I write reviews because I love books. Especially romance novels. These words crawl around my brain, infiltrate my soul and captivate my heart in ways that I sometimes have difficulty putting into words. So, when I finally find a way to put my thoughts into words, those words are precious. They’re also mine. I put a lot of time and effort into writing reviews. I don’t get paid money for it (unless you count the approximate $.32 I have in my Amazon Associate account). I do it because there is no feeling better than having an author tell you that she’s going to keep writing books so that I can keep reviewing them – or a reader tell you that you turned her on to a series that she wouldn’t have otherwise tried.

I do it because in this romance community, I have found my people. When I started this blog last August I had zero followers. I had zero connections with authors. I knew no other bloggers. I knew my neighbor down the street liked smutty books too (speaking of, I WANT FIFTY SHADES BACK) but that’s it. So, the fact that I’ve garnered a small little following and have made some actual friendships through blogging is amazing to me. These ladies get me through long days and pick me up when I’m discouraged. At the risk of sounding cliche and annoying, I love them and want to snuggle them fiercely.

I work in words, just like authors. So when these words are taken from me and used by another person as their own, it pisses me the fuck off. In case you haven’t gathered as much, this happened.

I wrote a review of new author Cecilia London’s book Dissident back on March 17, 2015. I had connected with Cecilia on twitter and she asked if I would mind reviewing her book. I agreed, and it turns out, I loved it. In my review I wrote the following sentences:

“I don’t even know what sub-genre to really put this book in, but if I had my way it’d be political dystopian intellectual smut. Sound enticing?”

AND

“Mostly, I’m in love with the fact that this book wasn’t dumbed down. It’s unapologetically an intellectual smut novel, which made me all warm in all the right places. There’s suspense, danger, anger, love, and (most importantly) delicious sex.”

Cecilia loved the review, asked if she could use some quotes in her promotional material (of course I agreed if credited), and we became fast friends. I keep up with the reviews on her book because we’re now friendly and I’m always interested to see what others have to say about books I loved. So, when I saw Cecilia re-tweet a review yesterday morning, June 9, 2015, by @Anachronist3 I clicked on it.

I then lost.my.shit.

I swear my blood started boiling.

Anachronist’s review can be found here and contains the following lines:

“I don’t even know what sub-genre to put this book in, but if I had my way it’d be political dystopian smut. Sound enticing?”

AND

“Mostly, I’m in love with the fact that this book wasn’t dumbed down that much. It’s unapologetically an intellectual smut novel, which made me all warm in all the right places. There’s suspense, danger, anger, love, and sex.”

I mean what the ever loving fuck. This is blatant copy-paste. This is wrong. This is offensive. When I clicked around on the website looking for an email address and came across this line in the ‘About’ section of the blog, this became almost funny:

“After visiting several fantastic book blogs, Anachronist decided to start her own in the summer of 2010. She finds it fascinating that no two people have exactly the same opinion about the same books…” – The Anachronist (emphasis added).

Well, fucking-a. I find that fascinating too. What I find more fascinating is when two people have exactly the same opinion.

So, I emailed the blogger. I pointed out the issues. I requested that I either be quoted or that the words be removed and replaced with her own words. I waited twenty-four hours. She commented on her blog twice, but did not respond to my email.

I emailed again and implored her to do the right thing. I also told her I intended to write this blog post and intended to cite her blog. She has not replied or removed the lines.

Why does this matter?

Because it does. Because I take my blog seriously. Because they’re my words. Because those words came from the synapses firing in my brain. Because I spend hours writing reviews that I could be spending with my husband. Because THIS IS WRONG. Because this industry is about individual thought and taking someone else’s individual thoughts and publishing them as if they are your own is a slap in the face to the original publisher, and the industry as a whole. It’s not only upsetting to me, It’s a distasteful display of writing, it drips of contempt for the industry, and it’s offensive to the author.

Besides, if she’s in my head, I have a shit ton of work that I could use assistance with.

Why am I writing this? I struggled with whether to do so. I figured I should just report it to the blog host and move on, but this is a really important issue that people should be talking about. Intellectual property is sometimes a concept that’s hard to grasp, but it has to do with creations of the mind. It’s the legal concept upon which musicians sue when their music sounds too much like another artist’s song. It’s what gives you the right to publish original thoughts and call them YOURS. I never thought I’d be put in this position, and I never hope to be again.

All I’m asking is that you think before you post. This isn’t college where your post is going to be run through a program to determine whether you used your older brother’s paper from three years ago – this is real life. Your post could have real consequences. These things still matter, and should matter.

This is not about being the plagiarism police. This about being honest about something negative that has happened to me in this amazing romance community. It’s also a warning to other bloggers to know that these things can happen. But mostly it’s a reminder that life is too short to be an asshole.

Now, let’s go look at some pictures of hot men, shall we?

My parents visited me this past weekend and their new favorite thing to do is to bring a box of my stuff every time they come over. This time I received treasures from the 90’s.

My mother likes to tell the story about how my older brother would never nap unless I was in the room too. I’m sure that was a thrill for her. Anyway, she’d put me in there with a few books – he would nap and I would read. Even as a kid I chose reading over sleeping. Basically, life hasn’t changed.

You didn’t think I just started reviewing books recently, did you? Oh no. Before there were blogs, I was kicking it old school with manilla folders. Because I was the coolest 10 year old ever. Also, Ann M. Martin was boss. So here’s a little throw back, circa 1994, to when the Baby Sitters Club ruled my world.

How did I never get into illustrating? I’M SO TALENTED.

Author: Ann M. Martin

Book: California Girls

Book Summary:

[I’ve taken care of some grammatical and spelling errors so I don’t scream]

Claudia was buying lottery tickets and Dawn, Stacy, Mallory, Jessi and Kristi thought she was a little loony. But when the jackpot reached 23 million dollars they all chipped in and bought seven tickets. They weren’t sure they would win. They had a sleepover. And that is how it all began. Dawn and everybody gathered around the television. When the announcer said the jack-o-lottery is 53, 27, 13, 8, 71 and 11. Dawn had five of the six winning numbers.They had won ten thousand dollars! They got one thousand four hundred and twenty-eight dollars and about fifty-seven cents each. Then they thought they would go to California to visit Dawn’s Dad and her brother, Jeff. (Dawn’s parents were divorced.) So they checked with their parents. And they checked with Dawn’s Dad and they were set. The Baby-Sitters Club was going to California!

Review:

I liked this book a lot. It seemed really realistic. One girl got in a car accident too. So when they described it they made it seem real. They really paint a picture in your head when you read it. Like when they went to the beach it was like you were there! I felt like I was in the story. I recommend it to people who like adventure. Dawn, Stacy, Mary-Anne, Claudia, Mallory, Jessie and Kristi get into a lot of adventure. Happy Reading!

—–

Wonder what all of the characters in these books look like? DON’T WORRY. I HAVE DRAWN THEM FOR YOU.

sigh. I’m now accepting applications from illustrators. I’m your girl.

#BabySittersClubForever

YES YES I KNOW, I’m not one for actual validation. But appease me here, people. I made a facebook page, which I will valiantly try to update. Go like me – tell me you really really like me – here: www.facebook.com/OWMyshelf

and because this post needs a delicious picture, here you go: