This is a special edition in the blog series, “My Life in Erotica.” I encourage you to join my Patreon community to support my writing.
AS WE NEAR THE END of “Banned Books Week,” I’m pleased to note that none of my books have been banned in Florida or Texas, though some probably should have been. In fact, all my Devon Layne books (at least those published since I figured it out) contain this note on the copyright page:
This book contains content of an adult nature. This includes explicit sexual content and characters whose beliefs, actions, and comments may be contrary to your religious, political, or world view. The content is inappropriate and in some cases illegal for readers under the age of 18.
And in fact, if a reader cannot respect divergent views on religious, political, and world society, they have no business reading ‘adult’ content. It’s too bad, we don’t have a classification for those juveniles. I list all of my books, both Nathan Everett books and Devon Layne books as “Adult Trade Fiction.”
But none of my books have been banned that I know of.
Why?
Because people tend to self-select their reading material. That includes children. If a child is interested in explicit sexual content, he or she will seek it out. Just like an adult will. If the topic is not of interest, the child will ignore it. Unfortunately, most adults lack that capacity.
And so, when I read a notification that removing books from children’s shelves in a library is not the same as banning, my first response was “Bullshit.”
The argument is that the book isn’t ‘banned,’ it’s just taken off the shelves. It is still available at public libraries and bookstores. Books are only flagged for removal when parents determine the book contains explicit sexual material or content detrimental to children.
It sounds good, but that’s not the way it works. Over 850 demands to remove some 2,300 different titles were received last year. Because parents are concerned about their children. Many of those books did not contain any such material, but the mere mention of a person who is LGBTQIA+ in a book, or the mention of the struggle of a person of color, or the mention of a union, or the mention of a non-Christian is enough to land a book on this list. Most people submitting these lists have not read the books in question, but have a list of books supplied to them.
And even though I consider them stupid, I admit the right of a parent to monitor and restrict the reading material for their children.
I do not, under any circumstances, recognize their right to restrict the reading material for ALL children. The books requested to be removed are largely considered Adult Trade Fiction already and are not on children’s shelves. To Kill a Mockingbird, It, The Handmaid’s Tale, etc. Those which are considered children’s literature mostly lack explicit or obscene material and simply don’t match the parent’s prejudices. I'm afraid I know many people who gasp in shock and horror and scream "pornography" at the mere mention of sex in any context!
That is not to say that none of my books have been banned! Twelve of my books have been blocked officially or unofficially by Amazon. I was shocked when the first one was rejected. I uploaded all nine volumes of Living Next Door to Heaven 1 & 2 at the same time. Book 7: Hearthstone Entertainment, was blocked. I tried to fight it and was sent a message that there was a problem with the cover and some inside material. When I asked for more details, I was told that if I persisted, Amazon would review all my titles to determine if others should also be blocked.
If you look at all the covers, you'll find it hard to guess which cover was deemed inappropriate! Amazon offers no ability to mitigate the problem. Once blocked, I can’t even remove it! I responded by offering Hearthstone Entertainment for free at Barnes and Noble, ZBookStore, and on my own website.
I received a notification from Amazon a year ago that my book Art Something was blocked seven years after it was published! It came about because of a reader complaint. One. The three-book Strange Art series doesn’t make sense without the first book. It has been released on Barnes and Noble, ZBookStore, and on my own site, and will be released as a single volume Signature Edition paperback in 2026.
On January 30, 2019, during the release process, I received notification that Double Take had been blocked. It’s a science fiction story about a man sent to his 14-year-old body, but it is in an alternate timeline and parallel universe. Though Amazon did not give any reasons, I did lose a lot of readers who were upset that a character they liked turned out to be trans. Once again, with the first book in the series blocked, there was no sense in releasing the other four. They are available on ZBookStore and my own website. They will also be released as individual Signature Edition paperbacks in 2026.
In case it is not clear, I am opposed to censorship, book banning, and stick-up-the-butt parents who think they can set the rules for everyone. We have people who are professionals in that area. They are called Librarians.
Enjoy Banned Books!
author Devon Layne (aroslav), aka Nathan Everett (Wayzgoose)