Novelist spirals after online attacks in new thriller from Vancouver author.
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Soon, the pile-on begins and Camryn’s novel is suddenly the focus of some seriously awful review bombing. For those who are unfamiliar, review bombing is when a lot of people — or a few people with multiple accounts — post negative reviews online to harm the sales or popularity of a product or business.
As the online negativity grows, Camryn finds herself taking it on, and taking steps to find out who is behind the harassment. What results is a thriller about the power within the dark corners of the internet.
For Harding, the story grew out of her own experiences as the writer of 13 novels.
The local author added that, through talks with her writer friends, it became clear that women were the receivers of most of the online trolling.
“People are quite comfortable telling women that they are getting something wrong. They don’t know what they are talking about, etc., etc.,” said Harding, adding that when she published her first book in 2004, people made comments to her through her website. For the most part, the feedback was positive and friendly. But as time went on, and social media began to gain ground, Harding noticed a rise in people putting her down.
“I was starting to see the messages I was getting were not that nice,” said Harding. “People take offence to swearing, ‘Oh, you don’t know enough about guns.’ I even had Canadians coming after me for not setting my books in Canada.
“There was one woman, every book she would come for me. But you know what, I thought, ‘OK, I can handle all this.’ And then, maybe about a year and a half ago, I got a really abusive, really horrible email.”
The email, says Harding, wasn’t threatening but it was abusive. The commenter had read Harding’s novel The Perfect Family and wasn’t happy with a scene that involved a bunch of teens smoking shatter (potent marijuana resin). They felt Harding was overblowing the effects of the substance.
“He accused me of being part of these conspiracy theories. It was so weird; he was just ranting. He finished with f— you Karen. You look like God ironed Sarah Palin,” said Harding. “I thought, ‘I’m done. We’re removing the contact me link and I’m not going to be that accessible to people anymore.’ ”
Harding is still on social media and says readers are respectful and kind, for the most part.
“But you know, there is the dark side of it that people don’t see,” said Harding.
And she knew there could be a story there. So, Harding began to research trolling. And what she learned fascinated her.
“There are people who it is almost like a full-time job for them. It’s a hobby to try and get a reaction,” said Harding. “It is so insane to me. I can’t imagine anything I would enjoy less than going around and hurting people.”
During her research, Harding came across the book Troll Hunting, by Ginger Gorman. In her book, the Australian journalist, who herself had been trolled, talks about who is doing the trolling.
“They are usually young men. Some of them are narcissists and think the rules don’t apply to them and what they’re doing doesn’t matter. Or some of them are sociopaths, they don’t care. Then some of them think they have the right to be angry. If other people are succeeding, they want to bring them down,” said Harding. “The psychology of why you would get off on that was really interesting to me.”
In The Haters, the initial nasty online trolling begins with a woman named Ingrid Wandry. Harding made the name up after she did some interesting due diligence.
“I was trying to find a name that had no internet history. I didn’t want it to be a person that would come up if people looked it up,” said Harding. “There are no Ingrid Wandrys that I could find at the time.”
At the end of the day Harding sees The Haters as a sort of “cautionary tale” for new writers who may not know the sting of negative online chatter. As well, it’s a reminder to those who post mean things that there are real people on the receiving end of their nasty words.
“When I talk to my friends who are not in the industry, they are sometimes shocked at the stuff I have to deal with that is negative and ugly. Because it’s not like that in a normal job. I mean, you don’t get that kind of feedback if you go to work in a corporate world, or a factory, or whatever. You’re not usually getting strangers telling you how much you suck.”
Remember the Seinfeld episode where Jerry is heckled during his act by a woman who has come to the show with Kramer? Jerry decides later to give her a taste of her own medicine, and he goes to her office and heckles her while she is working.
“That makes me think, and I would never do it, but I had a message on Facebook once from a woman who worked in a jewelry store in Coquitlam,” said Harding. “She was like, ‘I read your book and I hated the ending. I thought it was stupid.’ Something like that. And I thought, ‘I could drive to you. It says where you work. I could go out there and tell you the way you sell jewelry is stupid.’ But I would not do that.”
While Camryn’s spiralling is at the centre of the story, she isn’t the only one being hurt by trolls. Some teens at her school are also deep into the troublesome world of online bullying.
“I was very haunted by a couple of Canadian cases, one being Rehtaeh Parsons, and one being Carson Crimeni. Two kids who were videoed in horrible circumstances and (those videos were used) to bully them,” said Harding. “I would see that coverage on the news and couldn’t watch. The cruelty of it, it just felt like it was such a mean, mean, mean thing to do.
“These days one click and you can destroy someone’s life.”
Harding’s five must-read thrillers written by women:
The Offing, by Roz Nay
With elegant prose, exotic settings and heart-pounding suspense, Nay is one of my favourite thriller authors. Her latest release, The Offing, takes readers to Australia where two best friends crew on a yacht, hoping to escape their pasts. They soon learn that there are secrets you can’t outrun, and the present may be even more dangerous. There’s also a saltwater crocodile.
Nightwatchinng, by Tracy Sierra
This is one of the scariest books I have ever read. It’s not graphic or gory, but it’s a masterclass in tension. A mother must protect her children from a brutal intruder in this visceral, unputdownable read. Nightwatching is beautifully written and the theme of believing women is timely and powerful.
An Unthinkable Thing, by Nicole Lundrigan
Nicole has many books I could recommend, (her latest, A Man Downstairs, is also fantastic), but An Unthinkable Thing is my personal favourite. Imagine if Downton Abbey was a thriller and you’ll get an idea of this tale of class, cruelty, and the dark secrets of the rich and powerful. Simply brilliant.
The Whispers, by Ashley Audain
Toronto’s Audrain writes incredible literary thrillers that explore the lives of women and mothers. When a young boy mysteriously falls from his bedroom window late at night, a neighbourhood must contend with their role in the tragedy, and the betrayals, ambitions and jealousies they harbour. The last line of The Whispers is so chilling it made me gasp out loud.
Strange Sally Diamond, by Liz Nugent
Sally Diamond’s father told her to put him out with the rubbish when he died. When she does, she becomes the target of police, the media and her concerned community. Because Sally has a disturbing past that she can’t remember, and it’s all about to be brought to light. Irish author Nugent’s novels are some of the darkest in the genre, but she always writes with wit and heart. She’s a must-read for me.