LKH Lashouts

Darla comes onto the amazon board occasionally to try to refute what the people say there -- she usually seems to be shoved off pretty quickly.

And if LKH is trying to stop people from posting negative reviews, it clearly isn't working -- the initial gushing ones have been shoved back in favor of negative ones, some of which were held up for awhile (I was lucky).

brightlyiburn, why do you think a lot of attention is paid to amazon boards? By LKH, or by publishers/customers?

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brightlyiburn.livejournal.com

I've seen things in the blog, especially during the first week of TH's release, corresponding to what's been said recently in the forum. They might not pay attention to it year round, but I imagine Darla and the rest of the cronies peek in during release times. Whether it's to see what they've managed to stir up or what...well, that's harder to say for sure without being them.

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refche.livejournal.com

It'd feel like giving LKH way too much credit to think it's actually planned for publicity. I think it's more of a call for pity? And I'm not saying it to be mean, I'm really not. But it feels like a huge "POOR ME" sign someone starved for attention would put up. The stupid part being that she doesn't know how to handle attention. She's just not the type, but she tries so hard.

Poor ~~Anita~~ LKH. It's so hard being stuck in puberty when you're over 30.

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dwg.livejournal.com

This is what I don't get -- she's blogged time and again about how she hates it when people draw conclusions about her personal life, either from the blogs or the books, and can't understand how it happens, and also whines about how she either had a blog and deleted it because it was too personal, or is bitching about how other people blog personal things and she just can't bring herself to do it -- only to dump a load like this on her very, very public internet blog.

I work on the theory that she's just attention whoring herself to the devoted masses for further affirmation that she is the greatest. Tons of sympathy for her hard, unloved existence, omg. It's that, or she just doesn't realise just how inflammatory the internet can be -- the snit at the negative readers is just the beginning because hey, both she and Darla seem to be under the impression that if you shake your finger at people and yell at them like a disapproving parent, somehow that will make all the people in cyberspace behave and be nice. For every person that genuinely sympathises with LKH's plight, there's bound to be a half dozen more who can either top it with their own issues that they don't wangst about, or just don't care about her troubles. Or both.

I don't think she's a publicity genius, though. She might have some savvy -- or at least, her entourage do and are bringing her along, kicking and screaming -- I kinda think she's more in the cult status rather than the Paris Hilton famous-for-being-~~famous~~utterly useless. But she certainly is right up there with Anne Rice for public egotistical meltdowns and literary implosions. It kinda seems to fall into the Chicago tagline of, "if you can't be famous, be INFAMOUS!" it's just that none of it is in a very positive light.

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Darla and LKH also seem to be under the impression that if you threaten someone with being called a prude, a religious zealot or a literary weenie, then they'll slink away out of fear of your razor-sharp tongue. They seem shocked whenever the web masses refuse to be cowed by the Diety.

And, for that matter, they seem to believe that if it's official (ie, from darla or the blog) then it will be automatically accepted as truth.

They're remarkably naive. ;) Especially about the web.

(deleted comment)

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Well, they weren't quotes -- just summing up. :) I've been called a LOT worse than "prude."

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booster-blue.livejournal.com

Even better when it's discovered that the insulter was some 12 year old.

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hearts-erised.livejournal.com

LOL I love WoW comments...they are always interesting

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auryanne.livejournal.com

*gasp* A dirty unwashed Horde! ;)

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amamelina.livejournal.com

threaten someone with being called a prude, a religious zealot or a literary weenie

but...but...but, I wear those titles proudly. I am a prude and a religious zealot. And how! *grins* Ok, I'm not much of a literary weenie, but I'll add that to my list of proud titles.

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Someday I'm going to put those on a shirt and walk into a LKH signing. ;) Wouldn't that be fun?

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I have a theory that the real LKH is being held hostage in her house (possibly drugged) while Darla and Jon write books (badly) and (worse)blogs. It would explain the disconnect between GP-OB and NIC-TH, plus all the weird behavior.

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*REALLY wishes this were true*

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It (almost) fits the facts. I mean think about it... the left turn in the middle of the series into disconnected porn, her writing skills are going downhill, the character has become a Mary Sue, time frames that make no sense, poor editing and blogs that ramble and contradict themselves. Nearly everyone on any board I've participated in says that the last bunch of books are written like (bad) fanfic. Why would an experienced author with 21 books to her name become a bad writer? We've had reports of LKH sounding completely lost and dependent on Jon and Darla at cons and signing, she rarely seems to leave her home unless she's on a tour...

Good grief-I think I stumbled into Steven King territory, but still-it kinda makes sense.

Do you think we can break into the Ivory Tower and save her?

