Amazon's Angela Johnson Wins Wicked Witch Award

Amazon's Angela Johnson is the new winner of our Wicked Witch Award.

As an employee, Angela Johnson stands behind the Amazon group publishing single women's addresses in books they print for the morally hideous plagiarist David B. Boyer.  Even when the women complain that this puts them at risk.  Yes, Amazon produced a book by the plagiarist wherein he writes and the Amazon group prints the name and address of two single women who live alone.

One is a brilliant writer who also happens to be a victim of polio with limited mobility.

The other, Jeani Rector, is portrayed in ways in his book that make her feel threatened.  She contacted the Amazon group for help, but in direct violation of their company's posted policy, Angela Johnson won't help her.

Angela Johnson is rapidly becoming the poster child of Amazon's crass insensitivity to its own customers and readers.  If she's an example of the way Jeffrey Bezos wants to treat writers and customers, let's all shop at Barnes and Noble.

Barnes and Noble is starting to look like a knight in shining armor.

Amazon is starting to look like a rusty tin can.

Angela Johnson might at least try polishing the can.

She exemplifies Amazon's callous treatment of its own Privacy Policy.

Here's an idea for you to think about Angela- we're the customers.  Pay attention to us.  Read your company's own Privacy Policy and your Commitment to Your Customers before you talk down to people like Jeani Rector.

Forgot some of your company's policies?  Here, let me help you:

"Content Guidelines...

Illegal Items

Items sold through the CreateSpace service must adhere to all applicable laws. This includes the sale of items by individuals outside the United States. Some items that may not be sold include any products which may lead to the production of an illegal item or illegal activity.

Stolen Goods

If CreateSpace learns that an item is not the property of the seller, or was obtained through illegal means, we will immediately remove the item from our service.

Items that Infringe Upon an Individual's Privacy

CreateSpace holds personal privacy in the highest regard. Therefore, items that infringe upon, or have potential to infringe upon, an individual's privacy are prohibited. Additionally, the sale of marketing lists (bulk e-mail lists, direct-mail marketing lists, etc.) is prohibited..."


How did Angela handle this problem?  Take a look at some of what she told Jeani:

"Dear Ms. Rector,

On April 27, 2012 the response from our Legal Department was provided with regards to your inquiry regarding the book by David Boyer. We will not be providing further insight on this decision."

Way to go, Miss Sensitive!!!

David Boyer's latest trash book lists Jeani's home address and tries to stoke outrage against her with made-up trash and hideously gawdawful writing.   David B. Boyer is the plagiarist, thief and con man.  And the Amazon group pretends they don't know.

Congratulations, Angela, you really deserve the Wicked Witch Award.

Amazon Takes New Position on Selling Plagiarized Books

Before reading this, please remember that the noted aboriginal psychic Sven Heruingal predicted last Thursday before breakfast that without more signatures on the petition in the upper left hand corner of this blog, your chances of being plagiarized might be increased.

*****

I had my notebook out and my Montblanc pen balanced on the edge of my salad bowl.  It was my way of telling her that I was ready to take notes at a moment's notice, although Tahini sauce tends to smear the ink.


Before arriving, I'd clipped my press pass to my collar so she'd recognize me.

"So, as someone who looks like a celebrity lawyer but isn't,"  I said,  "can you confirm to this reporter beyond a shadow of a doubt that the serial plagiarist David B. Boyer from Vincennes, IN and Amazon are in a way business partners?"

"No," she said.

I wanted to eat some of my tabouli, but didn't want to spend hours flossing the little parsley flakes out from between my teeth.

"But doesn't Amazon publish a lot of plagiarized material through CreateSpace?"

"Define a lot," she smiled, and for a moment I thought she looked like Nancy Grace would if she were attractive.

"Too much?"  I offered.


She adjusted her glasses to look down her nose.

"According to Judge Judy, the phrase business partners can mean many things."

"Try this,"  I said,  "David B. Boyer and others like him steal the copyrighted work of other writers. He and the other sleaze-buckets send this stolen work to one of the Amazon owned companies who then turns this digital theft into a hard copy product called a book.  Then the main Amazon company sells the stolen content which is also now a physical product through its main outlet and gives it to a bunch of distributors to sell so more innocent people are implicated in this crooked operation.  All because Amazon, with their massive computing powers, doesn't even check whether the stuff is stolen.  They do the Wink Wink."

She put down her falafel sandwich and stared at me.

"The what?"

"The Wink Wink," I said.  "That's where even though Amazon has all the computing power in the world to see if the submitted work is stolen, they ask the plagiarist to sign a document that it's not and that way they don't have to check it themselves and find out for sure it's stolen.  That way Amazon can still go on making money on stolen product, they can still pay the thieves to keep on providing stolen product and if anyone complains about it, they say they didn't know."

"You should start your own online bookstore," she said.  "You're pretty good at this."

"I was born to report, ma'am,"  I told her.  "News is in my blood.  Selling stolen product like Amazon does and pretending they have no responsibility for their involvement might make them money, but I still have my own press pass.  You have to be an ace reporter to get one of these."

