Looking Back on Author Dramas in 2023

What Can We Learn From These Incidents?

In 2023, I witnessed some astoundingly bizarre examples of indie author behavior. These are the incidents that lived in my brain rent-free all year long.

I watched all of these incidents unfold on social media. Most people were horrified by what the authors did. Yet some defended the authors against all enemies — even when the behavior was egregious.

The actions by these authors reflected badly on indie publishing. They also made it harder for other indie authors to get reviews.

The Hero Is a Member of the KKK?!

This fall, readers found out about a dark romance where the hero was a member of the KKK. Yes, that KKK. He used to kill people for the KKK — but he had reformed. (I’m sure that will be convincing.) Oh, and the heroine was Mexican and the daughter of a cartel boss. It’s like a club sandwich made up of “What were you thinking?” and “What the fuck?” served on white bread.

Concerned readers discovered the book and revealed their concerns on social media. While many fans were also horrified, too many fans attacked them for … having an opinion, I guess. (This Rolling Stone article digs into the harassment and also into what makes dark romance. I subscribed to read it — and I don’t regret it.)

The usual excuses were made. Doesn’t the hero deserve a second chance?! Don’t you realize it’s just fiction?!

Blech.

In response, the author apologized and took down not just the book but the entire series. So some fans called it “cancel culture.” Some fans (and authors!) of dark romance saw this as an attack on their favorite subgenre.

But… But… But…

It isn’t. There are dark romances with mafia heroes. Vicious, bullying heroes. Vigilante heroes. Heroes who abduct the heroines. Even serial killer heroes.

Yet this book crosses a line. The KKK is real, and people view it as a terrorist organization. While the mafia is real, the families in mafia romances are not real crime families. They’re made up for the story. Serial killers and kidnappers are real, but the ones in the dark romances are made up. They’re all a part of taboo fantasies.

A hero brought up in the KKK is not part of a typical dark romance fantasy. He should not be someone’s taboo fetish.

Why Not Publish Some Real Person Fiction?…

Early into this NFL season, social media exploded over the rumors that popular singer Taylor Swift and NFL player Travis Kelce were dating.

There was a second explosion when an erotic romance writer with a passionate fan base decided to publish a sports romance novella inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

If you’re thinking of publishing something like this…

No. Stop. Don’t.

What could go wrong?! Everything. (Real person fiction is controversial even in fan fiction circles.) Many celebrities are protective of their images — as they should be. Publishing something like this means courting a lawsuit.

The author took her chances. She posted promotional videos and published her book. Controversies popped up right away. (No doubt calls from attorneys also popped up.) The eBook and the paperback quickly disappeared from Amazon and other venues. The promotional posts were removed as well.

Most people who read the book were far from impressed. It took me days to get through this very short book.

Yet many fans lurved it — and were upset that it was no longer available. Why? They were that eager to read fanfic about this hot new couple.

Urgh. You can do better, folks!

This book intrudes on the privacy of these celebrities — because even if the names are changed, the details are really close. This book used these real people for fodder. The book put words in their mouths — and thoughts in their minds. It put them in kinky sex scenes without their permission.

This made the regional news and the national news. Way to go. Way to make erotic romance authors (and their fans) look good.

That Was Horrific…

In August of 2023, extreme horror became part of a controversy again. This was also covered in an Authors Behaving Badly YouTube video.

Before I say more, I will have to state very clearly that “I HAVE READ EXTREME HORROR NOVELS, AND I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST EXTREME HORROR AUTHORS. EXCEPT WHEN THEY PULL STUNTS LIKE THIS.”

Was that clear enough? Sadly, probably not.

This all happened because an extreme horror author got a negative review. The reviewer did what reviewers are supposed to do — she gave her opinion. Not only did the reviewer state her reasons for hating the book — she also called out what she viewed as problematic issues in the book.

You can argue about the term “problematic.” You can argue she should review the book and not speculate about whether it was problematic. You can argue that her review judged the author. Whatever.

The offended author called out the reviewer. (Yes, folks, another one made the Author’s Big Mistake.) Many of his fans bullied her as well.

One thing that got lost was that the reviewer is a fan of extreme horror. But because she didn’t like this particular book, she was treated like some kind of outsider.

Then, the author doubled down. Way down. He decided to publish a book dedicated to the reviewer. An erotic book.

Can we say… gross behavior? Disappointing behavior.

The author never posted an apology. Nope. He posted a defense. So it kept going on and on, like the Giant Boulder of Death. More harassment of the reviewer. Gross, intrusive stuff.

Most people — including authors in his field — were upset by this author’s actions.

Yet some writers and fans thought the dark horror subgenre was under attack — rather than the behavior of one author. So they banded together and bullied the reviewer.

If the fans truly wanted to support their friend, they should have urged him to take a vacation and leave his electronics at home. Instead, they circled the wagons yet again.

While some of the author’s defenders had good points, they got lost in the madness. Defend your genre? Sure. Bully the reviewer? No.

You can have a great point — but that point will be lost when an author does something skeezy.

Nuance, as usual, is lost in these debates.

She’s Not Dead Yet!

In January of this year, a deceased author came back to life. It wasn’t a miracle. It was a mess.

In 2020, in a Facebook group, fans learned that a beloved indie author had committed suicide. It was heartbreaking. Many contributed to the author’s GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses. Fellow authors put together a charity anthology dedicated to the prevention of bullying. Another author was even accused of pushing the author to kill herself.

Enter 2023. Enter the author. Again.

Wait, what?…

This “deceased” author popped back into her Facebook group and posted as if nothing had happened. She said, “Let the fun begin” — and didn’t expect anyone to be upset.

I didn’t see the original posts from 2000, but I saw the Facebook posts from 2023. Authors and fans were stunned by the revelations.

They had mourned this author. Some even felt guilty because they feared they might have been able to do more to prevent her suicide.

So imagine who they felt when they learned that she was alive.

Of course, most people were furious. Many felt as if they’d been scammed.

Then came national news stories reporting that the author’s family faked her death because of a mental health crisis. Even an interview where her husband blamed her mental health issues on “really brutal” criticism she received from fellow authors.

For that reason, even this author had some supporters — fans who thought she was a mental health victim who needed to be protected from “bullying.”

Nope. That’s not what this was about. Don’t use your mental illness as an excuse to be an awful person.

Postscript

Don’t let this behavior reflect badly on indie authors. Or authors in general. The vast majority of indie authors are great people who love their fans and treat them well.

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