LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST STEPHANIE MEYERS.

Status: Writing on a variety of book projects.

Watching: James Bond movies from my PS2.

Listening to: Whatever's burned to my PC.

Reading: CHEEKY ANGEL manga.

TOPIC: PLAGIARISM ABOUNDS...

Like JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyers was recently handed a lawsuit--charging her with plagiarizing one of her books; from another unauthorized source.

Of course, Meyers denies that she plagiarized "anything" from her books, but one has to wonder why people like her can get so defensive about it--if they didn't do it in the first place?

Like Bush's supporters have famously said over the years: "If you're not worried, what do you have to hide?"

Plagiarism is becoming something of a growing epidemic within the publishing world these days--with more and more examples popping up over the past five years. (Or more.)

With the advent of the internet, it has become more and more easy to simply "lift" material (copyrighted or otherwise) from people's personal websites, or other different websites and claim it as your own--once the finished project is completed.

Stephanie Meyers and JK Rowling are most likely guilty of such crimes--which makes their claims of innocence all that more suspect.

No one in their right mind would think that either just didn't happen to dream up their book series independently and without any such public "influence".

If they did--as they claim--it's a load of crap. There are a lot of internal and external influences which makes coming up with something original all that much harder.

People these days have either fallen off of or gotten onto the band wagon--for that one, small, trip towards fame, fortune, and glory.

They constantly want to emulate their favorite authors, movie stars, and the like--and don't have to put in a whole lot of work doing it.

Writing a novel is becoming all that more challenging to do--because it is all too easy to fall prey to cheating and stealing your way towards the end of any given book project.

But denying it just casts a cloud over you--the author--and makes it all that more difficult to be seen as both credible and original.

Sky

***

"Twilight" author accused of plagiarism

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A writer plans to sue "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer, accusing her of plagiarism by lifting passages from an obscure book she wrote called "The Nocturne" and using them in vampire romance "Breaking Dawn," an attorney said on Tuesday.

J. Craig Williams, who represents "The Nocturne" author Jordan Scott, told Reuters by phone that the passages in question involve few word-for-word similarities but that the two books have similar plot and character points.

Meyer's publisher, Hachette Book Group, called the accusation meritless, saying "The Twilight Saga" is entirely Meyer's creation and that she knew nothing of "The Nocturne."

"Breaking Dawn," which came out in 2008, is the fourth book in the series of novels about a teenager, Bella Swan, caught in a forbidden romance with vampire Edward Cullen.

The "Twilight" books, which the publisher says have sold 70 million copies worldwide, are the basis for a movie series from Summit Entertainment. The first film, "Twilight," has earned more than $380 million at worldwide box offices, and the second, "New Moon," hits theaters in November.

In "Breaking Dawn," Bella marries the blood-sucking Cullen and the book follows Bella through a difficult pregnancy and her new life as a vampire.

In a cease-and-desist letter Williams sent to Hachette Book Group, he provided comparisons from the two books of a wedding, a sex-on-the-beach episode and a passage where a human-turned-vampire describes the wrenching change.

As another instance of similarities, Williams pointed out that characters in both books call their wives "love."

Hachette Book Group said in a statement that Meyer's books "have been a phenomenal sensation" and that "it shouldn't be surprising to hear that other people may seek to ride the coattails of such success."

Williams said Scott plans to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against Meyer this week or next in U.S. federal court.

"I think the fans have to read both books and make up their own mind, like a judge is going to have to," Williams said.

He said Scott does not plan to seek monetary damages.

Scott made chapters from "The Nocturne" available online as she was working on the vampire book, which she wrote in her teenage years and released in book form in 2006, Williams said. He said he did not know how many copies the book sold.

A VERY IMPORTANT PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE!

Status: Living with the in-laws. (Week 10)

Watching: Nothing.

Listening to: Recorded Music.

Reading: A bunch of mangas.

TOPIC: RABID FAN BASES

While I still have the strength and energy to type this out (sick once again--due to stress and a lot of other factors in my life), I wanted to touch base on the rabid fan issue.
Yes...

The RABID FAN.