I thought she'd be impressed.  Instead she made me an offer that shocked me.  When a woman in a low cut red dress makes you a shocking offer, you pay attention.

"Hypothetically, and with no basis in reality, if Amazon made their plagiarized book sales into a separate division or company, would a good looking reporter like you be interested in running it?"

I thought about it.  If she would have said hot looking reporter, I might have taken the bait.

"No, ma'am," I said.  "It's not the fact that it would be sleazy but profitable, it's just that  Amazon's logo is embarrassing.  It's not relevant to their pretend-they-don't know-they-publish-plagiarized-writing business model."

"And what would you propose?"  she asked.

I shoved a photo across the table at her.  Our fingers brushed as she stared wide-eyed at the picture I've posted on this blog.  It could easily be made into the new Amazon logo and she knew it.

Thing is, when a company's executives stick their head in the sand while their operating units are buying and selling stolen material, the Federal Trade Commission can come along and kick them in the ass.  Maybe I should let the FTC know about this scam.

Maybe I'll just stick with being a reporter.  

From the Secret Files of the Vincennes, Indiana EPA

They signed the petition in the upper left hand corner of this blog before the smoggy darkness settled in over the city of Vincennes, IN.  Television helicopters as of this writing cannot penetrate the obfuscation to see if anyone remains behind with David B. Boyer, the serial plagiarist who started it all...

*****

We met just after midnight at EPA headquarters.  The soft glow of computer screens lit empty desktops with an electric eldritch light.  A floating hologram of Al Gore singing Ricky Martin hits at a Brazilian karoake bar sent shivers down my spine.

The hallways were dark, but my informant still wore sunglasses and a large rubber nose to conceal his identity.  A black fedora and trenchcoat completed the disguise.

"Keep your voice down," he whispered, "and call me JoJo."

"But your name's Bob," I said.

"Do you want the story or not?"

I thought it over.

"So, Jojo, is it true the EPA is considering a special David Boyer smog alert for the area surrounding Vincennes, Indiana?"

He glanced furtively up and down the hallway.  

His real job was night shift janitor for the EPA.  All good reporters know that janitors are the best spies.  The dirt, as my old editor always said, is usually in the waste basket.

"Can we step into this broomcloset?" he asked.

"I'm not that kind of guy."

"Neither am I, but this is confidential stuff.  Director is going on TV soon to announce a quarantine of the whole town.  Pollution's so bad you can't tell clouds from the air.  It's all the people driving away from Vincennes, Indiana.  Town's got a bad name because of David Boyer's plagiarism.  Nobody wants to live in the same town with a scam artist like him.  Tailpipe exhaust from all of those people trying to escape has created a disgusting cloud over that city that's starting to block out the sun."

This reporter was stunned.

"All the trees will die," I said.  "People will have to wear face masks just to breathe.  Incredible.  How long do I have to break the story?"

"Better hurry," he said.  "Word is Boyer is plagiarizing faster than you can type."

"But I type over 100 words a minute."

He faded back into the shadows.

"Better type quicker," he whispered from the darkness. "You're falling behind."

The Watch List Idea

Winner of the David B. Boyer Moral Code Award

*****

Do any of you out there know of a congressional representative who is interested in digging into internet fraud across state lines?  We are researching this now, but I'd appreciate leads to help Amazon improve their corporate behavior re selling stolen content.


Here's my new letter to the Amazon legal department:

*****

Dear Angela Johnson in the Amazon/CreateSpace Legal Department,

How about if Amazon/CreateSpace create a Watch List of known plagiarists who repeatedly use your service to publish their stolen materials.

Sure plagiarists like David B. Boyer of Vincennes, IN publish under a bunch of aliases to avoid being caught, but since your company has their social security numbers, you know who they are no matter what name they use.  And every time you pay them for selling their stolen material, you pay the thief and you keep profits from selling the stolen material.  You're kind of in bed together, which is really low.

And why don't you ban these creeps- the serial plagiarists with a demonstrating selling stolen content.  Is your company afraid of losing the money or just never thought of it?  They're abusing services and giving Amazon a bad name.

Here's another suggestion:  since your company has this massive data base of books and their content on your company's computers, why not actually run a comparison scan on books submitted to be published by you guys either through CreateSpace or Kindle to see if all or parts of the content are stolen?  I know your company can do it, the other writers know you can do it and the Federal Trade Commission knows that you can do it.

So before someone at the Federal Trade Commission starts to wonder why you're manufacturing books out of stolen material and selling this physical commodity of stolen property across state lines, maybe you could introduce a program where you self-police.

That way you would won't some day be in front of a congressional committee explaining why you don't check to see if your products are stolen.


Regards, 


Ferrel D. Moore

I Filed a Federal Trade Commission Complaint Today Against Amazon

Don't forget to sign the petition in the upper left hand corner!!  

