Most embarrassing moments…
I have a confession to make.
I did something horrible.
I bashed a fellow author to one of her fans.
And the worst part? I didn’t even realize what I was doing until after I’d left and it was over. And I feel terrible. Really, really horrible about it.
Here’s what happened. We have seminar/module things to take a school. They’re three hour, condensed classes. I was signed up for a class called Characterization and Dialogue. I was excited about this class, because characterization is something I struggle with. It’s something I wanted to discuss, get tips about, learn about.
And the professor/author teaching the class blew it. She spent the entire three hours telling stories about her family. I learned nothing.
Frankly, I was annoyed.
That was in June, and since then, I’ve been seeing her name a lot. Ads for her coming books in RWR. Hearing her name come up. And good for her. She’s a good author, she deserves the attention. But I was still annoyed. I went to Barnes and Noble, and her newest book was face-out in the romance section. I was impressed! But I was still annoyed.
Then I went out for drinks with a friend for her birthday. And as I was making small talk with a woman whose name I still don’t know, she asked me if I had heard of this author. She’d been reading her new books, and was really enjoying them. She asked me if I had ever read her.
My reaction? (This is where my foot went into my mouth): “Oh my god, I cannot stand that woman! She is so annoying, and she…..”
It went downhill from there.
I bitched and whined about this author and I’m ashamed of myself. I can only hope I didn’t cost her a reader. I threw in the “Oh, she’s a good writer, but personally…” But that doesn’t fix it. And next semester, I’m going to have to face her and take more classes with her. Hopefully I will have grown up by then and will be better behaved.
Now, I felt like I had a genuine complaint about this woman. I still do. But this was one of her hard-earned fans! I couldn’t have kept my mouth shut about my personal feelings toward her? This has really made me think about how we talk about and treat fellow authors, and frankly, how easy it is to slip up and say the wrong thing.
We’re pretty careful on this board, and I feel like we do a pretty good job of not mentioning author names when we have a complaint about a book. We don’t waste a lot of time on here bashing authors. But man, is it easy to slip up.
So let’s hear it pirates. Most embarrassing stories about how you treated, spoke to, or spoke about another author. We want to hear it.
Books by the Crew
82 comments:
Me biggest nightmare is ta dismiss an author only ta discover I'm standin' next ta her... Hasn't happened yet, but I actually expect it ta happen... I know me big mouth will FMU eventually.
When yer annoyed, as you were, hard ta not speak up 'bout what bothered ya. And perhaps, if ya really kept the complaint ta that... "I hear she's a fabulous writer, I wish when she taught, she'd teach with the same attention to detail... She just loves to tell stories!"
Ya know, if'n this be yer worst stumble, it ain't too bad, Hal. At least ya didn't do it in print!
My faux pas doesn't concern a romance writer. I could never ever slander any of them, except perhaps porn writers disguised as romance writers!
No this concerns a different sort of writer. My PhD supervisor actually, who had been overlooked for a prestigious chair in the UK and then left for the New World.
Sitting on a conf trip bus, I was chatting to a Canadian visitor who commented on how lucky the Americans were to snap up my supervisor. I was agreeing enthusiastically, saying that the college selection board must be myopic or just plain out of touch, when I had the feeling that I was being watched. On glancing round I saw, standing behind me, the man who had actually been appointed. To be honest he was very worthy of the chair so I felt awful at that moment. He also had the good grace to blush!
My worst nightmare was then to have him as my PhD examiner! Fortunately I escaped that one. *grin*
Chance, Hal has just done it in print! As have I :oops:
I still feel bad when I said on a bulletin board that I had stopped reading a book I had started.To be fair, I was asked, "How do you like it?" and then I stumbled all over myself saying I wasn't in the right mood for it. It sucked, but at least I didn't say that, LOL. Somehow when you put something negative in writing and out onto the web, it makes it much worse (and permanent), so I'm careful.But if we all followed the adage 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything' life would be pretty boring. On my blog I mention stuff I like, not stuff I don't, but I never do real book reviews (too lazy, and way too much like school, LOL).
