Book Blogger Confessions: Author Interactions Edition

Book Blogger Confessions is a meme that posts the 1st Monday of every month, where book bloggers "confess" and vent about blogging-related topics. This meme is hosted by Midnyte Reader and For What It's Worth. So click on the link(s), grab the logo and jump right in! Let's get to know each other a little better :).

July 1 Question: Author interactions. Have you ever emailed an author to tell them you loved/disliked their book? As a book reviewer, do you think we should cross that line?
Do you mind when authors re-tweet or comment on reviews? Does that intimidate you in any way in regards to review writing, knowing that they may be reading it?
Do author interactions - both pro or con - change how you view their work?

I don't have a lot of experience in this field, since I've only interacted with two authors so far (if you don't count a couple of comments I left on blogs). One of them was B.C. Johnson, author of Deadgirl. As a matter of fact, I contacted him on Goodreads because I was about to review his book, when I found out it was out of print (due to the publisher shutting up shop) - so I wanted to know if there was any chance it would get a reprint somewhere else. He replied in a friendly manner, which was probably to expect, since I had read and liked his book and was even willing to review it ;). Anyway, Mr. Johnson told me he was in the process of negotiating a new book deal - besides writing a sequel for Deadgirl - but he didn't have any concrete information yet. So he basically said it was up to me to decide if reviewing the book at that stage or not. I bounced a couple of ideas off him, and we agreed about me reviewing/promoting the future Deadgirl reprint and sequel the way you can see here and here. I had been honest from the start about my lack of power as a reviewer (see: small trail of followers, no Facebook or Twitter or G+ accounts), but Mr. Johnson sounded genuinely happy about my interest in Deadgirl nevertheless. Now, since I'm a picky old girl, in my third message I even pointed out a couple of mistakes I had spotted in the book, saying that I hoped I wasn't coming across as rude, but since Deadgirl was getting a reprint...I added that I was surprised to find said mistakes in a book so well-written, and apologized in advance for any involuntary offense caused. After sending the message, I told myself I had managed to alienate my very first author O_o. Luckily, Mr. Johnson didn't even flinch at my bold move, and we went on happily ever after. The matter wasn't even alluded to till three weeks later, when I wrote to him apologizing for a couple of typos in my previous message, and he made a witty remark about typos even appearing in published books sometimes.

The last time I messaged Mr. Johnson, I said I had some questions for him, but I would have left him alone for a while. He replied that his readers were always welcome to ask questions and I didn't have to worry about bothering him, but I haven't written to him ever since. I will do it again at some point, but I still think it's best not to push a writer too much - even a nice one ;).

I had an odd (though not unpleasant) experience with another writer on Goodreads. She saw her upcoming release in my NS (not sure) list - because yes, GR authors get a notification when you add one of their books! though I'm not sure if they are alerted when you remove them too. Anyway, this woman wrote to me saying that she had perused my profile, and she thought her book might not be up my alley because of the romance angle, so it might be best for me not to read it. It was done in a way that left me unsure about her real intentions at first - I thought she was trying to market me her book using reverse psychology. So, I replied kindly, but actually saying so. Upon further exchanges, I came to believe she was honestly trying to warn me off her book because she was afraid I would rate it poorly...anyway, I did politely remind her that reading a book is a free choice, and it's not like an author can steer all the supposedly right audience toward it. Now, you can assume this was an awkward conversation, but in fact it was interesting and even fun to have. Bottom line, I still have her book in my NS list to date. It can't hurt, can it? :)

About authors re-tweeting and such...apart from Mr. Johnson linking to my review on FB and T, I've never experienced it to date. I don't think any of the authors I rated poorly have had anything to say about that so far. More precisely - I don't think they even know I exist, unless they stalk Goodreads :). But I guess I might get nervous at least, if I were a "powerful" blogger, about the chance of my reviews causing drama. You know, like when an author lashes out at a blogger for being honest, nothing more. Not that I would cease to be honest if that should happen. One more reason to do so, actually.

Now, interactions and being friends with authors are a different can of worms. On one hand, I would love to be close to an author...on the other, I'm afraid I would lose my objective stance on her/his books. Of course, one can always choose to promote said books without actually reviewing them - but I'm not sure it would work for me. I do need to have my say LOL. So, unless something unexpected makes me change my mind in the future, for now I'm trying not to cross the line between reader and friend. Assuming that someone in the writing field would be interested in being my friend LOL.

I'm really looking forward to hearing from the "established bloggers". Of course, I don't expect you dropping lots of names - unless it's harmless ;). But I will enjoy your stories nonetheless, and probably learn something from them too!