After hours of pondering what to say in this blog, I decided to grab the steer by the horns and simply pull him down. For the last few days, I’ve been watching the response to an author’s underhanded tactics of removing less than four or five star reviews for her books on Amazon.

I am, as are many others, appalled to believe that a romance writer would do this. I’m proud that I write romance and I have some great friends who are also romance authors. Leave it to one bad apple to ruin the whole basket.

Some of the comments in response to this situation sent chills up my back. What the woman did was horrid but the decision by several reviewers ‘not read anymore romances’ and another comment of ‘this turned them off for romance books’ added the candle to the top of the cake. This can’t be happening but it is. I hope most of the reviewers realize that this is a few authors and not to assume the entire genre does this.

And why? Because the matter of trust between the readers and the authors have been severely damaged by a woman who decided she was above reproach. This is not good for the rest of us. Personally, I feel violated by what this author has done. For those of us that are thrilled to see what reviewers say about our works, whether it’s good or bad, her actions have destroyed the link holding us together.

Me? I want the good with the bad. I want to know what reviewers think so I can improve and hopefully write a better book because of it. This is a sign of being a professional. We as authors need to remember we are in the public eye and not only will our works but our professional image will make or break us in this field.

My mother always taught me the ‘Golden Rule’. Obviously, others never learned it. They should have. The internet is a fabulous tool but it can also be someone’s downfall. There’s too much information and if you’re caught lying, bullying, it will be remembered. This isn’t the type of mark you want branded on you when you’re striving to be a successful author. Nope, not at all.