And, today I filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission today against Amazon.  They publish and sell some of Boyer's plagiarized work, so they're responsible for making products (books) out of stolen materials.  They may argue that they can't know which books are plagiarized and it's not their responsibility to check.  If they do, they'll look really, really stupid.  Every other major business is held accountable by the law, and they're no different.  They think they're big and they can do what they want.  Too bad.

You see, Amazon is a business associate of America's sleaziest serial plagiarist- David B. Boyer.  Being associated with a big time plagiarist is probably bad for business.   Not good for their image.

It's my first federal complaint.  But Barnes and Noble is next in line.

Right now, they're all collecting profits from stolen writing and not even checking their raw materials (our writing).  Think about this- if B Thoughtful can track down that these works are stolen, why can't Amazon get off their corporate ass and do the same?

Maybe they ought to pay B Thoughtful to do it for them.  Or start doing it themselves.  Right now they look like they enjoy being partners with plagiarists because they keep publishing stolen works and splitting the profits with the plagiarists.

And, so you can see what I sent the Federal Trade Commission, here's the formal complaint I filed:

*****

"I've bought books from Amazon by an author David B. Boyer of Vincennes, IN that turned out to be plagiarized.  I informed amazon that they were plagiarized and they are still selling them.  In fact, mine isnt the only case.  David B. Boyer is the most prolific in stealing other writers works, having them turned into books by Amazon and others so they both profit from them, but Ive been reading about all sorts of other authors that find their works stolen, turned into books by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Lulu then sold.  They then pay the plagiarist a share of the profits for the stolen goods.  Doesnt that make them business partners.  These are physical goods and they are stolen.  And, they sell them across the country.  Isnt that across state lines?

And Amazon and Barnes and Noble have the resources to check and see if the books are stolen content.  If another company bought stolen goods and kept reselling them for profit, wouldnt that be Consumer Fraud?

Theress a whole webwsite devoted to this one thief David Boyer and Amazon has been there and they still have all sorts of his stolen books up for sale.  The Website is http:b-thoughtful2.blogspot.com

This is just blatant consumer fraud.  But Amazon won't stop."

Sign the Online Petition to Make Plagiarism Consumer Fraud

Protect Yourself.  Sign now.

Thank you Mr. Ramsey Campbell for being the first to sign!


But you can all help.

I've started the online petition you see in the upper left hand corner of my blog to bring pressure to bear on the Greg Zoeller, the Attorney General of Indiana, to enforce Indiana Consumer Fraud laws against publishers who plagiarize for profit like David B. Boyer.

His Deputy Attorney General, Tom Irons, Consumer Fraud Division claims he has no jurisdiction to do so, saying that the issue is really an intellectual property issue.  I say when publishers steal copyrighted works, then make them into physical products for sale to consumers that it's Consumer Fraud.  So I'm going over his head with this online petition.  We'll present our collected signatures to Greg Zoeller.  

I'm also contacting major newspapers around in Indiana and across the country to examine this issue in the public domain because it affects all of us.  If any of you know reporters who would be willing to examine the facts as presented at B Thoughtful's blog at http://b-thoughtful2.blogspot.com, please direct them there to see for themselves or have them contact me at rick@whitecatpublications.com 

Boyer's business associates include Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Lulu among others.  I'll be starting another campaign to force them to use their massive computing power to check works they are publishing to see if they're plagiarized.  Let's face it- if B Thoughtful can do this all by herself and find the facts, these publishers who have massive databases of published stories can do the same.  They profit from their published plagiarisms just like creeps like David Boyer.

Enough's enough.

Sign the petition, will you?  Let's bring some pressure to bear on both law enforcement and the giant publishers.

The next novel, story or article that's stolen and published for profit could be yours.

The Plagiarist as Victim

How does a guilty plagiarist defend themselves?  Let's see how America's sleaziest plagiarizing publisher David B. Boyer of Vincennes, IN does it.

He has written a screenplay/ book that is worse still than his already low standards, wherein he portrays himself (through a whiny, simpering character) as a victim of cyberstalking.  The problem is, not only is it a narcissistic self-fantasy, it is so hideously written that it was actually painful to read.  Boyer is a terrible writer.  For a serial plagiarist, con man and crooked businessman like David B. Boyer, it is important to portray himself as a victim of cyberstalking so  he can garner sympathy from the unwary.  He hopes this shameless ruse will take the focus off of his smarmy thefts and cons.

Now we all know why he feels compelled to plagiarize- he is a terrible writer.

For those who don't know the standard I am not a Crook routines used by plagiarizing publishers, I outline the four most popular in my upcoming book "Indiana Sleaze." 

Plagiarists like Boyer, already embarassed by their own writing, lack of self-image and plagued by the need for unwarranted adulation, are still actually somewhat embarrassed to use the first three tactics.  They're not comfortable with them, most likely because it appears to put them on the defense.  Only the fourth makes them feel like they can wear Big Boy Pants again- and of course we should all worry about smarmy con men who want to wear Big Boy Pants.

First the famous Boyerism, "This is a private matter."  This is where the plagiarist actually tries to convince the victim that the professional way to handle the crime he or she has committed is to keep it secret so they don't get punished and so he or she can continue to steal from other people.

