# Kinky erotic story blocked. Now what?



## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

I guess it should have happened sooner or later... 
My latest kinky gay short-story didn't make it through the Amazon censors, I'm afraid. I don't know if I should be p*ssed or proud... after all, most great authors got censored in the past, LOL.  

As several other authors reported in forums, I just got a notice in the mailbox saying it "violates their terms and conditions... blah blah blah". After inquiring about what exactly was wrong with it, I got another mail stating that the story  "violates their terms and conditions... blah blah blah" and I can resubmit after changing it.
Truly helpful 

Now, my story doesn't seem much different from the thousands of naughty kinky gay erotic tales out there... it's definitely kinky and hardcore, but it doesn't contain any red-flag topic such as taboo issues or any dirty picture on the front cover. I don't see it as more controversial than the other stories I had written before which had no censorship problems. So, it's really hard to tell what to do to get it published.

Has anyone managed to get a block on one of their stories lifted? Any advice?


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Resubmit in the morning M-F. The weekend/evening shifts tend to be more prude. I know writers who have updated previously approved books and THEN got blocked.

Be careful of any keywords that suggest noncon or dubcon or daddy. Those will get you blocked in a hurry.


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## sbaum4853 (May 3, 2010)

Who knows if they're not gonna tell you? Tinker with the details and resubmit until they take it. And while you wait, find a way to shout to the hills that you have a story so hot Amazon won't take it.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

That's very annoying, mprey. I'm sorry to hear it.

Maybe if you posted a more specific description of the story's content, told us its title, and posted the cover image, some of the other erotica writers could help you ferret out exactly what might've triggered the rejection.

That said, I've heard erotica writers say in the past that a lot of it depends on who at Amazon happens to see your story. Sometimes you get a more laid-back and sometimes a more prudish checker. If that's true, it might be worth making a few very small changes and then republishing on a different day of the week, hoping to just get better luck on who looks at the story.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

I agree that more specific information would help. A few years ago, Amazon had a big public-relations mess when they stripped LGBT books of their rankings. I doubt they'd try discriminating against LGBT books again as a general matter of policy. But it's always possible to be reviewed by an Amazon worker who regards gay erotica as less acceptable than straight erotica. Nevertheless, without seeing the cover and blurb and title, it's impossible to know exactly what the issue might be, or what you might need to change. Otherwise, "tinkering" is probably your best bet.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

Thanks everybody for the support!!

I've put the cover up on my blog site: mprey123.tumblr.com under /new releases for those who asked. Maybe the guy's too hot? LOL

I'd love to copy and paste the blurb, but the damn thing is blocked so I can't access it anymore... in any case the story is about a kinky dom/sub gay couple who receives a visit by a sexy friend, Luke... and with the friend in the house comes trouble, if you know what I mean...   
I guess the most controversial issues are gay threesomes, some domination/submission (consensual) a brief golden-shower scene (maybe that's the culprit!), some foot-fetish scenes and some spanking. Wait, did I mention it was a kinky story, right?   
In any case Amazon shelves  are literally covered with stuff on those topics... so it's hard to tell what prompted the backlash. 


ps. By the way, is Kindleboards censoring text nowadays? Because all my "damn" and "pissed" come out with a star!


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## Claudia King (Oct 27, 2012)

I'll echo what other people have been posting and say that you probably just got unlucky with your reviewer. I've had it happen to me in the past too, and systems like this are always highly susceptible to human error.

Just give it another go, from your description it should be fine.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

Thanks Claudia. It's probably what I'm going to do...
*fingers crossed*


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## DarkScribe (Aug 30, 2012)

mprey said:


> I guess it should have happened sooner or later...
> My latest kinky gay short-story didn't make it through the Amazon censors, I'm afraid. I don't know if I should be p*ssed or proud... after all, most great authors got censored in the past, LOL.
> 
> As several other authors reported in forums, I just got a notice in the mailbox saying it "violates their terms and conditions... blah blah blah". After inquiring about what exactly was wrong with it, I got another mail stating that the story "violates their terms and conditions... blah blah blah" and I can resubmit after changing it.
> ...


Of course it has been rejected. I just had a look at your cover and it has a guy with a visible erection. It is way outside Amazon's guidelines - why on earth would you expect it to be approved?


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

> Of course it has been rejected. I just had a look at your cover and it has a guy with a visible erection. It is way outside Amazon's guidelines - why on earth would you expect it to be approved?


Yup. Betting Darkscribe is right.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

DarkScribe said:


> Of course it has been rejected. I just had a look at your cover and it has a guy with a visible erection.


I agree with DarkScribe that the cover is probably the issue. It's seriously hawt, but alas, definitely NSFAmazon.


