The image above presents my basic definition of this befitting word. Though I don’t feel the need to elaborate, I will explain a little more about this definition. To put it simply, I found a commonality among trolling reviews, beyond the obvious ridiculing and sham remarks. That commonality is that they rarely ever have anything good to say about the object of their review. They approach the text from a completely biased perspective hoping to find deep flaws, and if they can’t find them, they make them up, doing so by twisting actual truths that are presented in the content. They avoid posting anything credible about that book (or another targeted work), as if thinking that if they do, a reader might become more interested in reading it. So, again, a troll reading is when an individual reads a book or another piece of written work, only for the purpose of finding faults or anything at all that can be twisted and turned into a fault. The intended goal of that individual is to post what is called “a trolling review.”
As I continue along on my author journey, proceeding forth with plans regarding my book series, I feel it necessary to get some toxicity off my chest, mind, soul, and out of my personal writing life. This is one of the final blog posts that I’ll be making regarding the issue of book trolls. After these next few posts regarding them, I’m never looking back unless it’s absolutely necessary for the benefit of the writing and author community. So here it is, my first official post on the occurrence of “troll readings.”
So, I found a trolling review of my book, actually several of them, which had proceeded from an earlier trolling attack that I had initially brought attention to on both my blog and social media accounts. After some consideration (mostly recalling what a problem book trolls are to the publishing industry and society), I ultimately decided that I would write about some of those trolling reviews here on my blog, and particularly those that were posted onto a blog of some sort. In doing so, I’ll be dissecting the corrupting reviews as a way to provide evidence that they do exist and are in fact posted by book trolls. Keep in mind that troll readers usually don’t post trolling reviews for all the books they review, because not only do they have to balance out their “expert book reviewer” perception to the visiting audience in order to appear credible, some of them (if not all) have made a business out of reviewing books. So, they keep their trolling reviews to a minimum, so as to not appear as a book troll to authors and publishers who are seeking to have their books reviewed and recommended. This is my first troll readings post, and I may or may not post another one because I much prefer to focus instead on the fun and rewarding side of author life. I had initially planned to make a regular segment on my website and title it “Troll Readings”. For that segment, I was to post troll readings occasionally, but the more I’ve realized that these individuals are a bunch of ignorant, narcissist book trolls and can’t be taken seriously, the more I’ve gotten bored with the idea of them altogether. With some experience of dealing them, I’ve ultimately learned to bypass them on the way to accomplishing my goals. But nonetheless, I feel they need to be exposed for their corrupt behaviors so that others can learn of this disturbing issue and be aware. So, with all things considered, here’s my first troll readings post —Troll Readings #1.
In regards to this particular trolling review, the main subject of this post, I found it by searching for my book’s title in Google (“The Wrythe and the Reckoning”). I read through the sham review posting, all while considering the poster’s intentions as I did so, and from there I disregarded it for a while, moving on with my hectic but mostly pleasant writing life. At some point, however, I came back to it, especially because this individual, against the copyright laws of the nation and the world, had posted a live reading of my book on her public platform, all where she mocked the book along the way (a book that’s mainly about women’s rights, slavery and abolition). That live reading has since been taken down by the public platform, mainly because “live readings” infringe on copyright laws, but also because the O.P. exhibited malicious intent within her post, being that her focus was to deter readers from reading the book, and she was willing to lie and sabotage it in any seemingly believable way in order to do so. If you’re interested in that topic, you can read more about it here: Copyright Laws For Authors, And When Your Rights Are Violated.
Here’s the link to the trolling review being referred to in this post (the link opens in a new browser for your convenience). http://allthebookblognamesaretaken.blogspot.com/2020/01/book-review-watch-career-implode-in.html (Spoilers Alert! Please beware if you haven’t read the novel. This trolling reader includes plenty of spoilers in her blog post, and I’m posting commentaries regarding them.)
Sidenote: The term “Good Reads Mob” refers to “Book Troll Villains”, in other words a troll infestation in the book community and publishing industry that’s unfortunately been an ongoing problem for years. Beware of anyone who wears a t-shirt with the statement “Good Reads Mob”, or who says anything similar to: “I’m proud to wear a t-shirt that has “Good Reads Mob” written on it.” They’re in actuality self-proclaimed book trolls and have no shame in being so.
The analysis begins. (Please Note: There’s so much sabotaging content in this troll reader’s blog post that provides plenty of evidence that she’s in fact a book troll, but with the abundance of false statements and undeserved author bashings there, I determined I would focus more so on the troll reading issues that are exhibited blatantly in her post. So, in this commentary regarding that post, I’ve focused mostly on some of the false and twisted statements that she made about my book “The Wrythe and the Reckoning.” Again, as is commonly done by trolling readers, this particular individual made the post with an intended goal of preventing readers from reading my book.)
Intro (An intro to this troll reader’s blog post and her dishonest methods):
At the top of her post, which is the first indication that she constructed it all for the purpose of bashing me to prevent readers from reading my book (proving that she’s very likely one of the book trolls herself, because who else would sympathize with book trolls?), she wrote the following: “You may or may not be aware that maybe a week and a half/two weeks ago or so, there was a huge uproar from the author where she attacked reviewers, called everyone shady, referred to a “Goodreads Mob”…etc.
