Is it just because there's a real city mentioned in the books that they can flock to? Am I just naive?

I think that's part of it, Jilli. Whenever there's something real they can grasp onto, I think it gives them an even more tangible sense of it belonging to them (or of them belonging to it).

I know there's plenty of deep craxy in the other literary fandoms-- Laurell K. and J.R. Ward and Sherry Kenyon, but really, the only other place I've consistently seen this level of deep fandom and the weird sense of entitlement is in some of the music fandoms.

I'm fairly sure it's no crazier than other fandoms. It's just in ascendancy right now.

Maybe a little. Because Homicide fans liked to drink at the Waterfront but I've never been mugged for my Cafe Hon T-shirt. Maybe if it said "Bodymore, Murderland"

Uh, some Lord of the Rings fans believed that Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan were in a relationship, but were forced to hide it, but gave out secret signals in interviews and stuff.

Some Harry Potter fans are convinced they're married to Severus Snape on the astral plane.

I'd go with Dana on that. Also, part of the craxy is its romantic sensibility, something that hits a chord with the teen set (if not only the teen set); so you get a certain kind of response you might not get in a different fandom.

Barb, I've gotten that kind of reader-letter too, and after boggling a bit I just had to ignore it. It's a certain type of reader-entitlement that assumes that the writer is merely there to produce for the reader, and the reader gets to dictate what that is. While not all of your friend's readers may love the direction she's going, thankfully only a few of them also have the gall to tell the writers what to do.

Well, that's a lot of crazy, too. Maybe Twilight-crazy seems crazier cause I can't imagine being into it. That last book seriously grossed me out.

Uh, some Lord of the Rings fans believed that Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan were in a relationship, but were forced to hide it, but gave out secret signals in interviews and stuff.

Some Harry Potter fans are convinced they're married to Severus Snape on the astral plane.

... Okay, fair points. I guess I'm just currently weirded out by the idea of fans offering to buy someone's clothing or stealing their library card just because "souvenirs" of the town the book is set in.

Oh, they're all bugfuck. Some of them are possibly the same bugfucks.

And maybe the difference is, if somebody DID tell me, "It's crazy, being really obsessed with a city you've never been to because of TV."(Because I know it is.) I could say "Yeah," without being offended.

... Okay, fair points. I guess I'm just currently weirded out by the idea of fans offering to buy someone's clothing or stealing their library card just because "souvenirs" of the town the book is set in.

Well, it is quite bonkers. But, yes, I agree it's because there's a physical location connected with the beloved fantasy world - and it's not like Angel being set in LA, 'cause LA is already super famous. Whereas this place had no particular claim to fame before the Twipocalypse, and now I guess it's pretty much the Mecca of sparkly mormons vampires.

It is thoroughly disconcerting, though - I think the difference isn't so much in the level of craxy, but more in the fact that Joe Public is being sucked in. It's a little like the unpleasant intrusiveness of RPF - only it's impacting on totally innocent people who have in absolutely no way volunteered to be obsessed over, or to be public figures.

Must be very strange.