Hmmm, if it helps, I highly doubt that you DID cost the author a hard earned fan. I mean, it sounds like she was ALREADY a fan and I doubt she would be swayed by another's personal view of the author. Perhaps if she were a prospective fan, it might be different or hold more weight. And perhaps YOU were swayed to pass on the author's work, but that's the author's fault. lol
Likely you aren't alone in the "wanting more" from the author. You want to be taught. If anything, your story makes me more aware of how, as an author, I should present myself now or in the future. Lots of times, sometimes in reading an interview, I also want MORE from an author. I want to know HOW something is done, not the fluff of their life experiences that leave me saying, "that's nice," but how do you...?
I *try* to follow the old adage of "If you don't have anything nice to say" IF I'm on the web. After all, you don't know who you're talking to...and there is a permanence, more so, than if you're just talking at a dinner table about a Nicholas Sparks book.
Okay, I do trash Nicky-poo quite a bit. I wouldn't if he weren't a male Danielle Steele. (Seriously can he not write a romance novel without killing a main character? No? I didn't think so.)
I'm sure he's a lovely person. He just can't tell stories. (I don't care if he's sold more books than I ever, ever will in 10 lifetimes...it doesn't matter.)
And there is the other notorious rant I do about a certain gypsy and a certain American heroine with a flower name--but I won't mention it here. I'm over it.
(If you think my pot shots here are bad, you should ask me my opinion in real life. But I live in BFE land--it's not like I live in an area where these authors live or would visit. And I haven't been unlucky enough to be sitting next to one of their cousins.)
If someone asks me what I think of an author, and I don't like the author, I usually look like I've swallowed ground up aspirin without water. And I do a lot of "Umm"ing--because they usually look lit up like they can't wait to tell me about how great the book is. I usually try to wiggle out of it, with something lame like, "The books don't appeal to me personally." Unless I'm talking to Sin and she's raving about some vampires, and I'll be like, "Whatever. That sounds lame. Now...you should read about a boy wizard, that's cool."
LOL. She says that until I say something like, "Boy wizards are dumb." Well, that's not exactly what I say, but I'm not very PC in real life.
I rant a lot. But like Hellie, I live in BFE, the likely hood of me standing next to anyone who might know an author is slim to none. And I've never ever shied away from expressing my personal opinion about anything. I'm far too blunt to hold back.
I agree with Melissa. If the person you talked to were already a fan, it's highly unlikely that your rant changed her mind.
I've posted a few comments on the EJ/JQ board that I regret because I did mention names. One was about an author I thought had jumped the shark--and with her next book, she proved me wrong. I try to be more careful these days except when I'm posting to a closed loop of people I know and trust. Then, anything goes. :)
*LOL* I know, we live where we're lucky if the person next to us reads, let alone knows the author we're talking about.
The guy I'm dating assures me he reads, but I don't really believe him.
Chance - eek! And of course, with the way people swirl around at conferences, that's totally possible. Or they're in a bathroom stall and you don't see them....there's a thousand scenarios where that could happen *g*
And you're right - thank god it wasn't in print!
Q - opps! At least he wasn't one of your examiners. Can you imagine how much more nervous you would have been then? LOL! And good for your supervisor for finding a position in the States. I had no idea how much political BS went into University selection committees until I sat on a few. Half the time, actual qualifications aren't discussed, which is really a horrible shame.
Matty reads too. Magazines. With pictures. You'd never know he was an English major. Seriously.
Magazines with pictures *g* Rob's the same way. He thinks all those NFL Today and Playboy magazines are literary *g*
LOL Maggie - you're right, it would be boring if we were always nice *g*. It does make things seem worse when they're in print than said, doesn't it? But I think there's a difference between being honest and tactful about books you don't like, and just bashing for the sake of bashing. And I know you don't do the later *g*
Melissa - yeah, it wasn't just me who was annoyed with this author. During breaks in the class, we were plotting ways to get her back on track. Too bad they didn't work *g*. And then some of the students took it up with the Director of the program. But you pegged it - we wanted meaty, craft information, and she gave us fluff.
And I hope you're right, that this wouldn't stop someone from reading. Good point *g*
Hal, duh *eyeroll*, you didn't know? They read Playboy for the articles. Obviously.
Oh yeah. The articles. Uh huh. *g* That's why they're so handy in the bathroom. The "articles"
hahahahahahaha
Hellie - "I usually look like I’ve swallowed ground up aspirin without water."
Eww *g*. We all have those people we rant about. And I feel way less bad doing it about someone like Nicky-poo and Danielle Steele who is so high up the best-seller list they'll never be knocked down no matter what's said about them. And I do my fair share of ranting about a certain Cuban who refuses to admit his love for a certain bounty-hunter. Actually my ranting is more about the monkeys named Carl than anything else, but....
