What's the weirdest thing that's happened to you in your writing career? Hands down, mine was when an ex wrote a book about me (a romance, no less) and subbed it to my agent.
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My ex wrote a terrible poem about a girl called 'Holly' who he swore was absolutely not me despite her having all of my physical attributes and life story, and how he gave her the best orgasm of her life and she'd never have it that good again.
Reader, I did not finish once when we dated.
That might be the grandmotherly Radio Sheffield presenter who asked me live on air if "epic fantasy" meant 50 Shades, and was audibly disappointed when I said no.
Wrote a chapter dedicated to Eckhart Tolle in my first book and before it was published, he reached out to me and asked me to perform at his foundation. Wild.
A seething anonymous email demanding I stop promoting my book Belabour on Goodreads (No mention of other sites) or my book 'would be plagiarized with AI and uploaded to PirateBay soon' .
I got my first book deal when I woke up one morning, aged 22, and a rep of a publishing firm had read my LiveJournal and forum posts about RPGs and wanted me to write a reference book about the topic.
I occasionally write review for short stories. I only write them for stories I enjoy.
I have had more than one author who I gave a good review to and suggested their story write me to tell me I interpreted their story wrong.
Probably not the weirdest, but how much time to people have?
When I was working on my first book, I subbed the first page to a Livejournal group called Fangs, Fur, & Fey. A few days later, I got an email from an agent asking for a full manuscript. They turned me down, but it was the first clue that I might have a shot at being a successful writer.
Sold a story to an anthology that collapsed after the editor's flatmate spent all their money on crack. Sold it to another publication which got into print. With a nude centrefold. Then got it into a reprint anthology which sank without trace when the editor ended up in a Daily Mail 'scandal' story.
Yes. It features the same characters who turned up in the GSFWC anthology 'Forty Years of Rain'. There's a third story buried in a dead computer in my attic.
Recently, I commented on a UK magazine Facebook post about weird things happening. They contacted me and are doing a feature on me that comes out on the 21st 👻
I took a playwriting class and one of the other students wrote a play that was super obviously about having an affair with me and murdering my wife (who was pregnant at the time). That was weird, and a little scary.
Basing someone I didn’t like for one of my characters in one of my books and performing a full character assassination on them. A couple of years later they contacted me said they had found out I was published now and bought the book.
Like… even some of the details of what happened between that character and one of my main were the same (and where the reason I cut off contact with them). They were so lacking in self awareness they didn’t realise.
The worst part was I had to read it. I didn't want to. A friend urged me to. But it was just a weird old romance. Kind of stalky. It didn't change my mind about anything.
Being shortlisted for a £10k writing prize and at the swanky award ceremony where the six of us had mini interviews about our stories, being asked about the robot in mine. It was a story about overworked NHS staff. There was no robot.
A pretty well known TV drama show got in touch to ask permission to feature one of my books in an episode. I said yes, and when the show was aired watched it like a hawk. But, alas, never saw it.
In 2001 I had a novel ms. at a major publisher. They were considering having it be the first book in a new genre, “Adult young adult.” The ms was on paper. The office was in the WTC. After 9/11, I never heard from anyone affiliated with the project ever again.
Which is to say he was incredibly cool about it and really pushed me to the front. At his concert here he even introduced me to his audience mid gig making me stand up and shining the spotlight on his really special guest haha
It was a ghost deal that he suddenly got a conscience over and insisted my name went on the cover because it was so good no one would believe it was just him. At the launch he did a reading and played a game where he read a line and asked people to guess who wrote it, and answered each ‘nope, Steve’
Perhaps not the weirdest but the most awkward: I thought that my character was highly unlikable, and loved writing her because of it. To my alarm, readers commented on her opinions as if they were mine, and occasionally, they liked and agreed with her.
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Reader, I did not finish once when we dated.
I have had more than one author who I gave a good review to and suggested their story write me to tell me I interpreted their story wrong.
Probably not the weirdest, but how much time to people have?
(And weren't you there, James? It was at the Star of Kings)
Didn't know it was Tanith Lee until a bit later.
They said they loved it.
They didn’t realise they were in it.
Literally LOLing here
Horrifying but also kinda amazing just for the sheer level of wtfness