A ginger author has got book lovers seeing red after her novel entitled ‘Nobody Loves a Ginger Baby’ rocketed to the top of the Kindle bestsellers list.
Laura Marney, 43, beat the likes of Martina Cole, James Patterson and Jeffrey Archer to hit the coveted Amazon number one spot with her book about the decline of the red-haired gene.
The tome, which topped the contemporary fiction list earlier this month, tells the story of a Glasgow woman who falls in love with a red-haired man who is addicted to anti-depressants.
Laura was inspired to pen the book eight years ago and based the main character Daphne on her own ginger daughter Holly, 24, now an accountancy student at Glasgow University.
The novel was originally released in 2005 and had only limited success but hit the top of the chart on September 2 after being re-released to mark International Redhead Day 2012 in Holland.
But despite the commercial success the book has attracted huge criticism from readers all over the world who are offended by the book’s provocative title.
One reviewer posted: “What a disgraceful title for a book.
“You wouldn’t say *Nobody Loves a ‘insert a skin colour* baby’ or ‘Nobody Loves a *insert a religion* baby.”
Another reviewer added: “As a ginger myself, I think this book title is simply offensive. Sorry author, but I think your book needs a new name.”
And one stormed: “Perhaps you should title your next book ‘Nobody loves a mixed race baby’ or ‘Nobody loves a disabled baby’ and see what the response is.”
Former charity worker Laura, who said the book has now gone into reprint following its Kindle success, said: “I didn’t set out with the intention of upsetting people but I did want people to think.
“As a ginger woman myself I know how tough it can be. When I was at school I had some problems because of the colour of my hair, but now I am loud and proud.
“I read somewhere that there is has actually been a decline in the ginger gene. People are attracted by ginger women, but not by ginger men.
“There have been lots of negative comments on Amazon about the title, but mainly from people who haven’t even read it.
“I was quite surprised on Sunday when I found out it had reached number one.
I have written a couple of books but never had that kind of success.”
Laura began writing the book in 2005 following the release of her debut novel ‘No Wonder I Take a Drink’.
The former Barnardo’s manager spent one year writing the book before its release in 2005 through publishers Transworld, one of the biggest in the UK.
But the book only had moderate success until this year when Laura, who now works as a creative writing tutor at Glasgow University, switched to little known Glasgow publisher ‘Saraband’, who re-publicised the book.
The book also sits at 574 in the Paid section of Kindle Store, which takes into account ALL paid for digital releases.
The mother of two, who lives in Partick, Glasgow, added: “The book is basically about how people deal with their lives using antidepressants but it does evolve around the decline of the ginger gene.
“With this novel I have had both praise and criticism which I have never experienced before.
“Lots of people seem to be judging the book by its title, before actually reading it.”
But some readers praised the book.
One said: “The people who only read the title and were offended are closet-bigots, and can be ignored. The ones who read it and didn’t get it, are far outweighed by those who did. It is by far my fave LM book.”
Another said: “This is possibly the only book that has ever made me laugh out loud.
“The characters are so expertly drawn and the dialogue so sharp and witty, and for those offended by the title, I think you need to read the book before you get offended.”
Saraband editor Craig Hillsley said: “We’re really happy that Laura’s doing so well right now.
“As an author she has a strong voice and a lot of people like her books, so it’s great that the Kindle promotion brought her work to the attention of a new audience.
“She also recently appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival and she was well-received there so, all in all, she’s on a bit of a roll.”