Tuesday 21 October 2014

Why HarperCollins Have Lost A Customer


I'd like to bring to your attention the online (and, it seems, the real world) behaviour of one of your authors. Kathleen Hale.

Now, are you ready for this? This is a woman who took a negative review of her novel so badly that she wound up stalking and harassing the woman who posted the said review. Can we just repeat that:

SHE STALKED AND HARASSED SOMEONE WHO POSTED A NEGATIVE REVIEW.

Not only that, but she BULLIED someone who claimed to have been molested by Hale's own mother.

Where, in anyone's right mind, is that sane and safe behaviour?

I'm sure you're receiving a million emails about this and I'm sure I'll get a standard response from you that these articles are all fiction and not to worry about them.

I do worry, that's the problem.

You see, like many people, I've been bullied and harassed. But not just a little bit bullied and harassed and stalked. No, I've been at the point where I've had to move several times and change my name. I've had to have people tell the stalker that I'm DEAD before I've been left alone. I still live in fear of those people and constantly have to hide.

Let's reiterate that again shall we?

Stalking, bullying and harassing, whether real or fictional should NOT be tolerated. If those articles are fiction, then they should have said as much. If this is her behaviour, as a publisher, you shouldn't be scared. You should be TERRIFIED. Because if this was me was stalking, I wouldn't just be suing her. I'd be suing YOU as well. And she'd have made half my case against her and yourselves by posting it all on the public forum.

I'm appalled at you for allowing such articles to be published and I hope you reprimand this author. If she takes this action every time a negative review is posted then maybe you should tell her that writing (or any other form of employment that allows reviews) isn't for her. Ask her how she'd feel if she was the one who was being harassed. I bet she wouldn't like it. Actually, I'd love to sit and ask her myself. But I get the feeling that, from the way she writes, it probably wouldn't get through her thick skull. She looks like she's one of those people who's so wrapped up in herself in her own “problems” that no one else matters. I'd love you to prove me wrong and show me that she's actually a nice, decent, and caring human being but I doubt that you will. I would ask for a written apology from her but I'm scared that, if I send you my address, she'd come and stalk me as well.

If these articles were promotion for her book you can count me out from buying it. They're in extremely poor taste and even you have to admit to that. As such, you've now lost me as a customer and I'll be encouraging my friends, family, and community to do the same. 

Yours,
Rae


2 comments:

  1. This is no excuse but what I see here are several people who need psychological treatment.

    I don't see in her article reference to a second visit though am I blind?

    I also very much disagree with people hiding behind the internet to post poison and if (I am not doing research into this) the blogger has a history then that is what she is doing.

    I agree an author needs to be able to take constructive criticism and ignore vitriol but it does not make it acceptable.

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  2. Yikes. Hale appears to be the most accomplished stalker I’ve ever heard about. Stalking her own reviewer? Really? It sounds like she doesn’t know whether she’s the heroine of a romantic comedy or the tortured artist on a Lifetime special. Either way she needs a restraining order – not a book contract. Thank you for highlighting this, and I too will think twice before buying from HC again.

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