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My book is being reviewed by a dog. Who am I to argue with the star rating?

I am no stranger to the fact that my character Queenie riles people up like she’s about to steal their husband. She has been called a “problematic fave”, which I take as a compliment, but she has also been called every nasty thing under the sun. It has been exciting to get used to readers’ immediate access to me via social media, and to navigate their opinions.

Do they think that having a book on the shelves means its author has no feelings? One time, I went on Goodreads to see what people were saying. I have never done that again. But social media is a very different thing, because you don’t even have to go in search of what people are saying; they have no problem coming to you, and often hold nothing back.

This week, I’ve learned via Instagram that a sort of dog-themed book club is reading Queenie. Every day I’ve been tagged in a review that, judging by its picture of a dog with my book, seems to have been written by a canine reader. It has been a tense time, honestly. I never know what to expect from reviews. Some are nice. Some are rude. The book has been awarded five stars, and it has also been given one. But who am I to argue with a dog?