Plagiarism Alert Update

There is confirmation now that Opal Carew’s Riding Steel became Laura Harner’s Deuce Coop series, which has been pulled by most major retailers.

Plagiarism Alert- Laura Harner

Word is going round that Laura Harner’s Coming Home Texas is ripped off from Becky McGraw’s My Kind of Trouble. I first found out from Rachel on Booklikes, her post has a link to McGraw’s post on her FB page.  Jenny Trout has tweeted that Harner has removed 10 books from retailers. More to be found here and here.

 

Sniveling Little Cowards

I have often stated, but maybe not often enough, that violence is not an acceptable response to whatever is going the rounds of book world social media. Mocking is. Not buying a badly behaving author’s books is. Violence is not.

This morning I found a new comment on my Booklikes post for R A Nunes new release. I contacted BL but the sniveling little Weinberg drone had already deleted their guest account.

Hey, I guess it’s okay to game the system and try to harass, guilt, or otherwise pressure reviewers into writing only positive 4 and 5 star reviews but mocking that behavior is beyond the pale.

I. Don’t. Think. So.

All those reading this that don’t approve of kevvie’s little friend’s behavior, do me a favor, buy her new book or go donate to Rachel’s GoFundMe. It’s an important cause, plagiarism, particularly this very nasty case of it should not be tolerated.

 

I really hope kevvie’s little underage girlfriend didn’t skip school to post that.

Rachel Ann Nunes- October Reminder

I have been remiss in my monthly reminders about Rachel Ann Nunes’ suit against her plagiarist. I did send an email to Rachel asking her how things were progressing and she sent me back a short note. As you can see this has cut into her writing time and it will still be almost a year before it goes to trial.

“Hi Mahala,

I’m so sorry that I have neglected to respond to this earlier. I’m been
writing like crazy trying to get SOMETHING out to my readers. Finally.

Currently, we have answered the opposing attorney’s requests and have
created a document detailing economic damages. I’m sad to say that I wasn’t
able to put out two of the books I normally would have, but I am definitely
writing again. And the joy is returning. My attorney has received
information from Amazon, Goodreads, and other social media about the
accounts in question, and he is now getting ready to take depositions from
the defendant. I will need to give one as well to the opposing attorney. At
present, the case is schedule to go to court in August 2016. That will be
two years from the infringement. I will be sending out an update soon on the
Go Fund Me and on my blog.

Thanks so much! And I’m sorry for the delay.
Rachel ”

Trials are expensive so here is the link to her GoFundMe. Help send a message that the book community will not stand for neither the plagiarism nor the attacks Rushton directed towards Nunes after she was found out. Read the timeline here.

Last night I checked on Amazon and  Advertising Weapons has been removed.  Good.

Addendum- Guns & Plagiarism

Because nothing says targeted for the 12-18 yr old category like advising them to send someone to Hawaii.

Forget the discounts.  Everyone gives boring discounts.  Give them something of ‘value’.  Give a free make-over, a free consultation.  make it over-the-top.  Create a contest and the best entry wins a free iPad or a trip to Hawaii.  Make your offer something that really, really stands out and that sets you apart from your competition.– 6 Tips on How to Advertise More Effectively

Guns & Plagiarism- A YA Story

It’s Friday morning and I’m angry. You remember this piece of crap I reviewed? At the time good ol’ Dennys had only one other “short book” for sale, now he’s got three.

Here’s the description of his newest book:

“”Kids Only” is a short book for kids, This book teaches kids how reality actually works.
Kids now days don’t know how to control their actions and by reading this book it could change the way a kid at a young age to see the world in a different perspective. Kids only is a book inspired by my younger brother and how his mind change after i explain what i wrote in this book.” -book description on Amazon.

I can’t even. But this “book” is not why I’m angry (even though it should and normally could make me).

I lied to you, Dennys doesn’t have three “books” for sale, he has four.

Let’s take a closer look at number four.

Advertising Weapons, wow,  ol’ Dennys has made a radical departure from the light and fluffy of kiddie books. “Any medium that can take a message from an organization to a potential consumer can be used for advertising. Of course, the most popular media are television, print (newspaper, magazines, etc.), radio, and the Internet. Television is popular because of its large reach, but it is also costly. This Ebook contains wonderful tips on how you can Advertise with success.” –book description from Amazon. Yes, ol’ Dennys is aiming (no pun intended) for adults now.

Or is he? Read that last screenshot again. Better still, let me point it out:

Because you 12 year old can’t have too many helpful tips on selling his WTS .50 BMG (Browning Machine gun Cartridge) Pistol. Uh-huh. I. Am. Angry. It’s beyond bad enough that this clown can’t write but now a “book” on tips to sell your weapons for the 12-18 age group? No.

Fortunately there is a remedy. If you wander over to this listing on Amazon and scroll down, you’ll find this:

Content inappropriate. Yes, indeed. I think so.

