Well, blow me sideways! In the years before my mystery novel was published, it was rejected (despite glowing praise for the writing, characters, setting, etc.) for having a plot too much like the real Jon Benet Ramsay story. Yes, that still-unsolved tabloid case was part of the inspiration, though it was merely a jumping off point for other issues I wanted to explore.
Today I read that Joyce Carol Oates, the Morticia Addams of the literary world, has written an even more blatantly ripped-from-the-headlines fictional account. Hey, Joyce, I was there first! I thought up mine in 2000 and started writing seven years ago, while you probably came up with the idea last week and finished on Friday. (She IS notoriously prolific.) And her interview on BookPage could be mine, with its intimations of Christianity and tabloid hell.
Note to Joyce: Really, changing Ramsey to "Rampike"? Even I could have done better than that!
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