Plagiarism

Another week, and another plagiarism scandal. 

Two, actually. 

And I really don't understand it. If you're going to be a Cheaty McCheater pants, why do it the hard way? Because, frankly, if you're going to take the effort to grab together a bunch of fan fics and then try and edit them together into something cohesive...well, if you've got those skills, wouldn't it be easier just to write your own damn book? 

And this advice is brought to you by the laziest person on earth, I swear. 

The second instance was very much the tried and true method: 

1. Find something free online. 
2. Steal it. 
3. Slap a cover and your name on it, and sell it on Amazon. 

This pisses me off a lot. It pisses me off on behalf of the readers who bought something in good faith, and it pisses me off because every time it happens it makes writers wonder if it's worth the trouble of putting their stuff out there for free. Eventually, everyone loses, because of one asshole who thought that stealing someone else's work seemed like a good idea. 

Grrr. 

Okay, that's the rant over. I'm cross-posting this to Booklikes as well. If you're over there, you can find me at http://LisaHenry.booklikes.com/

Cover Love: When All The World Sleeps

Omigod. How gorgeous is this cover by Amber Shah?  

Although I do feel a little bit guilty for sharing it so early, since the book's not out until March, but want to know the upside? If you pre-order from Riptide, you can win free books for a year! 

But just to whet your appetite a little bit more, here is the blurb: 

Daniel Whitlock is terrified of going to sleep. And rightly so: he sleepwalks, with no awareness or memory of his actions. Including burning down Kenny Cooper’s house—with Kenny inside it—after Kenny brutally beat him for being gay. Back in the tiny town of Logan after serving his prison sentence, Daniel isolates himself in a cabin in the woods and chains himself to his bed at night.

Like the rest of Logan, local cop Joe Belman doesn’t believe Daniel’s absurd defense. But when Bel saves Daniel from a retaliatory fire, he discovers that Daniel might not be what everyone thinks: killer, liar, tweaker, freak. Bel agrees to control Daniel at night—for the sake of the other townsfolk. Daniel’s fascinating, but Bel’s not going there.

Yet as he’s drawn further into Daniel’s dark world, Bel finds that he likes being in charge. And submitting to Bel gives Daniel the only peace he’s ever known. But Daniel’s demons won’t leave him alone, and he’ll need Bel’s help to slay them once and for all—assuming Bel is willing to risk everything to stand by him.

You'll be seeing a lot more of this cover before the release of When All The World Sleeps, since I love it so much. So creepy and beautiful! A lot like Daniel, really... 

The Boy Who Belonged - Coming Soon

So, J.A. Rock and I have been crazy-busy lately (mostly crazy), and we've written a sequel to The Good Boy, which is under contract from Loose Id. It's called The Boy Who Belonged, and here is the unofficial blurb: 

"Angina!" 

Twenty-one year-old Lane Moredock finally has a normal life. Six months after he was wrongly made a suspect in his parents’ Ponzi scheme, he’s settled down with his older boyfriend, Derek, and is working and attending school. But his happiness is threatened when his mother launches a Christmastime PR campaign to help appeal her prison sentence, and asks introverted Lane to be part of it.

Derek Fields has his hands full taking Santa photos, bird-sitting his sister’s foul-mouthed macaw, and helping Lane prepare for a television interview neither of them wants him to do. As he eases Lane through his anxiety, he worries that Lane sees him as a caretaker rather than a boyfriend, and that their age difference really does matter. He and Lane compensate for the stress in their lives by taking their D/s relationship to new levels--a relationship that Lane’s mother insists he should be ashamed of.

As Christmas draws nearer, the pressure builds. Pushy elves. Snarky subs. A bad fight. A parrot in peril. How the hell is Derek going to give Lane a perfect Christmas when the Moredock legacy threatens to pull them apart before the new year?

Yay for Christmas stories! The course of true love never runs smooth. Particularly when you add Mr Zimmerman to the mix. 

Welcome to the world of the future!

So, this week I made a website. 

I know, I know, this is something eight-year-olds have been doing for decades now, but I am technologically challenged. Well, that's all going to change. I'm going to embrace technology. Now, the future awaits...and it's full of glorious chest hair!

It took me a bottle of wine, a lot of swearing, and some encouraging words from my co-writer/arch-nemesis J.A. Rock, who ALSO MADE A WEBSITE! 

Suspicious coincidence? No, not at all. 

She made hers first and I thought, Yeah, that's probably something I should have done ages ago. Also, it turned out to be a really good way to procrastinate. Because it was writing-related, but not actual writing, so I got to spend the day not writing and escape the guilt of not writing at the same time. 

And I think the end result is worth it. Mmmm...pretty. 

J.A. said that the boys I found for my home page were super cute and that maybe I should cover them with blood and bruises so I don't mislead people. But I like to imagine they're suffering on the inside. 

So anyway, the blog will stay here where it's always been, but the links up top will now take you to the website. 

And, on the writing side of things, J.A. and I are about to get stuck into the edits of Mark Cooper Versus America, and we have some fun promo stuff planned for when it's released. No date yet, but I'll be sharing that as soon as I know it. 

In other news, we've seen the draft of the cover for When All The World Sleeps, and OMG! So beautiful and creepy and awesome! I can't wait until we can show it off.  

An open letter to J.A. Rock (and all of America)

Dear J.A., 

Thanks so much for the public apology on your blog. You are, of course, right to be sorry. You were wrong. About everything. And all it took for you to admit it was a packet of Freddo Frogs and a small wooden wombat. 

J.A., you will notice that in the contract I sent you for The Boy Who Belonged, there are more cheap bribes examples of my largess. This is a pre-emptive strike, because here are some more Australian words that I promise are real. 

Arvo. As in, "I'll see you this arvo". The word "afternoon" has too many damned syllables in it, and if there's one thing we Aussies hate, it's wasting valuable time with syllables. We have better things to be doing. Like building boats out of beer cans and then racing them in a harbour full of crocodiles. 

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Or, in order to avoid crocodiles entirely, staging maritime battles in a dry riverbed. 

Source: The Henley on Todd

See? Always thinking, us Aussies. 

Anyway, as much as I'd love to stay and gloat about your apology, I've got to run. I think there was something off in that sanga... 

Sanga. A sandwich. As in, "I ate a Vegemite sanga for lunch and now I feel crook."

Crook. Sick. For reasons of possible sickness, see above. 

The duck's guts. Awesome. I don't know why the sanga made me crook. They are usually the duck's guts. 

So anyway, I chucked a sickie. Went to a barbie instead, threw back a coldie, and watched the footy with some mates from Brissie. Got on the grog a bit, and then I got in a blue with this  sparky, Macca, who was being a real lair, and broke my sunnies. Got a lift home with Bazza in his ute so at least I didn't have to go Shank's pony maaaaaaaaate----- 

*composes self*

Well, I seem to have wrestled control of the blog back from my inner bogan for the time being. Those of you who are still with me will have noticed that yes, JA and I are still having unresolved language difficulties. Hopefully we will resolve some of them in Mark Cooper Versus America, but, really, at this point it's less of an exercise in tolerance and more a game of oneupmanship. (Don't tell her, but I plan to break out the word "celsius" and win!) 

Also, we've got a contract on The Boy Who Belonged, which is a sequel to The Good Boy, and finds Derek and Lane preparing for their first Christmas together. Oh...and they have a very evil houseguest. Who can it be? 

Spoiler alert: 

Yay! It's Mr Zimmerman!!!!!!