My ranting is more about an asshole with an attitude problem than the Rangeman who refuses to admit what type of love he has for the bounty hunter.
The monkey flinging poo is just the cherry on top of the crap sundae.
Do NOT start me on the monkeys. I cannot believe the way that series has gone. It's less about the author and more about the integrity of the damned story.
Thanks Janga! I hope so too.
Closed loops are good for that. You know who you're talking to, and no one else will see it. Kind of like Hellie and Sin knowing no one around them in BFE reads :)
The monkey flinging poo is just the cherry on top of the crap sundae.
That might be the funniest thing I've heard all day.
Yes, but Hellie, she controls the integrity of the series. Unless, of course, the rumors about a ghost writer are true. And I'm starting to hope they are. I saw her at the RWA book signing, and her daughter was seriously helping her walk. How is she still writing? (but perhaps this is where the poo flinging comes back into play...)
*dodges flying poo*
Wow, and it's not even lunch time yet.
I don't *think* I've ever done this. I learned early to be careful at writing functions. I'm legendary for saying the wrong thing without thinking first so I've spent most of my adult years working on this. Years on the radio always aware of what NOT to say probably helped.
At Nationals this year, an author I know was trying to convince someone to buy her book and looked over to me for back up. "You've read the book, tell her how good it is."
Yeah, I haven't read the book, but I couldn't exactly pick that moment to confess it. I think I pulled off some vague comment that sounded positive without detail or outright lying. But it was a close call.
One of the first things anyone tells you before attending your first conference is to NEVER say anything bad about anyone unless you are in your own room and then only if you know the people you're with VERY well. LOL!
Ter - "I’m legendary for saying the wrong thing without thinking first so I’ve spent most of my adult years working on this." You're one up on the rest of us, or at least one me. But I can see how thousands of listeners on the radio would break you of this habit very quickly!
Conferences, Nationals especially is where this can turn into a big problem fast. You never know who's standing behind you in an elevator.
And nice duck with that author. Geez, what a position to put you in. Hopefully you helped her sell a book, even if you hadn't read it.
Don't we 'ave enough monkeys on this ship? Let alone, we don't need ta invite shit flingin' monkeys on board...
Sigh.
I'll go get me pitchfork and feed 'em ta the Kraken...
Hel, Sin...I think the massive sellers know they are goin' ta get bashed. And I 'ope, by the time they be there, they developed thick skin and a whatever attitude.
No one is gonna like everyone. Else there'd only be one book at the bookstore!
Q - This ain't in print. It don't count. No names...
Hal - Yeah, the bathroom stall...that be me. Because I don't filter meself when I'm pissed 'bout somethin'...
Chance is on pitchfork duty to clean up the monkey's poo. Wow, now that's a pirate willing to help out. The rest of us are just stepping over it and drinking more rum :)
I agree Chance. By the time you're a household name, you have to have gotten a thick enough skin to deal with it. There's no avoiding the criticism then. I think that's why I felt so guilty in this case - this is a new author who is just starting to build a base and get some attention, and she's doing a really good job. But she's not a best seller yet - she doesn't have fans to lose.
Hal - If'n she be a new author...anybody gonna talk ta the dean, gently, 'bout how her lectures need ta speak ta the topic?
It be excitin' fer her and all. And ya wants ta be excited fer her...
Be a lesson it be better fer her ta learn now, than later.
I haven't said anything about an author (in public).
I was at a conference last fall and walked into the bathroom to hear a woman laughing. As she walked over to wash her hands she looked at me and asked if I was the one who said that she wrote erotica. It was Mary Jo Putney! I was so star-struck I could only shake my head. At least she had a sense of humor about it.
Di
Hal - That author had a broken foot at Nationals and was wearing a boot. But after her morning speech to open the festivities, she stood for more than an hour getting her picture taken with every last person who stood in line for her. She didn't even sit on a stool, she stood the entire time.
Gotta give her points for that.
Thing 'bout a pitchfork? It work ta fling anything...anywhere. ;)
Monkey's ta the Kraken...poo ready fer disagreements...
uh oh. No body piss off Chance. She's got the poo :)
Di - wow! At least she had a sense of humor about it. And I would have been star struck too. How fun!
