop's third year, and in both our prior years we've had huge success in reaching a diverse group of people around the globe. We've decided to do it again, because there's no sense messing with success, right? We encourage you to visit all the hop locations. There will be an LGBT-related prize at each stop.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px; text-align: justify;">
From the all volunteer staff here at HAHAT, we want to take a moment to extend our gratitude to all who have donated, be it in time, prizes to give away on their blogs, or simply the courage to stand up for what we here at HAHAT believe to be an invaluable message of acceptance.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px; text-align: justify;">
Thank you,</div>
<div class="inlinkzDiv_1" id="_1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: table; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">
Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<script src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=8E3F4D7D-C90E-47C2-9D5D-F6B04CBC8377" type="text/javascript"></script>Cherie Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15857878847402931997noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-1838749176275049652014-03-22T07:09:00.000-07:002014-05-16T08:56:34.490-07:00Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia: 2014 Sign-Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7ZDAoAsd3DFTmy6DMFrHsPDIgw4iIqGgu9b1g3WAC9nHUScreT5C0wM9mHw_Q6GXOezdo8AW6JCy81Pjrcrqlnc6dsGFKTVUwsAq3EEwqHa0G4597oaj9bK6b5RV_gNZVzChqMH6qEcs/s1600/HAHAT+2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7ZDAoAsd3DFTmy6DMFrHsPDIgw4iIqGgu9b1g3WAC9nHUScreT5C0wM9mHw_Q6GXOezdo8AW6JCy81Pjrcrqlnc6dsGFKTVUwsAq3EEwqHa0G4597oaj9bK6b5RV_gNZVzChqMH6qEcs/s1600/HAHAT+2014.png" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia (HAHAT) was created to spread awareness of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and to stand together as a writer community against discrimination of our works. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The hop is now open for sign-ups.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Dates:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sign-ups for the HAHAT will end on May 14th.<br />
The hop begins on May 17th and runs through May 24th. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Participation requirements:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To participate in the HAHAT, you must be an author, publisher, reviewer, or cover designer of LGBTQ fiction (you do not have to write, publish, review, or cover design LGBTQ works exclusively) and provide a link to your blog and active email address. That's it!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We encourage you to mention the blog in its lead-up. We'll be doing our part in promoting the event, but the more people talk about it, the bigger and better it will be.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What participating entails:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Participating requires that you create a post on your blog for the hop on May 17, 2013. The post must include:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» The HAHAT image, with a link to the official hop site: <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/">http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Note that it's the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in the post, and include a topic that relates to LGBTQ.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» An LGBTQ-related prize, such as donations in the winner's name, paperbacks or ebooks (your own or someone else's), swag, t-shirts, or anything you like that is connected to the LGBTQ community.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Links to the other blog participants (we'll offer a code that you can put at the bottom of your post to link to multiple other participants).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We'll be sending out a reminder email with all the specifics once we get closer to the kick-off date of the hop, so watch your email in May.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Restrictions:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Any direct links to sales pages will be removed. You must link to your blog.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Any non LGBTQ participants will be removed.<br />
» We expect that those who sign up will be legitimately interested in participating in a positive manner. Therefore, those who sign up to express negative views of the hop will be removed from the links.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» Your post must be up no later than one day after May 17th. If your post isn't up on the 18th, you will receive a reminder. If the post isn't up by the 19th, your link will be removed. You can pre-schedule posts in most (if not all) blog programs, and we encourage you to do so.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>When you sign up:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #20124d;">Please provide a correct link to your blog and an active email address.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #20124d;">Please use the following indicators behind your names (i.e. NJ Nielsen (M/M)), whichever applies:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: red;"><b>Gay: (M/M) or (GAY)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: orange;"><b>Lesbian: (F/F) or (LES) </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Trans: (TR)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <b style="color: #6aa84f;">Bi: (BI)</b> - M/F/M and F/M/F are not bi if there's no romantic/sexual interaction between the same sexes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <b><span style="color: blue;">Reviewers: (REV)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Publishers: (PUB)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <span style="color: magenta;"><b>Cover designers: (DES)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
» <b><span style="color: red;">Multiple pairings: (MULTI)</span></b> - or list what you do, e.g. (M/M, F/F, REV). This option is for those who write e.g. M/M and Trans stories. Please note that M/F stories are not a part of this hop yet, so if you write F/F and M/F, please only add the F/F behind your name.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Finally:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Those who add the HAHAT badge to the sidebar of their blog and keep it there until the hop starts will be added to our blog roll. The blog roll will stay up until next year. Please promote the event to your readers and fellow writers to help make this hop a success.<br /><span style="color: red;"><b>Edited: We've been having a problem with the blogroll. It won't save any links we add. We're working on trying to fix it or find an alternative.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have any questions? Please take a look at our <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/p/faq.html" target="_blank">FAQ page</a>. If you don't find your answer there, feel free to ask us :)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<script src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=8E3F4D7D-C90E-47C2-9D5D-F6B04CBC8377" type="text/javascript"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-52198053910677767592013-05-17T00:30:00.000-07:002013-05-17T00:30:05.169-07:00Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BZOzgKZLsKc9JlPlapG5PiQLZBTe93uoVZXrTBqzinB-edMuwZC1zC70XOctuEznUdagjQTkNY_2b48i98TE1swEJ09NIh12M7Ztagfhfbu5NtFFjqdKIDt71iU1kUc3O-AA346sbvNH/s1600/2013+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BZOzgKZLsKc9JlPlapG5PiQLZBTe93uoVZXrTBqzinB-edMuwZC1zC70XOctuEznUdagjQTkNY_2b48i98TE1swEJ09NIh12M7Ztagfhfbu5NtFFjqdKIDt71iU1kUc3O-AA346sbvNH/s320/2013+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Welcome to the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia (HAHAT) 2013! </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today, May 17th, is the <i>International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i> (also known as IDAHO). Groups around the world will be celebrating the day in various ways and you can follow it all through the IDAHO page: <a href="http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/">http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We, nearly 180 writers, publishers, reviewers, and cover designers of LGBT books want to make an effort as well by sharing messages with our readers and other blog visitors. We did this last year and decided to do it again after a huge success. We encourage you to visit all the hop locations. There will be an LGBT-related prize at each stop.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thanks for stopping by!</div>
