Downloading stories and novels

[Torsten]

In case you haven't read my profile page, I'm twenty-one and a college senior. Time for me is very precious, and in spite of all that I learned in several levels of Physics, I can tell you that time does indeed shrink and contract. Occassionally at alarming rates!

When I'm using my laptop it is nearly always for college course work, and there is relatively little time to just sit back and enjoy a story. I hate to rush through an author's work, especially some of the work I've found here at AwesomeDude. I know how much effort goes into writing the material and it seems almost an insult to the author to not savor and appreciate his labor.

There are odd periods during the academic day when I'm not in classes or at the athletic center and when cranking up the laptop and finding a WiFi connection is difficult. Unfortunately, the more isolated and private places on campus tend not to have WiFi in range, and since reading these amazing works is guaranteed to get me hard and leaking, isolation and privacy are sort of required.

But I take my Nook tablet everywhere I take my laptop...

So, I wonder what the AD's rules are for a person privately downloading stories and novels, converting them into epub format and then storing them on a Nook? Never to be shared, never to have a hard copy printed out, never to be read by any person other than myself.

Would this be acceptable? Does the Dude know of any authors who might object to this? What are the author's opinions?

I know I could have done this and no one would ever know but somehow that felt like stealing. Deep inside me there is still an Episcopalian chorister and acolyte. Deep. But he's still there.

[DesDownunder]

I can't speak for anyone but myself. I don't object to one off downloads or prints of my stories, solely for personal use by an individual.

There are people out there who cannot read stories on screen, and others who have limited access who need to copy to a different format so that they can read without being observed by others.

I only have a problem with someone other than myself making money from my work. So I can't grant you the right to sell or invest my stories for profit.

What would be nice, would be if you could find time to drop a word or two of feedback about what you read. All the authors enjoy getting feedback from the readers, especially from polite ones as you seem to be...and thanks for asking.

[Cole Parker]

I don't mind as long as the story goes nowhere else. I myself, when I don't like the format of a story I find online, will frequently copy it to Word so I can set it up as I like it to be read more easily. When I'm done, I delete it.

Stories are written to be read, thought about, appreciated. I don't see what format that is done in makes any difference.

C

[Nigel Gordon]

I have no objection to readers downloading my stories to their local device provided it is strictly for their own use.

Actually I rather appreciate the fact that a reader will go to that amount of trouble to be able to read my stories.

[Merkin]

What they said.

[Graeme]

Ditto

It really is appreciated that you've taken the time to ask. There may be some authors who won't want you to do what you've said, but I think most authors won't mind someone downloading a story for personal use only. I remember asking once if I could print off a story to take on a long-distance plane trip and the author was fine with that Happily, I didn't have to explain the story to the customs officers at the end of the flight....

[Mihangel]

No problem with me either. A while back I had a request to download several copies of a story of mine for use by a gay reading club. I appreciated that. Fine again, provided it went no further.

[Lugnutz]

I'm with them but have no idea why they would read my stuff. I have saved several stories, some of which you can't find anymore, anyplace. I have most everything from one author that I asked this and was givin permission to do so.

[The Pecman]

So, I wonder what the AD's rules are for a person privately downloading stories and novels, converting them into epub format and then storing them on a Nook? Never to be shared, never to have a hard copy printed out, never to be read by any person other than myself. Would this be acceptable? Does the Dude know of any authors who might object to this? What are the author's opinions?

Speaking as an author who has 4 novels on this site (OK, 3.3 novels plus I just started a 5th), I have no problem with it. As far as I'm concerned, the moment you post ASCII text on a website, it's out there amidst the flotsam and jetsam of the web.

What I don't like is when the stories are reposted to other parts of the web without my permission. I've seen this happen with paid websites, which really irks me.

But... it's always nice when readers contribute to keeping this site going with a contribution to The Dude! I encourage that completely.

[Chris James]

Torsten is welcome to download any of my stories, not like it hasn't happened before. But like Pecman, it irks me that some of my work has shown up on pay sites in Europe surrounded by ads for pornography.

I agree that once it is posted anyone can help themselves, but it is nice to be asked for a change.

[Torsten]

First off, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have replied to my question. I can promise you that no one's stories or novels will be posted anywhere, especially on some foreign pay site. I think doing something like that is akin to plagarism. Here in college we're under threat of instant dismissal and loss of all academic credits if commit plagarism. I swear, we could do murder, sell drugs, or keep large reptiles in our dorm rooms for lewd purposes and no one would toss our asses out. Commit plagarism and you're toast. As it should be.

I went to an all-boys church school, so I tend to gravitate towards stories set in boys' schools or in colleges. In addition to crew I did some wrestling and cross country, and so I like stories/novels with athletic themes as well. One genre I don't read is the one of torture, bondage, boys being enslaved or harmed. It's odd I suppose that the same author, "Josh" wrote stories that I loved as well as one I hated. "Sealing Our Fate" versus "Jeet."

As I read through work posted here on AD I'll mention them in the proper forum spaces, and let individual authors know.

One fantasy I've always had is that of brothers falling for each other. I guess some people would brand brotherly incestual relations as sick or perverse, but I have always thought that more of that goes on than is generally known. I don't have any brothers and although I did mess around with two slightly older cousins over a Christmas holiday once it wasn't the same.

[colinian]

I swear, we could do murder, sell drugs, or keep large reptiles in our dorm rooms for lewd purposes and no one would toss our asses out.

