Brandon Sanderson posted an update yesterday to his blog post on Dumbledore and homosexuality, talking about how his views have evolved since then. Given the still-ongoing discussion from my post on Monday, it seems only fair to direct people to that update.

“I now believe that the best way to approach this is to push for ALL
state unions to be civil unions. I believe we should establish what the
state grants a union—whether it be straight or gay—and apply those
rights universally to all.”

I’ve been e-mailing Sanderson a bit on this. I still don’t agree with him on everything (big shock, I know), but I think I’ve got a better idea where he’s coming from re: religion and homosexuality.

One of my realizations is that I feel like I’m having two distinct arguments. One is the legal aspect. I don’t know if what he proposes re: the separation of civil unions from religious marriage would work. I’m a very strong believer in separation of church and state, and from that perspective, I’m all for dividing up the legal and faith-based aspects of marriage/partnership.

I’m mistrustful, though. Organized religion in general doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to keeping out of government. Which brings me to the religious aspect. Sanderson says:

“I cannot be deaf to the pleas of gay couples who want important things, such as hospital visitation rights, shared insurance, and custody rights. At the same time, I accept and sustain the leaders of the LDS church. I believe that a prophet of God has said that widespread legislation to approve gay marriage will bring pain and suffering to all involved. I trust those whom I have accepted as my spiritual leaders.”

I strongly disagree with the idea of a God who condemns or approves of love and marriage based only on the sex or gender of the parties involved. I appreciate that Sanderson is trying to listen, and that his views have evolved. But the belief that homosexuality is sinful is not one I can accept, and it’s not something I’m willing to negotiate or compromise on.

(Counting down to, “That means you’re just as close-minded as you say others are!” comments in 3 … 2 … 1 …)

I trust that Sanderson as an individual would never deliberately hurt or harm someone for their sexual preference. But despite what Christ and other religious leaders taught, humanity in general has an ugly history of throwing far too many stones at the sinners.

I would encourage those discussing Sanderson’s views check out his full update instead of just the snippets I quote here. He’s working to find an answer that will both respect the teachings of his church and also provide equal rights and protections to same-sex couples.

I appreciate that struggle, but I don’t know if such an answer exists.

When I went to World Fantasy last year, I think I met almost as many people who knew me from this blog as I did people who had read my books. (I try not to think about that too hard.) Frequently, people would say they read my blog because it’s usually so reasonable and calm. (And yes, I’m aware that not everyone shares that opinion.)

I appreciate that. But I also worry about the way we sometimes privilege reasonable above so much else.

Another blogger recently linked to Brandon Sanderson’s old post about Dumbledore and homosexuality. I hung out with Sanderson at ConFusion this year. He struck me as a nice guy, and I came away liking him. His post is calm and intellectual in tone as he talks about his church’s stance against homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

He recognizes that there are other points of view. He expects and accepts that people will disagree with him. And he asks that people not yell at him, saying:

…those who cry for open mindedness often seem to be as hateful and unwilling to look from someone else’s perspective as the people on the far right. Rationally work to enlighten us through thoughtful nudging. Don’t call us idiots and homophobes.

In other words, be reasonable. Be calm. Be understanding and patient with those you disagree with. It’s a demand I’ve seen repeated elsewhere many times.

But there’s a reason Sanderson can be so reasonable. He’s not the one being spat on and beaten and burned (In front of a church, no less) and killed because of who he loves. He’s not being told he can’t bring his boyfriend to his own prom. Agents/editors aren’t rejecting his work because he wrote about LGBT characters. He’s not being denied basic rights, like the ability to visit his partner at the hospital. He’s not being told he can’t adopt a child he loves, a child who instead gets returned to an abusive home because the court feels that’s better than letting the child grow up with gay or lesbian parents.

I can more easily write a “reasonable” post about LGBT rights, because I’m comfortably and safely married. I know my insurance will cover my wife, that every state will recognize my family as valid, that my children won’t be hassled because I love my partner. I’m not directly, personally threatened by kind of beliefs and attitudes Sanderson describes.

It’s easy to tell advocates for LGBT rights to slow it down and stop being so loud or angry. It’s easy to demand reasonableness, and to call for negotiation when you’re not the one being hurt every day of your life.