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see, my biggest question is this:

WHEN did she divorce Gary? before or after the books started going downhill?

Is the plot in the books parrallel to the life-story outside? As in, Gary was stil around when Richard was 'lvoe of life'... then Jon/Micah appeared and.. ? (this may have been covered before, but I'm new to the snarky - so you may have edumacation on your books here!)

But yes, despite your Kinginian leanings, I think you may have something there.

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The dedication in OB is And for my husband, Gary, who took care of our daughter Trinity while I was in New Mexico.

I can't find my copy of NIC, but I think the dedication was to Jon, which makes my Kingian theory work even better.

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oooh, it does indeed.

Direct correlation between kidnap-I mean, divorcing Gary and the rapid down-ward spiral of quality.

So therefore, your Kinginian theory is looking more likely.

LKH kidnapped by Jon, drugged into oblivion and then Jon and co-horts write bad fanfic and pass it off as LKH originals!
HA! We are genious for discovering this foul plot!

Kudos to you!

*re-reads dedication in OB*..... that means she - she - SHE DID RESEARCH! Well, back then, anyway.

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(whispering) That's because Gary let her out of the house.

You know... if read properly the NIC-TH are a cry for help. For example, the ardeur is a date rape magic. So maybe they are using GHB to keep her passive and cooperative?

(I've definately spent too much time watching CSI)

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Maybe. That and Ice (cause it makes you horny, you know..)

(either that or SVU... pick your poison... )

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I'll totally incorporate the ICE as something that keeps the author from rebelling--addicted to sex?

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apparently.

it also explains the main topic of NIC-TH...

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You toootally need to write that up into novel form. ^__^ Not too "Misery" derivative, maybe more conspiracy thriller than scary psychodrama... but something! An underlying nerfarious plot to sublimianlly influence the huge consumer base..?

(I was in a chat recently where it was discussed when the hell vampires became cool and sexy and tortured and something to hang out with, dress like, aspire to, rather than scary motherf*ckers that you hid in your closet to avoid. And whose fault this was. [I blame Anne Rice!!] And whether or not the pendulum will swing back and the boom to which LKH belongs will sort of fade out a bit.)

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So does the estranged ex-husband who never knew what happened save her? I figure she (the fictional author of course :-) does some writing in each story and she's dropping clues/prayers for help into the books. The ardeur is clearly one, the NIC rape scene is another and so forth. I think I'd spin it as a psychodrama where the author gets manipulated by the evil people out for their own profit until she's completely isolated, but they can't kill the golden goose(obviously details will have to change to protect the innocent)

As far as sexy vampires, they've always been out there. I edited an anthology of pre-Dracula vampires (Carmilla, The Vampyre etc.) and they were all sexy. The draw of the vampire has been (historically) an attractive man or woman who seduces with his/her power, money looks etc. They then destroy you, and half the time you go willingly to your death.

The difference with LKH and the current crop of paranormal vampires (including Angel and season 6/7 Spike) is that the vampires present no risk.They are tortured souls who don't kill, live off of bottled blood etc. I didn't get too far into the VC, but I remember Louis biting his narrator in Interview. But you're right Anne Rice is the first time I remember a truty tortured vampire

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witchwillow.livejournal.com

Anne Rice = Vampires w/ Childhood Emo Trauma.

I'm a bitter bitch aren't I.

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Well, at least she admits it. ;)

Anyway, I totally agree that most of the present vampires are defanged -- the only ones I can think of that aren't are usually the baddies, which also happen to be the most popular ones, often. When a vampire won't bite you, that seductive edge is gone, and you just have an angsty whiny person who can't go outside during the day.

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I still think that Dracula et al, though they used sex in their monstrous arsenal, were not intended so much to be sexy in the way that our current crop is. There wasn't that safety of the overdone and banal, with it -- sex was still something to be controlled or society would crumble, torn to shreds under the talons of out-of-control orgasmic "hysterical" women who'd do better to have their naughty bits surgically excised. Stoker used sex with Dracula because that sort of flagrant sexuality was still very foreign and terrifying to his contemporaries, whereas for us, it's primarily there to titillate (and maybe sell corsets and makeup) -- possibly outrage, but not scare, so much.

Okay, FINE, so sex is still terrifying to half of America, my POINT is... uh, what was my point? ^___^ Yeah, the tortured, regretful vampire crap. Okay, you're right. ;-) That is the major difference. There is bargaining with today's vampires, they've lost that sense of being an unstoppable horrible force. Maybe that's why 1. I can deal with them! 2. zombies are becoming the cash cow. Brrr. *hides under bed* *had "Shaun of the Dead" nightmares even though she laughed through the whole thing*

(I am terribly interested in that anthology now.)

