Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Don’t Feed the Trolls
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Chazan, Kaye
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://riptidepublishing.com/authors/erica-kudisch
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
Also author of Dogboy & Justine (play), produced by Treble Entendre Productions. Also author of The Ashkenazi Candidate and What Aelister Found Here, Candlemark & Gleam, under pseudonym Kaye Chazan.
SIDELIGHTS
Erica Kudisch predominantly makes her living as a writer of stage plays and fiction. Some of her fiction work can be found under her pen name, Kaye Chazan. Several of her other works are available under her legal name, including more novels and a stage musical. The latter was produced by Treble Entendre Productions, a company partially owned and managed by Kudisch herself.
Don't Feed the Trolls
Don’t Feed the Trolls stars protagonist Daphne, a young woman who has accomplished something incredible. She was chosen as the winner of a sizable contest within her favorite MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). However, she cannot celebrate as heartily as she would like. Daphne has long been a participant in her MMO of choice, Eternal Reign, but her gender has attracted nothing but trouble for her. She is persistently harassed by online trolls because of her femininity, and the attention brought to her for her commendation within the game has done her no favors. She finds herself totally alone once she winds up on the receiving end of increasingly severe harassment, and she has to devise her own solution so she can continue playing the game she loves in peace. To solve the problem, Daphne creates another character to use within the game—this one being male and far less easily subjected to online ills. However, this decision brings about unexpected changes in Daphne’s life, including a new friend who may turn out to be someone more.
A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Don’t Feed the Trolls “a contemporary romance that will pleasantly surprise readers willing to try a new type of heroine.” In an issue of Publishers Weekly, one reviewer commented: “Kudisch brings needed attention to online harassment and rightly shows how well-meaning allies often cause more harm than good.”
The Backup
The Backup, another of Kudisch’s novels, centers on the life of Anthony Brooks. Anthony has devoted the past few years of his life to academia, coming away from the experience with a musicology doctorate. However, his frustration mounts when he struggles to get work doing what he loves. He ends up settling for assisting Nik, who works in the music industry as a rising vocalist. It soon turns out that there is more to Nik, who openly refers to himself as Dionysus. His insistence on this identity leads to persistent trouble that Anthony has to scrape him out of. Over time, the two develop a tumultuous relationship that Anthony struggles to understand.
On the Dear Author blog, a reviewer “found [Nick] a very consistent character considering his background.” One Publishers Weekly contributor remarked: “The fascinating mix of raw power, modern popular culture, and potent interpersonal drama will leave readers hungry for more.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2017, review of Don’t Feed the Trolls.
Publishers Weekly, January 4, 2016, review of The Backup, p. 37; February 27, 2017, review of Don’t Feed the Trolls, p. 84.
ONLINE
Dear Author, http://dearauthor.com/ (April 26, 2016), review of The Backup.
Riptide Publishing, https://riptidepublishing.com/ (November 7, 2017), author profile.*
Erica Kudisch
Erica Kudisch lives, writes, sings, and often trips over things in New York City. When not in pursuit of about five different creative vocations, none of which pay her nearly enough, you can usually find her pontificating about dead gay video games, shopping for thigh-high socks, and making her beleaguered characters wait forty thousand words before they get in the sack.
In addition to publishing novellas and short stories as fantastika-focused alter-ego Kaye Chazan (What Aelister Found Here and The Ashkenazi Candidate, both available at Candlemark & Gleam) Erica is responsible for the BDSM musical Dogboy & Justine, and serves as creative director and co-founder of Treble Entendre Productions.
She also has issues with authority. And curses too fucking much.
Connect with Erica:
Facebook: Erica Kudisch
Instagram: hardhandmaiden
Tumblr: shitmywriterwifesays.tumblr.com
Twitter: @EricaKudisch
Kudisch, Erica: DON'T FEED THE TROLLS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Kudisch, Erica DON'T FEED THE TROLLS Riptide (Adult Fiction) $17.99 4, 3 ISBN: 978-1-62649-559-3
Being a woman online is difficult--even for a duchess.Daphne has just won the Eternal Reign Novelization Contest,
which seems like a great achievement but, thanks to internet trolls, means her life is about to get much worse. In the
world of Eternal Reign, the MMORPG she plays as Duchess Fatiguee, her inbox begins to fill with violent threats, and
the company running the game refuses to help her fight back against the abuse. As she's a struggling actress who loves
playing to relieve stress and doesn't want to leave the game entirely, she disguises herself as a new, male player in the
kingdom of Duchess Uhruu. The player behind Duchess Uhruu is also a woman, and as they chat, their chemistry
builds, especially after Duchess Fatiguee is deposed in a coup and Daphne spends more time in her new world. Daphne
is excited to meet her crush at GeeKon but is worried that her new duchess won't like her when she finds out she's a
woman--especially as Daphne has also started questioning her gender identity. This short and sweet story is light on
romance, so its real joys are in the delightful friendships throughout the book, online and off. Readers unfamiliar with
online gaming may feel overwhelmed by detail, especially by the sadly realistic depictions of online hate speech, but
Kudisch is an able guide to a misunderstood world. Daphne's experimentations with gender are thoughtfully portrayed
among all the geek drama, and while the happy-ever-after is nontraditional, it satisfies. A contemporary romance that
will pleasantly surprise readers willing to try a new type of heroine.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Kudisch, Erica: DON'T FEED THE TROLLS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2017. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485105374&it=r&asid=f3e62115da151301c413d24112212fe4.
Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485105374
10/8/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1507506706733 2/3
Don't Feed the Trolls
Publishers Weekly.
264.9 (Feb. 27, 2017): p84.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Don't Feed the Trolls
Erica Kudisch. Riptide, $17.99 trade paper
(227p) ISBN 978-1-62649-559-3
Kudisch tackles video game misogyny in this charming, geeky, but ultimately unwieldy romance. Daphne Benoit, a
somewhat employed French-born actor living in the U.S., is elated when her fictionalized version of her online RPG
gaming strategy wins the game company's story-writing competition. However, male players who feel threatened by
her success unleash a torrent of vitriol and actual threats on her. Hoping to evade notice, Daphne switches to a male
persona in the game--which quickly leads to adopting the name Daphnis and trying on masculine mannerisms in
person--and takes refuge with the help of Laura, another player who experienced similar harassment. Much of the early
dialogue appears in chat log form and rewards those familiar with gamer slang and musical theater. Daphnis stumbles
through overlapping online and offline dangers and a burgeoning romance with Laura until things come to a head at a
national gaming convention. Kudisch brings needed attention to online harassment and rightly shows how wellmeaning
allies often cause more harm than good. However, the tale is hampered by the glib treatment of Daphnis's
sudden gender shift (including the implication that a transmasculine identity can save someone from misogynist abuse)
and an extraneous acting career subplot. Kudisch's attempt to cram so much into the story waters down its impact.
(Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Don't Feed the Trolls." Publishers Weekly, 27 Feb. 2017, p. 84+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485671205&it=r&asid=11652bf40c321d1b7186e546dbbfd632.
Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485671205
10/8/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1507506706733 3/3
The Backup
Publishers Weekly.
263.1 (Jan. 4, 2016): p37.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* The Backup
Erica Kudisch. Riptide, $19.99 trade paper (376p) ISBN 978-1-62649-371-1
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Anthony Brooks has a Ph.D. in musicology, but academia isn't hiring. His uncle, a musicians' agent, gets Anthony a job
as the handler for Nik, a popular rock singer. Nik claims to be the Greek god Dionysus, a role that he plays 24 hours a
day. Bolstering this claim, his concerts have a tendency to turn into orgiastic exhibitions at which there are occasionally
suspicious deaths. Anthony doesn't believe in Nik's divinity and finds himself not just managing but having to live with
the temperamental musician, as the initial dislike between the two develops into outright battle and then into something
far more complicated. Kudisch's brilliant debut is erudite and powerfully descriptive about music, psychologically
fascinating in its cat-and-mouse game between the flawed and three-dimensional characters; the writing is consistently
charming, witty, and shatteringly emotional, unafraid of going very dark places. Nik is a Dionysus whom the ancient
Greeks would have recognized, and Kudisch doesn't shy away from depicting the shattering emotional damage that
comes from encountering a god, especially one who can't tell the difference between a blessing and a curse. The
fascinating mix of raw power, modern popular culture, and potent interpersonal drama will leave readers hungry for
more. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Backup." Publishers Weekly, 4 Jan. 2016, p. 37. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA439804161&it=r&asid=343cb40c6896ca651454d91c3d7e77ee.
Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A439804161
April 26, 2016
REVIEW: The Backup by Erica Kudisch
SiriusB REVIEWS / B REVIEWS CATEGORYDark Fantasy / horror / LGBTQ / rock music4 Comments
27832141I’m supposed to be better than this. I’m supposed to have a tenure-track job teaching music history to undergrads, writing papers about Bach, and proving to kids like me that you can work your way out of Harlem. I’m not supposed to be following a rock star around the country, fetching his mail, making sure his groupies are of age.
I’m definitely not supposed to be sleeping with said rock star, who claims to be the Greek God Dionysus. At first I thought it was a load of crap. Nik’s fans might think his music captures their hearts—and souls—but I knew better. Until one of Nik’s orgiastic concerts gets out of hand and I don’t know which is worse: that he might be a god after all, or that he has a body count.
