Publisher cancels novel because author is gay

Yes. You read that right. I am shaking because I'm so furious. I happen to be friends with both the authors--Micheal Jensen and David Powers King. I also provided a blurb for the book, Woven, which was absolutely fantastic. 

The publisher cancelled the book because Micheal wanted the fact that he lived with his partner in the bio (something that was fine for his straight coauthor's bio). Cedar Fort feared that one of their distributors would drop the book and insisted it be removed (CF knew Micheal was gay from the beginning). 

Micheal fought for his equality, at which point Cedar Fort's owner, Lyle Mortimer "started yelling about my agenda and how I was trying to destroy families. He even started saying inappropriate things about how God had given me a penis for a reason. It was very uncomfortable. Then he threatened to publish Woven without our names attached or without our bios at all—rather than print that one sentence. He told me that if he decided not to publish because of this, I‘d have to buy back the rights to our book and reimburse him for his work so far, and that would cost me thousands of dollars."

Sick as this makes me, I absolutely know Mortimer is capable of such atrocious behavior. 

Why? Because I've had dealings with Cedar Fort before. I haven't talked about it publicly  because I don't believe in badmouthing anyone. Cedar Fort has moved passed that point. I know feel a need to warn my fellow authors away from this TERRIBLE publisher. 

I sent them my first manuscript, The Priestess Prophecy, in 2009. They accepted the book for publication, but their contract was downright predatory. I called to try to negotiate some of the terms. They kept giving me the runaround--pushing me to sign before the contract expired. They told me the only person who could change the contract was Lyle Mortimer, and he was on vacation. I transferred to another employee, who apparently hadn't been briefed on the "Lyle's outta the office" runaround. That's right. Mortimer was upstairs. 

I stood my ground and Lyle finally called me. At which point he yelled at me and told me if I didn't want to sign the contract as it was, he had twenty other authors eager to fill my spot. 

That's when I walked out. 

I know dozens of authors published through Cedar Fort. NONE OF THEM ARE HAPPY. Not one. You are better off never publishing than to publish with Cedar Fort. Just go self publish. You'll be happier and make more money. 

So here's my call to action. Authors, never never never send Cedar Fort another manuscript. They are predatory jerks who will harm your career. 

For the rest of the world, tweet, FB, let others know that regardless of a person's sexual preference, hate will never be tolerated. To read the whole exchange, click here. 

And Micheal, next I see you, I'm giving you a big hug. Hang in there, my friend. You're a wonderful writer! 

*Edit: I find it ironic that the very people screaming for equality are starting to "Mormon bash". I'm a Mormon. Micheal's coauthor, David, is Mormon. I know 4 of the 6 authors who provided blurbs for the book are Mormon. 

Lyle Mortimer's used the Mormons as a scapegoat for his own prejudice (as LDS bookstores already carry books by gay authors, and when was the last time you researched an author's sexual orientation before purchasing a book?). 

For further reading, check out Larry Correia's post, David Powers King's post, or J Scott Savage's response. 

Sidenote: I have a giveaway going on below. Feel free to enter.