Recently classified by scientists as an offshoot of the Homo Sapien race of mammals--rabid fans are an eclectic group of harbingers whom have this little nifty power to make their cousin species' sick with aggravation and deep-seeded annoyance

Why?

Because rabid fans can.

Their unique power structure stems from their obssessed love for any particular book or fad which has consumed their sad little lives--which ends being very badly for them.

They cannot discern reality from fantasy--having hooked onto the idea that their target in question will somehow respond and give back what was stolen from them in the first place:

Their lives.

How can you spot a rabid fan a mile away--or anyone else showing symptoms of unnormalcy?

A rabid fan's behavior is a dead giveaway. If they are acting completely out of character or seem to be fixated on something beu-faux specific...?

Steer clear of them and their little armies of gnawing teeth and explosive anger.

You don't want to get them angry. Not one iota.

They seem to believe that whatever made them rabid in the first place, might reciproctate and give them their undivided blessings in retrospect.

By saying, "Thank You!"--for hanging on and making the target's life all that less enriching and more self-important.

Rabid fans can be found dwelling in special groups, borrows, or tidy little holes with chains of flowers and other fauna designed to enhance their little abode--while showcasing a lot of their choice items which is the soul reason why they are rabid in the first place.

Rabid fans are easily spotted by their sharp claws, gnawing teeth, beady little eyes, and choice apparel reflecting why they are so rabid in the first place.

It can be a phrase, a word. a singular title, or even a picture of their dwelling fixation and undying love.

To say something bad about the rabid fans' target of affection (or love) is to invite disaster.

In such dreaded scenarios, the offender is usually found with their arms and legs ripped off at the seams, their impersonables torn completely away from their bodies and their clothes left tattered and in shreds.

In some documented cases, rabid fans have been known to take a trophy part of their targeted aggression and have it on display for the whole entire world to see.

Why?

Rabid fans don't like their god or goddess taken down a peg or beaten into a nice and juicy pulp.

So they have been known to congregate into tightly woven circles; throwing up all kinds of deflector-shield technologies in order to preserve or protect The One from his or her untimely critics or flame-bots.

Rabid fans often have been reported to not have much of a social life and one has to wonder if personal hygiene or grooming is ever required.

So far...

Scientists the world over have yet to confirm or document the inner workings of a rabid fan--only suffice to say that without some on-hand experience in dealing with them...?

All that is written here is pure speculation and shouldn't be taken with a grain of salt--for fear that angering these undomesticated rabid fans will somehow trigger and emotionally aggressive response.

So, the next time you run into a rabid fan or their base, please, please, please...!--give them a wide berth and go about your own lives.

If you ever value them.

End documentary.

HOW I FEEL AT THE MOMENT. :0)

Status: Writing on A Girl Named Mystery. (2nd draft--2008 version.)

Doing: Writing on this blog; answering e-mails; working out, and well...you know the rest! :0)

Watching: Nothing at the moment.

Listening to: Taped music.

Reading: Kushiel's Scion. Page 414.

STAR TREK-THE NEXT GENERATION: WAR DRUMS. Page 78.

STAR TREK-NEW EARTH: BOOK 5 OF 6-THIN AIR. Page 45.

TOPIC: GARFIELD SUMS UP HOW I FEEL...AGAIN. :0)

This week has been nuts again. I'm going to jump off the main writing track for a bit and focus on some of my smaller novel projects--and give my larger tomes a breather.

But lately, I've been feeling pretty lethargic on a lot of things--much like Garfield is in this comic strip.

I dunno. It could be the heat, the hot weather, my latest gardening attempts going bust again. (The pots were nothing but MUD! So I had to repot my backup seeds into egg-flats. I'll have to get some large tomato seeds next month and a few other fruits and veggies.)

But I'm going to be meandering for awhile.

Sky

THE BOOK EXCHANGE (Entry 2 of 3)

Status: On vacation till the end of the month due to a lot going on.

Doing: Writing on this blog; answering e-mails; working out, and well...you know the rest! :0)

Watching: Knight Rider on RTN.

Listening to: Taped music from C-89.5 (Seattle)

Reading: Kushiel's Scion. Page 404.

