Plain and simple, If you hurt the dog, I want to hurt you.
In my experience so far as a writer I have noticed that there is a delicate balance between exhilarating tension or a terrifying action scene with the right amount of gore and pure unadulterated shameful subject matter that will turn readers off. This is especially true when writing in the thriller genre or dipping my toes into horror as I like to do so being transparent about emotional triggers is important.
These emotional triggers come from anywhere. We all have walked different paths and everyone in some way has survived tragedy, hardship, or in some cases, much worse. Rooted deep from these experiences in our journeys through life, there are some things that flat-out will not sit right with certain people. I personally feel that this is something that should be made available to readers that have these triggers to look up.
While I feel it is the author’s responsibility to make any emotional triggers in their work available via their website, or other mediums, it is also up to the reader to utilize the resources available to ensure that what they are reading fits within the boundaries that they set for themselves. You can find a full list of Marionette’s triggers at https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/1717892?index1=-1&index2=-1
I have my own as well, and for these, at least for now you can count on me never graphically depicting any form of these emotional triggers in my work. Will I reference them, maybe occasionally if the plot requires it but I refuse to sully a single page of my work with overly graphic depictions of these abhorrent acts purely for shock value. They include graphic animal cruelty, sexual assault, or pedophilia for these topics outright disgust me.
As a husband and father I see it like this. If you purposely hurt an animal that isn’t larger than you and actively trying to kill you (i.e. defending yourself from a bear attack) , you are a pussy and you deserve to be locked away like the animal you are. While there are references to animal cruelty in Marionette, I purposely made them quick and not graphic.
If you are so twisted and unable to control your impulses that you stoop to sexual assault, you deserve to have your dick cut off and fed to you and finally, if you lay hand on a child in a sexual manner you should be either 1. Shot on sight or 2. Locked away and given the same treatment on a regular basis until your sad existence as a failure of a human ends with a mere whimper of the power that you thought you had; and then shot. Strong words? Sure, but if you read my last blog post, this is where you will be receiving my authentic self and unfiltered opinions and I’m not sorry for anything I just wrote.
To other authors that may be reading this, even with all this being said I still encourage you to write for you within what you are willing to write about. I would never attempt to take anything away from another’s artistic perspective or inspiration. These are just MY hard lines, and to each their own. Other than that, I will write all of the gore and guts, spice, psychotic breaks, kidnapping, gruesome death, adultery and whatever else I feel like moves my story forward if the story requires it.
Rest assured readers, especially you dog lovers out there. The dog has plot armor, the dog will always have plot armor, and the Shih Tzu Cuddles, Detective Perez’s emotional support animal is the bravest character in the book in my opinion. In my future works I will continue to write graphic or horrific scenes, but I will also ensure that those that have triggers are aware of what the story holds in one way or another. What are your triggers? Let’s talk about it.