I received an email from a concerned reader asking me to check out an upcoming author’s excerpt on the author’s website. The reader said that she had not checked the excerpt side by side with my novella With Love, but she could swear just by reading it that it was very similar. I went to the site and checked out the excerpt. From a cursory glance I thought it did seem familiar. More than the actual story, the flow and voice felt too similar to my style. So, I sent off a note to my friend Kris and asked her opinion, then I pulled up my final copy of With Love.

Before I got through the first paragraph of With Love, Kris had already emailed me back. She wrote only, contact Samhain immediately. This IS your story. I read a few more lines and realized that it was indeed With Love. Only the names were changed with a few original sentences thrown in here or there. It was quite shocking because it wasn’t even paraphrased, it was nearly word for word. My words. And worse still was that it was set to be published the next week.

I contacted my Samhain editor, Sasha Knight, who sent an email off to Christina Brashear, the owner of Samhain. Within a few minutes, Crissy sent an email, to the publishing company, set to publish this story, and copied me and Sasha in. She asked for a copy of the entire manuscript for comparison and offered a copy of With Love so they might compare as well. After receiving a full manuscript of the other author’s work, Crissy distributed it to me, Sasha and two members of Samhain’s office staff and asked us to dig in and see what we could find. I pulled up With Love in .pdf and the manuscript from the other author in .doc form for my comparison. I was amazed, with the exception of the names, the sex of one character and the addition of a few sentences here and there, the manuscript was nearly word for word With Love. Still going through the manuscript, my phone rang. It was Crissy asking me if I was seeing what she was seeing? We were both in shock and the blatant plagiarism, as were the others comparing the two works with us. She did a merge document in Word to find out just how much had been changed. There wasn’t much.

The other publishing house pulled the story from their line-up immediately, but that wasn’t the end of it. They called Crissy later after talking to the other author. The other author alleged that I had stolen it from her. She told her publisher that she had posted it on a blog back in 2004. Crissy, without even talking to me, told the publisher no that is not true. What I know of the work and the author that is not going to fly. She pointed out that the author had used my edited, final manuscript to copy. The other publishing house agreed and indicated that they would be going after the author for breach of contract. I have to take a moment here and praise Crissy, not only for her faith in me, but also for her involvement with her authors. Had she not known me and my work as well she would not have been able to support me so thoroughly. It’s one of the many reasons Samhain has my undying loyalty. They have an excellent reputation among authors for a very good reason.

When next Crissy and I talked, I reassured her I could prove it was my story. I have all my notes from conception to completion as well as my rough drafts, edits and the testimony of my critique partners who witnessed With Love from the beginning. Crissy assured me she knew it was my work and would do whatever necessary to support me. Nothing else came of the situation, the other publishing house was very cooperative and satisfied that I was indeed the author of the story.

Now, all that said I’d like to point out a few things and issue some advice to my fellow authors. I know the accusation against me was made in a panic, but the author would’ve been in sad shape had she persisted because of the overwhelming evidence. With Love, was a collaboration with Ally Blue and Willa Okati for the anthology Hearts From the Ashes. The very concept of the anthology and the individual stories were discussed in length by Ally, Willa, our editor Sasha and myself. Even had it not been, my critique partners would’ve seen the manuscript in progress as they do all my manuscripts.

My first piece of advice, and most important one, is keep all your notes, rough drafts and edits even after a manuscript is published. I did not need this, but it was very comforting knowing I had them in case the need arose. Keep your notes, roughs and edits in a file where you know where they are. I deleted them all after the manuscript was published and had to scramble around and look through my back ups to find them. I now keep everything pertaining to a manuscript in one file after the manuscript is completed and back it up on a disc as well. This way should the need ever arise again I have all the things to prove my case right at hand.