The second Boyerism is to attempt to diminish the victim, calling them names, saying they are lucky he stole from them and how dare they be so unprofessional as to question he or she.  Plagiairsts are better than their victims, after all.  Frequently the plagiarists, lacking originality even in their defense tactics, will begin questioning their victim's sanity, sometimes calling them sociopaths, stalkers, and/or whatever other psychology terms they can steal from the web or their local library.

The third Boyerism I call the "Attack of the Capital Letters."  After being in martial arts for over thirty years, I struggled to find a similar defense strategy in "The Book of Five Rings," by Myamoto Musashi or "The Art of War," by Sun Tzu.  The closest I can find is the use of shouting like a maniac being bitten on the ankles by a rabid pig in the lost works of a man known only as the Swordsman's Foot Washer.  I believe I have the only remaining copy of this work.

Using this bizarre tactic, Boyer and other plagiarists seize on the concept of capitalizing entire words in their correspondence with their victims as though this will frighten the person they are writing to.  I asked the gang- banger down the street what this tactic meant, and he said, "The man can't get it on."  After my friend was cuffed and taken away, I realized I had completely forgotten to ask him what it meant when a plagiarist made excessive use of underlining.

But it is their fourth and final defense, which I explore in great detail in "Indiana Sleaze," that they feel most comfortable using.  Here it is.  Are you ready?

"I'm the Victim!"

Don't laugh.  Seriously, cut that out.  It's not funny.  Well, it is, sort of.  Too lazy to work when they can steal our stuff, claim our identities and run with the money?  Yeah, that's funny ha ha but not funny for real.  Plagiarists like to claim they are being stalked, harassed, persecuted.  They are just innocents being run down by an angry mob.  And their victims put the mob on them.  That's it.  The plagiarists are innocent and the victims are guilty.  The are cyber-stalked.  You get the picture.  They're victims.

Now you know the Fourth Defense-  plagiarist as victim, victim as the guilty party.  Do they think we're stupid or what? 

The Feeding Ground

The following excerpt is taken from my explosive new book about serial plagiarist David B. Boyer.  It comes from the chapter titled "The Feeding Ground."    I'm in negotiations for its release.  

*****

Writing groups are one of serial plagiarist David B. Boyer's most fruitful feeding grounds.  After reading what follows, I have no doubt that you will re-think how you view your own writing groups.

Boyer is a remarkably forgettable individual.  However, like most smarmy con men, he is expert at ingratiating himself into groups where the membership is built on trust.

In 2007, Boyer joined as a trial member in a writing group to which I belonged called the Michigan Horror Writers Association.  One purpose of this group was to share stories for mutual critique.  "Electrocuting the Clowns" was a story I'd written earlier and published in an anthology titled Beyond the Porch Light,  copyrighted in 2002.  Subsequently it was sold as a reprint to Dark Wisdom Magazine.

The Michigan Horror Writers Association had several out of state members, one of whom was David B. Boyer and he, along with others gave feedback on my story.  Boyer liked it a lot.  He wanted to post it on his website.  I refused.

Almost immediately, he began publishing my story under his own name.  Like a true creep, he had one of his cronies recommend it for a Stoker.  He began publishing it in book after book under his name or one of his many aliases.  He sent it out internationally, and it was accepted in a South African magazine.  He gave my story away for free on websites.

My story.

But let's go back to the correspondence we had when he was an out-of-state trial member of the Michigan Horror Writers Association, before I or any of the other members knew what a smarmy creep he was:

******

From: David Boyer [mailto:doc5948@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 12:11 PM
To: Rick Moore
Subject: RE: story

That's okay, I will go ahead and delete it from my email files now. I only asked because it was such a good story, {and it would make my site look good!} I will send you another story some time soon, I am working on a new one called LIITLE BLACK BOOK, it is a just a small piece of flash fiction, but I thought it was kinda cute.

See ya later

                ME (David Boyer)


Rick Moore <vwriter@wowway.com> wrote:

Thanks for asking.  This one can’t be posted because I just sold the rights to a magazine and it hasn’t been published yet (most likely spring issue 2008).  I’m sorry I haven’t been back to you earlier, but I was on the road again today and have to head out tonight because a group of local university students are making a movie of one of my stories for their film class.

Tomorrow I’m going to catch up on my email (including you), and I apologize for taking so long.  Just been a killer month and this last week has been the worst.  How go things with you?  You seem like you’re writing a lot!  That’s a good sign.

Rick  Moore

Energy Lake, Inc.

-----Original Message-----
From: David Boyer [mailto:doc5948@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 9:46 AM
To: vwriter@wowway.com
Subject: story

Would you mind if I posted ELECTROCUTING THE CLOWNS on my website? If not, I will understand. Just wanted to ask you before I deleted it from my email files.

                                 ME (David Boyer)

*****

Or this damning exchange where the sleazy plagiarist actually (this is really creepy) warns me about the dangers of plagiarists!