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-6876065848725908222013-03-15T13:01:00.000-07:002013-03-16T01:39:42.037-07:00Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia: 2013 Sign-Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BZOzgKZLsKc9JlPlapG5PiQLZBTe93uoVZXrTBqzinB-edMuwZC1zC70XOctuEznUdagjQTkNY_2b48i98TE1swEJ09NIh12M7Ztagfhfbu5NtFFjqdKIDt71iU1kUc3O-AA346sbvNH/s1600/2013+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BZOzgKZLsKc9JlPlapG5PiQLZBTe93uoVZXrTBqzinB-edMuwZC1zC70XOctuEznUdagjQTkNY_2b48i98TE1swEJ09NIh12M7Ztagfhfbu5NtFFjqdKIDt71iU1kUc3O-AA346sbvNH/s320/2013+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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The Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia (HAHAT) was created last year to spread awareness of homophobia and transphobia, and to stand together as a writer community against discrimination of our works. The participation was beyond our dreams and the posts were breathtaking. We've created a page where you can visit these <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/p/hop-against-homophobia-2012-was-huge.html" target="_blank">2012 posts</a> directly to see what everyone was up to. Since then, we've changed the name of the hop, increased the time length, and changed up the rules to keep things running smoothly.</div>
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This hop is now completely open to the whole of LGBTQ.</div>
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<b>Dates:</b></div>
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The hop begins on May 17, 2013 and runs through May 27, 2013. Sign ups for the HAHAT will end on May 10, 2013.</div>
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<b>Participation requirements:</b></div>
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To participate in the HAHAT, you must be an author, publisher, reviewer, or cover designer of LGBTQ fiction (you do not have to write, publish, review, or cover design LGBTQ works exclusively) and provide a link to your blog and active email address. That's it!</div>
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Optionally, we encourage you to mention the blog in its lead-up. We'll be doing our part in promoting the event, but the more people talk about it, the bigger and better it will be!</div>
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<b>What participating entails:</b></div>
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Participating requires that you create a post on your blog for the hop on May 17, 2013. The post must include:</div>
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» The HAHAT image, with a link to the official hop site: <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/">http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/</a></div>
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» Note that it's the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in the post, and include a topic that relates to LGBTQ.</div>
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» An LGBTQ-related prize, such as donations in the winner's name, paperbacks or ebooks (your own or someone else's), swag, t-shirts, or anything you like that is connected to the LGBTQ community.</div>
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» (Optional) Links to the other blog participants (we'll offer a code that you can put at the bottom of your post to link to multiple other participants).</div>
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We'll be sending out a reminder email with all the specifics once we get closer to the kick-off date of the hop, so watch your email in May.</div>
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<b>Restrictions:</b></div>
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» Any direct links to sales pages will be removed. You must link to your blog.</div>
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» Any non LGBTQ participants will be removed.</div>
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» Your post must be up no later than one day after May 17th. If your post isn't up on the 18th, you will receive a reminder. If the post isn't up by the 19th, your link will be removed. You can pre-schedule posts in most (if not all) blog programs, and we encourage you to do so.</div>
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<b>When you sign up:</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d;">Please provide a correct link to your blog and an active email address.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d;">Please use the following indicators behind your names (i.e. NJ Nielsen (M/M), whichever applies:</span></b></div>
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»<span style="color: #38761d; font-weight: bold;">Gay: (M/M) </span></div>
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»<b><span style="color: red;">Lesbian: (F/F) </span></b></div>
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»<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Trans: (TR)</span></b></div>
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»<span style="color: red;"><b>Bi: (BI)</b></span></div>
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»<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Reviewers: (REV)</span></b></div>
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»<span style="color: red;"><b>Publishers: (PUB)</b></span></div>
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»<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Cover designers: (DES)</span></b></div>
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»<b style="color: red;">Multiple pairings: (MULTI) </b>- This is if you write e.g. M/M and Trans stories. Please note that M/F stories are not a part of this hop yet, so if you write F/F and M/F, please only add the F/F behind your name.<br />
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This hop isn't only for romance writers. If you write LGBTQ non-fic, poetry, or "gay/lesbian fiction" and don't want to use the (M/M) or (F/F) indicators, you're welcome to use (Gay) or (Les). </div>
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Have any questions? Please take a look at our <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/p/faq.html" target="_blank">FAQ page</a>. If you don't find your answer there, feel free to ask us :)</div>
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-11507745286671571872013-03-13T14:51:00.003-07:002013-03-13T14:51:41.591-07:00Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia: The Future Hops<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BZOzgKZLsKc9JlPlapG5PiQLZBTe93uoVZXrTBqzinB-edMuwZC1zC70XOctuEznUdagjQTkNY_2b48i98TE1swEJ09NIh12M7Ztagfhfbu5NtFFjqdKIDt71iU1kUc3O-AA346sbvNH/s1600/2013+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BZOzgKZLsKc9JlPlapG5PiQLZBTe93uoVZXrTBqzinB-edMuwZC1zC70XOctuEznUdagjQTkNY_2b48i98TE1swEJ09NIh12M7Ztagfhfbu5NtFFjqdKIDt71iU1kUc3O-AA346sbvNH/s320/2013+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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Last year, we, the organizers of the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia (HAHAT), loosely pitched an idea that would enlarge the hop in order to reach more people. The idea was to invite the writers of LGBTQ to create affiliate hops under the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia (HAHAT) label. The affiliate hops were planned to span multiple genres (hops for sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary, etc.) and different letters of the LGBTQ umbrella (hops for M/M, F/F, Trans*, etc.). However, no one stepped up to volunteer and due to a busy year, the organizers were unable to actively go out and find volunteers.<br />