Nik doesn’t care what I want or what I should be. He wants to tear down the world I’ve built, warping all I am, until his music is all that’s left of me. I can’t let him do that. I shouldn’t believe in him. I’ve seen what happens to the people who believe in him.
But I can’t get his song out of my head.
Dear Erika Kudisch,
The blurb of your story intrigued me – I am a sucker for a good twist on Greek mythology. I love music too – I cannot claim an in-depth education, but I did do some studying in addition to playing an instrument for years, and any time I feel like I can learn things I do not know, I try to seize the possibility. I also was very clear on the fact that the book WAS NOT ROMANCE before I started reading it so I did not have any expectation about an HEA of any kind. Please take note, romance readers! I cannot stress the words NOT ROMANCE strongly enough, and for once Amazon even shelved the book correctly as horror/dark fantasy. I would not even classify the storyline between Nick and Anthony as a love story. Hate/ lust/ desire? Maybe, I am not sure. It is also apparently classified as literary fiction by the publisher. I am conflicted on whether it qualifies as such, and I am curious to hear opinions from other readers who have read it.
Anthony is a recent PhD graduate in musicology who tried but was not able to get a job in academia. He needs to pay his loans and earn enough to live on, so his uncle (apparently his only family) offers him a job as a handler to singer Nik, whose “brand” is to claim that he is the Greek God Dionysus. To be a handler means to live in his apartment, pay his bills, do all kind of odd jobs, and clean up after his messes, and Anthony does not feel that he has much choice but to agree to do this, at least temporarily.
“Basically, Nik’s a neo-progressive rocker, but he’s got a hook. He’s the Dionysian spirit in music. “All the creation and all of the passion and all of the magic but none of the rules,” that’s his motto! And he keeps the persona up 24/7 from what I know. You can’t even edit rumors into the wiki entry. His watchdogs are practically federal.”
Pretty soon he learns that cleaning Nick’s messes may involve talking to the FBI repeatedly, because occasionally people die at Nick’s concerts – mostly by committing suicide. Very soon he is faced with a choice of whether to walk away or not, because no matter what he believes about Nick’s God status or lack thereof, it is clear to him that in one way or another Nick or his music or both are responsible for the deaths at his concerts. Even if Nick keeps repeating that the people who die made their choices and it is not his responsibility.
I thought the musical background of the book was written with authority. It was clear to me that both the author and the narrator know a lot about music and that music is what Anthony lives and breathes no matter what kind of job he does. It was clear even from the throwaway comments he makes.
““Fine. Which one’s yours, Dionysus? Pete from the Street or Phil from the Hill?” It’s a test. Presumably, Nik knows that. Pete from the Street is Pierre de la Rue, and Phil from the Hill is Philippe de Monte, and only a musicologist would know who they are just by hearing the joke. Well, only a musicologist or an anthropomorphic concept performance artist who’s done his homework. And it would take homework to tell the difference, to know that dyed-in-the-wool Apollonian Phil from the Hill played by the rules and Pete from the Street broke them. “Pete from the Street,” Nik says, grinning. “No one’s asked me about them for years. Old school. I like it.”
I thought Anthony’s struggle with his own insecurities about his worth as a musicologist/ performer and his push and pull against Nick was extremely well done, even if I did not think he tried to resist Nick’s desires all that much (and I do not necessarily mean sexual desires, but cannot say more without giving away an important spoiler).
“Something in me gives, and the headache’s gone for a couple of blissful seconds. I finally said it. I finally said it, and something in my head is quiet and at peace. “He’s a scam artist with a cult, and if one fewer person in the world buys into him by the end of the day I will consider my job done.”
Let me stress one more time – I understood very well that I was not reading a genre romance novel and I was not expecting to see romantic leads in either of the main characters. What I did not expect was how repulsive I found Anthony to be for the majority of the book, and while I liked his choice at the end, the epilogue was very much open to interpretation. Don’t get me wrong, he did not come off as a caricature of any kind, he felt very real and acted close to how I expect human beings to behave, so to me this means he was a well written character, but some choices that we human beings make do repulse me, so there is that. I interpreted one of the main themes of the book to be “how low one can sink for money” and I guess I am supposed to feel pity for him because he could not find a job in academia, but I am afraid I just could not spare any pity.
I wonder what I can say about Nick without spoilers. I guess I found him a very consistent character considering his background.
The ending was as good as it could get under circumstances, although I was disappointed in the surprise revelation.
Grade: B – very well written, but not a reread ever.
Sirius