Next piece of advice involves critique partners. This is another function of a critique group that I was guilty of overlooking. Not only can colleagues provide character witness, they see the work as it’s being created. If you use a group on Yahoo or Google you also have the archives of the group discussing ideas, brainstorming and critiquing at your disposal. As a result of all this, my critique partners now make a point to post every scene in our group. We also save copies of one another’s works and our critiques even after the manuscript is published. If you do not use a group, save your critiques and any important emails pertaining to your work. Not only is it good evidence in a court case, but it’s very amusing to go back and see some of the harebrained ideas you discarded. It will give you a good chuckle. It certainly did me.

I advise published authors to register your copyrights. Yes, it is true that a work is copyright protected from the moment you put words to paper, but without that registration you cannot go to court. And the sooner the registration is done the better. If you do not file your copyright until you need it you cannot sue for court costs. And besides those certificates are neat to have. It’s sort of a final accomplishment. I have mine in the safe alongside my publishing contracts.

Another lesson I’d like authors to take away from this is to be good to your readers. Readers are so very important. If it hadn’t been for a faithful reader that book might have been published and it would have caused a lot more problems for not only me but the two publishers involved.

As for the emotional side of things, plagiarism hurts. I, as all the authors I know personally, give their everything to their work. With me it seems like every manuscript is an emotional ride. There is the excitement, of course, but there is also the worry of getting it right, the anger when things aren’t working, and the endless hours of research and pondering a plot problem. Writing a book is an emotional rollercoaster, overall a very positive and wonderful feeling, but it’s a long journey. It’s very distressing to think someone would claim your hard work as their own. It really has nothing to do with the loss of money, although the thought of someone getting paid when you’ve been the one to do the job is not a nice one. I feel I’ve earned the right to claim credit for that work be it a fine piece of fiction or a complete failure. I cannot even describe the rage one has at being wronged and then being accused of wrong doing. It would have been easy to try and make the other party involved pay dearly, but at the end of the day is it worth it? Should her family have to pay for her mistake? Her lack of judgment has probably cost her dearly if she held any dreams of being a published author because her name has been tarnished. Let’s face it, it’s a big business but word gets around.

I think this has been a bad experience for everyone one involved. In the end, I hope it’s also been a learning experience. If I can help others and impart some wisdom on how to handle the situation then it hasn’t been all bad.