STAR TREK-THE NEXT GENERATION: WAR DRUMS. Page 69.

STAR TREK-NEW EARTH: BOOK 1: WAGON TRAIN TO THE STARS. Page 35.

TOPIC: INDEPENDENT BOOK STORE TRIALS

One of the things that I want to explore with The Starchild's release is to approach local and indi-run bookstores--instead of hitting one dead-end after another with the major chains.

Stores like Borders and B. Daltons which have pretty much popped up across the country like daisies.

Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to run into a very nice woman named Shelly DeWitt. What struck me about her was the fact that she was open-minded and easy going, and we had a lot to talk about over the course of the past few months or so.

Including our love of books.

Her aspiration was to open a small book store where she lived--and I saw a prime opportunity to try my luck with her in regards to my novel, The Starchild. (When it becomes available in a few years.)

Of course, we are both in uncharted territories here. Her business revolves around the idea of exchanging books or buying them based on price; while building up a saleable account with her store at the same time. (Click the link at the bottom of this page under "Sky's List Links"--for further details.)

My aims are to use her bookstore as a jump off point (amongst others) for my book--to see what kind of positive reaction I can get from my target audience and go from there.

So when Shelly recently e-mailed me, I found out that she had just opened her store this past month. And like myself, she's looking for potential customers and some good karma to come down her way.

So I thought I would give people whom visit this site of mine a heads up on her modest little enterprise--and see if anyone would be interested in exchanging a book or two in the process. (Pretty cool idea, huh?)

Because you never know what you might come across. Or read. :0)

So check her place out and spread the word if you can. We both would appreciate it!

Sky

BOOKSELLERS IN A PINCH.

Status: On vacation.

Doing: Writing on this blog; answering e-mails; working out, and well...you know the rest! :0)

Watching: TV still offline.

Listening to: Nothing at the moment.

Reading: Kushiel's Scion. Page 288.

STAR TREK: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD-BOOK 1. Page 206.


TOPIC: TANKING ECONOMY FORCES CHANGES IN BOOK INDUSTRY

Despite some reservations about e-books and independent book sellers, many publishers are now having to come to grips with not only a changing economy, but the changing face of book publishing.

***

Booksellers talk big, act quietly at convention

LOS ANGELES (AP) — They spoke of revolution this weekend at BookExpo America, of changing how we read and how we shop.

But the biggest noise happened miles away from the Los Angeles Convention Center, at the Beverly Hills mansion of Prince.

"It was quiet, very quiet," Simon & Schuster CEO and president Carolyn Reidy said of the industry's annual national gathering, which lacked a "buzz" book or spectacular speech, but did offer a rare private concert from the enigmatic rock star.

"I think when this is over, we're going to do some soul searching," said CEO David Shanks of Penguin Group (USA). "There are people in this hall who have spent way more than a million dollars at a time when we all should be pinching pennies."

The numbers were harsh at BookExpo. New annual releases keep increasing (more than 276,000, according to researchers R.R. Bowker), while the number of books purchased is expected to drop, according to a report by the Book Industry Study Group, an industry-supported organization.

But the visions were big. In simultaneous presentations over the weekend, held in nearby conference rooms, Amazon.com head Jeff Bezos and the American Booksellers Association, representatives of the country's independent stores, each talked of revolutionizing the business.

Bezos continued his advocacy of the Kindle e-book reader, billed as "revolutionary" by the retailer, although at this point more as a concept than as a way of life. His talk disappointed many attendees, who had hoped that he would announce some major news, but it did continue the ongoing discussion of the e-future. Reidy said Simon & Schuster would make thousands of additional titles available on the Kindle, even as one famous futurist, "Fahrenheit 451" novelist Ray Bradbury, envisioned only paper.

"There is no future for e-books because they are not books," said Bradbury, speaking to The Associated Press before a convention lunch Friday. "E-books smell like burned fuel."

While Bezos pushed the Kindle, officials at the ABA's annual "town hall" meeting rallied for their new marketing/branding campaign, IndieBound. Association president Russ Lawrence described it as, ideally, "a movement, a revolution, a force of nature" that would inspire the public not just to shop at independent bookstores, but at other kinds of locally-owned retailers. Booksellers, Lawrence announced, would soon be receiving "Literary Liberation" boxes that include cards, stickers and other materials meant to build communities nationwide.

