So, content warnings. A.S. Akkalon was talking about them over here and included a link to a Trigger Warning database.
What I’ve been sending in my queries (yeah, #amquerying): “Content warnings: Pet death, partner death, child death, reference to torture, prejudice (antisemitism and homophobia), childbirth, violence.”
Hate, Discrimination, and Oppression:
Uh, yeah.
- White Supremacy: The main bad guy is an antisemite, white supremacist, and Christian supremacist. Also he says at one point that he doesn’t like modern women very much, so sexism.
- Antisemitism: Check. My MC is Jewish and lives in 19th, 20th, and 21st century Europe and the US. Also general Religious Persecution.
- Homelessness: My MC briefly lives under a bridge.
- Homophobia: My female MC/Love Interest’s parents are lesbians, one of whom was disowned for this. Some people read the MC and his friend as lovers and react poorly at one point.
Sex and Sexual Violence:
Not really? I mean, the villain mentions rape but never actually rapes anyone. An elder vampire turning a younger man into a vampire may or may not have enjoyed that unduly but this is never stated for certain (the younger man has his suspicions).
Also the MC is a vampire and is married to a mortal woman, but all the marital stuff is offscreen.
Abuse and relationships:
- Adoption: Orphaned and homeless children are adopted by the MC.
- Child abuse: it’s mentioned that one child had experienced abuse in the past
No cheating, infidelity, partner abuse, etc. The vampire is actually kind of a soft boi.
Mental health and Suicide:
- Suicidal ideation: yeah, that happens a couple of times.
- Suicide: referred to as an off-camera thing that has happened to unnamed or not-seen-on-camera characters.
- Alcoholism: The MC sometimes consumes alcohol in an unhealthy way but is not an alcoholic. The abused child had an alcoholic parent.
- Depression: One could argue that a character takes the death of a pet poorly, I suppose…
- One character has a mild phobia
Alcohol and Drugs:
People consume alcohol. Sometimes to excess.
Pregnancy and Childbirth:
- Pregnancy: Yep, a very significant part of the book.
- Childbirth: Yes, this happens “onscreen.”
- Infertility: Unsurprisingly, vampires are not incredibly fertile.
Blood, injury, and medical:
- Blood: It’s a vampire book. Most of my characters prefer their food to be ethically sourced (animal blood, expired blood bank stock, etc.), but not all.
- Heart attack: an elderly character has a heart condition.
- Hospitalization: said elderly character is hospitalized.
- Medical experimentation: referred to as a thing that has happened in the past.
- Medical treatment and procedures: There is reproductive assistance, and also the elderly person takes medication and is treated in a hospital.
- Emesis: Vampires cannot eat solid food without this occurring, but it’s unpleasant enough that they only really try once or twice before giving up.
- Vague references to decapitation and dismemberment (for example, as a way to kill a vampire) but these do not occur “onscreen.”
Death and Loss:
Hoo boy. I mean, it’s a vampire book? Many of the characters are immortal.
- Parent death
- Partner death
- Child death
- Pet death
- Depiction of grief and loss.
Violence and Crime:
Less than you might think when I say that it’s a vampire book. Nevertheless…
- Kidnapping
- Home invasion
- Gun violence
- Attempted murder
- Murder
- Arson
- Reference to martyrdom
- Reference to torture
- Non-lethal Vampire biting?
War and Genocide:
My MC is a Jewish man who flees Germany in the 1930s. References to entire villages of Jews being burned by the Inquisition. So, genocide. There is “onscreen” depiction of violence against people for their religion, so military violence.
Natural Disasters:
I don’t have any of this!
Animal Death and Cruelty:
A beloved, well-cared-for elderly cat dies of an age-related ailment. A villainous character injures a dog that’s menacing him, but the dog recovers.
What content warnings are in your book?