J.L. Langley

Christine Phoenix ~ I Will Follow You

Here is an excerpt…

Sebastian looked around and took everything in, trying to decide who he would tear apart first. The clearing was surrounded by trees. It was roughly the size of half a football field. This must be where the pack met and shifted on full moons since it was far outside town. If a werewolf had the ability to shift, the pull of the full moon was too much for them, and they shifted. Sebastian didn’t have that problem. Lycans learned to control their shift at puberty. The location was good for him, no witnesses to their fight, and it was good to be close to the earth, surrounded by nature As a shape-shifter, his magic was defined by the elements, so he was stronger if surrounded by its source.
The fragile Omega went limp, nearly succeeding in making the two men holding him let go. It didn’t work, but it surprised them all enough to allow the little man to get a good kick in. He hit the third man, who was wrestling with his pants, right in the mouth. Blood flew as the man’s head jerked to the side. Blood splattered over the Alpha.
“You little bitch.” The man the Omega had struck stepped forward, doubled up his fist, and popped the Omega right in the temple.
The little man collapsed, his head lolling forward on his neck.
Sebastian saw red. A growl erupted from his throat and drew the attention of all the men. They dropped the unconscious Omega and turned toward him.
“Who the fuck are you?” the man in the green shirt demanded.
The Alpha blinked over at him and put his hand on the man who’d been tugging on the Omega’s pants. “This, I imagine, is Sebastian Killian. The reason we were meeting out here in the first place.” The man raised a brow. “Do we have a problem, Mr. Killian?”
“Yes.” Sebastian glanced at the Omega sprawled on his stomach in the grass. He sensed a heartbeat coming from the man, and it was strong. It was the only reason the men in front of him weren’t already dead. “Explain to me why the five of you are beating up on an Omega?”
The smallest of the men frowned. “Who do you think you are, mister? This is a pack matter.”
“I’m Sebastian Killian, and as Alpha of the East coast packs, I’m your Alpha as ordered by Prince Gabriel. I’m here to keep an eye on your pack and any others in my territory. You do not get to refuse me anything! Where I come from, we treat our fellow wolves, especially Omegas, with a little more respect than what I see here. If you touch that boy…”
“You’ll what, asshole? We don’t answer to Lycans,” the big man sneered and stalked toward Sebastian.
Sebastian was ready for him. He caught the man’s fist in one hand, crushing it, and slashed his other over the screaming man’s abdomen, raking him wide open, ripping through muscle. He really would have loved to kill every single one of them, but he wanted to get to the little man on the ground more.
The man staggered back, his eyes wide, clutching his stomach with his broken hand.
The two men who’d been holding the Omega charged Sebastian. He dispatched them as effortlessly, stabbing one in the stomach with his claws and slashing the other across his throat. It was pathetically easy. Sebastian was an eight hundred year old Lycan warrior. They had no chance.
He looked up at the Alpha and the man in the green shirt, while the others writhed on the ground at his feet. Sebastian grinned. “Who’s next?”
The man in the green started forward though Sebastian saw the hesitation and he reeked of fear. The Alpha’s hand reached out and landed on his shoulder, stopping him. “Not now.”
The man’s eyes widened, but he said nothing and backed away.
The Alpha shook his head, his eyes never leaving Sebastian. “Gather them up, and let’s go.”
Sebastian glared back at the leader, keeping the others in his peripheral vision. They were injured, but they were weres and healed extremely fast. He should just kill them and get it over with. They were trouble, and with their lack of intelligence, it would come to him killing them anyway.
The green-shirted were managed to get the other three on their feet, mostly, half carrying the first two guys, and headed toward the cars.
The pack leader walked past Sebastian, head held high. Sebastian turned and watched them go, keeping his front to the weres.
“I do hope you know what you are doing, Lycan.” He spat it out like it was a dirty word. To him, it probably was.
“Because you have just challenged me, and I can’t have that. You will be hearing from me.” The Alpha followed his men through the trees to the parked cars.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. He was right. The Alpha was stupid and suicidal. “I really should just kill them,” he muttered, disgusted.
Sebastian hesitated, torn between following them to make sure they didn’t mess with his truck, and getting to the Omega to see how bad his injuries were. He closed his eyes, focusing on his truck, with a thought he bespelled it against tampering, then quickly turned to the little man lying unconscious on the ground. Sebastian could feel the others leave without incident. He shook his head at how even now the weres had no real understanding of Lycans. Sebastian thought the werewolves let their human side run the show which he believed kept most from being able to shift. They had no real connection to their wolf.
Sebastian checked the Omega for injuries but luckily found none, reaching up and touching the man’s delicate back. He felt static shocks move through his fingertips as he stroked the man’s neck. He drew his hand back, looking at it curiously. That had never happened before. He had learned control over his magic at an early age and had never had even a tingle without calling out for it. He focused on the Omega more intently, continuing to touch his face, feeling his magic move like a soft shock. The Omega moaned, but didn’t move.
Mate.
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. He now understood the pull. A grin stretched across his face. The little man was his mate, and he would also be his Omega.

Anything seem remotely familiar here?

Now here is an excerpt of J.L. Langley ~ With Love

Dev looked around and took everything in, trying to decide the best point of attack. The clearing was surrounded by trees. It was roughly the size of half a football field. This must be where the pack met before they hunted on a full moon.

The Omega went limp, nearly succeeding in making the two men holding him let go. It didn’t work, but it surprised them all enough to allow the redhead to get a good kick in. He hit the third man who was wrestling with his pants, right in the mouth. Blood flew as the man’s head jerked to the side. Crimson splatters splashed over the Alpha.