Ter - that's impressive. Really impressive. See, that's the kind of classy things authors do to keep fans. I hope I can be that classy one day :)
Count on Terrio to have the real scoop on what was goin' on!
chance - oh yes, it was brought up. She writes fantasy, and I've heard she does much better in the fantasy-specific courses. This was just a general craft class. It's taken me a while to get a handle on which professors to avoid, and which to take classes from. It's like that in any program, I'm sure.
Hal - Mayhaps she'll do better next general lecture... One can only hope!
This reminds me of some conference workshops I've attended. I hate when the name of the workshop is basically false advertising. I attended one in 2008 that was promoted as the answer to how to show and not tell.
The author SAT the entire time and read excerpts from books, some from her own, some from others. Like I couldn't do this on my own?!
I can't even remember who it was and I don't think I'd heard of her much before then. If I remember correctly, Santa and I looked at each other and without a word, we walked out halfway through. LOL!
Ter - that's exactly why I was upset about this one. I signed up because I wanted to learn what was advertised, and I didn't.
And yeah, just reading excerpts doesn't really help. I've had professors hand out excerpts, and then we'll all sit and look carefully at it, discuss, analyze what works and why, but it doesn't sound at all like what this author was doing *g*
Sigh. I'm not likely ta be flingin' shit at anyone taday. I'm home and lovin' bein' home again. It even rained last night! Good omen!
One thing I do like 'bout conferences, ya get one that aint' quite on the up and up wit' the topic, ya slide out the door. Hard ta do that wit' a school lecture!
Doing something well is not enough to turn someone into a good teacher. It sounds to me as if this writer just didn't know much about teaching.
Terri, do you not see the irony that you're mad at a woman who passed out handouts to SHOW you how to show and not tell--when what you wanted was her to TELL you how to do it?
Hel - Wait...what? Let me read that again...
Hee, hee. ;)
Janga - good point. As someone who has spent the last two years trying desperately to learn how to teach, I can absolutely relate. It's a whole different skill set.
Hellie - LMAO!
Chance - yeah, that'd be nice to be able to sneak out. Can't so much do that during a required class :) What you can do is sit and plot or write instead (bad, coxswain, bad) *g*
It is ironic, but still TRUE. If you sell me a bushel of apples, don't hand me a bag of grapes.
I've always believed being able to do something well does not mean you can teach others the same skill. Which is one of the major reasons I'm not a teacher. The other being my aversion to spending all day with children. :)
I don't think "showing" you good examples of "show and not tell" is the worst way to teach the concept. Much of learning how to be a good writer is recognizing it when you're reading it.
But I do agree: just because you know the concept doesn't mean you can teach jack squat.
Hellie, at school, they're always harping to "read like a writer." Seeing what works and why is half the battle to figuring out how to do it in your own writing, I think.
Sigh. read like a writer ... does that make it hard ta just enjoy the story? I have a friend who reads wit' a hi-lighter in her hand... Absolutely takes books apart as she reads. I just can't do that. I get lost in the story...hopefully.
Though me hi-lighter friend read three chapters fer me of me pirate story and said she forgot ta hi-light. A good sign!
Yup, jus' because ya can do don't mean ya can teach. OMG, how precious is a good teacher!? I took classes when workin' toward me AA from certain teachers that weren't requied jus' because I wanted ta keep learnin' from this teacher or that teacher. I have a handful that were just wonderful!
Monkeys and poo, eh? They must be undead monkeys...
Always watch what you say. Ye never knows what type of ears are latched to yer peep hole. That is unless you use the cone of silence. Then, all bets are off, matey. :)
Isn't there an old saying that applies to all subjects, going something like 'those who can do while those who can't teach'
I know from experience that the brilliant Nobel prize winning scientist can be a godawfull teacher. Nevertheless, given a choice I would want to sit through an hour of that dreadful teaching, abandoning any attempt at making notes, and just listen to the great man, hoping that something would rub off onto me, and trying to figure how the guy thinks. I can read the text books without help!
Also a note on the CV saying that you studied with the great man can do wonders for job prospects! :lol:
Don't you dare point that pitchfork in my direction Chance! *grin*
The cone of silence. That's what I forgot! LOL! Kathy, did you see Get Smart where Steve Carell hadn't turned on the cone yet? LOL!
Chance - it does make it very hard to read to enjoy the story, which is such a shame. But I find that the really good books can still draw me in. And good for you on drawing your hi-lighter friend into yours! Nicely done!
