**Before I address a specific comment left on yesterday’s post, I need to correct something. Mr. Vander Ark is not, himself, being sued by Warner Brothers and Ms. Rowling. His agreement with RDR exempted him from any retaliatory action by outside individuals. He merely testified as a witness along with individuals in the publishing industry and scholars.
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Dear Ms. Rice,
First, please forgive me for reserving a fraction of doubt as to your identity(And if, indeed, I am mistaken–my apologies for bringing your name into this). Though the tools of website owners are able to investigate those choosing to leave comments on their sites, and though every bit of sleuthing I have done indicates that it was, indeed, you who posted a comment yesterday, I still have a bit of difficulty believing that you would find your way to my relatively obscure personal site and choose to leave a comment based on my criticism of another author—particularly when I posted an article about your comments to Time about possibly writing one more Vampire Chronicles novel, which garnered no response from you whatever. Through “vanity searches,” I could understand you finding and commenting on that, but this post? Incidentally, it saddened me greatly to read that you have decided to shelve that project. But I respect your personal choices, your views, your faith, and your decisions based on your own work. It doesn’t mean I can’t feel badly about it, though.
Believe it or not, that has some direct relevance to this exchange. If you haven’t encountered the article, I’d ask you to go read through it and see that I don’t single out authors, celebrities, friends, or strangers for criticism without doing my research, and without good reason. I didn’t attack you viciously even though I had doubts and concerns about the work you were going to add to your already established canon. You didn’t behave in a way in a public venue (or in a closed venue covered globally by the media) that would incite disgust or disappointment. In fact, I didn’t viciously attack J.K. Rowling, either.
You were right, however, when you said that there was an unkind tone to my post. To that I offer no apologies, and I’ll tell you why.
First, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t lump me in with every other person who writes letters publicly. There are, in fact, a great many more “letters” or posts available for your descriptions of “unkind” and “vicious” that are significantly more crass, profane, and attacking than mine was. I take great care in saying what it is I mean, and meaning what I say. I should hope it comes as no surprise to you, or other authors and celebrities, that not every consumer is blinded by the media. Yes, there have been many articles written describing this trial as well as the behavior of those involved. The problem is that somehow this kind of reporting has ceased to encourage accountability in those being reported on. Sadly, the memory of many people today seems to be that of a goldfish, and while an author, professional sports player, or politician can act deplorably, or in a transparently manipulative way on one day, if no one in the media calls them out and addresses these behaviors, then they disappear from memory as if they never happened. That I hold authors to a higher standard than athletes or politicians may not be correct, but to me it’s realistic. I have a great respect for authors, though not all are to be held to ideal standards. Politicians get where they are by pandering to whomever they are in front of and talking out of both sides of their mouths. I don’t expect much at all from professional athletes, and from my encounters with those I’ve met, I don’t foresee that changing. These two groups get free passes for no good reason at all—though, certainly not by me.
But as you pointed out, Authors are human beings with feelings too. And that, Ms. Rice, is exactly the point. I said nothing in my post that I would not, given the opportunity to do so, say to Ms. Rowling. She is welcome to respond to that post on her own account. I’m not a monster, and I certainly don’t think that the opinion or words of someone you’ve never met should make all that much difference to you, or her, for that matter. Do I think you read the blog posts on personal websites about you? No. I don’t, actually. You, Ms. Rowling, Mr. Gaiman, and Mr. King, I’m sure receive overwhelming amounts of fan mail daily—why would I think you would scour the Internet for posts about you by people whose only impact on your life is whether or not we purchase your next book? Is it because authors aren’t used to receiving mail that is critical of them? Have you all been so entrenched in praise and admiration of the public that you can’t stand when someone who, in the greater scheme of your lives, is no body, is unvarnishedly critical?
I don’t play the sycophant well.
If “celebrities” want to be treated with courtesy and manners, they should do their audiences the service of not pretending they are blind, or stupid. “Celebrities,” through their own volition or not, are thrust into public view and that process generates a connection that can be very visceral for fans. Because of this, many fans are more apt to play the yes-man and rush to the defense of their idol than hold them accountable for their transparent actions. They want to believe the best of their heroes. But those heroes are human, too, and fall victim to human vices just as easily as anyone else. Their (your) lives are under microscopes, and I would be dumbfounded to think that your appearances in public, interviews, and behavior isn’t calculated to some great extent. I’ve treated J.K. Rowling as I would any one of my friends or family members—holding her to high standards—and were I among her trusted friends, I would most certainly have told her exactly the things that I stated here, as well as “You know what this looks like, right?” or “You aren’t seriously going to try and use that argument in court, are you?” because “You know what they’ll say if you do, right?” Apparently, no one gave Ms. Rowling that kind of friendly advice.
On a more personal note, I’d like to say that your attempt at sweeping in to chastise me as though I were some addle brained fan who should take your word and personal criticism as gospel, disappointed me more than Ms. Rowling’s behavior. Your success and accomplishments are certainly laudable, and I have been a fan of yours from the minute I picked up The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned in 1991. I went back and reread the Vampire Chronicles (and have done so a number of time since). I’ve waited outside of bookstores to get your newest releases the day they came out. I could have waited until they were in paperback, but when I value some one’s work, I have no problem paying for a hardback. It’s worth it to me. You were one of the authors who inspired my own writing. That being said, though, it does not give you the right to presume to dictate my behavior and manner of expressing my opinions on my personal, opinionated, website.
I would be happy to discuss this further with you either here or via email. If not, I wish you the best of luck with the remaining two books in your current series. I still look forward to reading them.
Write well,
Dawn
