Just Another Plagiarism Scandal

Authors can be a dumb bunch at times. All the things that make it easy to plagiarize in the 21st century also make it easy to detect.

And again, a reader is the one who caught the alleged perpetrator. S.M. McEachern's book Sunset Rising was allegedly (I may be an ex-lawyer, but I know the legal rules about libel) plagiarized by Frost Kay. In turn, Kay is blaming their ghostwriter.

1) You may think the publishing industry is quick, easy money. It can be. . .when you do some seriously shady shit. If you don't want to spend time improving your craft, why bother with it? There's easier ways to make money.

2) I have a passion for storytelling. I still do despite the stress of this year. But when that passion isn't there, it's like. . .well, it's like touching my father-in-law's corpse. Not trying to be gross, but the sensation is the same sad, empty feeling. Why subject yourself to that?

3) If you don't have a passion for storytelling, why the hell are you doing this publishing thing? If you love to write, you don't have to publish. If you hate writing, find something else that you love.

Life's too short to fuck around like this, folks. And today, with everybody in everybody else's business and spending their days performing for social media, the ugly truth is always just a slip away.

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 398 - The Plagiarism Files

31,397,113 known cases of COVID-19 in the United States. 567,591 known deaths because of this blasted disease.

I've been encouraging my friends and family to get their vaccines. COVID-19 is spiking in our part of the  country. It's obvious from testing both in Ohio and across the border in Michigan, the British variant is racing through the counties. It's a little scary because only a third of the country has received their vaccines so far.

I'm really considering to keep the mask-wearing in public a permanent thing. I haven't been sick since this damn pandemic started. I'm immuno-compromised thanks to chronic conditions. It's been a lovely year in that regard.

The writing and publishing world has been rather quiet since the combined #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements unleashed chaos and retrospection. I'm still waiting to see how that all falls out. I don't have much hope with the increased attacks on Asian-Americans.

There hasn't been much scandal lately except plagarism in Romancelandia. I swear to Cthulu that's ALWAYS happening. This time it was S.M. Soto who was caught. (Google it. I'm not linking to give her more publicity.)

Here's why plagiarism is stupid in Romancelandia. These readers are voracious. And they have memories. If you need to find a book you read decades ago, but you can't remember the title, ask romance readers. Usually, someone can give you the answer in twenty-four hours. So if you plagiarize, or worse you plagiarize La Nora, YOU WILL GET CAUGHT.

Oh, maybe not on the first book. Or the second. But it will happen. If you're lucky, you'll only be embarrassed. If you cross La Nora, you will find yourself on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

There's easier ways to make money, folks.

Yes! I Write My Own Damn Posts!

I don't know who my accuser is, but lately, someone has been scanning my blog posts with PlagScan. I don't know if someone thinks I'm stealing from them or what.

If I talk about another blogger or article, I normally post a link to the original piece.

If I don't have a link, I list an attribution.

If I don't list an attribution, I state a reason why. Generally, it involves a bad actor, and I don't want to give the jackass any more attention. But hey, I generally leave enough clues for you to find the idiot if you really want to.

So to whoever is checking on me, quit it! You're fucking with my stats. You didn't find anything with the first three hundred posts. You're not going to find anything in the other 1500+ posts.

But hey, if you feel the need to check, speed it up! You're annoying me.