*****

From: David Boyer [mailto:doc5948@yahoo.com]

Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 12:31 PM
To: Rick Moore
Subject: RE: story

Thanks for the story, I will log it into my flash disc so nobody else can see it but ME. Whenever someone is nice enough to send me something like this, I quickly put it on my disc and then delete the whole message. You have to be careful these days about plagarists.

Thanks again

Doc (David Boyer)


Rick Moore <vwriter@wowway.com> wrote:

Hey David:

I was up all night training with my instructor in Toronto (I’ve been his student for 25 years and if I don’t train with him when I’m in Toronto, he’d kick my ass even though he’s 80 years old).  I’m nearly blind with sleep deprivation right now, but after I snooze, I’ll crank through this new stuff, and then I’ll send you feedback.  One of the best things about a group is people to get feedback from.  By the way, I’m attaching one of my shorts to give you something to read as well.  This is being published in Dark Wisdom magazine early next year.

Rick  Moore

-----Original Message-----
From: David Boyer [mailto:doc5948@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 11:32 AM
To: vwriter@wowway.com
Subject: story

Well, here it is; THE SANDMAN, part 1. I know it isn't all that and a bag of chips, but it only the first draft, OKAY?!!

  I have had publishers tell me bfore that they leaned more toward my longer works, said they contained more ''structure'', and were more ''polished.'' After looking through some of my material lately, I'd tend to agree with them. Well, I hope you enjoy the story, and I will send you part 2 when It's finshed. Oh; I sent you another ''longer'' story as well, couldn't remember if i'd sent it yet or not.

                                                                          Sincerely,

                                                                             ME (David Boyer)

*****

Knowing now that he is a serial plagiarist, the Creep-O-Meter turns bright red.

The Michigan Horror Writers Association was not his only feeding ground.  There were others.  He also tried to ingratiate himself writing workshops for school-aged science fiction writers.  Storymania was one of his public feeding grounds, where he stole story after story.

Has he ever been a member of one of your writing groups?  He has so many aliases, how would you know? Do you accept out-of-state members?  If you do, you or one of your friends might be one of his victims.

Young Writers Vulnerable to Plagiarizing Publishers

"Don't Let David B. Boyer Touch My Story, Mommy."

"It's an entirely new phenomena," said Dr. Icky.

He tapped his index finger on the wall mounted coumpter screen indicating the picture of the crying little girl and her desperate mother you see above.  I felt a chill go down my spine as I realized the implications of what the doctor was saying.

"So, this is a documented, peer-reviewed study proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that David Boyer, the sleazy plagiarist from Vincennes, Indiana is the reason little girls all across the country are suffering PTSS?"

He nodded authoritatively.  Dr. Icky is Dean of Sociopathic studies at Vincennes, Indiana University.

"Yes," he said.  "PTSS, or Pre-plagiary Traumatic Stress Syndrome as it is sometimes known, is in fact the fear that little girls have of David Boyer touching their stories."

I wrote slowly, making sure that I  spelled PTSS properly.

"So they're afraid David Boyer will touch their writing even if he hasn't?  Why is that, doctor?"

"Ahhh, now you are thinking like a scientist," he said approvingly.

"I enjoy watching Mr. Wizard re-runs on Hulu.com," I said.

"Hmmmm..." he replied.  "Perhaps we need to schedule an appointment for you.  But we can get to that later.  For now, do you know why the woman in this photo is so upset?"

I looked closer.

"No."

"She learned David Boyer stole a story from a sixteen year old girl.  It shocked her.  It horrified her.  She told me her fear of Boyer's improper touching of other people's writings so affected her daughter that the little girl developed PTSS within days.  A sixteen year old girl- what kind of a man would steal the inner thoughts of a sixteen year old girl?"

I thought about it.

"Could it be linked to wearing a black trench coat and no pants near schoolyards?"  I asked.

Dr. Icky looked uncomfortable as tugged at his lab coat lapel.

"That's a creepy thought," he said finally.

"No," I said.  "A fifty-plus year old man hunched over a computer stealing stories from sixteen year old girls- now that's a really creepy thought."

The Drinking Water or Genetics Gone Wild?

Scientists Discover Plagiary Genes in Vincennes, IN

Last week, a group of teen-aged genetic archaeologists were shocked to discover what could be the genes that cause a bad writer posing as a publisher to plagiarize.  Authorities are still searching for the owner of the genes.

"Somebody wore them," said an un-identified source in the Vincennes Police Department.  "Sooner or later they'll run out of identities to hide behind."

Marie Cruz, noted expert in posing as people she's not, said, "These kids should get a medal.  If they've located the precursor genetic strands that cause people to steal intellectual property and claim it as their own, we need to name something after them.  Like maybe a prison or something."

Names of the young scientists are not being released until they secure a media agent.

"This is the second major discovery of plagiary roots in the State of Indiana in the last seven or eight months," said Professor Steven Ricecakes.  "First that Caswell thing.  That was bad enough.  I thought we were going to have to change the name of the state it was so embarassing.  Then along comes David B. Boyer.  Ouch.  Now we really need to change the state name.  You think people in Indiana want the rest of the world to know they live in the same state as Caswell and David B. Boyer?"

