Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy!
When I made my sorta-kinda resolution to get back into book blogging/reviewing, I may have forgotten that people don’t always take negative criticsm well. As of this morning I am fully reminded.
A little over a week ago I posted a review of Crimson Rose. Frankly, I didn’t much like it. Initially on Goodreads I’d given it a two-star rating, but after thinking more about it I realized that the complaints I had with the book easily would have left me not even bothering to rate the book. Heck, I probably wouldn’t have finished it if I weren’t inexplicably drawn to the soap opera slash train wreck narrative. So, after a day or so I dropped a star. I didn’t edit a word of the review. Not a word. I never do with reviews, except when I notice a typo because I’m super anal like that.
This morning I receive a message from the author, R. Malone, with the subject line of “Fuck You, Jealous BITCH”. [ETA #4: Message removed by demand of author on grounds of copyright infringement.] The message itself is filled with profanity. After she inquires about my removal of the star and notes the disappearance of a comment I posted where I affirm some interest in reading the potential sequel based on the excerpts she has posted, she then begins to attack me. She states: “I’m finished putting up with jealous bitches like you, Cyndy. I guess if this first book goes to shit thanks to bitches like YOU, that’s perfectly fine. I don’t give a fuck anymore, I really, really don’t.” She ends the note by boasting that my negativity has done absolutely no harm to her book’s sales.
I’ll give her props for two things: (1.) She spelled my name right! (2.) She’s got guts. Though, possibly not so much sense. Especially if she thinks something like that is going to stay private with an avid blogger.
[ETA: I forgot to address the comment deletion. (Though, I did reply in the Goodreads review thread.) I didn't delete them, whether the author chooses to believe this or not. I noted that much of my activity on Goodreads has been having some issues -- including missing comments, unregistered votes, my missing wishlist on Bookswap, and supposedly receiving a book that was sent to Little Rock, AR -- and that I've been in contact with Support about these issues. (Their last reply was to tell me they're "researching the issues.")]
Of course, that wasn’t nearly enough; she also left a comment on my profile and started attacking me on the review at Goodreads. [ETA #3: Her comments have since been deleted/edited by her. (Though, not before I flagged them for being slanderous and inappropriate.)] Apparently she reported the review. But I’m still very confused how my participation in NaNoWriMo for the last decade has any relevance to my disliking a book. Especially when I was pretty darn tactful. I could have easily ripped it to shreds in the review — I’ve done it before — but I actually didn’t want to. I mean, I didn’t hate the book. And let’s be honest, I knew she was going to read it and I didn’t want to start a, well, exactly this.
Does it make me a bad person that I’m laughing at the lack of maturity here?
ETA #2: Ah, she did finally answer my question about the Nano reference. Apparently, she’s under the impression that I feel I could write a better book, but since I’m obviously unpublished1 my critique is hardly relevant. I didn’t realize that my status as a reader was hindered because I don’t have my name in a fancy font on a book cover. Go figure.
Edit the Last: As of 5:00 PM, I am shutting off comments to this post and ceasing any further response. I received a reply from Goodreads regarding the flagging of the original comments on the review there. They have deleted her comment from my profile and sent her a warning. Thanks everyone for your support. Let’s all move on, please.
1. I’m guessing my inclusion in sociology journals doesn’t count. After all, those were just academic papers, right?