Me:
Troll Sympathizers = Book Trolls! I wrote about this issue extensively in an article on my blog, including regarding them lying about my book with a purposeful effort of dissuading readers from reading it, which is what started the whole fiasco in the first place. But did she mention any of that? Nope. The link to that post is here: How the “Wrythe and the Reckoning” was Sabotaged “Attack Reviewers?” They only wish I had, so they could justify their later trolling behaviors against my book. They in fact attacked me with insults on GoodReads and then continued it on Twitter, and from there went furthermore and attacked my book on Amazon. In doing so, what those trolls really were doing with their villainous behavior (which they’re proud of because they have no shame and little morals if any) was they were defending their fellow book trolls, because when authors confront book trolls, the issue of book trolling gets exposed yet again. This means that other concerns arise too, such as the suspicion in book world that book trolling is a scheme to get authors to panic with insecurity and as a result to pay for “good book reviews” and “sensitivity readers.” Some of the trolls even wrote sheisty blog posts furthering their attacks on my book, of which they also posted false accusations about me as an author, this particular individual (the main topic of this post) being one of them. I’ve disregarded most of them (partly because their sham reviews speak for themselves), but the obviously pathological ones, who have had the lowest of integrity when talking about my book, no, absolutely not. The two initial book trolls I talked about in my original blog post (written months ago), regarding the issue of them lying about my book, originally found me on NetGalley when I had posted my ARC book there. The fact is, I initially only wrote a post on my blog regarding the falsities of those two book trolls, because I was surprised and justifiably upset at how easily they could lie about an author’s book, pretending to have read it, but in their shady reviews, they proved they hardly knew anything about the story. I eventually learned that this is a common practice among book trolls. In addition, during about the same time, I also wrote a brief message on GoodReads under my ARC book’s comment section (not under anyone’s actual review), and the message was basically telling potential readers to ignore the trolling reviews and read the actual book for themselves when it’s officially published. At some point when I was having an issue with uploading my published version of the book onto GoodReads, I had to request help on the “Librarians” forum of GoodReads. From there, the trolls found my GR book page and also the message I had written. Then, the troll attacks began (the GR troll infestation basically exposing itself).
In regards to the suspicion that book trolling is part of a con to get authors to pay for book reviews, is it a coincidence that after my ARC book was getting good reviews on NetGalley, I soon began receiving emails to pay for “good book reviews”? Perhaps, it is only a coincidence, or maybe it’s not. I really don’t know; I can’t be for sure. The verdict is still out on that matter, but I think eventually someone on the inside of the book trolling industry will let the overall writing industry know. I didn’t reply to any of the email requests, because I wasn’t interested in that service. Then, after some time of not replying, my book on NetGalley began receiving bombardments of cheaply low negative reviews, two of which were clearly trolling reviews. There were no trolling reviews before I received those emails. Again, this was for my ARC book, which wasn’t fully completed yet and there were notes posted in the book boldly stating so. No one has proven it yet, but some have hinted that book trolling is part of some sort of scam business where the book trolls earn money from getting authors to pay for book reviews and also other essential services, such as “sensitivity readers”. How else would they nudge authors into paying for book reviews? Anyway, I continued to ignore those email requests for paid reviews (yes, I received them afterwards too). As I said, I can’t be for sure if it was all part of some book industry scam. But, regardless, there are clues hinting to that notion. So, authors, beware!
By the way, the quickest way to determine if cheaply negative reviews are from book trolls is if in their reviews they’re blatantly dishonest about your book or story. That’s clue number one and the most obvious of them. They also tend to not say anything positive at all about a book, or they say something very minimal and vague because if they said anything encouraging about the book it would be counteractive to their main goal of convincing readers to not read it. So, mostly, it’s one complaint after another in their reviews, without a single genuinely uplifting comment about that book. I’ve learned to spot trolling reviews on Amazon, and these are a few of the main criteria to look for. Genuine readers have no reason to be dishonest in their reviews. What exactly would be the point of that? When genuine readers don’t like a book, they know it’s simply not for them. But to lie or bash it severely when the bashings are undeserved especially when the book provides valuable content to the reader, no. Genuine readers just tend to not do that. Authors simply don’t care about negative reviews as long as they’re genuine (not cheap), because readers like different sorts of books. We all know that as authors, especially because we’re readers too. In other words, we’re fully aware that we can’t please everyone and for the most part, at least speaking for myself, we don’t attempt to. It’s the trolling reviews that tick us off, and we notice them right away because we wrote those books, all with our valuable time and effort. So, we know our books more than anyone else does. But, of course, being that this individual is one of the pathologically lying trolls, she had to give the impression that I attacked reviewers because by saying that, they think it justifies their behaviors of later attacking my book in retaliation after I had posted a statement regarding those two book trolls. Again, they wish I had attacked reviewers, but in actuality, to their sheer disappointment, I didn’t. So, again, here’s the link to that original post that I made about the issue of my book being attacked by book trolls (which by the way is one of many from several other authors who have experienced trolling attacks on their books too and also on their social media pages, Anne Rice being one of them).
“How “The Wrythe And The Reckoning” Was Sabotaged!”
https://yvonthialeland.com/2019/12/18/how-the-wrythe-and-the-reckoning-was-sabotaged/
Other Authors Wrote About Them Here:
– “ON TROLLS AND FAKE BAD REVIEWS”
https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2014/07/on-trolls-and-fake-bad-reviews.html
– “Anne Rice Signs Petition to Protest Bullying of Authors on Amazon”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/anne-rice-protests-bullying-amazon-petition
_ “Goodreads – a Breeding Ground for Book Trolls”
https://www.matejaklaric.com/blog/goodreads-a-breeding-ground-for-book-trolls
– “Goodreads trolls getting you down? My personal story, but also a solution!”
