Someone really hates me...

[mdperera]

I've always believed that when you put a book or story out on the marketplace, you'd better be prepared for any kinds of reviews. That's the nature of the business, and reviewers shouldn't be under any obligation to cushion the blow to spare the author's feelings if they didn't enjoy the story.

That being said, I just got a really virulent review

Comments

[peacewish]

I know this woman. I run across her often. She's the woman that threw away Jurassic Park because it was sexist (a character mentioned Ellie looked good in shorts; Ellie later outwitted several velociraptors and saved lives). She's the woman that throws a hissy fit because you use him/his for an abstract pronoun, instead of them/their or him-or-her and his-or-hers. She's the woman that accuses you of being a sell-out for men if you suggest affirmative action isn't doing women any favors, and spits at your feet if you confess your ultimate goal in life is to marry and raise children. I have met, studied with, and worked for this woman. This woman is miserablePay no attention! You know your story is not what she saw, through her little feminist spectacles. In what universe does a woman who does battle with her former rapist on top of a tower rooftop qualify as helpless heroine who 'takes people's constant crap'? My only concern is that, unlike you garden-variety fanfic review, something like this could actually depress sales.

[mdperera]

Thanks so much, that made me feel better. :) I can usually shrug off negative reviews, but today was kind of rough and this made it worse.

But here's something... interesting... for lack of a better word. The review is on this website, which shows the reader's full name. Someone with the same name reviews books for All About Romance, and in one of her reviews there, she says, "Two of my many passions are standing up for romance novels and also being a feminist." Her ratings/reviews for novels are the same on both sites, so it's probably the same person

[peacewish]

Argh, can you believe it? The site only gives you the option to 'like' a review, and not the reverse! I guess it's trying to avoid controversy, but it's a bit frustrating that I can't express my opinion on her uninformed opinion. There is an option to comment on her review, I think, but only open to members of the site. I didn't look much further into it, since I doubt you want me to start some kind of flame war (I've played that game; next thing you know she'll be complaining that you sicced your friends on her). I'm not at all happy with what she said or her stupid china doll icon, but rest assured that she wasn't right and your plot is nothing to be ashamed of.

[mdperera]

Yes, the best thing to do with that kind of review is to ignore it (in public, anyway), rather than giving it any kind of response. Hopefully the accurate reviews on that site should present potential readers with another side of the issue.

Thanks again for your support. :)

[anon_decepticon]

Wouldn't you know it? For the first time in I-don't-know-how-long I decide NOT to log on to my computer after work, and I end up leaving one of my friends hanging when they need some support. *grumblegrumble*

I still haven't gotten around to reading BtS, but based on our chats and your fanfic, I highly doubt it's either sexist OR misogynistic. To be honest, this reviewer sounds exactly like the sort of pop-culture psuedo-feminist who screams "sexism" any time a female character is portrayed as anything less than perfect 24/7 - the same sort of "feminist" who thinks the Spice Girls and/or Sarah Palin are "strong feminist role models." Speaking as someone who actually minored in women's studies and gender psychology, I want to fucking SLAP these people. As peacewish's comment amply demonstrates, they're the reason so many people hate feminism.

On a happier note, it appears most of your reviewers have more brains than this twit - these two in particular clearly contradict her claims:
I like her character. She's strong even though she's been

[mdperera]

Don't worry, just writing about it helped too. :)

And yes, you know what my female characters are like. They're tough and competent, but within the context of their culture, religion or biology (Geri is never going to kick anyone's ass, because she's blind and doesn't have any superpowers to make up for that, but she thinks fast and isn't intimidated by a Decepticon). Especially in speculative and historical fiction, feminism needs to be balanced with a healthy dose of realism.

Feeling better again. And thanks for your feedback - it helped a lot!

[anonymous]

Let's assume for the sake of argument that we don't live in a perfect culture. The culture we live in still has a lot of messed up ideas, for example, about gender. There certainly has been a lot of progress, but there could also still be a lot of toxic ideas about women

[shanfiction73]

I found the first chapter that you linked to very interesting. I thought it was well written, and the plot made sense to me and all the actions the characters took worked when I looked at it from the perspective of a society where women have a few uses (politics/power through marriage, sex, kids) and not much else (aka Victorian England). Until I read the rest of it, I won't be able to vouch for the fact that your heroine (as well as any other woman who shows up in the book) is not a pushover, but based on your online writings, I doubt it.

If it makes you feel better, the review and the generated discussion here caused me to go buy an e-copy to read. Probably not what the reviewer intended.

[shanfiction73]

just finished reading it. No idea what the reviewer was on about, since it was pretty clear to me that all of your female lead characters were tough, capable and independent (even if it took them some time to develop the courage to become those people). Congrats on publishing, and even better, it was something I enjoyed reading and will recommend to friends. :)

[mdperera]

You're a fast reader. :) I'm so pleased that you enjoyed Before the Storm. Thanks again for your positive feedback and for giving the book a try.

[mdperera]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked the first chapter, and as you said, that probably wasn't what the reviewer intended. Which is all the better. :D

And yes, in such a society women didn't have a lot of power, though the female characters in Before the Storm make the best of what they've got. It's not the case for all of Eden, though. The sequel is set in Mayerd's homeland of Iternum, where people think discrimination on the basis of gender is a ridiculous foreign custom.

That's part of what I love about speculative fiction - describing very different societies and perspectives. If the price paid for that is ticking off any readers who believe that fiction should always show women as equals to (or better than) the men, so be it.