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## olefish (Jan 24, 2012)

Yep, it's your cover.  It has a visible erection. Note girl nipples aren't even safe for the Zon either.  Change the cover and resubmit.

Your content looks "run of the mill"  there are enough people who make a living publishing gay erotica on amazon.


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

Yep, I think it's the cover. You wouldn't be able to publish that cover on allromance either


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I agree it's the cover. None of the other issues will get you banned.

Another way to get it through if you continue to have trouble after changing the cover--actually, I'll PM you.


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## Ian Marks (Jan 22, 2012)

TexasGirl said:


> Be careful of any keywords that suggest noncon or dubcon or daddy. Those will get you blocked in a hurry.


Erp... feeling really stupid here, but I have no idea what _noncon_ or _dubcon_ mean. I'm going to guess that _noncon_ means "non-consensual," but the other has me stumped.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

> I'm going to guess that noncon means "non-consensual," but the other has me stumped.


"Dubious consent."


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## Miss de Meanour (Oct 10, 2012)

mprey said:


> I guess it should have happened sooner or later...
> My latest kinky gay short-story didn't make it through the Amazon censors, I'm afraid. I don't know if I should be p*ssed or proud... after all, most great authors got censored in the past, LOL.
> 
> As several other authors reported in forums, I just got a notice in the mailbox saying it "violates their terms and conditions... blah blah blah". After inquiring about what exactly was wrong with it, I got another mail stating that the story "violates their terms and conditions... blah blah blah" and I can resubmit after changing it.
> ...


Most certainly the cover. Despite the fact that pretty well all non-gay women and all men of either persuasion will have seen and or had one, those things are something that society rules should be hidden away. It should be easy to obfuscate the offending area with a few minutes in Photoshop.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

mprey said:


> ps. By the way, is Kindleboards censoring text nowadays? Because all my "d*mn" and "p*ssed" come out with a star!


No, not nowadays; it always has. Harvey, the site owner set the tone very early on by saying that all posts should be family friendly. It's in the Forum decorum, which everyone agreed to abide by when becoming a member.


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

And yet we're talking about golden showers and BDSM...

ETA: not arguing, just think it's funny.


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## Claudia King (Oct 27, 2012)

I had to take a second look at the cover to catch the offending bulge, but yeah, that looks like it might go over the line of what Amazon accepts. It should be easily fixable though. If I didn't catch it at first glance, I'm sure some creative rearrangement of the text can provide a nice natural censorship bar.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

MeiLinMiranda said:


> And yet we're talking about golden showers and BDSM...
> 
> ETA: not arguing, just think it's funny.


It is very obvious that many do not follow the guidelines. Also obvious why many readers won't go to the Cafe or Bazaar.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Its not just that there is a bulge, the fabric is wet so its totally visible. Not surprising it would be blocked. Has nothing to do with any "prude" Amazon employees or anything to do with censoring gay erotica. The image simply violates Amazon rules.


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## JadeLogan (Jan 15, 2013)

Definitely the cover, strange to ask why your title has been blocked when clearly that is the issue!  

I've had one book blocked, not for cover issues but for content and odd keyword usage, so don't worry, you can easily re-submit the title with a new cover or new changes etc and it will pass.

x


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

LOL Yeah, it has nothing to do with the "kinky" story and everything to do with a visual erection on the cover.


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

Am I the only one who can't tell the guy has an erection? Yes he's wet, but he looks normal to me. Perhaps I have been overly blessed with my partners!


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Look at "E" in sweet. It's like he's got a banana stuffed down his shorts.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

(Betsy is going to beat me for that comment)


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## George Applegate (Jan 23, 2013)

MegHarris said:


> "Dubious consent."


How does Amazon know if it is noncon or dubcon? Surely they don't read it. Just from the blurb?


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

Thanks everybody for your replies 
No boner has ever received that much attention, I guess 
I guess I will start from the cover, although there are even more explicit boners in covers of published books... for example http://www.amazon.com/Twinks-Own-The-World-ebook/dp/B007DQ49KG/ but that story is listed under poetry.. so i guess for amazon that's a poetic license. 
I'll put an update here after trying to resubmit in the following days....
If the cover was the issue, wouldn't it be easier for amazon to send a note saying "you need to change your cover because that's scandalous" instead of blocking the whole thing and refusing to explain why? Bah. Their logic sometimes is beyond me.


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## Laci (Jan 15, 2013)

Whew, yeah, thinkin' it is the hot little cover you got going there. Sure I've seen worse, but you must have gotten a prude that day.
And I had to look up dubcon and noncon lol. Learn something new everyday. 
I'll be interested to see if a cover change works.


