Author Lynn Shepherd You get screwed big time!
Take Lynn Shepherd. Now, I was originally going to write this article on someone like Salman Rushdie or maybe even Karl Marx. But then this irresistible opportunity came up today that I just couldn’t pass up. Trust me, you’ll be reading about this for days.
Today on The Huffington Post blog, mystery author Lynn Shepherd stuck her foot in her mouth and it may well have cost her everything.
Alright, that’s putting it a little harsh, but she certainly took a hit.
Let’s take a look at what she did and what the damage is.
Take Lynn Shepherd. Now, I was originally going to write this article on someone like Salman Rushdie or maybe even Karl Marx. But then this irresistible opportunity came up today that I just couldn’t pass up. Trust me, you’ll be reading about this for days.
Today on The Huffington Post blog, mystery author Lynn Shepherd stuck her foot in her mouth and it may well have cost her everything.
Alright, that’s putting it a little harsh, but she certainly took a hit.
Let’s take a look at what she did and what the damage is.
Talking Down a Beloved Author
In her blog post, Shepherd took aim at J.K. Rowling. Now, I didn’t read the blog post. I’m basing my opinions on Shepherd alone. After all, who actually reads what they review anymore?
From what I hear, and I always go by hearsay and what others tell me to do so please have mercy on me, dear leader, these are her words not mine, Shepherd said that Rowling wasn’t quite deserving of the success she had, and that she probably hurt a lot of authors with the level of success she had. I mean, with that Rowling cloud floating around and blocking out the Reader sun, it’s a surprise we even had crops growing for much of the last decade.
Well, you don’t take literature’s darling and bemoan her or demean her like that. You sprinkle rose petals on the ground she walks on and save the used tissue paper out of her unicorn-horn-encrusted toilet.
From what I hear, and I always go by hearsay and what others tell me to do so please have mercy on me, dear leader, these are her words not mine, Shepherd said that Rowling wasn’t quite deserving of the success she had, and that she probably hurt a lot of authors with the level of success she had. I mean, with that Rowling cloud floating around and blocking out the Reader sun, it’s a surprise we even had crops growing for much of the last decade.
Well, you don’t take literature’s darling and bemoan her or demean her like that. You sprinkle rose petals on the ground she walks on and save the used tissue paper out of her unicorn-horn-encrusted toilet.
Taking a Lot of Flak for It
So what happened? Whoa, boy, a shitfest!
See, Shepherd ended up getting something like 50 to 75 (hell, maybe even hundreds!) of 1-star reviews on her books. Here’s the book that looks to have gotten hit the hardest, The Solitary House:
See, Shepherd ended up getting something like 50 to 75 (hell, maybe even hundreds!) of 1-star reviews on her books. Here’s the book that looks to have gotten hit the hardest, The Solitary House:
As you can see, all these reviews were written in the past few hours. Now, who wrote them? Probably people that didn’t like what she said in that post. Most of the people even say they didn’t read the book but disagreed with what she said on the blog.
So what will this poor author do? I mean, look what happened to just one of her other books:
So what will this poor author do? I mean, look what happened to just one of her other books:
Yeah, double-whammy! She got hit hard, and she’s damn lucky she had quite a few good reviews before. If those were my books, I’d have 1-star average. As of now, Ms. Shepherd seems to be holding firm at around a 3-star average.
So will Amazon remove some of these reviews? Boy, that’s tough to say. I’m inclined to say they’ll remove some, just because it’s so blatantly obvious they didn’t buy the book or read it. I mean, they say so. If you want to hurt an author, don’t say that – buy the book, dissect it, and then rip them a new asshole. This is what my reviewers do, so I know they care.
So will Amazon remove some of these reviews? Boy, that’s tough to say. I’m inclined to say they’ll remove some, just because it’s so blatantly obvious they didn’t buy the book or read it. I mean, they say so. If you want to hurt an author, don’t say that – buy the book, dissect it, and then rip them a new asshole. This is what my reviewers do, so I know they care.
What’s in the Cards for Ms. Shepherd Now?
Well, you’ll hear all kinds of speculation over this, but I doubt you’ll see someone do a Tarot reading for Ms. Shepherd. Here goes:
My question is: Will Lynn Shepherd continue to have success as a writer?
Here is what I get:
My question is: Will Lynn Shepherd continue to have success as a writer?
Here is what I get:
Now, to show you how seriously I take this, I’m not even going to look at my Tarot books. Yes, I’m just going to wing this one.
What’s clearly obvious from the get-go is how much creativity plays a part in this reading and for this woman (or perhaps women). See, Wands are the creative suit of the Tarot, and here we have 3 of them in very prominent positions.
Boy, did we ever see that today. So what happens when you write something that pisses off everyone? It gives you a helluva headache!
What’s clearly obvious from the get-go is how much creativity plays a part in this reading and for this woman (or perhaps women). See, Wands are the creative suit of the Tarot, and here we have 3 of them in very prominent positions.
- First Card: This is the Seven of Wands, right there in the middle of the Cross Spread. Wow, what an appropriate card, huh? It shows someone fighting off forces, and on uneven and dangerous ground. The thing is, people in this position usually prevail (the Eight of Wands shows success).
- Second Card: Here’s the Ten of Wands reversed coming up in the past position. Usually this will mean a heavy burden is being carried, but here it means that not much was carried in the past. Could the work that was done have been quite easy? Many reviews hinted at the quality of this woman’s work, but again, most of those people never read her work.
- Third Card: In the future position we have the Ten of Pentacles (Coins), which tells me things will work out well both financially and with family. I have a feeling that long-term this woman will find success and happiness and be surrounded by those she loves. Will that come from writing? There’s a strong possibility.
- Fourth Card: The fourth card deals with hopes and fears and plays heavily on the 2nd card. Here we see the Seven of Swords reversed, which means you probably aren’t getting away with something. In this case it’s telling me Ms. Shepherd did not get away with her blog post full of criticism, which is evident from her pages of poor reviews.
- Fifth Card: The final card of this spread shows us how things will turn out if Ms. Shepherd continues on her same path. It’s the Two of Wands, and reversed. Usually this is a merchant staring out at the sea, perhaps at the shipping trade they’re seeing in their mind’s eye. The world is held in their hand, and good things will happen. Reversed it means that plans could go awry or that there could be mishaps and upsets.
Boy, did we ever see that today. So what happens when you write something that pisses off everyone? It gives you a helluva headache!
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