Outside looking in - Reflection from the Cait Corraine scandal

This post is dedicated to the authors and books impacted by this scandal, listed here in no particular order.

*Voyage of the Damned -- Frances White

*So Let Them Burn -- Kamilah Cole

*The Poisons We Drink -- Bethany Baptise

*To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods -- Molly X Chang

*Mistress of Lies -- KM Enright

*The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

*The Empire Wars -- Akana Phenix

*Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love -- Katrina Kwan

*Iron Widow/Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor -- Xiran Jay Zhao

*Gods of Hunger series -- R. M. Virtues

This isn't my usual kind of post, but I feel moved to do it. For some little time, I've been half-following a recent scandal involving author Cait Corraine. Put briefly, Corriane created multiple fake Goodreads accounts, simultaneously posting positive reviews of their own work while review bombing the work of multiple BIPOC authors including Xiran Jay Zhao, Alana Phenix, Frances White, and many others. After attempts to resolve the matter privately failed, Zhao took the step of publicising the matter, which brought it wider attention and a groundswell against Corraine ultimately leading to them losing their book deal. A recent follow-up has seen Corraine blaming their behaviour on their medication, which is its own unpleasant can of worms and slap in the face of those who cop with mental illness, of which I'm one (that part made me feel almost personally insulted). Even this is a heavily simplified version of this fiasco.

On the one hand, I'm not in the best position to talk about this in a concrete way. I'm male and white, and while I'm neurodivergent and bisexual, I've likely had nowhere near the troubles these other authors had getting published. I likely had unconscious ethnic and biological biases working with me rather than against me (which shouldn't be the norm, but unfortunately still is), so my talking about this particular scandal can come off as the height of hypocrisy. But something about this struck me hard.

Looking at this play out and seeing recent developments, particularly hearing some further updates on the situation via this compilation video on Zhao's YouTube channel, it got me to thinking. Zhao makes valid points about racism not being just shouting slurs and showing outright hatred. It's the unconscious biases, the unthinking belittlement, the little things that are done through ignorance or rather than active malice. Ours is a world that for several hundred years saw a culture of colonisation and oppression, and while great strides have been made away from that, there is still that ingrained legacy.

And, perhaps the most difficult to admit, I had those feelings inside me. I'd had resentments and suspicions that were unpleasant to remember while I was trying to get myself a publisher. I'm hopefully beyond that now, but I have to remember them. And admit them to myself. They are part of the ugly side of me. The side that can be petty and spiteful, the side that contemplates hitting something so hard that it breaks, that might fly off the handle and become something horrific to myself. As stated above, racism isn't just overt actions. It's not realising that there is something like that in myself as well.

Of course, another recent scandal can't be completely ignored, that of the Hugo nomination snubs which appear to have been done purely to avoid political backlash from the host country. Done in such a clumsy and condescending way that it's a slap in the face of the world of fiction writing, where unfair situations in the real world should be challenged, and those challenges celebrated. It makes one depressed at the industry, especially as an author just starting out. But there is a silver lining to be taken from this. It was exposed, Cait Corraine lost their book deal, and while there has unfortunately been bile flung at those who decided to break this scandal when private resolution failed, there's also been support for those who were victimised by this. If you can, and I plan to when I'm financially able, please support the authors and their work.

Writers aren't a competition any more. We're a community. And people like Corraine undermine everything.

Updates, February 2024 edition

It appears to be the vogue at the moment to offer updates on work, life, the universe, and mostly everything else. I've been a little slow with the blog recently, due to factors that will be discussed below. But hopefully things will start to change around slowly.

First, personal stuff. I'm within a few weeks/months of moving into new accommodation, which will mean disruptions to my life and work patterns. I'll be mitigating as much as possible, but there'll still be an awkward phase of making do, which I've never been good at. The current accommodation has served me well, but it's really not holding up well. This new one will be newer, and more suited to my current needs and wants as a creator and human. Also, I've been beginning what is the first module of an Open University degree, which will help me in my future career both with my writing and with other jobs.

On a work front, things have been bouncing between being stuck in a rut, and going great guns. The damage to my external hard drive where my work was stored--after forgetting to do backups in six months--has resolved into a situation where I've got everything back, plus a new external hard drive thrown in. OnTrack managed to get that all sorted out for a reasonable price given that I sent them a small and delicate device. In better news, the first round of edits for the second part of my Cluster Cycle (sample of the first one out now right here) have come in, been seen to, and sent back to my publisher. And looking through that book again gave me an odd feeling of maturity. I was able to see where my plotting and explanation had faltered, where my grammar hadn't been up to snuff, and put those to rights where sensible and possible. One project that looked promising has sadly folded for the moment as it wasn't panning out, while another is looking more promising and more...me.

The most difficult thing has been trying to works and keep my self-balance during a period where the world is going through another phase of turbulence that isn't just a localized issue, but spreading into national and international environments. We are also entering a time of new technological advances which are bringing new challenges and threats which haven't been addressed legally as yet. The world is uncertain, more than occasionally shitty, worse than Heinlein or Kojima could have envisioned it in a way. But there are still reasons to say 'this won't turn grimdark'. I just need to remember them.

Here's to a new home, a new book, a new year, a new period of education, and hopefully peace somewhere in this crazy world so we can take a breath and reflect. Stay hopeful.