Feeling Duped

You may notice my post count for the week is one fewer now than it was at this time yesterday. That is because my New Adult Mondays post from this past Monday, June 24, has been removed. It was a review for AMAZINGLY BROKEN by Jordin Williams. A work that information brought to light today revealed was plagiarized from Tammara Webber's EASY and Jamie McGuire's BEAUTIFUL DISASTER.

Most of you are already aware of this. Let's face it - good drama is good drama. I eat it up as readily as the next person. In case you haven't caught the original post that outed this issue, check out here:  http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/the-plagiarizing-of-tammara-webbers-easy-by-jordin-williams/

I struggled with whether to post this and give even more page time to this person. In the end, I decided that it was worth posting something so that I could at least apologize to you all for posting something that ended up being a complete and utter farce. I have become quite proud of this blog and its content, and the fact that this has marred my history... well, to be frank, it pisses me the hell off.

What makes me even more angry is that I've read both EASY (my review found here) and BEAUTIFUL DISASTER (my review found here). And LOVED them! I feel like I let both Tammara and Jamie down by not recognizing the shenanigans that went on myself. I know that's an irrational thought, but there it is.

Let me go on record as saying plagiarism is for cowards. If you want to be an author, good for you. It's a great dream and one you should most definitely pursue. Don't be afraid of criticism - it will only make you better. Don't be afraid of rejection - it's to be expected. Don't be afraid of never making it big - the fact that you're expressing yourself and chasing your dreams is impressive and admirable.

But, do not let your fears drive you to copy already celebrated and established works. Because those authors waded through their own sets of fears to get where they are today and by you watering down their words and repackaging them as your own, you're hurting them and selling yourself short.

From what I understand, Amazon has already removed AMAZINGLY BROKEN from it's site, and if you've already purchased it, your money will be refunded. To Tammara Webber and Jamie McGuire, I'm sorry this happened to you, and I'm sorry I was part of the grassroots campaign to market this book. Please know I truly respect both you and your exceedingly difficult job, which you do incredibly well.

This is the last I'm going to speak about this. I'd much rather get back to the fun business of writing reviews, hosting giveaways and doing all sorts of other fun bloggy things. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...