Yer a sneaky physicist... Aye, puttin' on the resume that ya studied with the great man can carry some influence. Course! Why I always speak a' the people I took courses from, whether I learned much or not.
Marketing be an evil game...
Ahoy, Hal. Indeed, I did. Love the scene where the cone of silence descends and no one can hear anything at all and the one character has to be saved from going insane. Steve Carell is so funny. :)
When I want to be taught, I want to be taught. Woe to the teacher who cannot engage his class....
Why is the nobel prize winners are the driest people? LOL! I run a lecture series where we bring in Nobel Peace prize winners. Not the same as winning the prize for chemistry, obviously, but still cool. Of course, peace prize winners are usually politicians, so they're pretty charismatic. The former Pres. of South Africa held me spellbound for an hour an a half. Big feat as I have the attention span of a two-year-old!
Kathy - "Woe to the teacher who cannot engage his class". You're not kidding. I realized Friday that I apparently have half of our University football team in one of my classes (I caught on when none of them showed up due to an away game - lol). They all stare at me with a glazed look the whole time. No engagement. It's a hideously boring hour. The class after it - I can't get them to shut up. The hour flies by. *shrug* What can you do?
By the way Q - you don't happen to know some of the popular names for boys born in Britain in the 1960's/1970's do you? I need a character name for the hero of my next book (he's a British cop, early 40's), but I'm not finding good British name data that old.
Maybe reading as a writer will help me. :) Speaking of school, I had a bit of a reality check today. I visited with an advisor at a university where I am preparing to register next semester. This is the same university I last attended 22 years ago. (I can hear my son asking if we had computers then...um, barely! lol) Anyway, after obtaining my transcript from the one year and a half that I attended fresh out of high school I am rather stunned to accept what an AWFUL student I was. I obviously had no idea what the heck I was doing there and no stay power for the slightest thing. I mean, how or why exactly does one (me!) withdraw from a canoeing class? Now 22 years later as a parent, I'm sitting in the parking lot, reading this piece of paper on my failure and YELLING at my child self: It's canoeing for pete's sake! Just stay in the boat! lol
So my rant at an author is only at myself. lol Geez. I hope I've changed. At least I finished a book. :)
It’s canoeing for pete’s sake! Just stay in the boat!
I just spit diet coke at my monitor. LMAO!!! At least you know you'll be much more motivated and successful this time through! And good luck :)
Maybe it were a real big canoe and there was a sadistic coach... And the guy you enrolled in the class to flirt with dropped it, too. Or fell in love with another girl who sat in front of you. So instead of whapping her over the head, starting your college life out with a murder conviction hanging over you...you dropped the class.
You just never know!
Since I've only done the business/trade school thing, I envy people who can take classes like bowling and ballroom dancing and canoeing and get credit. LOL!
You can't hold your 18 year old self against your now self. We'd all be crazy and never get out of bed if we did that. LOL!
Thanks Hal, Terri, and Chance.
Yes, the sad part is I haven't a memory of taking the class much less why I withdrew. LOL Yeah, Chance, that must have been it. I'm cracking up more about my possible homophobia (is that word for fear I was a lesbian? LOL!!!!)
Oh, I read that wrong...you meant the guy in front fell in love with the girl in front of me...that's different then. LOL!!!! And now I'm embarassed. lol
Well, it coulda been the other way... No one would hold it 'gainst ya here... ;)
lol Melissa. Don't be. I could see how you'd go there :)
I knew I'd find a way to get back to the foot in mouth topic. Sigh. :)
Was me writin' that convoluted?
However, as in all things, I always think "there's a story in there somewhere." lol
there's definitely a story in there. Oh yeah. LOL.
I don't think there be much college educatin' goin' on in prison...
read like a writer … does that make it hard ta just enjoy the story?
Only if it's a poorly written story. Unfortunately it's a lot easier to read and discern what is WRONG with a story than to read a story and discern was is right about it. Anything that jogs you out of the story makes you go, "Why is this story bad?" and you pick at it and figure it out. (That is, if you don't dismiss it as "Author was smoking crack" or "Author just wrote a bad one this time". If you think about it, you can go, "This would have made it better.")
I don't find it a problem--except I'm finding fewer and fewer "quality" romances, in my opinion. (I'm waiting for Terri to call me a Nazi again.)
