Back when Twitter was Twitter, and I was still on the platform, one of the people I followed was author Stephen King. King was never shy about expressing his political views, and because of that, he received a lot of hate from the right. There were people who claimed they would never buy another one of his books or some would try getting others on Twitter to cancel him.

According to Google, King’s net worth is about half a billion, so I don’t think he was too worried about those folks cancelling him. Stephen King’s going to be okay.

However, mixing politics and business can be risky. I used to be in the real estate business. One day, while showing property, I noticed another agent with a political sign on the back of her car, and I cringed. I thought it was extremely foolish, and a great way to alienate a large segment of her customer base.

Unfortunately, it is not as easy for an author to remain neutral and avoid politics. Why? Because we are writers. It’s hard wired in our DNA to express our feelings and ideas.  I left real estate back in 2008 and started writing full time again. I do much of my marketing on social media, and it’s not as simple as just not putting a political bumper sticker on my vehicle. 

What I have chosen to do, to spare my readers from hearing my political opinions, I typically don’t share those opinions on certain author pages. For example, if you go onto my Haunting Danielle Facebook page, or receive my Haunting Danielle Newsletter, you won’t get politics. I also recognize many of my readers use the Haunting Danielle series to escape from day to day life. Therefore, I avoid bringing up modern day politics in those books.

But this doesn’t mean I won’t write about politics in my other books or on other social media platforms. If you don’t want to hear what I think about the current administration, then don’t drop by my personal Facebook page, where I often make my posts public. And perhaps avoid my Bluesky account.

You should also avoid my blog, which you are reading right now. And if things keep going like they have been, I imagine I’ll be getting up on my soap box more frequently in the days to come. 

If you choose to cancel me instead of simply avoiding the places I tend to get political, I understand. Yet I confess, I will feel sad if readers—those who claim to have enjoyed my stories—decide to cancel me because they find my opinions—things I feel passionate about—unacceptable.  What are those things? Maybe I will just make this easier for all of us and simply list the things I support—and the things I do not support. That way, if you find them unacceptable, you can either avoid my blog (or me) in the future.  

So here are my two lists, in alphabetical order.

4 comments on “Mixing Politics and Business

  1. JOY CHERRY

    And this Bobbi Holmes is why we love you. You live in the real world and care for your fellow man. A rare thing these days sadly. If things get too tough over there, we have plenty of room here in Australia and would welcome you and your family with open arms. Lol. I’m sending you lots of hugs.

    1. Bobbi Holmes Post author

      Thank you. I think many of my fellow Americans could use a hug.

  2. Joseph F. Laubacker

    I have made it my personal policy to minimize posts concerning politics and religion.

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