https://readthebloodybook.com/2015/06/22/goodreads-trolls-getting-you-down-my-personal-story-but-also-a-solution/
Imagine having something important to say, some profound message (one message or several) that you want to convey to the members of your society. Then, book trolls find your book and stomp on it with toxic reviews all in an effort to keep potential readers from being interested in it. This is what book trolls do. They disregard the original intent of the author and instead put their thirst to ravage and destroy in front of all that’s important, all for some intended goal of getting paid for book reviews or for stifling the success of a book. This is precisely why they’re a problem. Keep in mind too, that some of the book trolls out there are would-be authors who have been rejected by the traditional publishing industry and are too proud to publish independently. They’re now bitter individuals who go about trolling books that have the potential to gain lots of fans. Little do these trolls seem to understand that most of us indie authors chose to publish independently and never sought traditional publishing at all. Now, imagine that an independently published book is actually good, a worthwhile read that genuine readers would love and appreciate. Imagine furthermore that there are several more independently published books that are also excellent and provide much value to readers. So, what happens to them when book trolls attack them with sabotaging reviews? Those valuable books which are capable of being important literature (or at least simply fun books for the purpose of entertainment) are now hidden from the majority of the reading public. Book trolls are a plague of intellectual stifling in our nations and societies, and they must be stopped! The only substantial way to stop them is for book review sites to increase the standards of their review policies. They have yet to adequately do so.
Part 1:
So, putting aside the title of this troll reader’s review post, and also the false accusations presented therein, because they speak for themselves providing enough evidence of her trolling personality and precisely how corrupt of a book troll she is, in regards to posting directly about my book, the troll reader starts off her blog post by saying: “Guys. This book is bad. So, so bad.”
Me: Really? A book mainly about women’s rights, and slavery and abolition? A book based on the real-life events of the 1800s, including the lives of feminists and abolitionists? Really? It’s so bad, is it? The fact is, those topics being presented in the book alone make it a worthwhile read. Let me not even mention the healthy family relationships, the strong friendships, the happy and peaceful romantic relationships, and an abundance of true facts about American history, but yeah, those are there too. The first statement of this individual’s blog post was my first indication that she’s a pathological liar and has disturbingly low integrity. Not only that but with her mockery regarding the content of the book, there are indications that this person is also a racist troll. The book is a social activism novel that’s speaking up for women’s rights and racial equality, and this troll mocked it from the beginning to the end.
Also, If I believed that you truly thought that was the case with my book (“this book is bad, so, so bad” etc), I would say to you:
“Ever tried active reading?” But you know very good and well, the story, the characters, the themes, the history — they’re all excellent. So, you dug deep for trouble, and where you couldn’t find any faults you made them up. Typical of a troll reader. I now know I can’t be too surprised.
Part 2:
In regards to: “For starters, the writing is tedious and pedantic. It is one of the most boring books I have read, where ALMOST NOTHING happens in the 800+ pages. The writing is stilted and formal, very robotic-like.”
Me: The insult is towards a book with a fascinating teen/YA love story, and that has a plot that includes actual historical events regarding women’s rights, slavery, abolition, and Native American oppression. (Yeah, I’m sure nothing happens.) That alone, trolling reader, shows your level of ignorance and insensitivity. In regards to her ridicule about the actual writing, here are a few passages from the original book, having been (at the minimum) ran through Grammarly for additional proofreading (on “Tell A Story” mode), and guess what? It just so happens that every one of the passages posted below, them having been picked randomly my book, has an “A” grade. Guess what else? Each passage is labeled “engaging” or “very engaging.” This is the original work, just as it still is in the original ebook, the ebook that was published to Amazon in December of 2019. This is the same book that this troll and other trolls have bashed to the reading community. Please, if you care to, do check these passages for yourselves in Grammarly. You can do so with a simple copy and paste. Then, apply “Tell A Story” mode to see the results. (Note: Please do not post any of the following passages anywhere online, as it would be against Author Copyright Laws. Thank you.)
Passage One: Pages 7-9
https://yvonthialeland.com/passage-1-from-pages-7-9/
Passage Two: Page 11
https://yvonthialeland.com/passage-2-from-page-11/
Passage Three: Pages 13-14
https://yvonthialeland.com/passage-3-from-pages-13-14/
Passage Four: Pages 20-21
https://yvonthialeland.com/passage-4-from-pages-20-21/
Me (cont..): Yeah, those passages are really difficult to read. 1800s dialog that’s in fact moderately simple to read, but I guess, for you and your fellow troll readers, it was frustratingly difficult to read. Was it the words, too difficult for your adult vocabulary? Should I have used simpler words to make it easier for you to read? Should I have added expletives of derogatory words, all with F-bombs and whatever else? Perhaps that would have made it more interesting to you. Sorry to break it to you, trolling reader, not all readers need the cheap flashy words that trolls like you think are cool but in actuality have no substance. And that’s likely the reason why some of the books that you trolls rave about are actually thought of as being utter rubbish much of the time, troublesome books that more than anything else corrupt society. “Trolling readers” + “trolling editors” = very likely terrible books. As for several other books that you all part-time trolling readers review with high ratings, how many of those are paid-for reviews? Your credibility is as low as your integrity. I won’t even mention your lack of comfort with using contractions in your sentences while writing simple blog posts. (You claim to be an editor, but have what credentials exactly? Being uncomfortable with using contractions makes you look like an amateur. You should study “contractions” sometime.)
