Publisher cancels author for lines on Musk, immigration
Bloom Books has canceled a book series by romance novelist Sophie Lark after readers discovered a line that praised Trump ally Elon Musk and another that drew attention to illegal aliens.
Readers who received advanced copies of “Sparrow and Vine” were incensed when a character said: “I was inspired by Elon Musk. I use his five step design process.” Elsewhere, a character asks: “I don’t want to sound ignorant…But shouldn’t there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?”
Lark was attacked on TikTok by Leftist users who accused her of writing a “MAGA coded” book and being “racist,” even though the offending sentences did not mention race. Users who argued that Lark was exercising her right to free speech were bullied and threatened.
A futile apology?
After Bloom Books confirmed to The Independent that it will pull the book and its series from publication, Lark issued a groveling apology on Instagram.
“It has been brought to my attention that certain lines in Sparrow and Vine were hurtful. Reading your messages and hearing your perspectives over the past twenty-four hours has been humbling, and I want to acknowledge the pain my words have caused. I am truly sorry.”
“My intention was to craft and demonstrate a flawed main character, but instead, I wrote dialogue that read as attacking a community that I care about very much.”
Lark added that Bloom Books had recommended earlier on that she remove the lines but she refused.
“During the editing process, Bloom recommended removing these lines, and I made the wrong choice in keeping them. I now understand that impact matters more than intent, and I regret that my words caused harm. Please don’t blame Bloom for my mistakes,” she wrote, promising to use “sensitivity readers” for her upcoming projects.
Lark’s apology is unlikely to earn her a reprieve, however. As one TikTok user wrote: “There’s no excuse or apology enough in the world for this.”