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## J.R. Thomson (Mar 30, 2011)

Maybe it is the nipple?


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## Spinneyhead (Nov 4, 2010)

olefish said:


> Yep, it's your cover. It has a visible erection. Note girl nipples aren't even safe for the Zon either. Change the cover and resubmit.
> 
> Your content looks "run of the mill" there are enough people who make a living publishing gay erotica on amazon.


Not as bad as Smashwords. Because some of the shops they sell through are *really* prudish, I've had to hide buttock cleft on covers before.


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## AndreSanThomas (Jan 31, 2012)

Add me to the surprised you're suprised list.

For a mainstream general publisher, Amazon realy is pretty reasonable.  They rarely get freaked out about anything that the erotica sites don't also get freaked out about.  Sometimes things get silly, like why a bare bottom that you can't confirm is bare is bad but one with a microscopic thong is ok, but over all, they don't really ask for much.


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## Shelley K (Sep 19, 2011)

Yeah, it's the cover. Had you gotten a really lax or distracted reviewer, it would have gotten through--some do slip through the cracks. But you can't count on it and be surprised when it doesn't happen.  Cover up the peen, and it'll sail right on through.


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## Gregory Lynn (Aug 9, 2011)

shelleyo1 said:


> Yeah, it's the cover. Had you gotten a really lax or distracted reviewer, it would have gotten through--*some do slip through the cracks.*


:::shakes head:::


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## Odessa Lasch (Jan 18, 2013)

I didn't see the original cover, but as far as I know, a cover with adult content (like nudity) will only get you adult filtered (You can't be found in searches unless the person selects books, or kindle as a search category first)

If you got denied entirely it might be because of non-con. Make it dub-con (dubious consent) instead of outright refusal. The difference is that while the person doesn't actually say 'yes', he/she thinks that what's happening is awesome. Also, make sure that characters are above 18 and not related. It couldn't hurt to put that in your book's front matter.


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

LOL - this is a great thread.

Yeah, I see banana. It's the shadow, and the way the text is partially covering the pic, it *may* be making the pic look dirtier than it is. I'm seeing a partial banana. HEEHEE NAUGHTIES


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Dalya said:


> Yeah, I see banana. It's the shadow, and the way the text is partially covering the pic, it *may* be making the pic look dirtier than it is. I'm seeing a partial banana. HEEHEE NAUGHTIES


I know, right? I open the link and I'm like WHOA MAN BANANA PEOPLE.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

LOL. You people are awesome. Perhaps I should change the title to THE BANANA MAN ...  see if it helps


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

Let's talk about this forever!!


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## Nick Endi Webb (Mar 25, 2012)

We're going to need more bananas? Why does that ring a bell?


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## Nick Endi Webb (Mar 25, 2012)

Ah. There it is.

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,140366.msg2055011.html#msg2055011


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## WG McCabe (Oct 13, 2012)




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## WG McCabe (Oct 13, 2012)

Now I'm done.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

LOL!
this is slipping out of hand... literally.


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

Endi Webb said:


> We're going to need more bananas? Why does that ring a bell?


LOL!

Yes, in one of my books, there's a scene where two teens are chasing each other around with fruit. People walk in, and they say they're practicing for a sexual harrassment prevention workshop. ba dum dum.

Bananas are very funny!!!


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## ingrid avluv (Feb 15, 2013)

America has a truly bizarre culture.

In a constant state of real-life gun violence, it's perfectly fine to broadcast movies and television programs containing explicit scenes of violent murder, shootings, decapitations, bombings and whatever else at all times of the day. Showing a nude body or saying a "bad word" however is forbidden at all times "to protect children."

A few hours of grown men crashing violently into each other is the most popularly viewed event all year, but if you flash a nipple at halftime -- in essence the guarantee of life to all newborn humans -- you cause a massive uproar for violating "family values".

You can write about gay sex, but you can't picture a man in underwear on the cover.

They talk about freespeech non stop, more than probably anyone else in the world. Yet there is constant corporate censorship.

Weird stuff I can never wrap my head around. The contradictions are mind boggling.

Amazon is the epitome of this arbitrariness, refusing your book on the grounds of a remotely visible genitalia while allowing these books which show "private parts" explicitly, both on the covers and inside:

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Boobs-Martin-Sigrist/dp/303766617X/ref=pd_sim_b_3

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dick-Book-Tuning-Favorite/dp/3867874468/ref=pd_sim_b_3

And of course they're both great sellers.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

INGRID: * TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU! *

DALYA: what's the title of your book? I imagine I'll have a lot of fun reading it


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

M. P. Rey said:


> INGRID: * TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU! *
> 
> DALYA: what's the title of your book? I imagine I'll have a lot of fun reading it


Oh, I keep forgetting to put my books in my sig. That book is Practice Cake - it's a YA romantic comedy with a downer ending, LOL.