In fact, investigators from the Human Genome Project are thinking of sending water pollution experts to Vincennes, Indiana, to determine if contaminated water could be the "Patient Zero" of the recent outbreak of Plagiarizing Publishers that have humiliated the whole state.

Director Tanya Sterilize says it's dangerous work looking into stupidity.  "I tell my investigators not to drink the water when they're in off the grid little towns like Vincennes, Indiana or they could end up stealing stuff and selling it under an alias.  Maybe it's not a gene causing this thing but some kind of squirming little parasite in the water.  Think about it- you are what you  drink.  If you've got parasites in your water, you'll get parasites in your stomach and sooner or later in your head."

Parasites in the head.

What better definition for the word "plagiarist?"

Indiana, a Plagiarist's Paradise

Indiana, the state where plagiarizing publishers are pampered.  Consider the case of David B. Boyer, still on the loose selling plagiarized materials through Amazon, through Lulu, etc..  Consider the Consumer Fraud Division that won't shut him down because he's just stealing from writers.  That's you and me.

Writers don't have rights, do they?  A book full of stolen materials is a physical product and to sell it under false label (without the author's permission and under someone else's name) is consumer fraud.  So why isn't the Assistant Attorney General of Indiana closing down the state's most blatant plagiarizing scam publisher- namely David B. Boyer of Vincennes, IN?

Consumer fraud is a crime.  Knowingly publishing plagiarized writing and selling it to consumers is clearly Consumer Fraud.  However, the Assistant Attorney General of Indiana hasn't been treating our complaints as such because we're just writers.

So I'm going to up the game and start writing to the Attorney General of Indiana, and congressmen in Indiana pointing out that this kind of lax enforcement gives their state a bad name.

Right now David B. Boyer is still selling plagiarized writing from a variety writers both known and unknown.  He sells them under his own name and under many aliases.

We writers have to demand that the State Attorney General treat this as fraud.

Look, they want us all to file copyright infringement suits across state lines against nickel and dime con artists like David B. Boyer of Vincennes, IN.  Well, the fact is creeps like Boyer are stealing from writers, producing a falsely labeled product and selling it across state lines via the Internet.  It's a crime.  They're criminals.

But because we're only writers and it's only "intellectual property," we're all supposed to roll over for these spineless thieves.

No way.

I'm going to start this ball rolling again.  I'll take all the help I can get.  You've all been great so far but I'm going to ask for your help again.  We need to band together against this.  

Plagiarism and re-publishing for profit is a crime and I'm going to work to see creeps like David B. Boyer locked up.

He sent me a confession.  I can't wait to find the right law enforcement officer to send it to.

Murder or Accidental Death- You Decide

Friends and family were distraught by news regarding the unexpected death of Bart the Chicken at a Vincennes, Indiana landfill yesterday.  Although police are still investigating the popular bird's passing, they have not collected sufficient evidence to rule out foul play.

"An unidentified suspect dumped a printout of David B. Boyer's plagiarisms and copyright infringements in the landfill at the edge of town sometime late Thursday night" said the detective in charge of the WTF investigative squad.  "It was a huge amount of paper and Bart just loved to eat paper.  Lots of birds do.  I had a crow that ate my grandmother's recipe for Plagiary Pie a year back.  We had to pump the poor little guy's stomach.  And that was only three pages!"

"Can you tell this reporter how many pages were printed out of Boyer's plagiaries?"  I asked.

The detective cocked his head toward the brooding Indiana sky as though looking for guidance.

"Well," he said finally, "a scientist from Vincennes University told us if you took all the ink used to print out David B. Boyer's plagiaries, poured it into a giant spaceship and dumped it on the sun, you could cause a complete and total eclipse that might destroy all life on planet Earth for a thousand years."

"Wow,"  I said.

"That's what I said," he agreed.  "And remember, Bart the Chicken only ate a fraction of Boyer's printed plagiaries.  If he ate all the pages or, say we stuffed them down his beak with a hydraulic plunger, why there'd be such an explosion we'd have feathers from here to New Jersey."

"And chicken shit,"  I added.

Since I've been investigating Boyer's plagiaries, I think of that phrase every time I hear his name.

The Origin of Ninja Weapons and Tools

"Bats in the Rafters" 

used with the permission of artist Michel Farivar

Right now I'm fortunate to be editing the new edition of Michel Farivar, MD's classic work on Ninja weaponry.   Dr. Farivar has added intriguing new materials and observations for the second edition, as well as several new pieces of artwork portraying the deadly techniques associated with these weapons.  His richly original and though provoking research into the darkly arcane world  of Ninja killing tools makes for chilling reading.

Dr. Farivar is uniquely qualified to write this book.  In addition to be being a practicing psychiatrist and wonderfully gifted artist, Dr. Farivar was taught the art of ninjutsu by world famous Grandmaster Robert Law of the Geijin Ryu.

I'll let you know when the new edition is ready for press.

