My Conversations with the Third Fake Barbara Kingsolver and the Third Fake Suzanne Collins

Here is my conversation with the third (or is it the fourth?) Fake Barbara Kingsolver (barbarakingsolver205@gmail.com), yet another Nigerian scammer.

FB: Hi I’m Barbara Kingsolver. Most days you’ll find me chasing down the ideas that rise up from the natural world and the quiet corners of human resilience stories about the ties that bind us, the land that shapes us, and the choices we make when compassion is tested. Some narratives arrive gently, like seeds on the wind; others take root slowly, insisting on patience before they bloom. Writing can feel like a solitary harvest, but it’s also how I understand our shared place in the world. I’d love to hear about your own journey what compels you to write, what sustains you when the work gets difficult, and how you nurture that spark of imagination. There’s so much we can learn from exchanging those truths. Best Barbara

ME: Barbara, It’s been so long! How is Frank?

FB: Hi Lee, It sounds like there’s been a mixup, and I’m sorry for that. I’m not actually Barbara Kingsolver, nor do I know Frank. My message was written in a style inspired by heran attempt to speak about writing with the kind of attentiveness she brings to the natural world and the human heart. I can see how that could have been confusing, and I should have made that clearer from the start. What I hoped for was simply a conversation between writer about what shapes our stories, what keeps us going, and how we navigate the work. If you’re still open to that, I’d honestly enjoy hearing about what you’re working on these days and what’s been inspiring you. Warm regards, Lee Gold

ME: Let me get this straight. You call yourself Barbara Kingsolver, and you have a Barbara Kingsolver gmail address, but you are just pretending to be her to write in her style… and now you’re signing your message as “Lee Gold,” an abbreviated version of my name? Are you now going to pretend to be me to ask me about my “writing journey?”

FB: Hi Lee, Thank you for your message and you’re absolutely right to call out the confusion. I want to clarify this properly. I shouldn’t have written in the first person voice of Barbara Kingsolver. My intention was to use a stylistic exercise to talk about writing, but I see now how it read like I was claiming to be her. That was my mistake, and I take responsibility for the confusion it caused. To be clear: I am not Barbara Kingsolver, and I’m not pretending to be you either. I’m just myself a fellow writer who reached out poorly and ended up creating a very misleading impression. I understand why that would frustrate you. I’m sorry for the miscommunication. If you’re willing to reset, I’d be glad to introduce myself properly and continue the conversation as two authors talking about craft. If not, I completely understand. Best,

ME: This is more than just “writing in her voice.” You began your first email to me by saying “I’m Barbara Kingsolver.” You used an email address with her name. You signed it Barbara. And you used her picture as your profile photo. You still are now. In other words, you were pretending to be her. If you want to “reset,” tell me who you really are, what you’ve written, and why you are obviously using AI-written messages to reach out to authors you don’t know while pretending to be someone else.

I’m surprised the Nigerians didn’t walk away after “How is Frank?”

And here is my short conversation with the third Fake Suzanne Collins <suzannecollins113@gmail.com>