Furthermore, anything read out of context can be twisted and corrupted. But even the dialog and any other text posted in the above passages, any of them being read out of context are easy enough to read for anyone who has an imagination. So, what’s your problem exactly? Did you pretend to be a robot for the moment while troll reading my book, or do you regularly lack imagination when reading unless you’re paid to pretend like you have one? The actuality is the dialog in The Wrythe and the Reckoning perfectly fits every situation and also the era of which the novel takes place. By the way, where are your quotes to show some examples of your claims regarding the dialog and other “stilted” writings of the novel? None? Of course not. Every sentence that I wrote, and every word that I placed into my novel was written there on purpose. I will not change it for you, trolling reader, just because you found something you could easily twist and turn into chaos. (I learned from the claims of this troll that some book trolls severely lack in imagination. That’s why though they claim to be editors and that they offer professional industry-related services, I’ve yet to find any work that they’ve published. Troll after troll, it’s been the same. Let’s see and read your published fiction works, book trolls. Where are they? Oh, nowhere to be found, huh? Even in an English literature curriculum, by the time you get a degree in that field, you should have written at least a few short stories. But where are your books on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel? Where have you mentioned these prestigious works on your blog? I searched and searched for them but I couldn’t find them anywhere.) There are real editors out there, authors. If you’re seeking editing for a fiction novel, unless they’ve written a fiction book themselves, or even short stories, and have at least a few excellent reviews for them from actual “genuine” readers, not fellow trolls, I would steer clear of them.
The following are a few quotes from a well-known book that was written during the same time period.
“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
So, I suppose for you, trolling reader, this passage is difficult to read.
Here’s another:
“Unknown to all but Hester Prynne, and possessing the lock and key of her silence, he chose to withdraw his name from the roll of mankind, and, as regarded his former ties and interests, to vanish out of life as completely as if he indeed lay at the bottom of the ocean, whither rumor had long ago consigned him.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlett Letter
Here’s another:
“Thou mayest conceal it, too, from the ministers and magistrates, even as thou didst this day, when they sought to wrench the name out of thy heart, and give thee a partner on thy pedestal. But, as for me, I come to the inquest with other senses than they possess. I shall seek this man, as I have sought truth in books: as I have sought gold in alchemy. There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlett Letter
Here’s another:
“There can be no outrage, methinks, against our common nature–whatever be the delinquencies of the individual–no outrage more flagrant than to forbid the culprit to hide his face for shame; as it was the essence of this punishment to do.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter was first published in 1850, and the setting is in Boston and Salem, Massachusetts. Though the story is set in the 1600s, the text, including the dialog, are appropriate for that time period. Good for Hawthorne that book trolls weren’t rampant in reading communities during that era, though there were likely a few. Good for him that he had the freedom to tell a story without book trolls sabotaging it like they did mine. Gone are the days when female authors’ books wouldn’t get published for the sole reason that they’re an intelligent female who might influence other females to become more intelligent. But here are the days when books are sabotaged by book trolls in an effort to prevent readers from reading them. New publishing era, new sorts of villains in the book industry.
Now, to sum it up:
Trolling reader, in addition to “lack of imagination,” ever heard of “expressive reading” vs “robot reading”? No? Google it. In the meantime, here are some helpful instructions.
1. “Reading with Expression” – https://youtu.be/2dnJ74xtJTQ
2. “Expressive Reading Examples” – https://youtu.be/DBjI3F_ldvk
3. “How to Read Aloud without Being Boring” – https://youtu.be/GF0YOkqOyv0
4. “Power of Reading with Expression” – https://youtu.be/HtRGCOik6_4
5. “Read with Expression” – https://youtu.be/eRh0HEhVAZQ
There are plenty more videos on this particular subject available on YouTube.
To conclude this segment, expressive reading is an important aspect of reading and writing narrative works that surprisingly some individuals don’t know about—book trolls.
Part 3:
For the part where she wrote: “There are tons of commas all over the place, often everywhere except where they should be. Lots of misused words also. I cannot even tell you how many dudes were assholes and she referred to them simultaneously as gentlemen and scoundrels.”
Me: Ha, ha! You wish there were commas all over the place “often except where they should be”. Where are your examples? None? Of course not. There are no examples that you provided because the truth is you couldn’t find any. Again, a pathological lying troll. Because by the time an author has written an epic 800-page story, where a comma goes is that author’s biggest challenge (LOL). Sorry to disappoint you, Ms. Troll, but there are bigger challenges in writing beyond grammar, and I was born to be a writer the same way some individuals were born to be musicians. So, sorry to break it to you, trolling reader, grammar isn’t one of my challenges. In fact, considering everything that an author has to study and learn in their profession, grammar is the easy part. The lies in her trolling blog post are so blatant and desperate, in reading them I almost felt sorry for her.
In regards to “I cannot even tell you how many dudes were assholes and she referred to them simultaneously as gentlemen and scoundrels.”
Me: Wow, someone doesn’t understand sarcasm. Good thing some people in the world actually do, including the main character of the story. And, are you insisting that I call them “assholes”? Considering the time period of the story’s setting, that wouldn’t be applicable, now would it? And yeah, I’m sure I didn’t use any other word besides “gentlemen” and “scoundrels” when referring to those characters. Because finding synonyms, that’s the hard part of writing a novel. (Seriously, where are the standards of these trolling reviewers? Their slandering of books should be considered criminal. Definitely something for us authors and author organizations to work on.
Part 4:
In regards to “The main character, Lina, wanders A LOT. She wanders around her hometown/village/city of Deerfield.”
Me: Oh, boy! Really? I won’t even touch on that. It’s like she took a class in Lying 101. Yeah, because that’s what the main character does a lot of in the novel, wander around by herself. (I said I wouldn’t comment on that, but the manipulation done through her statements is so low and twisted for this segment, I felt I had to. These are the sort of book trolls that some authors have had to deal with. Search “Goodreads trolls” and you’ll learn a thing or two about them if you haven’t already done so. Thing is they’re also on NetGalley and in other places where readers and book reviewers roam. They’re so atrocious in their behaviors of trolling that even Anne Rice spoke up about them. Google Search “Anne Rice Stop the Good Reads Bullies”. It was quite some years ago when she brought attention to the issue regarding them. There were some improvements as a result of her efforts and also those of several other authors, but things certainly haven’t changed as much as they should have.)
Part 5:
In regards to “AND don’t even get me started on all the OTHER historical inaccuracies.”
