I am saying good bye to author Suzanne Brockmann

I love books (that should come as no surprise to you by now) and it is always sad when I make the decision to "give up" an author. It doesn't usually happen with me but now is one of those times. I am a reasonable person but there occasionally comes a time when I have to say enough is enough.

Now I divorce myself from an author for a few reasons. Ernest Hemingway and I are through. Yes I know that he has a beautiful way with words. I have read several of his novels in a vain attempt to like him. It just wasn't happening. So, he and I parted ways. Amicably but we are done (of course he is dead so it really doesn't matter to him). I feel the same way about Jonathan Swift and Gullivers Travels. My book club loved him but I had a decidedly different reaction. The part about the Lilliputians cleaning up his poop by carting it away in wheel barrows was fairly amusing but that was the highlight for me. There have been other authors and books but I won't list them here. My "giving up" an author is usually a reflection of the fact that I don't like the writing style or the subject matter. However, this is not the case with Ms. Brockmann.

I have been reading Suzanne Brockmann novels for a number of years now. I am not sure where I first heard about them but I loved them from the first. I would eagerly anticipate the next "Seal Team 16" or "Seal Team 10" installments. I loved being on her bulletin board. But, that has all changed and I have made the decision to say goodbye. I doubt that Ms. Brockmann will care but that is the way that it is.

I hold fairly conservative views (that will also be no surprise to you). Ms. Brockmann and I are POLLS apart in our views which doesn't bother me in the least. I am voting for John McCain, she is an Obama supporter. She has the right to vote for whoever she wants to as do I. That is the beauty of the USA. She is very vocal in her support of gay rights (her son is gay) and that is more and more reflected in her writing. She can write what she wants but I don't have to read it.
But..... I have felt more and more that if you have conservative political views that there is no place for you on her bulletin board (of which I am a long time member). Ms. Brockmann allows political discussion on her board but those of us who express conservative views or support for President Bush are often (make that almost always) vilified, called bigots and homophobes and worse. It has been very heated at times and more than once rather vitriolic. Express open praise for President Bush and see what happens, just make sure that you have flame proof clothing on first. Now, I will admit that some of the mud slinging has come from both sides. It doesn't contribute to the discussion and I hate to see it. But, I am finding more and more that those who preach "tolerance" are often times the most intolerant.

Well, I am divorcing myself from Ms. Brockmann, her bulletin board, her books and it breaks my heart. It is a long time in coming and it is hard. I love some of these ladies. They are smart, funny and look out for each other. But, there is no place any longer for me on her board. The atmosphere is toxic at times and I just don't need that. I don't like right wing blogs that bash people and I avoid those. If I do that and consider myself to conservative then I think I will need to do that with this bulletin board. Good bye Suz. I will miss you, I will miss your books but we are done.