Blu Gilliand Joins White Cat Magazine as Our New Book Reviewer

Blu Gilliand is a marvelously thoughtful reviewer and we're happy to have him on board over at White Cat Magazine.  He's already reviewed several books for us and he did such a great job we just had to ask him to join us.  Being a serious reviewer like Blu takes a lot of talent, and a passion for books.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet, here's his bio:

"As a reader and writer, Blu Gilliand's interests range far and wide, from the classics of Hemingway and Faulkner, to the adventurous non-fiction of Jon Krakauer and Susan Casey, to the four-color exploits from Dark Horse and IDW. But his heart lies in horror, thanks to a chance encounter many years ago with Stephen King's Pet Sematary. That book set him on a course leading to his current work as a writer of fiction (for Shroud magazine, Dark Discoveries magazine, and several anthologies and websites) and non-fiction (for Horror World, FEARnet.com, Ain't It Cool News, and many others). Last year he started his own blog devoted to horror and crime fiction, October Country, as a further outlet for his interviews, reviews and rambling.

Blu lives in the great state of Alabama with his wife, their twin daughters, and an ever-expanding cast of pets. In his spare time (ha!) he enjoys photography, movies, taking the kids to the park and heading down the interstate to the beach every chance he gets."

Team of Surgeons Mull Conscience Transplant for Vincennes, Indiana Plagiarist

Of all the earlier pieces of investigative articles I've published on David Boyer, the serial plagiarist from Vincennes, Indiana, this piece got the most reaction.  Except from Oprah, who never returned my emails or calls, but did send me a coupon for the new chain of restaurants she's opening in Egypt.


The research behind this article gave me the idea for the book in progress "American Sleaze."   And it led me to a source who was more than willing to dish out details on David Boyer and his seedy plagiaries. I'll post segments of these shocking interviews over the next few weeks, and they form the thematic backdrop of the new book.


Here's the investigative piece that started my wheels turning:

*****

Las Vegas oddsmakers are giving odds of 20:1 against the notorious plagiarist David Boyer of Vincennes, Indiana accepting a remarkable offer from the Arkham College of Neurosurgeons to attempt the world's first Conscience Transplant.

Dr. F. Lobe urged Mr. Boyer to accept the offer.

"What's to lose?" she said.  "Talk to the man's victims- he's done nothing for them, not even admit publicly that he plagiarized them.  So I'm saying to him, like a doctor and a good mother- get a conscience, even a little one can't hurt."

Finding a conscience donor, however, could be tricky.  He will need a real conscience, one from someone recognized for their integrity, to balance his morality deficit.  Scientist Sarah Bellum, PhD points out that Boyer's brain currently registers negative on the conscience scale.  "Of course," she admits, "I've only scanned him from a distance.  I didn't want to get too close in case he felt tempted to steal my doctoral thesis."

This reporter contacted the Ghandi Institute in India, since the headquarters in Pontiac, MI did not return our phone calls.

"Ghandhi's dead,"  said Rasheej Gukathason, the security guard who answered the phone.  (time differences can be very tricky, even for an investigative journalist).  "His conscience is gone someplace.  Who knows where?  Don't ask me, I'm just the security guard."

"Where does the conscience go after death?" I asked.

A burst of solar radiation most likely was the cause of the dial tone that followed my question.

I later contacted a mysterious man known only as "The Donor Hunter," and he suggested that Donor Consciences could be purchased if you knew the right people.  "Charlie Sheen, for example," he said.  "He used to have a conscience, but he's not using it now.  Maybe for bond money he'll sell it if you have enough cash.  Or go to politicians.  They have absolutely no use for them.  And some of them lie better than Boyer so it would be a good match.  And they always swear they've done nothing wrong, just like he does."

"So his brain won't reject the conscience in question if it comes from an out of control actor or a sleazy politician?"

"Exactly," said the Donor Hunter.

"But then he'll still suffer from Conscience-Deficit Syndrome," I pointed out.

The Donor Hunter's mouth dropped open.

"You thought he was going to change?"  I asked.

"What was I thinking?" he wondered.

New Movie Reviewer at White Cat Magazine

We're proud to announce the addition of George Beremov as our new movie reviewer over at White Cat Magazine.  George is a devoted fan of cinema, and we became acquainted through his blog at http://cinemarvellous.blogspot.com

I was so impressed with his work that I invited him join our staff.  You can see his first review for us of the movie "Mirror Mirror" over at White Cat right now.

Join with me if you will to welcome George to our team.

Oh No, There Goes Tokyo Again!

Japanese Writer Terrified of Boyerzilla

*****

To get myself into the mood for really digging into the fact based, hard charging journalist mood of finishing the book "Indiana Sleaze," I went through a few of my earlier articles about the sleazy serial plagiarist David Boyer of Vincennes, Indiana.  I was surprised to find that I'd missed the international ramifications of his plagiarisms.  By the time I was done reading my own work, I was seriously fired up, pulled out my press pass (yes, I have one), shined it til the reflection burned a hole in the wall and got working.  I am finishing the last of the 75 inquiries I've penned to officials in his home town, 74 of which have the same last name.