Me: Oh, when I read this, I cringed. I literally cringed on the inside. At this moment, I knew that some serious lies were about to unfold in her blog post. Lies that anyone would be able to easily look up and know that she’s a fool. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I was a sociology major and a history minor in college, and that’s just the tip of the surface. I love studying history so much that I would have had a double major with history if there were substantial career prospects in the history field. You know what it takes to get a “minor” in a subject in college? You’re required to actually study and complete a specified number of credits in that subject. You’re required to take several classes in order to complete those credits. On top of that, I love the subject of history, and I enjoyed researching the history of the 1800s very much so for this novel. It was heartbreaking to read about some of the issues during those times, but I felt so uplifted when I read about the heroes, including regarding the incredible efforts they made to help bring about reforms for a happier and more peaceful society in the United States. There were many heroes of that time period and before it, in varying facets, and we should all be appreciative of them since it’s because of their struggles to bring change that we have some of the crucial rights that we have today.
So, here we go with the transparent lies that this individual came up with in her attempt to paint me as being unknowledgeable about the history.
Part 6:
In regards to One – “At one point the main character, Lina, gets a job at a textile mill after her family moves to Boston. But this mill is special. Even though the mill treats workers badly by upping quotas and paying them less than before, every day THEY GET A FREE AND HEALTHY LUNCH. Yes, the mill provides fresh fruits and a square meal every single day. Perhaps the mill should have been placed in Silicon Valley instead. Workers also got two breaks, though it is not clear if those breaks were in addition to lunch, or lunch was one of the two.”
Me: Oh my word, should I even comment on this? Wow. She’s a so-called editor but in this statement alone she revealed her lack of adequate higher education. You can’t graduate college without learning about the Industrial revolution and how workers were treated in the mills and factories. It’s such a major part of American and world history. Ooh, beware of paying so-called-editors to edit your novels. Beware! I recommend requesting the proper credentials. (To make it simple for you, Ms. Trolling Reader, the textile workers were in fact paid low wages and they were also given free food and boarding. Wow, seriously, do some research.) I wondered why there were only a few followers on her blog considering how much she announced her sabotaging review to the online public communities and how closely the book trolls seem to stick together. Now, I understand why. She claims to be so professional and educated, but, umm, no. This gives the impression that she’s not. Again, look for professional credentials when hiring editors, because anyone can say they’re an editor.
Part 7:
In regards to Two: “The daily schedules of the characters, both when they lived on their farm in Deerfield, and then when they moved to Boston. They had free time and extra money, even though they were poor because they lost their house in Deerfield and that’s why they had to move to begin with. They were described as doing chores at random times day or night on the farm, had no chores when they moved to the city, and always had money to purchase food in sports bars.”
Me: Ha, ha! That’s a far reach of minimizing and twisting things. But I’ll take it as a compliment because you had to dig deep and make something up. Yeah, trolling reader, because on the farm, the kids never had any free time at all. That would be slavery and inhumane. And in regards to the city, living in apartments, sure, they would have had the same amount of chores as those on a farm. So even though I made a lot of mention about Lina doing laundry, washing dishes, setting the table, cooking dinner with her mom, all while they were in the city, living in their apartment residence, but okay “they had no chores when they moved to the city.” (Do these trolls ever consider that when actual readers read the novel, they’ll find out that the book reviewer was lying? Goodness, where do the lies end with them? Just how low is that bar of morality for them?)
Oh, Currently Cringing (as I read more of the “she got the history wrong” statements). I HAD TO Skip AFEW, BECAUSE, Oh, The Ignorance From a so-called professional!!!!! (Funny thing is, everything, all her lies, can be debunked by doing a simple Google search and reading the actual book. I actually felt disturbed at reading her statements, because, again, all a person has to do is research them for validity. It’s like she completely threw that consideration out the window. It’s almost like she hoped she was just talking to teens, and they wouldn’t know any better. Shame.)
Then, again, here’s the breakdown, because like I said, I do love history and I did my damn research.
Part 8:
In regards to Three: “They even got coffee TO GO! FROM A BARISTA! SHE USES THAT WORD! A WORD NOT INVENTED UNTIL THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY!”
Me: Oh boy, you found a word that you might actually use to justify your cause for telling would-be readers not to read my novel, out of the hundreds of thousands of words that I wrote, oh but then I found this, trolling reader:
barista (n.)
“bartender in a coffee shop,” as a purely English word in use by 1992, from Italian, where it is said to derive ultimately from English bar (n.2), as borrowed into Italian. The word is of generic gender and may be applied with equal accuracy to women and men (it is said that the typical barista in Italy is a man).” https://www.etymonline.com/word/barista In other words, trolling reviewer, that word was officially found someplace, in some document or another to definitely be in use by 1992, in the predominantly English-speaking nations, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t used until 1992 in those nations. You do realize that Italian immigrants were a profound part of the population in the major cities of North America during the 1800s, don’t you? So, what did they call bartenders in Italy before the 20th century? Only “barman”? Are you sure about that? Where does it say that “baristas” wasn’t used anywhere in Italy as a title for bartenders until Mussolini made it the official word? Does it say anywhere that Mussolini invented the word? If so, where? Please do tell me, because as far as documents show, he only made that word official. (You stated, “NOT INVENTED UNTIL THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY.” So, in your minute research you even missed the part that stated Mussolini made it a popular word in Italy.) He likely learned it from somewhere else, because it was already in use somewhere else. Did you ever consider that? This is what happens when you nit-pick for flaws. You reveal yourself to be a troll reader. Again, even if there was some proof that the word was developed in 1992, it would still be one word out of hundreds of thousands of words that I wrote, and heavily researched, before using them in the book. And don’t even try to say that bars didn’t exist in the 1800s in Italy, like you tried to with the libraries (more on that later), because you’ll only be exposing yourself as being ignorant of history yet again. But in case you do try, here are some clues so you can at least do a little research on the topic. https://blog.xtrawine.com/en/the-oldest-italian-bars-taverns-and-cafes-that-you-have-to-visit/.