Any medium that can take a message from an organization to a potential consumer can be used for advertising. Of course, the most popular media are television, print (newspaper, magazines, etc.), radio, and the Internet. Television is popular because of its large reach, but it is also costly. – Common Advertising Media and Examples

“Any medium that can take a message from an organization to a potential consumer can be used for advertising. Of course, the most popular media are television, print (newspaper, magazines, etc.), radio, and the Internet. Television is popular because of its large reach, but it is also costly. This Ebook contains wonderful tips on how you can Advertise with success.” –book description from Amazon.

I suspect that the description might not be the only thing Dennys has lifted word for word from someone else.

Don’t Put all of Your Eggs Into one Basket
Spread your advertising dollars around by choosing a variety of suitable media for your audience and budget. – DBS Media

Last two sentences. Despite the weird typos, which I suspect is Dennys way of trying to get around a call of plagiarism his previous shining literary examples have proven that he can’t write a decent, coherent sentence so anything approaching that is immediately suspect.

Don’t try to be everything to everyone. No product or service will appeal to everyone. Many business owners, including corporate executives, try to come up with ways to reach every market. Typically, this does not work. It can spell disaster for small businesses, who cannot afford to spread themselves too thin. Therefore, find your market and be everything you can be to that audience.- Top 10 Tips for an Effective Advertising Campaign

See above screenshot.

Diversify. It is all too common for business owners to choose the best place to advertise based on price and potential rate of returns and then stop. As is the case with investing, you do not want to put all of your eggs in one basket. Spread your advertising dollars around.– Top 10 Tips for an Effective Advertising Campaign

See above screenshot again.

Don’t allow your budget to run your advertising campaign. If you budget $5,000 per month for advertising, you’ve made it very easy from a bookkeeping perspective. However, if like most businesses you have seasonal highs and lows, you are spending too much money advertising during down times and not enough when you want to attract customers. Too many entrepreneurs do not budget according to their seasonal advertising needs.– Top 10 Tips for an Effective Advertising Campaign

Establish an image. You can recognize the McDonald’s arches while whizzing by on the highway. Likewise, there are plenty of products that you recognize by their packaging or logo. Image counts when it comes to advertising and promoting your business. Too many advertisers do not work to build a consistent image. Check out Three Brand Identity Myths That Will Bring Your Business Down for additional issues to avoid.– Top 10 Tips for an Effective Advertising Campaign

I think we know enough, and there isn’t that much more book to check.  Strangely, there is not one mention of weapons in the, at most, six pages of plagiarized material.

But are they your words, Dennys?

I’m going to hazard a guess that ol’ Dennys didn’t get permission.

So please report him for inappropriate content and hopefully  All Business will take care of the plagiarism (yes, I emailed them).

Should I? Yes, I should.

Edit:  It has been pointed out to me that Dennys might mean that the tips in this “book” are weapons to use for marketing. If so, he’s reduced them to the level of a spray bottle of water set on “mist”. And they are still other people’s words. (thanks to Tina Nicole)

 

 

Rachel Ann Nunes Needs Our Help- March Reminder

Once a month I‘m going to post this because this author needs our help. If we can raise $40,000+ for jane Litte we should surely be able to raise $25,000 for Rachel Nunes.

Rachel Ann Nunes has a new attorney and is proceeding with her case against plagiarist, Tiffanie Rushton.  Trials are expensive so here is the link to her GoFundMe. Help send a message that the book community will not stand for neither the plagiarism nor the attacks Rushton directed towards Nunes after she was found out. Read the timeline here.

Rachel Ann Nunes Needs Our Help

Rachel Ann Nunes has a new attorney and is proceeding with her case against plagiarist, Tiffanie Rushton.  Trials are expensive so here is the link to her GoFundMe. Help send a message that the book community will not stand for neither the plagiarism nor the attacks Rushton directed towards Nunes after she was found out. Read the timeline here.

Cassandra Clare, Jay Cute, and Rampant Stupidity (edited)

EDIT: I posted this then checked  the list and all but one book have been removed by Amazon. It is unfortunate but authors have to diligently check for plagiarism or hope that a reader will alert them because it seems Amazon has absolutely no system in place to catch even such blatant, obvious ripoffs.

Authors have to remember that Amazon is in business to make money not make sure you make money.

Original Post:

Good morning to all three of my devoted readers.

A plagiarist is once again trying to profit of the work of others. Jay Cute has a list of books on Amazon that he is trying to pass off as his but it only works if you change the name of the author. That’s right, he has left up the true author’s name everywhere and just slapped his name on the cover some where in the hopes that readers and the legitimate authors  will not notice.

That hope has died.

While he has appropriated the work of a lot of self published authors, Cute has also included a couple from larger houses and one best selling author by title alone. It seems in his haste to make money by theft, or maybe by design since she is a very popular author, Cute has slapped the title of City of Bones on to Show Me Yours.

That’s right, dear readers, City of Bones, is now plastered across the cover of this book:

As unamused as Kaje Harper probably is, I’m thinking that Cassandra Clare, whose books are marketed in the teen and YA genres, might be a tad more unamused to find her book title slapped onto a M/M erotica ebook.

Run, Jay Cute, run.