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This year got off to a rocky start. We had initially decided to keep the hop restricted to M/M again, and that decision was based on the overall idea of the hop in the future and where we hope to take it. I’m going to explain this future idea and I’m also going to explain why we changed this year’s hop to include the whole LGBTQ writing community instead of keeping it M/M-only.<br />
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<b>So what is this future idea? </b><br />
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The main idea for implementing this hop is to draw in readers and offer them a chance to take part in the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Participants post about the subject on their own blogs and host giveaways that offer a variety of prizes. Last year, many gave books, some gave LGBTQ items, and several donated to a charity in the winner’s name. We’re flexible about what people want to give away and we’re not going to change that. The promise of a prize resulted in a lot of attention and engagement, and the messages on the blogs were seen. All in all, we succeeded in drawing attention to the matter exactly as we had hoped.<br />
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The goal for future years is to branch out beyond the LGBTQ writing community, with the idea that writers in other genres<span style="font-size: x-small;">*</span> will engage their own readers in the same way we are doing now. In other words, we want writers of mainstream fiction to take part in the future under their respective genres. HAHAT could become huge! It wouldn't have to stop at writers. It could spread to include bloggers and designers, and even separate hops for reviewers and publishers of all genres. It could expand to readers hosting their own hop. We want to bring in other communities to take part in the future, but we can’t do that under one hop, due to a lack of resources, which brings us to…<br />
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<b>How would we implement this? </b><br />
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After last year’s hop, we expanded on the idea among ourselves and figured we could make separate hops for each LGBTQ group, all under the same HAHAT badge. There would be <i>M/M Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i>, <i>F/F Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i>, etc., who would draw in and engage their own readers. But we wouldn't stop there. We’d try to go beyond writers of LGBTQ by making hops for genres: <i>Sci-Fi Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i> would introduce the hop through their own channels, drawing in and engaging the sci-fi readers; <i>Paranormal Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i> would draw in their readers; <i>YA Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i>; <i>Horror writers</i>; <i>Historical writers</i>, all joined under the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia badge with their own banner. If you ended up in multiple categories, say, you write lesbian young adult paranormal stories, you'd have the option to sign up for three different hops.<br />
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The Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia blog would serve as a parent site for all of these hops (so M/M would be moved off the blog onto another one) with links to each hop, announcements, event advertising and such. The organizers of all the hops would also work together under the same badge to synchronize their hops, announcements, etc, and find new ways to branch out. Each hop would have a lead organizer, who would work with the HAHAT main organizers, and a few co-organizers to make the hop run smoothly. Someone said that this wasn't unlike the Romance Writers of America model, where there are separate chapters for different groups and genres.<br />
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<b>This sounds like a huge project, and it is. </b><br />
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We believe the best way to handle the transition to a larger group of hops is in steps. Naturally, this isn’t going to happen over the course of one year. We’d add hops little by little, depending on the number of volunteers. We had planned to create a separate hop for the F/F, Trans*, and Bi writing community for 2013, but up until earlier this week, we had no one to organize it. One of our new organizers expressed interest in coordinating the expansion this last Sunday and we started planning it, but then came the questions from writers: How would that be any different? It would still be “sectioning off” F/F, Trans*, and Bi literature from the big M/M writing community. M/M has a lot of writers, readers, reviewers, and publishers, with lots of events and general attention that the other parts of LGBTQ aren't getting. Some people felt that we were being discriminatory. We're sorry and we understand how we could have been perceived as such, but the intent was never to discriminate. We feel badly about not having set up the other hops, but at the same time, without the explanation of the future idea, we believe that people would’ve been angry if we’d created separate hops. However, future idea or not, we want LBTQ writers to be able to sign up this year and so we’ll be moving forward with the LGBTQ hop under one umbrella in 2013 (and maybe future years, it depends).<br />
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What made us hesitant about changing the hop on Sunday was that we don’t want to have to cap participation in the hop. We want all M/M, F/F, Trans, and Bi writers to be able to take part. The M/M part alone will be large and we really don’t know how many of the others we might expect. This year will be a good learning experience. We may keep it under one hop in the future, or we may split it in the future as we had originally planned, depending on how participation from those segments of the community plays out. Needless to say, we are very excited to see how this turns out.<br />
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<b>So what now? </b><br />
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For now, we do not plan to cap participation, but we’re keeping the option open and will let you know if the hop looks like it will become unmanageable.<br />
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This year, we're also going to be as nonrestrictive as possible. To participate, you’d have to have at least one published LGBTQ title to take part as an author; you’d have to run a review site that reviews LGBTQ lit (exclusively or not) to take part as a reviewer; or you’d have to have published at least one LGBTQ title to take part as a publisher. We’re not restricting participation any further within those restrictions this year.<br />
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We're also looking for volunteers! With the new additions we are four strong, but we would like a few more. Volunteers from the F/F, Trans* and Bi writer communities would be wonderful, but if there are others excited to take part (including reviewers and publishers), they’re welcome to contact us and see if there’s a spot for them on the team. A volunteer would have to be available on May 17th and a couple of days before and after (they wouldn't have to sit by the computer all day, just do the assigned jobs). They’d also get to have input on how we organize and run HAHAT. For now, everyone gets a say, but once the hop grows, we’ll make teams and have one member represent each team.<br />
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We also need volunteers for future genre hops, so if you’re interested, please contact us :)<br />
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If you have any further input or suggestions, please let us know!<br />
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Registration will re-open soon, so please watch this page. Also note that if you registered previously, your information was saved, so you won't have to register again.<br />
