The following are the toxic personalities you will find on the Amazon fora. Some of them are real people. Others act under pseudonyms. All are bullies who live in the fora of Amazon.com and seek out unsuspecting authors to attack and destroy. Our blog reader, G. Faso, described it best:
So, watch out for the following names:
I have another one for you to add. This one calls herself DOODLE GIRL (unless she changed it lately). Look her up on amazon if you need to because she goes around giving only 1 2 or 3 star reviews to indie authors. She has a habit of attacking 5 star indie authors to bring down their ratings and she gives what I think is a phony address as FRANCE. She claims to be an ex-pat and she says its perfectly fine for her to give reviews on the U.S. amazon website. She should not be allowed to post in US site as France has its own amazon site. I reported this to amazon but they did not delete her off US site so that tells me she is lying and is in US using the phony France and ex-pat story. (Probably to prevent getting sued by someone). Usually you will see her as the only negative reviewer on most books. The way she venomously attacks these authors and their work is almost like jealousy. I wonder if she’s an indie author herself using someone else’s account to leave trash reviews. Anyway, I’ve noticed a couple of ebooks I’ve read she left reviews on also and she trashed them but mentioned things that were at the beginning that were so trivial that it made no difference in the story plot. I think she downloads a lot of indie books and just quickly glances through them, pretending to read them so that she can get up in the ranks on amazon’s reviewer list or something. Another troll troublemaker and I’ve seen comments on her reviews where people question why she is personally attacking authors so vehemently. Amazon has let this kind of mess go on too long and they are only hurting their own income when they refuse to do anything to correct it. It only takes one filthy, greasy hair in a perfectly good jar of peanut butter to spoil the whole jar.
Wow, thanks for that list. As I went over it I saw a name that looked very much like the name I use! My heart dropped, I do not belong among such people. I just changed my name there and will always review honestly and try to negate these trolls.
Thank you, Cathy~
Possibly keep an eye on Margaret Rose and Gravedigger. The latter is very rude and sarcastic (at least to me) in all her responses, and the former does nothing but go on off-topic rants.
Is Calamity Jane the same troll as Jane Litte?
Thanks for this list. I note that a great deal of the criticism of STGRB that appears in the Amazon Forums comes from people who are mentioned on this list. —–
I am a self-pub indie writer, and I’ve received two one-star book reviews on Amazon which I know to be fake. The book was not read by the reviewers, and the reviewers both chose an approach that was vague while at the same time attacking me personally. The problem is this:
1.) Neither of those reviewers are on this list
2.) By my count there are four people on this list who publicly defended me and condemned the reviews/reviewers.
3.) One of the people on this list collaborated in helping me potty train my foul-smelling children (unrelated).
So…I’m a bit confused by some of the contenders here, and would like some clarification as to whom to avoid, and why. Thanks.
Who are you referring to on the list? Every person who is on this list has participated in an attack of some form on an author. It could be that the ones you mentioned have changed their ways.
Perhaps they have, as my experiences with them have all been positive. Such a thing can happen, as is evident here:
Emerald Coast has come to my aid in the past as well. Cphe also wrote a review on Goodreads. It was only two stars, but it was eloquent and fair, and there was no spite intended in it.
Hmm, this is very interesting, Nick.
The trolls you mentioned have all been part of attacks on authors in the past. If you have had positive experience with them, then you have been lucky. Especially, since you seem to be rubbing elbows with Anna K who is one of the biggest trolls of the lot. Luckily we now understand who you are and what your intentions are here.
AK has some serious mental problems, Johnny. The first one being her Ammy forum addiction. The second one, her delusions of grandeur, her delusions of being intellectually superior to others. It’s frightening how much time she spends in the forums. You’d almost think she was paid to be there.
Hi Nick,
let me add my two cents worth.
1.) the list is by no means complete. This applies to the Goodreads and Booklikes lists as well. Trolls come and trolls go. There are some names on it that used to be major trolls in the past who have now all but vanished from the forums. And then there are trolls who have recently joined and haven’t made the list yet (I speak mostly of the GR list here). You need to keep your eyes and ears open, and realize that just because a name isn’t on the list doesn’t mean that person can’t be dangerous.
