Ran across an otherwise postive review of Writing in the Dark that said I recommended writers appropriate other cultures& #39; monsters for their own work. That was news to me, so -- thinking maybe I did that without being aware of it -- went back through the book and checked. 1/?

I did find places where I suggested writers be inspired by mythology, but in my mind I was thinking ancient mythologies not more recent folklore. (I don& #39;t think I mad that clear.) I& #39;m grateful to the reviewer for bringing up the point about cultural appropriation of material. 2/?

Because now I wonder -- and I& #39;m asking for opinions here -- if using elements of or being inspired by ancient mythologies is also cultural appropriation (if you aren& #39;t part of that culture). I can see an argument that Greek and Norse mythology has been part of westerb culture 3/?

for a long time (or maybe I should has been studied and taught in the west for a long time). But what about other mythologies (thousands of years old)? Do you think using elements of them count as cultural appropriation too? 4/?

To be clear, I& #39;m not intending to argue with the reviewer. I& #39;m grateful they took the time to review the book (and the review was overal very positive), but the review raised an important point for me to examine.