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Finally, on behalf of the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia team, I’d like to offer my sincerest apology to those who were hurt, angered and offended by our original decision. It is my hope you’ll join the hop on a day that means so much to LGBTQ people and their supporters.<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
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Erica Pike<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* LGBTQ isn't a genre, but it is usually sectioned off on bookshelves and has its own circle of followers just like a genre does. </span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-38459920992178719742013-03-10T18:07:00.000-07:002013-03-10T18:07:10.080-07:00Sign-ups Temporarily Closed<div style="text-align: justify;">
We've decided to make some changes to the hop. We're going to include all LGBTQ writers, reviewers and publishers who are interested in taking part. The people who have already signed up won't have to do so again. It's stored in the inlinkz database.</div>
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We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you'll stay posted on when the sign-ups open again. Furthermore, we apologize to anyone who has taken offense to our original decision. A more explanatory post about our new decisions will be up soon.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-65605981967517782102013-03-10T11:32:00.003-07:002013-03-10T14:16:03.478-07:00Stay Tuned...<br />
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In response to some valid concerns, we're in the process of switching things up a little. The signups will remain open. Please stay tuned for our next announcement.</div>
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Please also note that while we will accept constructive criticism and encourage comments directed at helping us improve the hop, slanderous, abusive or accusatory comments will not be tolerated.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-28655400068514245882012-11-24T04:32:00.001-08:002013-03-10T06:26:04.540-07:00David Bahati, Author of Uganda's "Kill the Gays" Bill.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OoFshnfsmIDcdbRDnj_O9owhFmOqKeIPN4ko2aU18QPb2mVUCR-K8cogxyIYL4b84t4XXRPhn_z3SnR9RJnxzQNNAdMg7rxznbqW4FVlCUb4e0iUlLNvbakiRo2Kt68lpjvucVyz244Y/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OoFshnfsmIDcdbRDnj_O9owhFmOqKeIPN4ko2aU18QPb2mVUCR-K8cogxyIYL4b84t4XXRPhn_z3SnR9RJnxzQNNAdMg7rxznbqW4FVlCUb4e0iUlLNvbakiRo2Kt68lpjvucVyz244Y/s1600/download.jpg" /></a></div>
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In addition to yesterday's post about the "Kill the Gays" bill in Uganda, there are excellent Youtube videos of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's interview with David Bahati, the author of the bill. These are from last year when David Bahati came to the USA to try to find understanding among the Americans (as in, educating USA about the necessity of this bill). </div>
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<b>Part 1</b></div>
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David Bahati "doesn't hate the gays, he loves them", but he has to "protect the children" (by, apparently, having the gays killed or imprisoned for life). He also claims that people are coming into the schools with foreign money to try to entice the children into becoming gay:</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vPBEZmuuPA" target="_blank">Link to video 1</a></div>
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<b>Part 2</b></div>
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Listen to his consistent "reasoning" that they're doing this "to protect the children" (especially when he can't come up with a good answer for her excellent questions):</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ddw4XOjXLnU" target="_blank">Link to video 2</a></div>
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<b>Part 3</b></div>
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He never provided that evidence he said he would (we half expected some made-up reports). He also claims that the Bible is clear on what happens to sinners. He, however, does not seem to realize that by killing people (sinners or not) makes him into a sinner. He doesn't realize either that by making a judgement call as severe as deciding upon whether a person should live or die, he's taking the role of God and thereby sinning heavily. Apparently David Bahati doesn't care if he makes it to Heaven or not (whether or not Heaven exists):</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yM5w8GwXxQw" target="_blank">Link to video 3</a></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Again, we urge people to sign the petitions</span></b> (found <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/2012/11/witch-hunt-in-uganda-kill-gays.html" target="_blank">at the bottom of this post</a>). Please try to prevent this genocide of LGBT people (and their friends, tenants, and anyone who are even <i>suspected</i> of being homosexual) in Uganda. <span style="color: red;"><b>Please help prevent this witch hunt. </b></span><br />
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<i>(Edited to change the videos to links, because the page load was too heavy).</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-83593364572357678602012-11-23T05:55:00.003-08:002012-11-23T06:41:36.275-08:00Witch Hunt in Uganda: "Kill the Gays"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJoiX_vv8iUV01uDKhApuey9Zo9W_SnTDkbfCZZl_3UfMlwu_Uny-Zw0lzeab51KmumcQXfW2h3OSkqj9oCAIKHvjajyiP60jGCDIqFJqSUtQh7Q5I6hOjP5s2j1YGl5Ikk_GhBi52o32i/s1600/Free+Stock+by+Jason+Aaberg+Stockxchng.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJoiX_vv8iUV01uDKhApuey9Zo9W_SnTDkbfCZZl_3UfMlwu_Uny-Zw0lzeab51KmumcQXfW2h3OSkqj9oCAIKHvjajyiP60jGCDIqFJqSUtQh7Q5I6hOjP5s2j1YGl5Ikk_GhBi52o32i/s320/Free+Stock+by+Jason+Aaberg+Stockxchng.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Free stock image by </span><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/492210" style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Jason Aaberg</a><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">.</span></td></tr>
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Many may already have heard this, but a horrible <a href="http://perezhilton.com/2011-08-26-uganda-kill-the-gays-bill-being-pushed-through-parliament#.UK9vf-TtSSp" target="_blank">bill</a> is being pushed through the Ugandan Parliament and is expected to go into effect this December. They call it a Christmas gift to the Ugandan nation. The bill's been referred to as "Kill the Gays". This is not only terrible, horrible news for the LGBT community, but also disastrous to humanity and human rights. </div>
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The quote below is from a news article in <a href="http://perezhilton.com/2012-11-13-uganda-kill-the-gays-bill-made-law#.UK9uPuTtSSo">perezhilton.com</a>:</div>
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<i>The law will redefine the criminalization of same-sex relationships by dividing homosexuality into two categories (aggravated homosexuality and the offense of homosexuality), and assigning new, outrageous penalties to these "crimes."</i></div>
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<i>"Aggravated homosexuality" is defined as gay acts committed by parents or authority figures, HIV-positive people, pedophiles and repeat offenders. If convicted, they will face the death penalty.</i></div>
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<i>"Offense of homosexuality’" includes same-sex sexual acts or being in a gay relationship, and will be prosecuted by life imprisonment.</i></div>
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<i>Several European countries have threatened to cut aid to Uganda if it passes. Still, somehow the Speaker considers the passage of this Bill a "Christmas gift" to the population.</i></div>
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A further listing of offences can be found on <a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/If-Ugandans-Get-Their-Chri-by-Rev-Dan-Vojir-121121-527.html" target="_blank">OpEdNews.com</a>. </div>
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<i>Death penalty:</i></div>
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<i>- to repeat offenders of homosexuals acts</i></div>
