Perhaps I'm weird and twisted, but I find negative comments directed at me (as opposed to objective, well-informed, well-argued criticism) absolutely hilarious. I find it hysterical that someone who doesn't know me at all can leap to the most ludicrous conclusions, calling me names, or telling me to "educate yourself", applying demonstrably absurd epithets to my statements.

On a related note, most of the reviews I see for my novels are positive, but sometimes I get guffaw-inducing critiques such as "too scary". Criticising a gothic horror mystery for being "too scary" is as preposterous as criticising a comedy for being "too funny". Other times, people leave negative reviews because something I wrote disturbed them, or got under their skin. Again, I see that as a postiive, not a negative.

I'm not holding out for universal popularity. Sometimes the kind of subject matter I write about is going to be divisive. That's something I made peace with as a child, when "concerned letters" were sent home to my parents by some of the more ludicrously puritanical teachers that taught at the strict Christian school where I was educated (in response to some of my darker stories written in English lessons).

Anyway, thanks again for the article.