The response was positive from a bookselling community that continues to shrink, nationwide, thanks in part to Amazon.com. Core membership dropped to 1,524 as of this spring, 56 fewer than the year before, and booksellers filled less than half of the roughly 500 chairs set up for their meeting. Still, said ABA vice president Gayle Shanks, noting that more new stores have opened in recent years, "We're on the way up, not on the way down."

Publishers wished success for IndieBound, but Reidy and Shanks questioned whether the public distinguishes between shopping at local stores and shopping at an independent, saying that a neighborhood bookshop could be a Barnes & Noble.

"I don't think people see it in terms of independents or chains. A bookstore is a bookstore," said Shanks, who doubted, with sadness, whether independents can regain their old power. "Real estate is major. It's not lost on people that the most successful independents often are in out of the way places. They have been ceded those areas."

The idea of "revolution" differed among attendees, like Deborah Shnookel of the Ocean Press, which publishes "radical books" about Latin America and will issue the tie-in to Steven Soderbergh's epic film about Che Guevara. "A lot of smaller stores and publishers have been wiped out by the so-called revolution in publishing," she said, referring to the industry's dramatic consolidation over the past two decades.

"When it comes to revolution in the business, I'm kind of a reactionary. I'm one of those people who'd like to see things go back to the good old days."

Guevara likely would have sympathized with the roughly 300 food workers at the convention center who staged a brief walkout Saturday, in protest over wages and benefits, according to union leaders. BookExpo staffers helped serve lunch in the main ballroom, where the news was taken far more lightly than if one scheduled speaker, filmmaker/activist Michael Moore, had not been forced to cancel because his plane was stuck in Chicago.

Few releases at BookExpo inspired widespread interest, although attendees spoke hopefully about such novels as Marilynne Robinson's "Home," Andrew Davidson's "The Gargoyle" and "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society," co-authored by Mary Ann Shaffer, who died recently, and her niece, Annie Barrows. The real buzz boomed from the amps of Prince, who kept his guests — and perhaps some neighbors — up late with a poolside, after-after hours concert, in promotion for a planned book in the fall.

Publishers are better at indulging rock stars than behaving like them, as noticed by guitarist Don Felder, the former Eagle whose memoir, "Heaven and Hell," was just released. "Publishing people seem very upfront, very decent and very honest," he told the AP, adding with a laugh, "I don't think they'd last long in the music business."

The past matters for book people, who regret the decline of independent stores and adore the paper text. Shanks complains that the convention is in a "time warp," yet speaks fondly of a simple, low-tech tradition: Walking the floor in search of new books, like when some 20 years ago he spotted a novel being released by The Naval Institute.

"I didn't even know the Navy published novels, but I thought this had potential. We bought it for $49,000," he says, smiling at the memory of how he acquired Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October."

SUNDAY'S MUSINGS ON SELF-PUBLISHING. (Part 4)

Status: Writing Chapter 24 to Stories of the Dead Earth-Book 3: Jasper

Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out

Watching: "Twister"; "Full Metal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa".

Listening to: Nothing at the moment.

Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey (Page 173)

TOPIC: WHAT SELF-PUBLISHING REALLY MEANS

I know I've had this argument before...many, many, times over with people across the writing spectrum.

"Yes, world! Schuyler Thorpe intends to self-publish his own books! Hurray for me!" (Please note my underlying sarcasm in this sentence.)

But you know what? It's something that I have to do. It's the only option left open to me.

Why?

Because I've grown tired of the long-assed waits by the mainstream--in their decisions to decide who is good enough and who isn't; by a set of publishing standards that are more obsolete than a Model T Ford is these days.

My beef with them is quite obvious: They've forgotten the Golden Rule of Publishing--and they are more content to sit on their laurals; and dictate what can be taken and what can't--based on what I see as a lottery.

Just so their bottom line is protected.

But I've also come across articles in the recent months which point to a staggering trend of rejections by the industry--simply because the books written today do not follow the same path of illustrious commercialism as their previously published counterparts.