"...or keep large reptiles in our dorm rooms for lewd purposes..."

That is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. It makes me laugh just to look at the sentence without even reading it.

I agree with everyone else here. Download my stories, but don't post them elsewhere or sell them to anyone. And welcome to AD, Torsten. I'm glad someone else close to my age (24) is here on AD.

Colin

[TalonRider]

I have about 30 stories on my Nook. I've put together all but two of them. Their a combinations of stories from GA and here. Between these two sites, I have no reason to buy a book.

[Chris James]

Oh my, Torsten...what kind of reptiles were you imagining?

This just shows that the young writers on AD have a vivid imagination, and perhaps Colin knows better than I what you young guys have done in your dorm rooms. That was so long ago I only remember studying and sleeping.

[Torsten]

Gosh Chris, I hadn't given any thought to what species of reptile. I don't know much about reptiles other than to say "Oh neato, a turtle, don't run over it," or "Damn dude, don't step on that copperhead snake." I was just looking for something funny that might be as weird as possible and sex with reptiles sort of popped out of my head. Given the wide diversity of sexual interests and entertainments available I am sure there are those who practice cross-species sex, whether mammalian, reptilian or avian, or with suitable scuba gear, piscatory. I can't really imagine having sex with a reptile with all those sharp fangs. I mean, what if a fang caught your foreskin when you took your cock out it's mouth? Might turn your whole dick inside-out! Serious yowzah!

I'm sure college life hasn't changed all that much since you were there, other than we have electricity now. (Runs and ducks from the fusilade of flying shoes)

[Lugnutz]

You forgot walkers and canes... We're old.

[DesDownunder]

What a delightful sense of humour you have Torsten. You must come visit my cave,. I'll get Chris and Lug to drop in as well so that you can feel old age creep up you.

[Cole Parker]

And welcome to AD, Torsten. I'm glad someone else close to my age (24) is here on AD.

Colin

Hey, wait a minute. James and Des and Mihangel and I are all 24 in our souls, and that's where it counts. Except for Des, who'd really trade his soul to be 24 in another part of his body.

C

[Nick Deverill]

My grandfather, after trying stilt walking for the first time at age 75 said he felt no different in himself to what he did at 18. Didn't stop my Aunt telling him off though!

[The Pecman]

One fantasy I've always had is that of brothers falling for each other. I guess some people would brand brotherly incestual relations as sick or perverse, but I have always thought that more of that goes on than is generally known. I don't have any brothers and although I did mess around with two slightly older cousins over a Christmas holiday once it wasn't the same.

Yep, I touched on that in my last novel, Pieces of Destiny, but didn't go into the details. I think it was different many years ago, and the situation I depicted was two lonely abused brothers in a loveless household set in a rural town. I think some fooling around is bound to happen, but crossing the line to real love and affection is a tricky area.

Having said that: the recent American made-for-cable movie Flowers in the Attic depicted a very sexual relationship between a 16-year-old brother and a 14-year-old sister, and the ratings went through the roof. (The kid in the show was really, really good-looking, too.) In a special case like this were four kids are basically imprisoned for years in a house and prevented from going to school or doing anything, I can understand it.

Two lead actors from Flowers in the Attic.

Hey, wait a minute. James and Des and Mihangel and I are all 24 in our souls, and that's where it counts. Except for Des, who'd really trade his soul to be 24 in another part of his body.

As the great songwriter Brian Wilson once wrote in his song "When I Grow Up to Be a Man":

I dig the same things that turned me on as a kid.

You're as young as you feel.

[Guest Dabeagle]

I'll just go to the original question and say I'm fine as well, and thank you for asking first.

[DesDownunder]

[...]

I dig the same things that turned me on as a kid.

You're as young as you feel.

Yeah, me too. As far as feeling young, I felt myself quite a lot when I was young.

[Jeff Ellis]

Go for it young man. I'm not sure how long Nooks last, but anything that extends the reach of what I have written beyond my own brief span is welcome to me.

[Chris James]

Back in the age of dinosaurs, I had a relationship with an identical twin. I knew the brothers, we were in school together. Both were athletic, their bodies nearly identical, but one was an artist and gay, the other was straight and headed for a career in medicine. My relationship with the gay one lasted almost a year, and then we went off to different schools.

The gay twin told me he'd had sex with his brother. Although straight, the brother was curious to know what sex was all about for his gay brother. They had one encounter, did everything possible, and never went there again. I think it happened out of a desire for understanding. In many ways I think it was an expression of brotherly love.

The gay twin said it was like having sex with himself. Damn...I still can't get that image out of my head. :)

[The Pecman]

The gay twin told me he'd had sex with his brother. Although straight, the brother was curious to know what sex was all about for his gay brother. They had one encounter, did everything possible, and never went there again. I think it happened out of a desire for understanding. In many ways I think it was an expression of brotherly love. The gay twin said it was like having sex with himself. Damn...I still can't get that image out of my head. :)

I think we have a story idea here. Perhaps we have two gay twins who have sex with each other... then one of them is hit by a truck and dies, then the survivor has to grieve but eventually finds love with somebody else. Sometimes, you can fall in love because of your differences, not in spite of them. It'd be a good starting point for a novel, if it hasn't been done.

Maybe the dead twin comes back as a ghost and taunts them... maybe the ghost is jealous. This could go in a lot of different directions.