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<i>- to people who engage in homosexual acts with a minor</i></div>
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<i>- to people who are suspected of "aggravated homosexuality" and have HIV</i></div>
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<i>Prison sentence:</i></div>
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<i>- to those suspected of homosexual activity</i></div>
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<i>- to those who do not report homosexual activity within 24 hours</i></div>
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<i>- to those suspected of "promoting" homosexuality</i></div>
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<i>- to anyone who aids and/or abets a homosexual (e.g. renting to a homosexual)</i></div>
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<i>In addition:</i></div>
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<i>- all people suspected of homosexual activity and arrested must undergo HIV testing.</i></div>
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<i>- former residents suspected of homosexuality may be extradited and sentenced.</i></div>
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<b>That's a witch hunt!</b></div>
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Here are more news articles on this matter:</div>
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<a href="http://en.avaaz.org/1135/ugandas-horrifying-kill-the-gays-bill-is-back">AVAAZ.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.glaad.org/blog/stop-ugandas-kill-gays-bill" target="_blank">GLAAD</a></div>
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<a href="http://americablog.com/2012/11/uganda-death-penalty-gays.html" target="_blank">Americablog.com</a></div>
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So, what can you do? You can spread the world, spread petition links, and not let this go quiet. We may not be able to change everyone's mind in Uganda, but we might be able to help pressure the president to veto the bill. </div>
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<b>Here are some signature links:</b></div>
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The U.S. has already threatened to end all financial aid to Uganda if the bill passes, but according to this article, it may take a while. To help push it forward, please sign this <a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-all-foreign-aid-uganda-and-impose-sanctions-if-kill-gays-bill-passed-legislature/6MNsrwM5" target="_blank">petition to the White House</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.allout.org/uganda-now">AllOut.org</a> is (when this was written) aiming for 250.000 signatures. Roughly a 100.000 to go.</div>
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<a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/citibank-and-barclays-condemn-uganda-s-kill-the-gays-bill" target="_blank">Ask Citibank and Barclay's to publicly condemn the bill.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/209/426/704/uganda-must-abandon-the-kill-the-gays-bill/#next_action" target="_blank">Care 2 Causes</a></div>
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<b>If you know of more links, please post a link and we'll add them here.</b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-51828752517947030422012-05-24T06:45:00.002-07:002012-05-24T06:45:45.457-07:00After-Hop Post 2 of 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bEN81DpGLGagrcWJsDxz28p4cVhakQ56D7WMIveAjBOe2tXyxWx1pM1mjizA0q1GCIWqBRsvE95fsev8Y7gedoo1Yu3yAal3l0zVrpIl2LmkL8b9FTpy68GWjxNSNNuq9je5VhugMt0S/s1600/HAHAT.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bEN81DpGLGagrcWJsDxz28p4cVhakQ56D7WMIveAjBOe2tXyxWx1pM1mjizA0q1GCIWqBRsvE95fsev8Y7gedoo1Yu3yAal3l0zVrpIl2LmkL8b9FTpy68GWjxNSNNuq9je5VhugMt0S/s320/HAHAT.png" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2013</b></div>
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We've learned a lot from this year and we've gone back and forth on ideas for the next year. What we've decided is to change the name from <i>Hop Against Homophobia</i> to <i><span style="color: red;">Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia</span></i> in honor of <a href="http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/-IDAHO-english,41-" target="_blank">IDAHO</a>. Also, did anyone else wake up on Sunday with half the blogs yet to read? Well we did. Originally we decided on four days, but that was before we knew that 275 blogs were going to sign up. So for next year, we're going to increase the length of the hop. We don't have the exact number of days yet, but we're thinking maybe ten or so. It all depends on which of the below option will be chosen. The start date will be on May 17th 2013, so mark your calendars :)</div>
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There is one other thing we've been going back and forth on. We want to spread awareness of homophobia and transphobia - this includes awareness of issues facing gays, lesbians, bisexuals, asexuals, pansexuals and the whole QUILTBAG. That was what was done this year. We had experiences from gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans* - all of whom were M/M writers/publishers/reviewers. The question is: <b>Should we restrict this hop to the M/M writing community or should we include the whole GLBTQ writing community?</b> There are pros and cons to both.<br />
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A lot of you may be thinking that we should open this for everyone, the M/F writing community too, but we feel like we have to limit this somewhere or it will become difficult to manage. Our method of drawing visitors in and get them involved is to offer up prizes. It worked well this time around, and although many would have visited without the prizes, we doubt they would have bothered to visit so many sites in so few days without them. We feel that we have to limit the hop to a group, because if the hop will link thousands of blogs people might find it daunting to visit every blog. Supervision would be tricky - it was tricky enough with 275 blogs (making sure the links worked, checking to see if someone didn't post, hunting down emails that had been typed incorrectly, responding to everyone who needed help, our latest endeavour to link directly to the messages and pull out quotes, etc.). </div>
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Anyway, these are the <b>two options</b> we've narrowed down and <b>we'd love to get your input</b> on this:</div>
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1. Open the hop for the whole GLBTQ writing community. The hop will get a wider exposure and this is the group we're fighting for, so it makes sense to have everybody under one hop. The "downside" is that the hop will be huge, probably with twice as many blogs signing up. Again, we fear that the visitors will find a big number daunting and will be less inclined to take part. </div>
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2. Limit it to the M/M writing community and see if there are any F/F and Trans* writers who would be interested in hosting the same event on separate hop-blog sites. The hops will be smaller and more manageable, but the exposure of IDAHO will be just as good. We have founded a group called <i>Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i> (WAHAT), and the separate hop blogs (the main hop sites) could work together under that group. We could join forces in advertising and promoting, and we could help each other to make every hop a success. There would be less links to monitor and the hops would run smoother. Each group could focus on reaching their target group with their messages. We're also toying with the idea to talk to YA writers, and horror writers, and sci-fi writers (etc.) to see if there's interest in creating <i>YA Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia </i>(who would try to reach their target groups of YA readers), <i>Horror Writers Against Homophobia and Transphobia</i> (etc), to try to bring this out of the GLBTQ writing community. </div>