There is simply no chance these days for the new writer to show the industry what they can do--based on guidelines that are more restrictive than they are flexible.

But the usual attacks on me for pointing that out is that I am not "good enough for the mainstream", "your writing sucks", "I'm so naive"--and the usual put-downs that I've had to weather for years now--just so that others can illustrate how easy it is to belittle other writers' talents; simply because they refuse to conform to a set standard written by an industry that doesn't give a rat's ass about what being a writer really means!

I have nothing against self-publishing. But so many people do. They erroneously assume that self-publishing means vanity-press.

It's just so sad that so many people are blindly misinformed on what these two distinctive methods of publishing are.

Self-publishing means that you (the author) assumes all risks of publishing your own books, taking care of your own editing, and the covers which will later be incorporated into the target book in question. You also assume all the risks of the promoting yourself and marketing your own book.

THAT'S WHAT SELF-PUBLISHING IS! THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO! AND AM DOING RIGHT NOW!

Vanity-press publishing is where you (the author), pays a printing mill money to publish your book and has your rights stolen from you in the process. These outfits have a terrible publishing record, along with their nightmarish editing resumes, and the extremely crappy cover art which graces these poorly written pieces of literature.

Companies like:

• Publish America
• Trafford
• Xlibris
• Author House (and its various surname entities)
• Red Dog Publishing
• Dorrance Publishing
• IUniverse
• Lulu.com

These companies come off saying that they are usually traditional or are a respected subsidy publisher--but in all honesty? They lie or deliberately mislead the prospective public in order to get their money's worth from that same unsuspecting author or writer. That's what we call a scam.

And surprisingly, they've all worked rather well. People still publish through these same "mills"--believing that they are really published!

How sad for them.

And this is what people think I'm doing? I admit free and clear, I'm paying an indie editor and a book cover artist money to complete the work on The Starchild, but that is a far cry from going into vanity-press publishing.

The ignoramuses still believe that what I am doing (self-publishing), is still vanity-press; and they say that it will kill any chances of me being mainstream published.

Seeing what I see in that, knowing what I know about the whole backwards enterprise, I would rather take my chances doing this on my own--than rather have the mainstream take what I have and butcher it.

Self-publishing isn't the evil alternate that so many paint it be as "unreliable", "umarketable", and irrevocably a "blight" on our publishing careers.

So many people dream of being traditionally published, but the odds against them are greater and more tougher than they realize.

I know I did. I wanted to become traditionally published. But once I started looking into what it entailed, I didn't run away from the idea. I wanted to look at a different way of getting there on my own.

But as the days turned into weeks, the weeks turned to months, and then years, I started to become disenchanted with the idea that this is where my work was meant to be.

People may not fully understand my methods of execution, but this is what I want to do.

I don't want be contained, caged in, or restricted. I want to be free.

Money is something that I seek to use for my own benefit and those that I hardly know. Driving to be rich, to be famous, and well-known--? Is something that I have been shunning for quite some time.

It's not me. It never has been. I've lived with extreme poverty all of my life. Subsisting on what people and the government have given me to just barely make ends meet.

Having money, saving it, is something that I can only have in my dreams. Because reality--for me--is an ugly truth that I have to face each and every day.

So self-publishing for me isn't about screwing up my writing career in the worst way. It's about investing in a future I hope to one day cultivate through my books.

One small step at a time.

TOO LATE IN THE MORNING...

Status: On vacation

Doing: Writing this blog; finished the dishes; my workout; cleaned up a little.

Watching: OKLAHOMA!; CBS Morning News.

Listening to: "Destroy Everything You Touch" by Lady Tron; "No Defect" by Inertia

Finished Reading: The Valiant (ST-TNG book)


TOPIC: BOOK CONTESTS-BENEFICIAL OR JUST PLAIN ANNOYING?

Growing up, I liked contests like the next kid growing up. I wanted to know what they were pitching and selling--as an added incentive to jumping on board.

I guess over time, I outgrew the idea of what having a contest is all about. I just didn't find it that exciting.

