I've been seeing this a lot lately - people are once again really struggling to separate the art from the artist, especially in horror. This has proved exceptionally dangerous for me, especially since moving to Liverpool. When I get a chance, I will put this more eloquently but due to the nature of how dangerous this belief is, here's the quick ranty version.
I put a warning in my books (the self published ones, at least):
Warning: I am never in the mood for sexual harassment or an armchair diagnosis.
And lately I've been a bit more elaborate. Here's the one from The Dog Dies at the End: Seriously, I made this shit up. It is not real. I really shouldn’t have to explain that to adults but there’s always at least one idiot who fails to separate fiction from reality. And, yes the dogs die in both stories and some cats and raccoons. You won’t be attached to any of them.
There was an incident in 2018 that led to these warnings and warnings related to avoiding Liverpool. And sometimes when I'm promoting my books on social media, I include them too. Just because of how dangerous people that think that an author is what they write are.
Firstly, the people that can't separate fiction and reality are fucking unhinged. The scary thing is that some of these people are teachers and social workers, sometimes police officers. So people that really need to not be unhinged to do their jobs proficiently.
Secondly, the wannabes that are writing their fantasies, whether sexual or violent, are just that - fucking wannabes. Loser edgelords, basically. There aren't many of them because the community of authors root them out. They get blacklisted. I'm not joking. Maybe they exist in little pockets of isolation (Liverpool, anyone?), but for the most part, they're blacklisted.
The authors that "make it" no matter how fucked up the shit they write is, are pleasant people who are nice to be around. They certainly are not doing the things described in their books. They may not be my besties, but that's because they usually aren't into knitting and watching 13 Going on 30 or Enchanted and feeding pigeons and I still don't have enough money or energy for much of a social life.
Thirdly, a lot of fiction isn't even fucking realistic. Let's take one of my books for example. Ketamine Addicted Pandas - ket isn't even strong enough for a panda and do I need to say more, the characters are fucking pandas that escaped from the goddamn zoo. Nor do pandas reproduce in those levels. What the hell is wrong with you people? I wear pink and sleep with my fucking teddy bears and feed pigeons and listen to synthpop. Jeez! Who I am in person is very different to the books I write. I even surprised the checkout worker in ASDA when I mentioned that I write (I was reading a book of the shoulder of the person in the queue in front of me). She asked what I write and when I replied horror and some erotica, she didn't believe me. Because I'm cute and was wearing a dusty pink coat.
Seriously, the creatives aren't the problem. It is the people going around saying that authors that write certain things are writing from life that are the problem. Apart from being unhinged, they create situations in which women creatives are dealing with personal problems because too many people are listening to the unhinged idiots and wannabe edgelords. I've personally been grabbed and worse because apparently "you write it, so you must want it". I had an ex go and spread a bunch of made up rumours about me because he was upset that I wasn't living the life described in my books. He was reading too much into them. And guess what, I no longer date because he wasn't the first man to do that. Even if I had the time for dating, I wouldn't. Because people read too much into things.
When one of these unhinged idiots can't separate reality and fiction people approach me, I now report it directly to the police for harassment and also suggest that they need to be sectioned. Because these people are dangerous. They are seeing things that aren't there. They do it because they're insecure and not all that bright. And when people aren't all that bright they lash out. They want to feel smart and powerful so they tear down others and try to ruin lives.
It is like the dragons in Game of Thrones are going to fly right on out of the TV screen (or book) and fuck shit up! I'm still waiting for these dragons. Where are they? And the ice zombies?
I present to you I Am the Walrus by The Beatles. The song a) makes no sense and b) I believe Lennon wrote it and he was a wife-abusing controlling douchebag. The song however, is pretty good and in no way implies that he was that way inclined.
Please try and make sense of this song and the "yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye" the next time you decide that an author is what they are writing.
I put a warning in my books (the self published ones, at least):
Warning: I am never in the mood for sexual harassment or an armchair diagnosis.
And lately I've been a bit more elaborate. Here's the one from The Dog Dies at the End: Seriously, I made this shit up. It is not real. I really shouldn’t have to explain that to adults but there’s always at least one idiot who fails to separate fiction from reality. And, yes the dogs die in both stories and some cats and raccoons. You won’t be attached to any of them.
