Many readers are familiar with what we refer to as a DNR List aka Do Not Read List. Typically, a DNR list consists of authors a reader is choosing not to read for a variety of reasons. One might add an author to the list due to bigoted views, poor representation, bad behavior in the book community, the use of AI- the reasons are typically personal to the reader who is curating that list and vary wildly. Some readers, such as myself, tend to share these lists with the public in order to assist other readers in making informed decisions regarding what books they are consuming. Generally, when I add books to my DNR list it is due to bigotry and/or bad behavior on the part of the author.
For instance, when the Matt Shaw debacle was going down, I curated a list of all the authors who were supporting Matt on his misogynistic and dangerous against a youtuber. As that particular situation involved months of bullying from Matt in a public forum where these authors were now defending him- I chose not to read from these authors who were all displaying overt misogyny.
Something that tends to happen when readers publicly share these lists or criticize an author in any way is the weaponisation of the term book banning. Without fail, you will always see an author wax poetic about their book being banned the second they’re faced with any sort of criticism or backlash.
Do these authors simply not understand book banning? Or do they absolutely understand it, but take the victim stance in order to deflect their own terrible actions?
Let’s take a look at two of the most recent situations I’ve dealt with in regards to authors crying book banning when they are simply being held accountable for their own actions.
Donnalyn Vojta
First up, we have Donnalyn Vojta who is the author of The Teddy Bear Chronicles which is a thriller duology where the reader experiences the story through the eyes of teddy bears… yeah.
This story is uniquely narrated by inanimate household teddy bears, which, notwithstanding their immobility, have interesting thoughts and perspectives on the shocking events and intriguing relationships which form before their plastic eyes.
Recently, Donnalyn was featured on a video of mine regarding authors who were Pro-Israel and therefore on my DNR list. In an effort to combat false information being spread about authors supporting Israel without any proof, I have been sharing videos that include screenshots.
While Donnalyn was not at mentioned or tagged in this video in any way, she did find it and proceeded to send a DM asking why she was included and that she was willing to learn. However, before I could even decide how to respond to her she sent the following comment:
Now, you can see why my response was to tell her to get off my page and block her. What is the point when it is obvious there is no real intention to learn?
This kicked off a series of multiple public posts calling me out by name stating that I was attacking her. Let’s let the screenshots speak for themselves.
Something I identified in a public post of mine was the use of DARVO- deny, attack, reverse victim and offender. This is something that you will typically see from abusers and is very often utilized by authors when they’re called out on their shitty behavior. In Donnalyn’s case, she was very careful to exclude certain things from her narrative in hopes that she would convince her followers to find me and defend her.
More than that, when DARVO didn’t work- Donnalyn resulted to name calling and threats before eventually crafting a post that proclaimed her the victim of mean bullies and resumed posting Harry Potter giveaway content.
Tillie Cole + Bink Cummings
Currently, we are dealing with the rabid fans of romance author Tillie Cole, who is most popular for her book A Thousand Boy Kisses. That is not the book that has the community speaking out- the book(s) in question follow a motorcycle club and three books within this series focus on former KKK members who are somehow being redeemed through this cult-battling biker club.
When this started gaining traction on TikTok, the specific book being mentioned was Darkness Embraced, the 7th installment of the series. Let’s take a look at the synopsis.
So note that we have the typically racist trope of the white man and the cartel princes- written by a white British woman.
We have the WOC used as a redemption arc for a racist man- written by a white British woman.
We have slurs and confessions of lynching- written by a white woman.
In the video I made regarding this situation, I outlined my lived experience as the daughter of a racist white man from Texas and a Mexican woman and how in real life- the racism doesn’t stop. The oppression doesn’t stop. I mentioned how these men are steeped in white supremacy and how this was simply not Tillie’s story to tell, but that… well that angered quite a few people.
Note how the immediate response is not to ask questions, to attempt to understand why- it is to go on the attack. To defend THEMSELVES because if they enjoyed that book and we’re saying it’s racist… what does that say about them? Instead of examining their racism, they immediately began to discredit and speak over every WOC who told them it was wrong.
And many of these white readers seem to take issue with the fact that the book is fiction when the reality is that it is NEVER just fiction. Below is a quote from alexagabriel.net from a blog post in 2016:
Fiction does not exist in a vacuum. Books, movies, TV series: All fiction is both the result of the common views and opinions of the society it is created in, and – inevitably – a reinforcement of these views and opinions. Even the most uncontroversial novel or TV series incorporates countless social mores and generally held beliefs, and it reinforces them simply by referencing them.
But I digress- we should move on to what sparked so much of this and that is author Bink Cummings creating both a stitch of my video and a Facebook post that incited quite a bit of ire from the dark romance group and resulted in a large amount of Tillie Cole fangirls flooding the comment sections of creators bringing this issue to light. Let’s look at the Facebook post:
So again, remember when Matt Shaw very intentionally (in my opinion) steered the extreme horror community toward the idea that we were criticizing the genre and its readers as a whole? This is what Bink is doing here. In this post, she frames the situation as being about motorcycle club romance (no one ever mentioned that) and uses some interesting terminology to express her frustration at the thought that perhaps white woman don’t have an inherent right to the stories of marginalized communities.
And just like Donnalynn, she begins this post by creating a victim of her situation- one that she actively chose to put herself in by stitching my video and centering herself. In the stitch, she mentions that she is a motorcycle club author (why do you keep bringing this up, Bink?), and equates the KKK to a cult… which it is not.
By framing the KKK as a cult, Bink is actively planting the seed that these men are victims themselves. Victims of brainwashing and violence and deserving of redemption. But make no mistake- the KKK is a terrorist group who still enact violence to this day.
There is no “just fiction” when the group that you are glamorizing is still committing acts of terror to this day.
What is interesting here is that Bink is the one to bring book banning into this situation- not Tillie. One must wonder why it is that Bink is so desperate to fight for Tillie’s right to write KKK romance without criticism.
So again- do these authors know what book banning is? Book banning is the Scholastic Book Fair allowing schools to opt out of including diverse books. Book banning is when books aren’t allowed in schools, libraries, etc. by order of an institution of some sort. It disproportionately impacts marginalized authors such as Palestinian author Adania Shibli who was to be honored for having won the 2023 LiBeraturpreis award only to have it yanked away due to Israel’s genocide against Palestine.
It is interesting to me that these white authors view readers not wanting to read their books as book banning when they are the least likely to have their books banned.
More so, it is interesting how they consistently express that our videos have the potential to ruin authors lives, when the men they’re writing about have quite literally lynched people.
I think this speaks to their inherent privilege and complicities in white supremacy. For these authors, who have face none of the barriers that BIPOC authors face- the idea that they cannot do or say whatever they like without criticism is equal to the oppression of marginalized authors. And they are all too willing to not only steal our stories, but our struggles as well.
What’s the deal with Tillie Cole?
The post discusses the backlash against Tillie Cole’s book “Darkness Embraced,” featuring a romance between a KKK heir and a Mexican woman. Critics argue it romanticizes racism and the KKK. Cole’s fans harassed those voicing concerns, while she issued a delayed apology but failed to address the harassment adequately, sparking further outrage.
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