Part 9
In regards to Four: “Speaking of extra money, Lina and her family read dozens and dozens of periodicals. When they lived in their tiny village of Deerfield (the one with the community center, remember?), their local mercantile stocked newspapers and periodicals from AROUND THE COUNTRY. Including many feminist-leaning publications. Because those existed in the 1850s. Along with feminism. Maybe if the family would have spent less money on their newspapers, they could have kept their house.”
Me: Ha, ha. “Dozens.” Really? Exaggeration much? And do some actual research.
“Including many feminist-leaning publications. Because those existed in the 1850s.”
Me: “Many”? Really? Again, exaggeration much? I said they read two feminist newspapers at most. And, please, for the love of learning, do some actual research. When you write such ignorant statements, you insult not only yourself but also the intelligence of your audience.
Part 10:
In regards to Five: “There was mention of an all-women’s medical college in Missouri. Again, in the 1850s. In fact, though there were not a lot, there were all-women’s college in existence, according to the characters. Again, it was set in the 1850s.”
Me: Umm, was this supposed to be a complaint? Because there were, and there were most certainly a few women’s medical colleges during that time in the United States. And, even though my story is based on several true events of American history, did I say it’s a nonfiction work? No. Did I say it’s a biography? No. Yet, as much as possible of the history in the book is correct, because guess what? I extensively researched it. (You can read more of it in book 2 of the series. Enjoy, Ms. hater/trollster, because the history in the story thickens.) So, in regards to the medical college, I literally could have said the female attended a medical college in another state, and it wouldn’t have been such a problem, because medical colleges for women existed back then in that region. For the most part, for the Caucasian women, they just had to complete the required curriculum and afford to pay the tuition to attend. It’s simple logic and reasoning; otherwise the poor would have been able to attend too. However, it’s like somewhere in my mind I knew there would be trolls who would look for flaws in my story, and so guess what? I tried to be as accurate with the details as possible, again, because it was based on some true events and true American History. And the information regarding the friend attending a medical college in Missouri was stated by the main character’s sister. It’s hearsay, ever hear of it? So, did you ever consider that maybe the main character’s sister, with her being flippant as she sometimes likes to be, actually said the wrong state? No, of course not, because you were too busy looking for flaws. Regardless, here are the known women’s colleges in Missouri by the 1850s (There are several more women’s colleges in the U.S. during the 1850s, so I don’t understand what your quarrel was about that):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_and_historical_women%27s_
universities_and_colleges_in_the_United_States#Missouri
1. Madame Perdreville’s School for Girls (founded in 1818)
2. Columbia College (Missouri), Columbia (women’s college from 1851–1969, when it was called Christian College)
3. St. Louis Female Academy (founded in 1823)
Here’s more info about medical colleges for women during the 1800s:
“Between 1850 and 1895, 19 medical colleges for women had been established.”
http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/mowihsp/health/medcoedus.htm
Part 11
In regards to Six: “Despite not having computers or the Internet, or any technology at all to help locate information, Lina was always able to find what she needed at the library. Libraries did not exist like that in the 1850s. I just can’t even.”
Me: Yeah, because looking through a couple of city newspapers to read the recent reportings on a topic would give a reader the impression that the main character was doing her research on the internet. What???? Also, sorry to break it to you, trolling reader, but libraries existed in America during the 1800s, in fact, decades before that. You could have found that info with a simple search on Google.
“According to Edmund Farwell Slafter, the first public library was founded in Boston by the Rev. John Checkley at the Old State House sometime between 1711 when Boston’s Old State House was built, and 1725.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_libraries_in_North_America
Here’s another link (from BookRiot):
https://bookriot.com/2018/10/05/the-oldest-libraries-in-the-world/
And here’s another:
“Connecticut—Six Oldest Libraries in New England”
https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/six-oldest-libraries-new-england/
Part 12
In regards to Seven: About a wedding that occurred in the story, she said “Weddings were typically in the morning and the reception would have been breakfast.”
Me: Proof! Please, since you’re such the history expert, do show some proof that in the 1800s no one had a wedding in the afternoon and a reception in the late afternoon. Because I’m sure afternoon weddings just suddenly began in the what—1900s, 2000s? Yeah, because that’s how life works, especially considering that attendees sometimes traveled from far off distances. This wasn’t a wedding in some village in Medieval Europe. It was in an industrial city in North America, with some attendees visiting from other parts of the country.
Part 13:
Regarding Eight: “One of my personal faves, was how a recruiter from a textile mill in Massachusetts came to their tiny town of Deerfield, New Hampshire (I think New Hampshire, I honestly can’t remember) to recruit Lina’s sister Abby to work at the textile mill there. A RECRUITER! And on top of that, Abby was given two months to get to Massachusetts to start her new job!”
Me: Really? A simple Google search would have revealed the truth to you. But I went ahead and did it for you since you clearly have a problem with researching to prove your own points. Here it goes.