There was an incident in 2018 that led to these warnings and warnings related to avoiding Liverpool. And sometimes when I'm promoting my books on social media, I include them too. Just because of how dangerous people that think that an author is what they write are.
Firstly, the people that can't separate fiction and reality are fucking unhinged. The scary thing is that some of these people are teachers and social workers, sometimes police officers. So people that really need to not be unhinged to do their jobs proficiently.
Secondly, the wannabes that are writing their fantasies, whether sexual or violent, are just that - fucking wannabes. Loser edgelords, basically. There aren't many of them because the community of authors root them out. They get blacklisted. I'm not joking. Maybe they exist in little pockets of isolation (Liverpool, anyone?), but for the most part, they're blacklisted.
The authors that "make it" no matter how fucked up the shit they write is, are pleasant people who are nice to be around. They certainly are not doing the things described in their books. They may not be my besties, but that's because they usually aren't into knitting and watching 13 Going on 30 or Enchanted and feeding pigeons and I still don't have enough money or energy for much of a social life.
Thirdly, a lot of fiction isn't even fucking realistic. Let's take one of my books for example. Ketamine Addicted Pandas - ket isn't even strong enough for a panda and do I need to say more, the characters are fucking pandas that escaped from the goddamn zoo. Nor do pandas reproduce in those levels. What the hell is wrong with you people? I wear pink and sleep with my fucking teddy bears and feed pigeons and listen to synthpop. Jeez! Who I am in person is very different to the books I write. I even surprised the checkout worker in ASDA when I mentioned that I write (I was reading a book of the shoulder of the person in the queue in front of me). She asked what I write and when I replied horror and some erotica, she didn't believe me. Because I'm cute and was wearing a dusty pink coat.
Seriously, the creatives aren't the problem. It is the people going around saying that authors that write certain things are writing from life that are the problem. Apart from being unhinged, they create situations in which women creatives are dealing with personal problems because too many people are listening to the unhinged idiots and wannabe edgelords. I've personally been grabbed and worse because apparently "you write it, so you must want it". I had an ex go and spread a bunch of made up rumours about me because he was upset that I wasn't living the life described in my books. He was reading too much into them. And guess what, I no longer date because he wasn't the first man to do that. Even if I had the time for dating, I wouldn't. Because people read too much into things.
When one of these unhinged idiots can't separate reality and fiction people approach me, I now report it directly to the police for harassment and also suggest that they need to be sectioned. Because these people are dangerous. They are seeing things that aren't there. They do it because they're insecure and not all that bright. And when people aren't all that bright they lash out. They want to feel smart and powerful so they tear down others and try to ruin lives.
It is like the dragons in Game of Thrones are going to fly right on out of the TV screen (or book) and fuck shit up! I'm still waiting for these dragons. Where are they? And the ice zombies?
I present to you I Am the Walrus by The Beatles. The song a) makes no sense and b) I believe Lennon wrote it and he was a wife-abusing controlling douchebag. The song however, is pretty good and in no way implies that he was that way inclined.
Please try and make sense of this song and the "yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye" the next time you decide that an author is what they are writing.
And if you really can't stand The Beatles because of what John Lennon did, here's Nik Kershaw who as far as I'm aware isn't a douche but the song is just as much nonsense as I Am the Walrus.
PS. If you watch the Nik Kershaw one, that's where the lips in the wall in the Neon Dream come from -a fucking music video. Nothing from life. And genetically engineered glory hole lips (as that's what they are in my stories) are pretty fucking scary and let us all take a moment to hope that they never become real. But the words themselves: "The walls have lips in the Neon Dream" sound pretty together and it gives some atmosphere and a clue to the nature of the Neon Dream.
PS. If you watch the Nik Kershaw one, that's where the lips in the wall in the Neon Dream come from -a fucking music video. Nothing from life. And genetically engineered glory hole lips (as that's what they are in my stories) are pretty fucking scary and let us all take a moment to hope that they never become real. But the words themselves: "The walls have lips in the Neon Dream" sound pretty together and it gives some atmosphere and a clue to the nature of the Neon Dream.