ALTERNATIVE FACTS

EIGHT OR NINE MONTHS AGO, I entered my most recent novel, Parallel Lines in a Goodreads Giveaway [post for 22/2/2016]. I sent out twenty-five copies of the book to addresses selected by Goodreads; I had no control over who they were sent to. Since then I have had twelve reviews, a rush at the beginning of about 7 or 8 four and five star reviews then a trickle of one three-star, a couple of four star and now, one three star from someone who is the current president of the Dystopian Book Society [Jesus Christ!] and a one star review from:

Victoria Byrne

28 Withenfield Road

Northern Moor

MANCHESTER M23 9BS

I cannot access the three star review. I don’t care anyway what someone who is the current president of the Dystopian Book Society thinks. She shouldn’t have entered the Giveaway; she knew exactly what this novel was about and dystopian was never in the synopsis.

But I care a lot about the one star review. It’s a good piece of writing, nine people gave it 4* and one gave it 5* and you don’t get that, even on Goodreads, for crap. When I tried to read what she had written, I discovered that she hadn’t written anything . . . she had only rated it. She has no profile and no image of herself it simply says, Private Profile. It gets worse: this woman has read 671 books [she says] but only written four [4!] reviews so 667 books have ratings only.

What is the point? Who does she think she is doing this for? I mean, what a bloody pest. She has taken my ratings on Goodreads down from average 4.5* to average 3.5* in one casual click of her mouse. Trolling comes in many forms . . . .