Hold up - stop the presses - Devyn has gone mad nuts. She is talking about herself in third person...because her double life makes her crazy. Many of you might not know that I am not really Devyn. It's my pen name - my real name is Stefanie. A part of me wishes I hadn't changed my name, and the other part likes the separation between the two lives. My mom, boring person life and my sit at a computer all day and write life. Stefanie is sassy and has a dry sense of humor...Devyn is more reserved and careful about the perception people have of her. It is those days that the Stefanie side takes over when Devyn should be in control. Now here it is...
I had a not so good review in the last few weeks - one that struck Stefanie the wrong way. Devyn warned Stefanie not to react, but Stefanie can be persuasive. I did the Cardinal SIN of replying to the bad review. In my defense I'll explain... the person wrote an ENTIRE PAGE about how she hated The Legacy of Kilkenny - she added a video clip to demonstrate how she hated my book. Here's the deal people - in my real life - things are crazy. My father has cancer and it has spread throughout his body - I am 1500 miles away from my kids and home and stressed out trying to make my writer life successful. I know... excuses. I'd had enough of it all on that day. Usually I can laugh it off. For every bad review are 3 good - and everyone has bad reviews. The reviewer dissed my book and then said she was contemplating reading the next book. WHAT? Why would she if she hated it so much? I wouldn't. My reply was.... I thought she was rude by going to such extents of hating on my book. I also told her that the second book would not be what she wants either. (I've since removed it) That was it. Her reply was, she agreed that we have two different views on reviews and she will never read another book by me. The domino effect slapped me over and over again. Another reviewer from the same group decided to go on a rampage against me and tell everyone how unprofessional I was for replying and how she will never read a book by me. She then wrote a review telling people how I suck...although she didn't read the book. Now I'm hated. They don't know me, the real me, the one that isn't a horrible person. Why doesn't anyone see that the reviewer was mean and spiteful to me? Why do reviewers get the chose of freedom of speech and can bash me but I can't reply in defense. I didn't tell the reviewer that it was right or wrong, I said it was rude.
TO ALL REVIEWERS - Do you have any idea what it's like to bare your soul to the world, hoping, praying for that person to like what you've done? I appreciate constructive critiques and I try to fix the problem in my writing. Complaints about no love triangle is dumb - not every book has one. That isn't a critique, that is a complaint. So you don't like that my of age teenager had sex while in a loving relationship. Do you live in cotton candy land? Teens have sex, I didn't write graphic anything. I tried to put into a girls mind that you can expect manners from a man. Complaining that the characters aren't real... well, I feel that a werewolf isn't real and has different rules. That is why I picked supernatural...because it is imaginary. I'm sure I should keep my mouth shut, but this is my blog and I wanted to vent. Please accept my deep felt apology. I didn't mean to defend myself. I had a bad day. I'm sorry that you want to ruin my writing career. I'm sorry that you were probably picked on as a kid and your way of making up for it, you go to hurt me. You did.
Love or hate me, Malevolence is a book I'm proud of, with a great story. It is now available in paperback and you can enter to win it on Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/21080-malevolence
Good luck!
Last but not least .... Myself and three other paranormal authors will be having a book signing on 2/28/12 at Full Circle Bookstore - 50 Penn Place in Oklahoma City, OK 6:30 - 8:30
Authors are -
Quinn Loftis
Jaz Primo
Janice Grove
Devyn Dawson
I hope you have a chance to come out and meet us!
I am a book blogger over @ Read Between The Lines and I love this post. I know about the freedom of speech but there is a way to make a statement or leave a review with out being hateful. I feel you had the right to stand up for yourself. I totally agree a love triangle or lack of one is not a critic it is a complaint. Just to let you know I love the covers for both of your books and I only wished I would have had the chance to get review copies and give an honest review without the rude comments. My Blog is Read Between The Lines http://amdase.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you Anna. I felt apprehensive about posting this subject but I wanted to humanize a writer. I think we all get lost in what really matters. Was the book good for what the subject matter is? My story would suck for a person that reads Amish fiction. Would we recommend it to others that read that genre? I like both sides to a review. I'll check out your site. Thank you for commenting.
ReplyDeleteHey, Devyn, I just wanted to give you some hugs.
ReplyDeleteHi Stefanie/Devyn. Sorry to hear about your dad and your bad experience with a reviewer who has too much time on her hands. Can't believe she actually put a video together. It's like she's trying to make a name for herself in a shock-jock sort of way. Be flattered that she felt you were popular enough to get her some exposure with her nonsense.
ReplyDeleteYou know I write reviews (cause I reviewed your first book, of course), but I'm a writer, too, and know it isn't easy to put your work out there for the whole world to see. I try my best to be fair and positive about each book I read and unless there is something glaringly wrong, (ie. chapters are missing or a main character suddenly disappeared from the story for no reason), I don't feel the need to mention it, because each reader has their own taste.
I don't know what I would have done in your shoes, so I won't play armchair quarterback. Everyone tells me you need to have a thick skin to be a writer, but some people just seem to enjoy digging as deep as they can to get a reaction.
I and many of your other fans consider you a great writer. Like you said, for every negative review there are three positive ones and there are many more people out there that don't have the time to speak up, but do enjoy your books. So stay confident, keep writing and hang in there!
Thank you Janice and Frank.
ReplyDelete