A Personal Note from Jena and COCKTALES, a limited-release anthology to benefit authors impacted by #cockygate!

Good afternoon, readers! I don’t normally include a personal note on new release announcements but this one actually hits home for every author out there, no matter the genre. As you may have heard, an author by the name of Faleena Hopkins made the very poor choice to trademark a common use word (cocky) and then set out on a warpath, her sights laser locked on any author with the word ‘cocky’ in their book or series title. #Cockygate was born and the author community at large—not just romance authors…..everybody—rained down FIRE. Go ahead, search that hashtag on any social media site or on Google and you will see a FLOOD of content. And none of it is in defense of the author’s trademark….

There is a great write up you can read here that lays out what initially happened, the AMAZING people who’ve gotten involved to have the trademark cancelled, and the many, many dominoes that have fallen since the news broke. Additionally, here is another write up from the same source who outlines how Hopkins has since doubled down on the stupidity factor by filing a few lawsuits, one of which is blaming the author/retired lawyer who filed the petition to cancel her trademark for loss of sales citing the questionable intelligence of readers and their ability to discern one cover from another. …. ….. …… Yes, you read that right. (Faleena, honey, that loss was purely self-inflicted. You’re the only one who doesn’t get it.)

I watched all of this unfold in abject horror. As a writer, the precedent her trademark sets is staggering and opens the door for lawsuits to start flying back and forth like CRAZY. However, I feel confident thanks to Kevin Knuepper’s Petition to Cancel. If you read through that document, his argument is rock solid and I don’t see how anyone with common sense could possibly deny his request. But the unfortunate truth is that until that petition gets approved, she holds the legal trademark and using the word is risky. So, cross your crossables, kids. And when her trademark gets slapped down for the ridiculousness that it is, we’ll all celebrate with midnight margaritas. 😉

From a purely petty point of view, I genuinely don’t understand how this woman felt her brand was in any way, shape, or form “threatened” given that out of the countless authors and readers I’ve spoken with about this since it broke, NO ONE KNEW WHO THE HELL SHE WAS. No one. Not one single person I talked to said, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of her.” Not one. Not until the day she tried to pull a fast one on a community that strongly believes in lifting one another up instead of cutting one another off at the knees. Good luck, Ms. Hopkins. You’re going to need it.

The reason I’m writing to you today is to tell you about this wonderful anthology. It’s only available for a limited time, features a TON of awesome names, and all of the proceeds are going to help those impacted by the #cockygate scandal. I strongly encourage you all to go out to your favorite ebook retailer and just read the Forward (it’s the first thing available when you read the sample). It takes all of two minutes to read through and really shows the kind of impact this had on just ONE of the many authors who’v been blindsided by this situation. Hers is a wonderful story of finding your tribe and what can happen when this community comes together to rally around those who are legitimately being wronged.

I’m beyond proud to be part of that community.

Jena Gregoire
Owner of Pure Textuality PR and Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Author

‘Cocktales’ is a limited-release anthology (available *only* from May 26 – August 26, 2018) of original, never before published material, some of which is raw and unedited. Each story was specifically written for this anthology.

The goal of the Cocktales Anthology is to raise funds to fight against obstruction of creative expression. Specifically, what we believe are obstruction attempts through the trademarking of common (single) words for titicular use in books / or as a book series (eBooks, print, and audio).

*ALL* net profits will be donated to:
1) Authors already impacted by creative-obstruction (10%), and
2) Romance Writers of America (RWA) (90%) as a general donation intended for their Advocacy Fund.

Disclaimer: This anthology is not being conducted on behalf of RWA, nor does RWA endorse this anthology or effort. They have, however, graciously agreed to accept the funds.

Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

FEATURED IN THIS ANTHOLOGY

Nana Malone, USA Today Bestselling author – Foreword
Dylan Allen – ‘Cocked and Loaded’
Jana Aston, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Double Cocked’
Whitney Barbetti – ‘Cocksure Grin’
Author Sawyer Bennett, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘A Wicked, Cocky Plan’
K.f. Breene, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Magical Cock and Bull’
Ruth Clampett, Amazon top 20 Bestselling Author – ‘Don’t Get Cocky’
L.H. Cosway, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Illusionist Seeks Neanderthal’
Mariah Dietz – ‘Landmines’
Amy Daws, Amazon Top 25 Bestselling author – ‘Cock and Balls’
BB Easton, Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – ‘Cocky BB: Two Boys, One Prom.’
Jaymin Eve, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘The Cockier the Dragon, the Harder They Fall’
Emma Hart, NYT and USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Tricky Bond’
Staci Hart, Amazon Top 10 Bestselling author – ‘Cockamamie’
Jessica Hawkins, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Cocky Couture’
Julie Johnson Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – ‘Culinary Cock-Up’
Karpov Kinrade, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Crimson Cocktail’
Adriana Locke, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Swag’
Lex Martin, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Love & Hate at the Stallion Station’
Aly Martinez, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Going Down’
Katyi McGee – USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Cocksure Co-Star’
Corinne Michaels, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Cockblocked’
Liv Morris, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Getting It Up’
Red Phoenix, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Her Cocky Russian’
Daisy Prescott, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Confessions of a Cockblocked Wingman’
Jessica Prince – ‘A Cocky Corruption Engagement’
Meghan Quinn, Amazon Top 20 Bestselling Author – ‘Fight or Flight’
CD Reiss, NYT and USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Cocky Capo’
Penny Reid, WSJ and USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Beard and Hen’
Julie Richman, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘The Color of Love’
Aleatha Romig, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Aligned’
Kennedy Ryan, Top 40 Amazon Bestselling author – ‘All’
Kylie Scott, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Short Story with Mal and Anne from The Stage Dive Series’
Sierra Simone, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Until the Cock Crows’
Tara Sivec, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Chocolate and Cockup’
Kate Stewart, Amazon Top 30 Bestselling author – ‘The Golden Sombrero’
Leia Stone, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Cocky Alpha’
Karla Sorensen – ‘Tristan & Anna: A Bachelors of the Ridge short story’
Rachel Van Dyken, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – ‘Cocky Mafia’
April White, Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – ‘Code of Conduct’