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So what do you think? Do you know of F/F writers who might be interested in hosting this event for the F/F writing community? Or writers of Trans* fiction who might be interested in hosting a hop for the Trans* writing community? Or should we just keep it all under one hop?</div>
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We would LOVE to hear your opinions :)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-52060673375617686012012-05-24T06:45:00.001-07:002012-05-24T06:46:36.173-07:00After-Hop Post 1 of 2<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s1600/Hop+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s320/Hop+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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We want to thank everyone who signed up and posted their messages about homophobia and transphobia. The posts were mind-blowing and we think it would be a shame for them to pop down the list as time goes by, so we're working on a separate page on this blog with a direct link to every message<span style="color: red;">*</span>. We're also pulling out quotations from some of the posts<span style="color: red;">**</span>.<br />
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During this hop, we (the organizers) experienced this wonderful feeling of closeness in our colleges for four days. It felt amazing. The M/M writing community really did band together and stood strong, and therefor we feel that both objectives were reached: to spread awareness of homophobic discrimination and to stand together as a community of M/M writers, reviewers, publishers (and readers!).<br />
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We also want to thank the visitors for stopping by. Not only did they show interest and get involved, but their points of view, opinions, and encouragement were extremely thought-provoking and often heartfelt.<br />
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Thanks everyone for a very successful hop. We hope to see every last one of you next year :)<br />
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- Hop Organizers<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: red;">*</span>If someone doesn't want their message on the page, please let us know and we'll remove it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: red;">**</span>Again, if someone doesn't want their quote up, please let us know.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-75401080727355772292012-05-16T18:43:00.000-07:002012-05-16T18:55:46.807-07:00Hop Against Homophobia 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s1600/Hop+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s320/Hop+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">Welcome! </span></b></div>
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Homophobic discrimination is a serious issue in every single country on this planet, no matter how big or small. Some countries are more advanced in GLBTQ rights, while in some countries the penalty for being a GLBTQ person is death. All over the world, GLBTQ people are shunned by society, beat up, tortured, raped, and stripped of human rights in various ways. What makes people believe that they have the right to strip someone of their human rights is beyond us.</div>
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The Hop Against Homophobia is an attempt by over 250 m/m authors, reviewers and publishers to stand together and create awareness of homophobia. Each participating blog will feature a message on homophobic discrimination in its various forms. The date, May 17th, was chosen in honor of the <a href="http://www.homophobiaday.org/" target="_blank">International Day Against Homophobia</a> and we're hoping to get people more involved with this day by inviting them to our blogs, where the visitors have a chance to win prizes. </div>
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To the side of this blog are links to various organizations and foundations that fights homophobic discrimination. We encourage you to visit these sites and see what they're all about. Also, if you have more links you'd like to see on that list, please do share :)<br />
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So please, stop by the blogs, read the messages and leave comments :) Please also stay tuned for our after-hop message next week.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: Every blog participant is responsible for his/her own giveaway. The Hop Against Homophobia organizers will not be held reponsible if someone doesn't choose a winner or if someone fails to deliver their prize.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-28034980223079373812012-05-15T16:38:00.002-07:002012-05-16T02:28:29.213-07:00HAH Featured on Kool Queer Lit Today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsT-PxsbGir4z3e1Vehk6lBX4YTVmbJLE6n1RmahkOgAbuIl40s_-V1ndeV20f0q9wFtqX5uCv_WAJWAlglaOLkypqhWD-k6hkXmZU47jwn88zWf-Q6UZjEfsifn9FZfAZ1qiONU4l31yd/s1600/KQL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsT-PxsbGir4z3e1Vehk6lBX4YTVmbJLE6n1RmahkOgAbuIl40s_-V1ndeV20f0q9wFtqX5uCv_WAJWAlglaOLkypqhWD-k6hkXmZU47jwn88zWf-Q6UZjEfsifn9FZfAZ1qiONU4l31yd/s320/KQL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hi guys,</div>
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One more day! </div>
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We just wanted to point out that Hop Against Homophobia is being featured on <a href="http://www.koolqueerlit.com/2012/05/homophobic-discrimination-of-lgbtq.html" target="_blank">Kool Queer Lit</a> today. Please stop by if you're interested in reading more about the hop.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-31446094092540898782012-05-15T04:29:00.000-07:002012-05-15T04:29:33.472-07:00Almost Time!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJkfdjU8SnOjVHVoPqUgC5Cy1eN7E24Lhkjw40ydCkYOBEdOJtcWdduuTpEE10XzJgsc54Gr0IrifxGBLwEk7ZpT5mwMOmCNmt5pwOe6lUqsGxFo59Bsfn38UXWXsnMIfFf3JmhxwDWbE/s1600/pink-neon-clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJkfdjU8SnOjVHVoPqUgC5Cy1eN7E24Lhkjw40ydCkYOBEdOJtcWdduuTpEE10XzJgsc54Gr0IrifxGBLwEk7ZpT5mwMOmCNmt5pwOe6lUqsGxFo59Bsfn38UXWXsnMIfFf3JmhxwDWbE/s320/pink-neon-clock.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.is/imgres?hl=is&sa=X&biw=1092&bih=514&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsa&tbnid=DslEkqIjjhRnbM:&imgrefurl=http://www.clock-desktop.com/brilliant_clock.shtml&docid=GeUA0ocgPReiAM&imgurl=http://www.clock-desktop.com/screens/brilliant_clock/pink-neon-clock.jpg&w=1024&h=768&ei=qDuyT-nBHciX8gOv9_THCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=797&vpy=120&dur=5638&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=187&ty=101&sig=101054491350885919850&page=2&tbnh=148&tbnw=156&start=12&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:12,i:105" target="_blank">Image</a></td></tr>
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It's almost time! We wanted to mention a few things before we begin. There's a <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hopagainsthomophobia/?yguid=484812838" target="_blank">yahoo group</a> for this event and everyone is welcome, as long as they're not looking to cause trouble. We also have a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HAHMay17" target="_blank">facebook page</a> and a <a href="http://hopagainsthomop/" target="_blank">Twitter</a> account.</div>
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We've received a lot of emails from the participating blogs and many are all set to go and people are excited.</div>
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Registration is still open and will remain so until the end of the hop. If your blog is <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/2012/02/hop-against-homophobia-registration.html" target="_blank">eligible</a> and you'd like to join, there's a small blue sign-up button below the purple names. </div>