2.)I would really like to see where these people ‘publicly’ defended you and condemned the attacker. Do you have any links? In any case, the reviews are still there, so they weren’t much help were they?
3.)I think the best way to use the lists is as a general guide. Understand that there are gangs of bullies out to destroy authors on all major booksites, and tread carefully. The names are not always the same, but the core members of a group usually hang around for years and are frequent posters, so if you see them on a thread, make a note of who their friends are and avoid them. Don’t try to interact with them, and don’t send them any ARCs or ask them for reviews. Steer clear of them. That’s it: nobody is saying to attack them. Surely authors have a right to keep a list of people to avoid?
Nick Lombardi, I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but: I told you so.
As I type this, you are in the middle of being attacked on the STGRB thread in the MOA Forum on Amazon. The attack against you has been going on at least since February 23 2015 at 7:38:46 PM, PST (I am timing it from Ginmar’s comment made at that time. There were preliminary skirmishes before that though)
1.) You ignored the first commandment any sane person gives to authors: do not respond. DO NOT RESPOND, Nick. Instead, you commented on a review of a book which wasn’t even your own. And yes, everybody knows Ginmar is crazy. Some people in that STGRB thread even admit they have her on ignore. But you forgot the pecking order: Reviewers are first, and authors are second-class citizens. Therefore when an author responds to a reviewer, YOU ARE ALWAYS WRONG. Even if the reviewer is Ginmar.
2.) To date, 3-4 people have weighed in (Moonlight Reader, Jane, Angie, and I forget who else) have weighed in, and they are all against you. That was totally predictable. If Iwere you, I’d quit before they start to shit all over your books. Do what I was doing when the attack started, and go bake some cookies (don’t laugh. that’s what I was actually doing)
Yes, they are attacking Nick, but they are also fighting among themselves. It’s quite entertaining to watch. It happens though. A lot. It’s only a matter of time before snakes in a confined space will start to eat each other.
Harriet, thanks for the advice. Still, I can’t condemn a whole list of people just for the two or three bad apples who actually deserve to be on there. You have to understand that Ginmar is an excellent liar, and a former military interrogator. So she knows how to lie and convince people.
And if you didn’t know she was lying about me, you’d hate me too right about now. Angie just wanted some clarification, which I gave, and now she’s fine. Angie is a good person, and Moonlight is as well. Try to see this from the point of view of people who think Ginmar is honest, and you’ll understand their reactions better.
Honestly, I think you two factions need to get this nonsense out in the open once and for all and start communicating. France and Germany figured out how to do it; is this so impossible?
The problem is, Nick, there’s no negotiating with terrorists and that’s essentially what these people are. We’re not going to even try, but we’re not here to harass them either. All we do is take evidence of their behavior and document it. That’s why they hate us so much. That’s why they take up so much of Amazon’s server memory with their thousands of rant pages about our site. We publish the truth about them and they don’t like to see their dirty laundry hung out for everyone to see. What we also do is warn others to stay away from them. That’s it. We are here to protect the good people out there who are unaware of the abuse that goes on in the forums. We are not here to negotiate with the bullies. Sorry.
Just thought you should know. Karlyn NCGBT, otherwise known as Karen Peterson of Reno NV, just got done doxxing Athena in the Amazon forums.
We are now on with Mighty-Hypocrite! All of them are hypocrites! It’s mind-boggling that they can’t see their own behavior.
Ah yes, KarlynP. She’s an old troll. She’s been around for a while on Amazon, Goodreads, and now BookLikes. She’s been obsessed with our site and with Athena ever since we started back in 2012. Poor woman. She needs a hobby.
You’re right except for one thing, LJ. She doesn’t live in Reno, Nevada. She lives in Campbell, California.
Really? How do you know?
Scroll down to the bottom.
Hey! Nice to see you guys back. As for the Amazon Fora, don’t bother with it.