Thanks to social media, I found a fascinating article written by gay porn star known as Johnny Hazzard. From the way it appears, he's written the article as Frankie Valenti. The post to which I'm linking does contain adult material, so you've been warned. The photo above is not Hazzard it's from wiki commons. I don't like to post photos unless I have permission or I know it's safe.
A good deal of the article gets into how Hazzard has managed to survive in the adult entertainment industry, specifically gay porn.
Then, most recently, writer and friend Brett Edward Stout asked me, "Johnny, how did you survive?" I was speechless. I had no answer.
I still can't totally explain why I survived.
While I do think there are other industries that are just as competitive as adult entertainment (trust me, I work in one), I also think that porn stars across the board deal with a few more intense issues than others. And the adult entertainment industry has changed like everything else in the past few years and I'm not even certain it's possible to reach the heights of stardom it once was. This statement backs up something I've been wondering about for a while.
There are no "porn stars" anymore. And that could be a huge reason why we are losing some of the "big guys." Many didn't have a way out or didn't have goals for when the title stopped meaning as much. I can relate. You have this title, this crown that acts like currency, like armor. When the money stops, that diminished title is all you have left. Today there are hundreds of boys flaunting the moniker "porn star" but getting paid a fraction of what they were five years ago.
You can read more here.
Valenti is also in a new non-porn indie film titled, Where We Belong, which I'll post about very soon. The film seems to get into gay brothers. I have a gay brother and I'm interested in seeing how this was handled. I'm also interested in seeing how Valenti does crossing into something more mainstream. Most porn stars don't fare well. For some reason it's almost impossible to lose the image of porn star once it's been established. I understand this all too well as an erotic romance author. It's the same for authors who write erotic romance or anything dealing with strong sexual content...which is why the less courageous authors (and clever) use fake names when writing erotica. There's one who won't even be associated with his own pen name, which I find amusing. Frankly, I couldn't care less. I love what I do and I personally regret nothing I've done...even that burping penis.
The Lazy Beagle for Authors, Readers, and Publishers
I've posted about a lot of great web sites for authors, readers, and publishers in the past, but I've never come across one that is this unique. It's called Lazy Beagle: Bringing Readers and Authors of all Genres Together in One Location.
I added a few of my books last week, and I'm in the process of getting more to them. It's simple to do, and it's another way for people to connect through social media that isn't daunting and requires very little time.
This is from the home page:
Welcome to Lazy Beagle Entertainment founded by author Patrick Wendling-Markwell and husband, and sometimes co-author, Rondal D. Markwell. Ever find it hard to find self-published books and other books not promoted with a million dollar advertising budget. Looking for that hidden gem? Well here at LBE we will link you with your favorite published and self-published authors, and give authors a prominent place to link their work and promote themselves, so they are no longer hidden gems but displayed diamonds! We will provide links to all locations the book is available for purchase, and all available sites where you can follow the author. This page was started originally to be for self-published authors, but we have opened it up to any and all authors, self-published or not.
I especially like the fact that they put an emphasis on self-published authors and books. I can't even count the times I've wished there were a place where I could browse through a list of self-published books and authors as a reader.
Here's the home page link.
Here's the page where you can add books.
And here's my page once again. My full list of titles isn't up yet, but I'm getting there.
Like I said, it's very casual and simple to navigate.
0 comments:
Post a Comment