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We would very much appreciate any kind of exposure during this event, so please spread the word :)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-11671511533212658542012-05-05T04:01:00.002-07:002012-05-05T04:05:32.670-07:00The Purpose of This Hop<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s1600/Hop+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s320/Hop+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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It has been brought to our attention that the purpose of this hop was never actually stated in the hop info on this site. We assumed that the purpose was a given (due to the name): To bring awareness to homophobia. However, since the creation of this hop, the purpose has become twofold: To bring awareness to homophobia and to stand together as an m/m writer community to fight of discrimination against the m/m genre. We have spread this purpose in interviews, personal email recruitment and in other announcements, but it was never stated on this blog site. We hope to rectify that with this post.</div>
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The blogs taking part in this will discuss homophobia in their hop entry. Originally we thought that we wouldn't get many sign-ups, so we added this text <i>"as little as mention it - your choice"</i> in the info post, because we wanted good exposure to the blogs that <i>would</i> talk about homophobia. In our informational email message going out this week, we will emphasize this part of the hop, as it has always been the purpose: to talk about homophobia. A lot of the participants have already stated in messages to us that they know what they're going to write about, so we're confident that most will want to spread a message (and everyone <i>will</i>, in the following hops, as that little text won't be included in the future). Some of it will be about the real problem, some will be about people's own experiences, and some will be about how homophobia has been successfully fought.</div>
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That said, we were outraged when a chapter in the Romance Writers of America excluded m/m romances from one of their contests because it felt "icky" to the judges. It was a big part in us wanting to make this hop large-scale and make a loud splash. We're not members of RWA, so this did not affect us directly, but we were still outraged. What the chapter of RWA did was discriminate against our genre and the subject it centers around: men loving men. The RWA chapter was being homophobic. They ended up cancelling the contest after an uproar, but it was clear by their excuse that there's a lot of work to be done for people to accept m/m fiction as something just acceptable as other fiction. This is why we added the second purpose: to stand together as m/m an m/m writing community and bring about awareness of our books and their subjects. </div>
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Is it morally wrong to use the International Day Against Homophobia in relation to this hop? We believe not. Being excluded for the sole reason that our work contains love between two men is wrong and homophobic, and we have a right to fight to make sure it doesn't happen again. This may seem trivial to some people, in comparison to other homophobic issues, but to us this is very important (and no, not for sales - if money was all we were after, we'd be writing mainstream YA).<br />
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Is it wrong to use prizes to get people to our blogs? We think not. We think it's a great way to get people to stop by in hope that they'll take interest in the issue and become more aware. We could have made a hop where there were no prizes involved - just us spreading a message - but we believe that this way, we will get more people over. A lot of people - including m/m readers - don't even know that there's such a thing as an International Day Against Homophobia. A lot of people - including m/m readers - don't even know that there's such a thing as an International Day Against Homophobia.<br />
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People may not agree with this method, but it is within their rights to disagree. People's opinions will always differ. A couple of days ago, we learned that there are people who have posted a message saying how terribly wrong this hop is - and by reading the post these people made, <i>they were right</i>. It did look terribly wrong. Had we not been involved in this hop ourselves, we would have been outraged. The informational post on "What is a Blog Hop" was badly written: it started off explaining in general what a book blog hop is, but then, as the post wore on, it started to get into the details of this specific hop. That has been rectified now, and only speaks of what a book blog hop is, in general. The biggest mistake, however, was that our purpose was not clearly stated in the informational post. We know that no matter what we say, we won't change the minds of most of these people. All we can do is be open, honest, and sincere in what our purpose has been all along. We can pull up links, dated back in February, to show that we've been spreading this purpose over the internet. Erica can send these links through emails, if people contact her personally.<br />
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We acknowledge these mistakes. The main purpose of this hop has <i>never</i> been to sell our books. People can chose to believe that or not - again, nothing we can say will change the minds of those who <i>do</i> think we're just here to sell our books - so all we can do is write this post and hope that most people will see that we're not doing something wrong here.</div>
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So again, in short: <b>This hop is about spreading awareness of homophobia and to stand together as an m/m writer community against discrimination of what we write about.</b><br />
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Erica, K-Lee and NJ.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-61829298831496582692012-02-04T10:05:00.000-08:002013-02-07T05:49:47.909-08:00Hop Against Homophobia Registration!<br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">An M/M-only blog hop!</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s1600/Hop+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FrRqqDBRXE27fykrFzRHu7I-50AsiGaaBNw9khOqad1R-hpduj5BC-y3ZVm7DwBeAV1_BspURgECrZoXQycQAaFw7dIYpOiey0kUkmjbqInAOGwYfBYkv1ha0CSrqFPqkUN-zebAGEnh/s320/Hop+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now that we've finally released some gay romances, we (</span><a href="http://eripike.blogspot.com/"><span lang="EN-US">Erica Pike</span></a><span lang="EN-US">, </span><a href="http://normanielsen.blogspot.com/"><span lang="EN-US">NJ Nielsen</span></a><span lang="EN-US">, and
</span><a href="http://chaosinthemoonlight.blogspot.com/"><span lang="EN-US">K-Lee Klein</span></a><span lang="EN-US">) have begun to take part in blog hops. They‘re
great fun and we‘re very appreciative to be invited along for the ride. One
thing we‘ve noticed though is the lack of M/M specific blog hops created for
writers and readers of our particular genre. So we thought, why not make
one?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">K-Lee came up with the clever name: <b><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Hop Against Homophobia</a></span></b>, and we've decided
to use the </span><a href="http://www.homophobiaday.org/"><span lang="EN-US">International Day Against Homophobia</span></a><span lang="EN-US">, May 17th, as our official hop
kickoff date. The hop will run until midnight May 20<sup>th</sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We hope to get as many authors of gay (M/M) fiction as we can to sign up
and show their support. Publishers, sellers and reviewers are welcome to take
part as long as your prize is M/M-related.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Here are the author participation requirements:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">--- <b>Be an author/publisher/reviewer
of M/M fiction.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">--- <b>Offer a M/M-related prize (M/M
book/ebook, or GLBTQ swag, t-shirt, whatever you can come up with).</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">--- <b>Provide links of other blog
participants to your blog visitors (will be explained in an email, but it'll be
as easy as copy-paste).</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">--- <b>Talk about the International
Day Against Homophobia in your May 17th blog entry (as little as just a mention