I searched “recruiting for textile mills lowell mills” and found this — “The Lowell mill girls were young female workers who came to work in industrial corporations in Lowell, Massachusetts, during the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The workers initially recruited by the corporations were daughters of propertied New England farmers, typically between the ages of 15 and 35.[1] By 1840, the height of the Industrial Revolution, the Lowell textile mills had recruited over 8,000 workers, mostly women, who came to make up nearly three-quarters of the mill workforce, at a very slow rate, most were forced to work faster than they could.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_mill_girls
Here’s Another: “Among the early innovators of this approach were a group of businessmen known as the Boston Associates who recruited thousands of New England farm girls to operate the machines in their new factories.” https://www.ushistory.org/us/22a.asp
I guess she missed the part where I mentioned that I did extensive research for this series. She probably thought I just Googled “recruiting for textile mills”. Nope, I researched it, and extensively so. And I had already studied it (remember, “History” minor). In fact, there are books entirely on the topic of textile mills during the Industrial Revolution. Take a look at the image below. The following book has been in my possession for years, and it’s one of my favorite books on the subject. So, that was another miss that only exposed your ignorance and bad intentions. She probably determined that the visitors of her blog post would also just Google the same simple phrase “recruiting for textile mills”. Didn’t it ever occur to you that some of the readers of your sham post would be knowledgeable about basic American history?
Oh, and I almost forgot. In a live reading that she posted of my book, which was removed due to being malicious and infringing upon copyright laws, she stated in the sham posts something like “well she got a bunch about American history wrong, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she got French history wrong too” (I’m paraphrasing here, but it was very close to that). To that I say again, troll reader, oh, please, do share. Please do show what part of American history I got wrong in my fiction novel that I extensively researched the history for as I wrote the book. Where’s your evidence, because most (if not all) of what you posted is sheer lies. Since you’re pretending to be such the history expert, please do provide the proof of your expertise and my lack of historical knowledge. Yeah, troll reader, because I just wrote a bunch of random &#%@, completely putting aside the fact that some people might actually do research and check on it. Hmm, not doing research for a novel, sure, that sounds like something a serious author would do—NOT. It’s like this individual (book troll) said to herself, “Well, I’m on a lying binge, might as well throw that one in there too.” Well, it so happens that readers know how to do research and determine what’s true or false, and us authors happily know that. It isn’t some sort of obstacle to writing, for those of us who love it and are serious about it. I guess she missed the part where I’ve mentioned on several instances that this tale is also a literary tale. The story is intellectual (not a cheap sex romp of a tale), and I wrote it to be that way. The several true historical facts that I included alone make it educational and not in the boring way as I’m sure some book trolls have been tempted to imply. Nope, authors were readers first. The book is fun and fabulous, and yeah the readers learn a few things about American History (and French History). Imagine that, an incredible love story where readers can actually learn some history and other interesting facts. What gives? Overall, the story can be considered as being “based on real-life events.” I suppose this individual never heard of such stories. NEXT!
Part 14:
In regards to Nine: “Transportation is hilariously ridiculous. All transports are described en masse as ‘vehicles’. Boston has wagons, trams, omnibuses, horsecars, etc. I mean, seriously.”
Me: What? Was that supposed to be an insult? Ummm, I’ll take it as a compliment, thank you. Wow, look at there, I used the word “vehicles” and other appropriate words when referring to the transportation of the 1800s. Awful! How terrible of me. Seriously, it’s like a twilight zone with these trolls. Oh, wait, I understand it now! Of course, it’s another lie! She tried to lie (ha ha ha ha ha) and say that I didn’t use those words to describe the vehicles in Boston. Oh, my goodness, I almost forgot this individual is a pathological liar. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh my goodness, anyone can read the story for themselves and clearly see that I used those phrases to describe vehicles plenty of times throughout the entire story, I mean PLENTY OF TIMES! Wow, beware of these trolls!!!!!!!!!! The funny thing is, too, those are the exact words I used to describe the vehicles. So, it’s like she took them right out of my book. Again, Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Of all the things of the 1800s mentioned in my novel, that’s one of the easiest to find in the book. I had to read her statement again and again, because I was that stunned that she would lie about something so simple. Really, where are your boundaries with lying? Clearly, they’re quite low. Another funny thing about this is that I did extensive research regarding the vehicles of that time period because it was quite complex. Some vehicles during that time were only available in the city, and certain ones of them were used for specific reasons. By the way, this is why authors should keep plenty of notes as proof of their research. I have a whole file of notes for all my research for The TWARE Saga. Wait until book two; like I said, the history thickens. Native American history is included more so in The TWARE Saga, Book 2. I wonder what the trolls will say about that.
My stomach actually hurt a little from laughing during this part. That statement of hers was the sham icing and decoration on top of the sham cake. She went on in her post to talk about how uninteresting the story is, this coming from someone who hasn’t published a book, and the only book she’s working on right now is a biography of a queen. There’s nothing wrong with biographies, but with you claiming to be an expert on writing stories, please, do try actually writing one from your own imagination.
Here are a few actual reviews from readers who loved the story in my book “The Wrythe and the Reckoning” (Keep in mind that after my book was attacked on Amazon by book trolls, and I had posted a link to my NetGalley reviews page for the ARC (disputing the corrupt reviews of the trollsters), several more reviews showed up on my NetGalley book reviews page, and I suspect some of them were from trolls. Keep in mind, too, that the ARC book, which the reviews are specifically for at NetGalley, wasn’t completed yet. It was an unfinished/only partly-edited version of the now published novel. Again, I had posted plenty of warnings in the ARC book informing the NetGalley readers so they would know. Here’s the link to the ARC reviews on Netgalley (again, the ARC wasn’t even a completed novel yet, and yet the story already had readers raving about it). Overall, book trolls are so ridiculous, to the point that it’s sometimes comical. https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/155832
The following is the final statement of hers that I’ll post, exposing her trolling behavior. My commentary on this is especially for the fans of the story. “This book tries to do too much and fails miserably in every aspect. Lina and her family are all these super progressive, forward-thinking people who are feminists and abolitionists. I think the only thing the author gets right is that the Underground Railroad was referred to as such in that time period.”
