Nerves of Aluminum

[lydamorehouse]

I came across this review this morning: Requires Hate: Archangel Protocol. Actually, I was warned away from it by naomikritzer, but I read it anyway.

I'm not posting this because I need sympathy. I'm posting this to curb the impluse to click on the "reply" button at the bottom of the review page. I don't actually want to engage, because it seems one of my biggest sins in the reviewer's eye is my atrocious dialogue and, frankly, I don't have a big argument there. My partner knows that if she wants to see me blush and cringe, she can read some passages of ARCHANGEL PROTOCOL out loud. I actually also agree that my generic heroine was a bit generic and sometimes so stupid as to be a plot coupon. (I got that complaint in writers' group. I ignored them to my own peril.) I also liked Rebeckah enough to make her a p.o.v. heroine in a follow-up book.

But, I also happen to still believe there are moments of pure brilliance there.

The thing that really, really had my trigger finger itching was the commentary. The glee that is shown for the fact that my series is out-of-print made me want to say, "Hey, you haters don't get revenge after all. I'm still writing! Published several books after that one! Ha!"

But of course, all this would hit when I'm feeling rather vunerable in that regard. I haz no contract currently, and I'm even kind of feeling like I will never be a master at slash because I'm not very good at teh p0rn.

So sad.

I promised Shawn that I'd have a proposal done today, so I'm going to have to put my head down in a minute and get serious about that.

Ah, well. In other news, we had a nice Easter dinner with Shawn's brother Greg's family. We have skipped a lot of these family gatherings over the last several years for various reasons, but it was good to go. Mason had a tremendous time. I managed to not feel too awkward.

Mason will be testing for his blue stripe this weekend, so we're going to try to step up our KSW goings. I also get to start Japanese bokkon (sword) this Wednesday, and I'm seriously looking forward to that.

Comments

Wow. That's crazy harsh.

[idairsauthor.livejournal.com]

It sounds to me as if s/he is primarily pissed off by the whole paranormal romance subgenre, and secondarily pissed off by the fact that a book she thought would subvert those generic rules doesn't. These are legitimate things to be pissed off by, but I don't see why s/he needs to make it that personal. It's not as if you created the genre.

If you are developing as a writer than whatever you wrote early in your career, however fine you thought it was at the time, will seem embarrassing to you when you look back on it later. That doesn't say much about how it reads to someone else.

Anyway. I think Hatey McHatester is wrong. I still remember these books years after I read them, and one thing I remember is admiring/envying the beautiful yet horrifying descriptions of the damage done by the Medusa bombs. There is a reason you have survived for this long in an industry that eats people alive. My curse upon the beancounters!

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

Just got a bad review for SHe Nailed a Stake Through HIs Head from the Beacon and I resisted commenting for at least 15 minutes.

But I didn't rice out. Must not rice out.

:-P

[katya-s69.livejournal.com]

All I have to say is that both I AND my husband LOVED the whole SERIES, and neither of us like romance, so ... Glad things went better today (from the next post)

[winterophelia.livejournal.com]

Looking at her whole site, this girl just seems to have some sort of anger problems that go way beyond typical nerdrage (and I consider myself well versed in nerdrage being a Doctor Who and a Marvel comics fan). Being so gleeful that your series is out of print is just really mean. Also, she's reviewing a book that she didn't even finish, which bothers me.
Your AngeLINK series provided hours and hours of entertainment and enjoyment for my best friend and me in high school. You're probably at least a little responsible for why we turned out so weird and geeky, and for that, I thank you. <3

Shake off that punch in the nose

[(Anonymous)]

Oh no, Requires Only That You Hate got you. Just be happy she got your name right and walk away. Try repeating, "That just her opinion," and ask yourself how many books she has written and how well they would hold up to her kind of criticism. She is on a mission and nothing you could say would make any difference to her. Just be glad all critics aren't like her. There is nothing to be gained from engaging with her on her turf, that I can see. Her readers will not be swayed by your response because they come for the hate and are very loyal to her.

She does not have the final word. She's just one reader.

Re: Shake off that punch in the nose

[lydamorehouse]

Yeah, it's clear that what that blog is about is kind of a schtick, so I'm not taking it too hard. Plus, as I said, the universe provided me a nice pick-me-up in the form of an unexpected royalty payment. Ha!