– your choice).<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">--- <b>Add the colorful Hop Against
Homophobia image to your blog/website with a link to the official hop site:</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b> </b></span><a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/">http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/</a> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We are discouraging the use of gift cards as prizes. In doing this, we
hope to attract readers more specific to our M/M genre and not just readers
looking to score a gift card. We want m/m fiction lovers to win our
prizes!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We plan to do as much promotion on this as we can and we'd appreciate it
if all participants could help by mentioning the hop once in a while. This
is OUR (people of the gay fiction genre) hop, and if successful this
year, it could turn into a fabulous annual event of M/M love!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red;">What is a
blog hop? Take a look at <a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-is-blog-hop.html"><span style="color: red;">this post</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For authors/publishers/reviewers interested in taking
part, specifics will be sent via email once we get closer to the date, so
everyone will know what to do. But for now, <b><span style="color: red;">please sign up and encourage others to do the same</span></b> :)<o:p></o:p></span>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com97tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997095758726610967.post-75516111496149023382012-02-03T17:37:00.000-08:002012-05-03T18:49:23.217-07:00What is a Blog Hop?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2E986RZStZNFg6ud47NccvF7khXQenDxBO-UnKTO3gmRJi2oXqZNs7yy23xri83UdFro8m3nmSo_wrLYKVLKzmwo9JDmPMZY3vbiUycrSlUVhQzgR8g5v3Yj6_L2Boc1JuqNRSUguxcb/s1600/jumping-moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2E986RZStZNFg6ud47NccvF7khXQenDxBO-UnKTO3gmRJi2oXqZNs7yy23xri83UdFro8m3nmSo_wrLYKVLKzmwo9JDmPMZY3vbiUycrSlUVhQzgR8g5v3Yj6_L2Boc1JuqNRSUguxcb/s320/jumping-moon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zlatnicovjek.com/2011/12/ekstremne-aktivnosti/jumping-moon/">Image</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What is a blog hop? </span></b></div>
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A book blog hop is an event that usually takes place over a few days and the purpose is to get readers to a) see your name b) see your books and c) have the option to follow your blog to get to know you as an author and to be kept up to date about your future work. </div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Tip!</span></b> The more often you take part in events like blog hops, the quicker the readers will learn your names.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What do I need to take part?</span></b></div>
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A blog :) We also suggest you have a tool on your blog, either the "follow" button on Blogger or some other similar thing (like Google Network). If you don't want such feature you could always leave a link to your author facebook page, twitter, a newsletter or some other way for the interested readers to follow you. It's up to you if you make following mandatory to take part, but it is our experience that people don't like jumping through hoops, especially after a long day of hopping. </div>
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You will also need a prize! Not all blog hops insist upon a prize, but a prize a great incentive for people to visit your blog and a great way for you to get your work seen.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Tip!</span></b> It's a good idea to blog about the hop a few days before it takes place. It'll generate interest and get people excited. We also hope that people will spread the word through facebook and other channels.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">How does it work?</span></b></div>
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Every author taking part in the hop sets up a hop-post on the hop day as early as possible. Over the hop-days, people will drop by and leave comments. Just before midnight on the last the contests close and you may draw a winner (or you can leave it until the next day). Every blog owner chooses their own winners. We recommend making a separate post to announce the winner, because people don't like searching through the blog to find out who won.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Tip!</b></span> Readers don't like it when the blog owners haven't set up their hop-post when they start blog-hopping (as in jumping between blogs). It's a good idea to have written the post the night before the hop day - if you're not an early riser - and set it to auto post early on the hop day. There's a feature in most blog programs that allows this.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What do the readers get out of it?</span></b></div>
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A prize! But not only that - they might be finding their next favorite author and a whole bunch of interesting books to add to their piles of to-be-read.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><b>Tip!</b></span> Make sure your books/book links are either easily visible on your blog. It puts people off to have to search through the entire blog/website to find your books. Some won't only be looking at your giveaway-book/prize - they'll want to see what else you have out there.
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What do I put in my hop-post?</span></b></div>
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Some hops have themes or events that they'll want their participants to discuss, but sometimes there are no themes (or an obligation to discuss the theme/event).<b><span style="color: red;">*</span></b></div>
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State the rules of your giveaway. Some ask people to follow their blog, facebook page, twitter, newsletter etc. (it's what we call "jumping through hoops", though we're in no way condemning it). Some have quizzes, or have the partakers answer a question, like "what are you reading?" or "how do you show your support to homosexuality". Some prefer a simple "leave a comment with your email address" - it's up to you :)</div>
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Say what you're offering as a prize and how the winner will be chosen. </div>
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Finally, it's a good idea to mention the follow options in the blog hop post (whether or not you make follow mandatory).
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Tip!</b></span> Random drawings are best to choose a winner - but there are many ways to do them. There's a nifty tool at <a href="http://random.org/">Random.org</a> where you enter the numbers of contestants and it'll generate a random number for you (you'll have given everyone a number first or just count down the entries until you find the winner). Erica knows this one person who writes the names on pieces of paper, folds them and tosses them to her three cats. The first three her cats snag are the winners (Erica won a book that way once - thanks kitty!).</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Who may sign up for the prizes?</span></b></div>
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Everyone (...over 18, if your prize is a steamy erotic novel). Other hop blog owners are normally also free to enter the contests of the other blogs.<br />
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There may be additional conditions to various hops, like some make it mandatory to stick the hop image to the hop entry, but these are the basic techniques. </div>
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<b>Have questions? Feel free to comment :)</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">* If you're taking part in the Hop Against Homophobia, the focus will be on the International Day Against Homophobia. It would be nice if everyone wrote a message on that. Something to show your support. </span></b></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6