Me: Definitely a bottom-of-the-barrel sort of troll. She has absolutely no shame in lying. So sorry, trolling reader, that the amount of American history in my book was too much for you to grasp, and yeah, you can only wish that’s the only thing I got right. Well, keep dreaming, because hun, most of it (if not all of it) is correct to a T. Also, upon reading your blog post, the genuine readers of my book have learned or will eventually learn that you are in fact a book troll, and without a doubt one of the worst of them. Again, book two is on the way, and the plot (and the history) thickens.
Also, as I had stated earlier in this post regarding another statement, if I believed that you truly thought that was the case, I would say to you:
“Ever tried active reading?”
To sum it all up, to add a little more sham icing onto the ridiculously sham cake, for some extra fun (because why not), part of the last statement on this individual’s trolling review blog post is: “This book is not a love story. It is not a supernatural story. It is not a progressive story about a young woman far ahead of her time.”
Me: Trolls, oh miserable, insufferable trolls, in case you didn’t know, no matter how much you lie, the truth always prevails. IT ALWAYS PREVAILS. (There was more to the last statement of her devilish post, but I prefer to keep this author blog pg-13 for the most part.)
Wow, I almost forgot. This is the thickest of the troll icing on the troll reader’s cake. As I had mentioned earlier, this individual had posted a “live reading” of my book on one of her public platforms and thanks to the copyright laws, the botched live reading was removed. Albeit, in one of her comments, her sabotaging comments all meant to deter readers from reading my book, she stated that the characters are stupid. The main characters of TWARE are abolitionists, and not only that they were based on real-life abolitionists during that era, including John Brown, Elizabeth Cady Station, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, and several others. So, if you’re calling the main characters of this story stupid, you might as well be calling real-life abolitionists also stupid. The truth is the main characters of TWARE are in fact some of the most intelligent characters in Teen/Young Adult fiction. Real readers, not troll readers, know and understand precisely what I mean.
Part 15:
Conclusion:
According to my analysis of this individual’s trolling review of my book, to officially determine for myself whether she is in fact a book troll, I think the verdict is in, and it says… (drums roll…) “BOOK TROLL.” To be honest there is a part of me that does feel sorry for this person, because one of the symptoms of psychopathy is being a pathological liar. So, this trolling behavior that she exhibited in her sham review of my book may actually be a product of her mental illness. Here’s one article that indicates that as being a possibility: https://www.rd.com/culture/why-psychopaths-lie-so-well/ Regardless, that doesn’t give her the right to sabotage any author’s book all in an effort to prevent genuine readers from reading it. Again, this is also the same individual who posted a “live reading” of my novel on a public platform without any regard at all for my author rights. Thankfully, when I contacted that public platform they had it removed. So, some of these book trolls may very likely be psychopaths. If that’s the case, then I do feel sorry for them, but they still need to be exposed for their trolling behaviors so that authors and genuine readers are aware of them.
End of “Troll Readings #1”
Personal Note: Every time I read a passage from my book “The Wrythe and the Reckoning,” such as I had to do when analyzing the trolling review for making this post, I’m reminded of how much I absolutely love writing. The Wrythe and the Reckoning is such a fun and meaningful story, and I’m so excited for the publication of book two (in late November of 2020).
The following are several helpful links for learning more about the book trolling issue:
(This list includes those mentioned earlier in this post. You can also search “book trolls” and “good reads trolls” on Google):
– “ON TROLLS AND FAKE BAD REVIEWS”
https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2014/07/on-trolls-and-fake-bad-reviews.html
– “Goodreads – a Breeding Ground for Book Trolls”
https://www.matejaklaric.com/blog/goodreads-a-breeding-ground-for-book-trolls
– “Goodreads trolls getting you down? My personal story, but also a solution!”
https://readthebloodybook.com/2015/06/22/goodreads-trolls-getting-you-down-my-personal-story-but-also-a-solution/
– “Goodreads Sucks and is Not Worthwhile”
https://www.thewritingking.com/goodreads-sucks/
– “Bad Book Reviews | Why Goodreads Reviews Are the Worst”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93RA7h56NVU&t=231s
– “Why It’s Time To Stop The Goodreads Bullies”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stop-goodreads-bullies_b_1689661
(Notes: This article was written in 2012, but it shows just how bad the trolling problem has been in the past years.)
– “Anne Rice Signs Petition to Protest Bullying of Authors on Amazon”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/anne-rice-protests-bullying-amazon-petition
(Notes: Keep in mind this article was written in 2014. Even though Amazon has cracked down on the problem of anonymous troll reviewers, trolls do still roam and post malicious reviews on Amazon. They just do it more politely these days, including by using what appears to be a genuine username.)
– “Anne Rice Defends Authors from Online Bullying”
https://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/anne-rice-defends-authors-from-online-bullying
(Notes: Consider that this article, too, was written in 2014, and again, though there have been crackdowns on both sites, trolls do continue to run rampant on book review platforms, and especially to post sabotaging reviews on both GoodReads and Amazon.)
– “Amazon’s New Review Rules: Should Authors Be Worried?”
https://annerallen.com/2016/10/amazons-new-review-rules-should-authors-worry/
– “Amazon Book Review Policy Demystified for Authors”
https://www.authorimprints.com/amazon-book-review-policy-authors/
A Few Helpful Organizations for Authors:
(If you’re a writer and have experienced scams from shady companies or any corrupt behaviors at all associated with being a writer or publishing your book, you can report it to the following agencies. These agencies work to inform other writers on these issues, on a much wider scale, and in some cases, they can also provide you with information or legal services to remedy your case.)
– Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) –
https://www.ibpa-online.org/
– Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) –
https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/
– The Authors Guild
https://www.authorsguild.org/
– National Writers Union
https://nwu.org/