Before anyone starts a revolt that this is PLEASURE reading, et al--at one time Charles Dickens was considered pleasure reading, and the fact that his stories are broken out to show what makes good writing, etc, isn't any different than doing it to a Lisa Kleypas book or Eloisa James. It just means you would rather write a book more like the latter than the former. If you write long enough, I think this is simply something you start doing. I think this is why a lot of authors don't read as much--because they don't have time and also, it's not as enjoyable because they're finding fewer books that meet their "writerly" standards.
Movies are another leisure activity for me, but I pick those puppies apart before the credits start rolling. All in all, I'm not as critical as say Stephen King or Steven Spielberg when it comes to books or movies--but I still think being cognizant of what I'm reading and watching is a good thing, a necessary thing.
See, Hellie, my experience is completely different from yours. I am more selective about what I do read than I once was; I have more DNFs. But most of the books I do read are A or B reads for me. I go back and reread sections to figure out how a writer created a particular scene or constructed a character. I'm awed by the talent.
A lot of interesting thoughts there, Hellie. I wonder, is it possible to turn off the inner critic? I think eventually, even if we have that awareness wired into our subconcience, that it is. Maybe we all become "teachers" in a way. Not so much that we don't see the mistakes, but, like a good teacher, we become more forgiving of the mistakes. I'm not prepared to accept that a permanent loss of the joy of reading is our fate.
Maybe, like a teacher, it's like a split second of ah ha!, that was wrong, but, (split second later) the story is good and that's okay that it was "wrong." The forgiveness and maybe even a touch of respect that even wrong, the author's voice and charm came through. Or, (more forgiveness) the awareness of what's "wrong" is a satisfying way to justify breaking the so-called rules.
You're right though. It IS so much easier to pick out what is WRONG, especially in reading for pleasure. Often, the only time I look for what's right is when I'm specifically doing research, such as figuring out the love scene. :)
Hal, try these sites. They're really pirat-a-licious. Arrrr!!! ;)
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/
http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm
I find, if the story captures me, I tend ta be very forgivin' a the things that jar fer me. With a well written story? I want to acost strangers on the street and read sections to them...it's easy to know when somethin' was right. Not always so easy to know why it is right.
I always thing, I'll go back and figure out why this works...but I want to finish this first. and I never go back.
I don't tend ta be selective, but I agree with Janga...if it really doesn't work...it goes on the DNF pile.
I've gotten more selective as well, though I find that the really good books can make me turn off the inner critic. I can' forgive just about anything if I'm sucked into the story.
Well, Janga, if I'm honest, the books that don't engage me, don't get read...and thereby are only critiqued in the sense of "Why am I putting this book down?" It's usually I feel the characterization isn't deeply drawn enough--I don't like shallow POV, and I'm esp annoyed by shallow POV that was careful not to headhop. I mean, look, they know not to headhop, but I'm still bored--WHY? It's a show vs tell thing more than likely.
I'm a persickety reader.
You're a more positive reader, I think. Maybe I read like an editor: looking for a reason to reject it. *LOL*
Clearly I'm on the slow bus today (and every day). I just realized "DNF" meant do not finish. *eye roll*
My father-in-law used to drive a short bus for the school where he taught. He drove it home each night and left it parked at their house. It made for a lot of short-bus jokes. And some short-bus joy rides :)
Kathy - thanks for the links! Those are good ones. Unfortunately they're based on the US Census, and I'm looking for lists based on the UK's office of statistics. I realize the names aren't *that* different, but I have to make things complicated on myself *g*
Hal,
I feel you had a reasonable gripe with the author. You spoke your opinion, and we all are entitled to one. ( Mine is, Ranger deserves more!)It's disappointing to look forward to a learning experience and find it falls way short of our expectations. Been there done that, most recently in a writer's conference I attended in the spring. It was half- ass organized, and a waste of a Saturday I can never get back. I agree with some other comments. I seriously doubt you cost the author a reader. Hellie dislikes Nicholas Sparks, I know this and respect her opinion, but I still LOVE his writing:)
Thanks Lisa. Ranger is definitely entitled to more. And I did feel like I had a legitimate gripe. I agree we all have a right to an opinion. I just felt like it was uncool of me to turn a question about her books unto a personal gripe session. *g*. But yeah, it was a matter of unmet expectations. I'll admit, I haven't read Nicholas Spark's since I started writing, so I don't know if my opinion would be different now, but he has books I've just adored.
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