The Latest Scandal

            Yesterday the latest scandal hit the romance writing community. Authors Courtney Milan and Tessa Dare, among many other romance writers, uncovered a case of blatant, shameless plagiarism produced as "books" by somebody who calls herself Christiane Serruya. (Incidentally, I'd never heard of Serruya until all this news blew up yesterday, but apparently she is a USA Today bestseller.) In short, Serruya has been taking whole chunks, paragraphs and plots from genuine writers' books and then putting them into a product she repackaged, renamed and called her own, despite the fact that she claims also to use -- wait for it -- ghostwriters.

            Now, I don't know which part of that sentence is the most remarkable. Thievery on such a scale? A ghostwriter? For romance fiction? It seems as if the "author" does not, in fact write anything. Yet her "books" have become bestsellers on Amazon and other places. And, as mentioned above, the USA Today bestseller list.

            It boggles the mind. This person also claims to be a lawyer (incredible), a wife, a mother - many things, including, most interestingly, being a "judge" for book awards handed out by the Romance Writers of America. Make of that what you will. But looking at her tweets and other posts following these accusations, I strongly suspect that one thing she cannot do is speak English very well. She certainly doesn't present herself in social media as somebody with a great command of the language, yet her "books"--written, it seems, in English-- have earned her a great deal of money.

     Surely there are not people using computer programs to write books, buying "reviews" by the package (as I would buy warm, cider donuts in October) and using stock photos to create an author persona, stealing bits and pieces from the biographies of other writers?

            I've learned not to pay too much attention to speculation and gossip about what other people are doing - or not doing - in this business. I simply plod on writing my books, telling stories I would want to read myself. Otherwise, as I have often said, what's the point if you're not enjoying it? If you're only writing to suit a market you might as well be working in an office somewhere, staring at the grey walls of a cubicle from 9 to 5, going home at the end of the day, forgetting everything and saving yourself all the stress. Certainly you wouldn't be spending your time in the shower talking to yourself as, I suspect, most writers do.

            But to keep moving forward and loving what you do, it takes guts and talent and perseverance.

            So I feel deeply for those authors who have been plagiarized in this fashion. I do not know any of these ladies, but I do know how much work, heart and struggle goes into writing a book. Then to have some unscrupulous person steal it, because they think they've found the easy goose that laid the golden egg? Unconscionable.

            Writing may look like a breeze, but this is not an easy world to get into or to stay in. It may not be popular to suggest this -- writers aren't supposed to come close to complaining about anything these days, especially not to compare our books to babies -- but writing a book actually takes work. We don't sit around in pink fluffy slippers, eating bonbons and sipping champagne. I know writers who manage to put out a book a month (and yes, it is their own work), but I'm lucky to manage four a year and that "low" output puts me behind a lot of authors these days.

            To see this man or woman (who knows if it's even a real person?) by the name of Christiane Serruya brazenly stealing the work of so many good writers and churning it out as "her" own is horrifying, sickening and surely -- please, this time, let it be -- a wake-up call to those of us who truly love books. Real, honest to goodness books.

            If we want good, original stories to go on being written by authors who live for what they do and aren't simply in it to make a "quick buck", we need to stand up and start calling out the fakery.  

            If you write, please support your fellow authors. Encourage the newbies. Put a hand on somebody's shoulder to encourage them, not just to see if it can bear the weight of your foot. Be an honest friend and a true support, not one that is only there in fair weather. If you're a reader, support your favorite authors with genuine reviews and by purchasing their work or ordering it from the local library. If you've read something you loved, pass the book on with a recommendation. Spread the word to your friends. I know how much I rely upon word of mouth, since I  have no budget for marketing and promotions. My mother-in-law spends a great deal of her time in airports, marketing my books, but she can't be expected to do that forever. The poor woman needs, and deserves, a rest.

            This latest storm is not the only case of plagiarism uncovered in the past few years, although others have inexplicably been hushed up and forgotten about. Since it has happened to so many high-profile, popular authors this time, maybe it will actually lead to punishment for the perpetrator and "she" won't be back in twelve months with a new name, two hundred five star reviews and another Franken-monster stitched together from the work of less well-known authors.

            I usually stay out of these scandals and debates to concentrate on my own work, but this time I find that I must stick out my introverted tortoise head and speak up, for authors who struggle, like me, to be noticed in a swarm of books -- some of which, we now know are not books at all, but patchwork, plagiarized quilts. We are authors who don't have a huge fan base and an unlimited marketing budget, but we sit down to write, every day, our own books. From our own addled brains.

            I may never hit the  USA Today bestseller list myself -- I don't even know how such lists are formed -- but at the very least let's please be sure that the books which do make it to those exalted heights are written by the person whose name is on the cover. Otherwise it's making a mockery of the publishing world. And it's a flagrant insult to every true author and honest reader out there.

            In closing, I can assure you that I write  my own books. I create my own characters and plots, and I'm proud of every one of them. So yes, they are my babies and I will defend them accordingly.

            I am not a big-name writer with a huge following, consequently very few people will read this post - maybe 2 cousins and some robots from Russia - but I still had to write it. I guess that tells you something about the intensity of my feelings on this subject, and the same can be said of everything I write. I have to do it, because I'm a writer, even though few people will read it. I'm not in this business to steal from others, to win awards, or make bestseller lists. Certainly not to make a fortune or I would have quit long ago.

            But I'm here to write. Because it's what I do best. It's the only reason I'm here. The only reason I am still here.

JF