Can I get away with injecting real life politics into a Young Adult paranormal romance?

katiemac said:

In addition to what Cyia says, you also have to consider that it could very quickly date your book.

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crossword said:

Thanks a lot, everyone. Years ago a couple of people wrote romances featuring Princess Diana and a fictional lover. I know of one, which was clearly satire, and even then they took a flier doing it. I'm not saying there weren't others, but I never heard of any.

And someone wrote a novel where Prince William met an American in college and fell in love with her and married her. Sorry, I'm doubtful that passed muster. Do you know the title of that? There's a J&H YA that was a take on William and Kate, but it certainly wasn't actually them.


So I assumed as long as they were Royals or even world leaders, they were fair game. Because these people are public figures who don't sell their images. Whereas actors and singers sell their images via endorsements, so we can’t use THEM.

Am I wrong?

Yes. You can't use real people, because those people can sue you for various things. Someone famous (anyone famous) can sue you for defamation, damages, etc., if you use them as characters in your story. If you put real people in your fictional world and make them say or do things besides exist, you can be in a heap of legal trouble. What if, in your scenario, you used an actor who never did endorsements, would that be ok? It's got nothing to do with it. Don't use real people as characters.

If they simply exist -- like your character says she went to a rally and saw Trump, that's fine. The minute you put words in his mouth or make him do things, it's not fine.

Non-famous people can sue you for defamation, damages, and things relating to your invasion of their privacy, if you do the same with them.




Anyway frimble gave me the idea of substituting someone else for Trump. I rewrote the thing to be about the King of England in an alt universe. Yes there are references that will remind people of Trump but they could as well apply to this fictional king. Yes they’re meant to be recognized as jokes about Trump but, hey the king could be like him without my ever mentioning his name.




So this is a different heroine narrating. Since she has visited our universe, she can make references to our pop culture. she’s from India and once she gets her powers she decides to appear to the Brits who colonize India to frighten them out of the lands they’ve invaded.



So how does this sound:



Chapter Two
THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES
The best thing about teleporting is the reduced carbon footprint. The worst thing is the naked kings.
It wasn’t my fault. “To Ruttingham Palace!” I willed. And my will was done.
The décor was impressive; the people were not. I expected wit and charm; I got a yappy yawnathon. No wonder women like the strong, silent type. The less men speak, the smarter they sound.
“Take me to where the action is,” I ordered myself.
And I found myself in the Majestic Bathroom. I assumed there was more than one, but this was the one that contained the Great Man himself.
His back to me, he leaned over his bathtub and dipped a finger into the water.
So he didn't have a flunkey to test his bathwater temperature? How plebeian. How forty-seven percent.
But I’m friendly to all, both high and low. “Hi! How’s it hangin’?”
He gave a strangled cry and spun around. His towel slipped off. I modestly averted my gaze, but not before noticing he had small hands.
I looked around, but he didn't seem to own a bathrobe.
I tried again. “Happy Bath Day, Your Majesty. Been a rough year, huh? Are the Ruskies and Huns still being a pain?”
Now what could be more sympathetic than that? But he just gurgled and gawked. Maybe he thought it a stupid question. When you were King of the World, the whole world was a PITA. Uneasy lies the head that can be chopped off at any minute by a disgruntled populace.
“You’ve got all the non-white countries nicely under your heel,” I reminded him. “Speaking of which, did you hear about the young American who went to India to find a guru? The one he found said, ‘No, it’s no use asking ME any questions. I too am an American who came to India fifty years ago to discover the meaning of life.’”
He kept burbling like a toilet with an empty cistern trying to flush. So much for humor lubricating a tight situation.
How disappointing. Where was the chutzpah and repartee? Was he all tweet, no cattle?
“I bring a message from a higher power.” I pointed upward, trusting he knew I meant heaven and not his wife’s boudoir. “Colonization is evil. Leave every country you have crucified--I mean--colonized or suffer the consequences!”
He went a weird shade of orange-green, grabbed some device beside the bathtub, and pressed a button. “Security!” he bellowed.
How insulting. I thought he liked pretty girls. Had Mary, Queen of Scots, spoiled all redheads for him? Good thing he’d never met Sarah Ferguson.

I vamoosed. Okay, so maybe it WAS all my fault. In my defense, I’d JUST come into my powers. Even Supergirl had a learning curve.
I kept checking the papers for days afterwards, but found no mention of the incident. This was not a transparent monarchy at all.



Later she appears to his son, the Crown Prince. The conversation would go:



He staggered back. “Who--who are you?”
“I’m your conscience.”
He started to recover and eyed me oddly. “Are you sure? I didn't think I had one.”
“You have one, even if it’s tinier than most people’s. I’ve come to help with that. I’m here to tell you what you’re doing wrong.”
He groaned. “Must you? I already have a mother. And why do you think I’m avoiding taking a wife?”



he assumes its one of his aristocratic pals playing a trick, which is why he’s initially jokey about it.



It struck me that if you’re in an alt universe where the Brits still colonize, and if you have the power to teleport, the best thing to do would be to keep appearing out of thin air not only to the authorities but also to the general populace. Pretend you’re an angel or some messenger of God sent to tell them how wrong colonization is.



Gandhi quoted from the Bible to make his points to the Christian west. Heck, my heroine could do the same. New Testament, obviously. The old one endorses slavery, etc, so that would not work.

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crossword said:

So I assumed as long as they were Royals or even world leaders, they were fair game. Because these people are public figures who don't sell their images. Whereas actors and singers sell their images via endorsements, so we can’t use THEM.




Am I wrong?

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crossword said:

I was NOT thinking of The Royal We. I didn't imagine it; I know I read reviews of a book on Amazon or somewhere where they featured the real William with an american he met in college. I think she was called Emily. The story had them get married, then he got angry and accused her of deliberately getting pregnant or something.

Moreover, James Hewitt wrote Princess in Love and later Diana said he’d just made up a lot of stuff about their relationship and it didnt happen as he’d written.
if the rule is you cant defame the dead, dos that mean i can feature Kim Kardashian as long as she is dead? i very much doubt it cos i bet her family would still use her name as a money maker.

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