on being a fan(girl/grrl)

[bronze_ribbons]

There's a comment thread at Dear Author on the Cassie Edwards mess that has generated some really thoughtful posts not only on plagiarism, but on (1) editorial responsibility, (2) seeing authors as separate from their work (if/when it should happen, and if/when does it affect one's interest in their new books), (3) how the behavior of some fans affects/silences others, and other charged topics. Nora Roberts herself responds to several comments.

[And in this thread, Roberts clarifies her stance on fanfic (she doesn't want to see it on the fansite she visits every day but elsewhere is fine). I don't happen to harbor any urges to play in her universes (even though I reread several of her trilogies every year or so), but it's nonetheless cheering to find her views are similar to Bujold's on this issue.]

Comments

[ellid.insanejournal.com]

Fascinating thread, and I'm heartened by her stance and that of most authors. A friend of mind who's written some well-received books told me once that he'd *love* to have fanfic written about his characters because he'd know he was popular enough to *have* fanfic.

As for me, right now I'm rereading the "In Death" series, which I adore. No urge to play in the sandbox, but I love the characters and the humor, and the fact that Nora Roberts writes decent police procedurals. I like them a lot better than the increasingly pretentious (and tragic) V.I. Warshawski books, which I finally found unreadable because the author seems to be taking them (and herself) way too seriously....

[dichroic.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

I'm not much of a romance reader, but I think I might buy the next Nora Roberts book I come across just because of what she did with the ferret donation.