Ooh, boy, the nuts are out. I thought I was prepared for reader angst that I'm not writing Regency Rmances anymore, and have decided to focus more on LDS-themed novels. I was wrong. There are only four reviews up on Amazon right now, and three are decidedly unhappy. That's OK; it's my choice to do what I'm doing.
But there is one that crossed the line, from Susan M. Choyce. She titled her review, Goodbye, Ms. Kelly! She freely expressed her disappointment and obvious dislike of Mormons, and that's her choice and privilege in a free society. She concluded by comparing my Regencies to Georgette Heyer's, which is high praise, indeed.
Trouble is, she ended this way: "...now you are both dead and gone. Farewell."
Frankly, that creeped me out, and sounded more than a bit unbalanced. Attacking my book is one thing, but wishing me dead and gone is quite another. I e-mailed Amazon immediately, explained the situation, and asked that they remove that review. I don't know if they can or will, but it scared me. So it goes.
On a much, much lighter note, Vondell (my water aerobics friend) and I went upstate to Orem today. She had a doctor's appointment at 11 a.m. We are power shoppers and we had an hour to spend wisely before the appointment. We dropped in at the Distribution Center to buy a little white dress for her granddaughter. Since Vondell is raising her granddaughter and has adopted her, she is going to be sealed to her soon in the Manti Temple.
Next we powered over to Michael's, where I got a basket for my office and she tried to find gourds (no luck; wrong season). We made it to her appointment with 15 minutes to spare, and then we powered over to the Cinemark and saw the noon showing of The King's Speech. What a movie. Yes, there's some bad language, but it's integral to the plot. Not a wrong note anywhere in cast, script, direction, costumes.
I left the theatre with a renewed appreciation for Colin Firth (all right, girls: we know we loved him in Pride and Prejudice), and King George VI, a monarch with a stammer who became the symbol of the stalwart British nation during World War II. I've seen pictures of the king and his queen walking through bombed out rubble and chatting with their subjects, after a long night of air raids and destruction. What panache; what a king. It's a superb movie.
The Wedge of the San Rafael
Someone has to live here, in the middle of desert beauty. Might as well be the Kellys.
I'm really sorry this reviewer creeped you out Carla. To be very honest with you, I dislike Amazon reviews. The great honest reviews are always pushed aside for the more drama-filled reviews that are not helpful and hurtful. That's why I'm happy I found goodreads, where there's true reviews. I've given up of finding any good reviews on Amazon (HUGS)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Ranearia! Don't let such reviews slam you! To be honest, I'm not much into LDS-themed novels myself but it's your choice and your choice alone! That reviewer was way under the belt line! And if you would decide to write an erotica next year, so be it (just kidding, you know lol)!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I loved the King's Speech as well, great movie!
I compare your books to Georgette's, too! Love them! I can relate to the reviews thing. It's one thing to review a person's books and work--reviewing the person on a book review site is not appropriate and is way too personal. It's happened to me a couple of times and it does not feel good. (Glad you're not gone!)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you were disturbed by the review, I blinked when I read it as well. But it does say "dead OR gone", not "dead AND gone".
ReplyDeleteAmazon reviews are a grab bag of 'anything goes'. I couldn't agree with you more about "The King's Speech". Marvellous in every respect. Brilliant acting from all the actors, starting with Firth, Geoffery Rush and Helena Bonham-Carter, as well as a long string of the usual cast of British actors (there was even one of my old fav heartthrobs, Anthony Andrews there as the PM Stanley Baldwin). My mother (we're in Australia) says that she remembers George VI's speaking difficulties very well. Though no-one had an inkling about Logue, the story was that it was his wife who was his greatest help.
ReplyDeleteNearly forget - spotted that odd bit of casting of Jennifer Ehles from P&P as Mrs. Logue.
I'm one of those readers quite disappointed that you're leaving regencies to focus on LDS themes, but I also recognize that it's not my decision. I can imagine that 20+ years of regencies could wear on a person. I wish you the best and thank you for the all the great books over the years.
ReplyDeleteWill you consider putting your old, out-of-print regencies out in ebook for us all? Lots of authors seem to be republishing their backlists either on their own through Amazon/Smashwords/B&N or through a small epublisher like Belgrave House (regencyreads.com).
Having your older books in ebook would be awesome. I'd much rather have my money go to you than to a used book dealer. Carolyn Jewel recently republished one OOP book of hers and said she's made four figures in three weeks (http://carolynjewel.com/wordpress/2011/03/13/some-thoughts-on-publishing-and-backlist/). Considering what your used books go for, I bet you'd see a good return on your efforts if you republished them.