I understand that faith is powerful stuff, and to his credit, Sanderson genuinely appears to be struggling with this issue. And he’s willing to write about it in public, meaning he risks being called names, or having his books boycotted.

In the meantime, those on the other side risk being beaten and tortured and murdered.

I fully believe Sanderson would be horrified by these crimes … but I hope he might also recognize that there’s a justifiable basis for anger and fear of those claiming to know God’s will. That such anger and fear are based on experience. That it can be difficult to distinguish the person who says “My God tells me that homosexuality is sinful” and hopes to have a calm, reasonable discussion from the one who says those same words and plans to beat you to death in the parking lot.

I’m not defending or encouraging name-calling. (I also don’t believe that telling someone they’re being bigoted is name-calling.) But it’s easy to demand calm, “safe” discussion when you’re the one who’s safe and comfortable … it doesn’t strike me as a terribly reasonable demand.

Kitemaster & Other Stories has been on sale at Amazon and B&N for just over a week now, so I figured it was time for a quick sales check-in. In that first week, I sold:

Amazon: 45
B&N: 11

Not bad. 56 sales means I’ve earned back roughly 75% of the $200 I invested up front for the cover art. It’s significantly lower than the first week numbers for Goblin Tales [Amazon | B&N] though, which sold 66 copies at those two sites in the first 24 hours.

Why the lower sales for Kitemaster? I’m guessing it’s a combination of three things:

1. Kitemaster is priced at $3.99, while Goblin Tales is $2.99. (Kitemaster also has a little more content.) I don’t know how much of a difference that extra buck makes. Keep in mind that each sale of Kitemaster also earns a bit more in royalties, so it might balance out.
2. Goblin Tales had a direct connection to my goblin series, meaning those fans were probably more likely to buy it. Kitemaster lacks that link to my better-known work.
3. With Goblin Tales, I did a few guest blog posts and generally promoted a little harder. While I did some promotion for Kitemaster, I didn’t do quite as much.

Sales on Kitemaster dropped off quickly after that first day, much more than Goblin Tales, but again it’s hard to say why. I didn’t see any significant boost in sales of Goblin Tales from the release of Kitemaster, either.

With only two books and several potential variables, there aren’t many conclusions I can draw here. The $3.99 price point seems to work, in that it looks like I’ll eventually turn a profit on the project. I do think you need to take a long-tail view on this sort of thing. The sales aren’t huge, but Goblin Tales continues to sell a handful of copies each week. Here’s hoping that trend keeps going.

My thanks, as always, to everyone who picked up the book, and especially those of you who posted reviews or mentioned it online. Very much appreciated!

iBooks and Kobo still haven’t gotten Kitemaster added to their stores. I’ll add those links to my bookstore as soon as I have them.

In the meantime, for anyone who can’t use the online stores due to regional restrictions, you can order the .epub file of Kitemaster directly from me through PayPal. Once I receive your order, I’ll try to e-mail the file (DRM-free) to you within 24 hours. If I’m at a con or something like that, it might take a little longer.

Tomorrow starting at 1:00 p.m., I’ll be joining Sarah Zettel and Douglas Anderson at Kazoo Books in 2413 Parkview in Kalamazoo for an afternoon of fantasy, talking about books and magic and all that good stuff. (And signing any books you’d care to shove at me, of course!)

There’s a Facebook event page here, for those who like that sort of thing.

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A while back, I had to replace the toilet seat in one of our bathrooms, and ended up buying a “slow closing” seat. (Mostly because it was the only decent-looking, solidly built seat they had.)

This is, of course, the culmination of U.S. 21st century toilet seat technology[1. Edited to add “U.S.” because, as Charlie Stross points out, America lags behind in the worldwide toilet technology race.]. I visualize miniaturized titanium pneumonic pumps concealed within the hinges, along with an elaborate and tiny system of pulleys and counterweights. I’m curious how many engineers toiled away for years to create a seat that would ease our lid-lowering burden.

I do wish I had known about these things a few years ago, though. And as a parent, I recommend them for anyone raising young boys.

Because to little boys of a certain height, the average toilet seat lid is an EVIL PLASTIC WEINER-CHOMPING PAC MAN!

This random observation has been brought to you by the fact that Jim is overtired and couldn’t think of anything else to blog about today.

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