After a time--when you find yourself blitzed by thousands of mailers or e-mails declaring that they have a contest going on and nothing else--it's a mighty big yawner after a time.

You get bored with seeing the same thing over and over.

While contests are an important aspect to selling your book, there are some serious questions as to whether or not they really are necessary.

It may bag you some free publicity, but what does the contest really accomplish? What are its overall goals?

And can it be considered a rousing success without driving your readers nuts?

I have been considering doing contests for my books, but I have no idea on what to base them on. I guess you could say that I'm not a real big fan of commercial enterprise or ones based on chance.

I've tried the lottery over the past couple of years, and I got close once--but not without blowing about $160 over that same time period in the process. What it taught me was that the odds of winning are extremely remote--even after playing it in increments.

Contests are basically based on the same principle. The odds of winning something important is pretty much in line with odds of winning the lottery.

I'm just not sure if it's something worth doing. Especially with the books that I have.

It if was for something less important--something I could 'run' without consequence or second thought--I would do it in a heartbeat.

No question about it.

But I have deep reservations about doing contests on my novels.

Only because I seem to be doing well with web promotions and advertising as it is.

TUESDAY RUMBLINGS

Status: On vacation

Doing: Writing this blog

Watching: PBS's Rick Steve's Europe series (TV's on mute)

Listening to: "Emotional" by Falco; Final Fantasy 7 JENOVAD Trance OC Remix

State of Office: Worse than New Orleans is at the moment; expect a cleanup on Aisle 4 later tonight.



TOPIC: Author Introductions


Oh god! What have I done?!?

Created another blog using one of my other Yahoo! accounts. (It seems as though blogger doesn't want me to use the same account for a different blog. I'll have to talk to them about that--whenever they get off their butts to...you know...do something about it.)

Had to use my Foundation Aerospace one to get this thing to work. (lol)

Yeah...this could be a bad idea. I mean think about it: There's hundreds of thousands of blogs already created and I just went and created hundreds of thousands plus one.

Sigh...

You think that people like me would learn by now that most readers and visitors barely have time to glimpse a blog entry these days--let alone read one.

By and far, I'm not a newbie to this. I have a ton of blogs and websites out there--but nothing dedicated to me. The reason why I haven't done that is because I value my privacy.

I'm not talking about internet privacy because that's been pretty much blown out of the water. But the privacy at home and locally. I can tell you pretty much anything going on in my life on the internet--but at home?

Don't expect a miracle. It ain't going to happen. I'm simply too busy at the moment--consumed by chaos and other happenstance stuff--to stop for a moment to entertain people.

I just don't see the real point.

Don't get me wrong: I plan on becoming a successful writer.

I'm just not that much of a traditionalist--outside of roughing it. (I can create an impressive lean-two using a hack-saw, brush clippers, and about 2 rolls of rope twine.)

I don't go out there to seek a name for myself.

I hate advertising myself so openly and blatantly. (Sounds a bit fake if you ask me.)

I have my own methods. They may seem off kilter and not going according to Emily Post, but they work for me.

I just don't actively seek the limelight, the media attention, or whatever it is that drives most Hollywood powerhouses out there in the world today to severe alcoholism and prescription drugs these days.

Why? I want to be well known, but I don't be another Paris Hilton.

Her recent exploits completely turned me off to any potential media exposure for myself. If this is what it means to be part of the limelight--well, Fay Wray can have it!

I may be another Thomas Pynchon-style author whom seems to be hell bent on keeping himself out of the public eye, but this is the way that I am.

I use what resources I have afforded to me and I expect people to understand that--and be patient.

My books will come out when they are good and ready. Not when some mainstream hack demands that I write till my fingers bleed, or my head falls off.

I spent a long time on some of my books, but it wasn't because I was slow at it.

I just didn't see the need to rush.

I know the mainstream is in the business of rushing things and they are good at it--I'll grant them that--but for me, the art of writing isn't to rush. It's to tell a story in the only way that I can.

And it does take awhile to work the bugs out.

In the meantime, I plan on writing, promoting and advertising, and just going the way that's been pointed to me all these years.

Sometimes, you have a live a little bit before you can sit down and write about what you've seen.