While I finish the last letter, read the facts below and you'll see why all of Japan is in mortal terror of Boyerzilla.

*****

According to early reports, Japanese fiction writers were so terrified of Boyerzilla that they were forced to conceal Mothra, Rhodan and even the mighty Godzilla in undisclosed theme parks and Putt-Putt golf courses scattered throughout the Land of the Rising Sun. The initial effort did turn out well due to size restrictions (it's hard to hide a giant moth under a windmill). It was not until Minister of Literacy Ichiro Murakami conceived of hiding these three greatest of all Japanese superheroes in an exhibit called "Land of the Giants" that the general reading public was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Hoping for another Boyergate scoop, I Skyped Minister Murakami.

"Hello," I said. "Can you both see and hear me?"

"What are you selling?" replied the Minister. "I already have insurance."

I sensed a certain level of frustration in his voice.

"I'm a reporter," I said, "hot on the trail of breaking news stories that concern David Boyer, the serial plagiarist from Vincennes, Indiana."

"I have no time for reporters. Writers are rioting in the streets. There is looting here. When rumors started that the cow-tongued plagiarist David Boyer had grown to such monstrous proportions he was looking overseas for things to steal, the whole Japanese population went mad!"

"Calm down," I told him. "I don't even think David Boyer knows where Japan is."

"How can I be calm? Mothra is not safe. Rhodan is not safe. Godzilla is not safe. Boyer is writing film scripts so bad his cats use them for litter. Soon he'll start stealing our film scripts and putting his name on them. If he claims he wrote the script for the movie "Godzilla," our whole nation will jump into the sea. Godzilla is Japanese. Mothra and Rhodan are Japanese. We live through a tidal wave and a nuclear meltdown only to have to worry about Boyerzilla stealing our stuff?!"

"Minister," I cautioned, "Boyer can't read Japanese so he's not likely to plagiarize Japanese Godzilla movies."

His image waivered as he shouted and banged his fist on the table.

"He can't write in American, but he plagiarizes Americans. What do you say to that?"

Sure, bring that up.

"He lives in Vincennes, Indiana and he plagiarizes Vincennes writers!"

"I have to admit that sounds bad," I said.

"He claims to be Christian, but he plagiarizes Christian writers!"

I had to turn down the volume on my computer speakers- they were starting to vibrate.

"But Minister Murakami- " I said, but he cut me off before I could complete my sentence.

"No buts!!! He likes monster movies. Our monsters are the best. He plagiarized Dean Koontz, why wouldn't he plagiarize Godzilla?"

"Godzilla didn't write the movie scripts, Minister, He's just a monster-actor. So Boyer wouldn't technically be plagiarizing Godzilla himself."

The icy stare he gave me through my computer screen was so cold I shivered.

"You mean Godzilla is a film writer?"

He nodded.

"Wow," I said. "There's a movie script in this."

I know I shouldn't have said that because it made him so mad he spit on his webcam. It looked like a giant mucous meteorite hurtling at me. Then he clicked off without a word.

Hmmm.... Boyerzilla versus the Giant Mucous Meteorite.

There's a movie script in that.

*****

To preserve my journalistic integrity, I gave myself written permission to reprint the above article.  

Borgo

This is the cover in progress for my new novel "Borgo" which will be out later this year.  The fonts will be changed   to silver and pewter, but I like the cover art so much I thought I'd see what the rest of you think.

Also, my novel "The Ghost Box" will be available in two or three weeks in eBook format and then in print two months later.  "Tainted Blood" will be out in print about the same time.

Free "Tainted Blood" Promotion!

Starting today and lasting through April 6th, "Tainted Blood," will be Free through Amazon Kindle.  Click here to download it for free.  We're already at #19 in the number of Kindle Horror downloads in the US and #20 in the UK, so keep downloading!  Help us get to number one!!


It's hard to find a better price.


Just scheduled this at 11:00 a.m. Monday, April 2, and it may take a few hours or maybe even til tomorrow morning to show up as free, plus or minus an electron.

Spring Issue of White Cat Magazine is Online!

We'll be working all day and into the evening to post the Spring Edition of White Cat Magazine.  So if you have time, stop on over and read the new stories.

The winner of our April Fool's Flash Fiction contest is Alex Hughes whose story Cartoon Bastard Clouds has rather a surprise ending to put it mildly.

We have a marvelously off-kilter story by the always entertaining Marissa Lingen titled Dinosaurs of the Southern Dust Bowl.

If you enjoy end of the world stories (and who doesn't), there's always the intriguing Centralia, by the British writer Tony Haynes.

Dystopic science fiction is represented in fine form by the sharp-edged short story Breaking the Ice, by the Australian writer Robert N. Stephenson.

We also have an eerie ghost story Tryst by Brian K. Lowe that our editors just loved.

There'll be more going up later tonight, but til then- enjoy!

Oops.  Got to go.  It looks like she needs help with her typewriter.