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Look at "E" in sweet. It's like he's got a banana stuffed down his shorts.


Oh, believe me, I looked!


Spoiler



I looked good and *hard*


But I stand by my opinion that the guy isn't aroused. If you study his downwards form, and especially the curve of his scrotum (above the L), it's clear (to me) that this is his normal size and state. If his pants weren't wet, I'm sure nobody would have batted an eyelid.

And considering some of the other covers that people have posted links to, there must have been an extremely prudish person blocking this one.



M. P. Rey said:


> http://www.amazon.com/Twinks-Own-The-World-ebook/dp/B007DQ49KG/


All I can say to this is *Poor guy*. He must have been at the back of the queue.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

ahah... I know  
That's what makes me a bit nervous about just changing the cover and resubmitting... 
By the way, does anyone know what happens if you resubmit and it gets blocked again?
Will they block your account


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

Don't resubmit. Ask what the problem is, then fix it, ask them to review it.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

Katie Elle said:


> Don't resubmit. Ask what the problem is, then fix it, ask them to review it.


well I did ask, but they just replied that it violates the terms and conditions without giving a clear answer of what the main issue is.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Nothing you can really do.  If you push the issue you may end up worse off overall.  

Amazon will not specify what the specific issue is that's causing the violation.  If they get specific then people will write their way around the "rules".  By not defining the rules in writing Amazon is left free to keep rejecting/accepting titles on their own whim.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

I think you're right...


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

Hmmm.. for those of you who've been wondering what ever happened to the kinky gay short that got banned by the Amazon censors a while ago and stirred this conversation...
well, here it is, finally published in a new (aka purged) version:



I know, the cover is not as sexy as the first one, and the title not as "suggestive".. without clear info from Amazon on what the issue was, I just removed anything (too) controversial. 
Oh well, still not for prudes


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## 71089 (Jul 12, 2013)

Rlyon said:


> Am I the only one who can't tell the guy has an erection? Yes he's wet, but he looks normal to me. Perhaps I have been overly blessed with my partners!


Eheheheheeh if your man has one like that without it being erect ... you're one lucky gal


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## GUTMAN (Dec 22, 2011)

AndreSanThomas said:


> Add me to the surprised you're suprised list.
> 
> For a mainstream general publisher, Amazon realy is pretty reasonable. They rarely get freaked out about anything that the erotica sites don't also get freaked out about. Sometimes things get silly, like why a bare bottom that you can't confirm is bare is bad but one with a microscopic thong is ok, but over all, they don't really ask for much.


Andre, have you had banning issues? Because you show skin on your covers, although in my opinion they are both hot and tasteful, if you know what I mean.


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## Skye Hunter (Apr 30, 2013)

I for one was not expecting wet dong outline when I read this topic.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

tkkenyon said:


> Does it still have the golden shower scene? I know that poop will get something banned. Will the other?
> 
> Just curious,
> 
> TK aka BB


Sadly the golden shower scene is gone, TK.
Just a hint. 
Without clear guidelines from Amazon I preferred to err on the safe side this time.
I think it was the old cover that got me in trouble, though. Apparently some people saw an erection in it that I didn't notice... LOL.


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

Strangely, golden showers are NOT verboten by Amazon. I think it was just the cover images. I've never had any problems with the series I publish. Which is not in my signature, no, but if you went to my publisher site I don't think they'd be hard to identify. Note though that we went with very NON-explicit cover images. Sometimes I look at the covers that show up in his also-boughts and am a bit taken aback.


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## AndreSanThomas (Jan 31, 2012)

Gutman said:


> Andre, have you had banning issues? Because you show skin on your covers, although in my opinion they are both hot and tasteful, if you know what I mean.


I haven't had any bans. I have one title (Eanna) that went to Adult Dungeon recently. Interestingly enough, the combo book of Eanna/Mayia also went, but it has a totally different cover. And the cover on the combo book is the same as Ielle/Ovia combo which did not go to the dungeon.

So, I probably could fix Eanna's cover enough to get out of the dungeon. I'm sure the problem is the lack of underwear, I just haven't bothered. I still have fairly consistent sales on Eanna since people go to it as part of the series.


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## M. P. Rey (Nov 3, 2012)

1001nightspress said:


> Sometimes I look at the covers that show up in his also-boughts and am a bit taken aback.


Me too! That's why I thought I could spice up my cover a bit... and got in trouble 
Lesson learned. LOL.


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