Ohhhh, this:

"she's dropping clues/prayers for help into the books. The ardeur is clearly one, the NIC rape scene is another and so forth."

Is creepy and fantastic. That would actually upset me, in book form.

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Yeah, but Dracula could both titillate AND scare. None of the newer vampires seduce their innocent victims, and they never do cool things like stalk everyone on a ship and drive the captain nuts.

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Carmilla was a lesbian vampire story. Stoker used sex to seduce, Lord Ruthven (The vampyre-commonly considered to be the first 'romantic' vampire story) was obsessed with a young man named Aubrey and when Aubrey rejected him (for having low morals-got to love the Victorians!) he went out and seduced Aubrey's sister, married her and killed her ON HER WEDDING DAY. But all those vampires were dangerous.

There have always been other vampires, but you can blame Polidori (or maybe Lord Byron) for the origion of the aristocratic vampire that prays on high society. Before Anne Rice there were funny vampires (see Love at First Bite) but I don't remember one that was whiny.

Please forgive the history lesson-it's a hobby horse of mine.

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There was ONE early vampire who hated what he was: Varney. Apparently he hates his condition, and is shown pretty sympathetically, although he goes further than most angsty vampires by finally offing himself.

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God Bless Varney. He does hate who he is (I'd forgotten he was the first of the whiny vamps) but at least he does stuff, including feed, kill, turn another into a vampire (for revenge) and kills himself.

Thinking of Varney leads us to Dark Shadows and Barnabus Collins. If you think about it, isn't Dark Shadows the mother of paranormal fiction? You've got the self loathing vampire, werewolves, zombies, man made monsters, witches, time travel, alternate universes, complicated story lines, curses, doomed romances... am I missing anything?

Anyone want to bet that LKH and Anne Rice grew up watching Dark Shadows?

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Thank God somebody finally heard of Varney! Whenever I mention him as an early vampire in fiction, I get blank stares. And yeah, he's remarkably active for an angst vampire!

Now that you mention Dark Shadows, it does sound quite a bit like paranormal fiction -- right down to the soap opera aspect of it. ;) I'm ashamed to admit I haven't seen too many episodes, tho. *weeps*

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although he goes further than most angsty vampires by finally offing himself

Damn.

Anne Rice's vampires never really succeeded in offing themselves, did they? (It's been a while. I'm thinking Armand.)

This is fun! Yay, book shopping!

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Well, Varney tries a lot harder. Armand and Louis just sit out and watch the sunrise -- if I recall correctly, Varney jumped into an active volcano. ;)

And you can actually find the Varney book online; you're unlikely to find it anywhere else.
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

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Please forgive the history lesson

Silly -- I love history lessons! LITERARY history lessons = Cloud nine

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Ohhhh, this:

"she's dropping clues/prayers for help into the books. The ardeur is clearly one, the NIC rape scene is another and so forth."

I've got to figure out how to make the situation more fictional (right now I'd get sued by LKH) but I'm pretty certain this is going to turn into a story.

The idea bothers me because it's actually a viable answer for the question WTF?

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cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com

I myself formulated the same theory some time ago, I think during a discussion of how Jon always gets himself in the photos at signings, which just struck me as being really the biggest faux pas imaginable - surely the fan is there to be photographed with the object of their fandom? But no, Jon has to be in the photo too - so is he just a totally non-socially-aware idiot or is it his desire for recognition bursting through?

I'm not sure about the "holding Laurell hostage" thing, though: I think it's more likely (and a lot sadder) that people like Jon can see her weaknesses (not reconciled to mother's death, wants a soulmate, wants approval) and will happily exploit them.

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okay, so you may be right.

But isn't the kidnap theory much more interesting?!

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longtail.livejournal.com

She reveals so much about herself because she wants people to understand her, but she gets pissed off when her opinions and thoughts aren't given the reaction she wants. I don't think she actually wants "privacy," I think she wants to be understood, respected, and revered.

Oversharing is a sign of insecurity. She spends way too much time trying to justify herself.

It's the "Alone in a crowd" syndrome.

"Go away, I'm being emo. Hey, don't ignore me! HEY! Stop laughing at me! Haterz!"

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relmneiko.livejournal.com

Given how closely Ms. Hamilton identifies with Anita Blake these days, I'm a bit afraid to read any new postings about her convention appearances, for fear that she might decide that she, too, has the 'ardeur' and go for it right there on the floor of a Barnes and Noble with her husband, her bodyguard, and a few hapless bystanders.

Just - LOL.

With all the posts on the Amazon board about Laurelita being a repressed and closeted lesbian, I can't be the only one with the sudden urge to write LKH/Darla RPS.

...Can I? XD

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