“You little son of a bitch.” The man the Omega struck stepped forward, doubled up his fist and popped the Omega right in the temple.

The redhead collapsed, his head lulling forward on his neck.

Dev saw red, a growl erupted from his throat and drew the attention of the five men. They dropped the Omega and turned towards Dev.

“Who the fuck are you?” the man in the green shirt demanded.

The Alpha blinked over at him and put his hand on the man who’d been tugging on the Omega’s pants. “This, I imagine, is Mr. Devlin Johns. The reason we were meeting out here in the first place.” The man raised a brow. “Do we have a problem, Mr. Johns?”

“We just might.” Dev glanced at the Omega sprawled on his stomach in the grass. He had no idea if the man was still alive or not. A blow to the temple like that could kill a human, but the man was a wolf, even if a weaker one. “Would someone like to explain to me why the five of you are beating up on a much smaller, much weaker man?”

The largest of the men frowned. “Who do you think you are, mister? This is a pack matter.”

“Since I’m considering joining your pack, I’d say I have a right to know what’s going on. Where I come from we treat our fellow wolves with a little more respect than what I see here. If that boy is dead—”

“You’ll what, asshole?” The big man stalked towards Dev.

Dev was ready for him. He caught the man’s fist in one hand and slashed his other over the man’s abdomen, raking him wide open.

The man staggered back, his eyes wide, clutching his stomach.

The two men who’d been holding the redhead charged Dev. He dispatched them as effortlessly, stabbing one in the stomach with his claws and abrading the other across the face. It was pathetically easy. Dev was quite a bit quicker than them.

He looked up at the Alpha and the man in the green shirt, while the other three writhed on the ground at Dev’s feet. “Who’s next?”

The man in the green started forward but the Alpha’s hand landed on his shoulder, holding him back. “Not now.”

“But—” the man sputtered.

The Alpha shook his head, his eyes never leaving Dev. “I said not now, Peter. Gather them up and let’s go.”

Dev glared back at the leader, keeping the others in his peripheral vision. They were injured, but they were wolves and healed extremely fast.

Peter managed to get the other three on their feet and headed towards the cars.

The pack leader walked past Dev, head held high.

Dev turned and watched them go, keeping his front to the five wolves.

“I do hope you know what you are doing, Mr. Johns, because you have just challenged my authority and I can’t have that. Rest assured, you will be hearing from me.” The Alpha followed his men through the trees to the parked cars.

Dev hesitated, torn between following them to make sure they didn’t mess with his truck, and getting to the kid to see if he was all right. Dev couldn’t do much for the kid if he couldn’t get them out of here. So he followed the men, standing in the tree line glaring at them until they piled into the three cars. They left without incident, but Dev was certain he hadn’t seen the last of them. He shook his head and hurried back to the clearing as soon as the last car drove out of sight.

Dev had been taught from an early age that Omegas were to be respected, not mistreated because they were weaker. They were the ones who held a pack together, they ran interference, they coordinated and listened to the pack’s complaints and took them to the Alpha, they were the pack ambassadors, the peacekeepers. What did this little redhead do to piss off his pack leader so badly?

He knelt by the smaller man, touching his back. Only then did he realize his hands were still claws. He relaxed and willed his hands back to normal. His canine teeth remained and his vision shifted, going black and white again, probably due to the adrenaline rush. It would wear off eventually and there was no one there to see him anyway. The rise and fall of the little Omega’s breathing was easily discernable. Thank God. He leaned down next to the redhead, meaning to gently turn him, and gasped as he caught scent of him.

The man’s scent was like nothing Dev had ever smelled before. He smelled like a wolf and he was definitely a weaker, submissive wolf, but he was…enthralling? That was the only word that came to mind. Dev’s cock, which was still hard, began to throb.

Come on, Dev, get a grip. He rolled the smaller man over on to his back and nearly swallowed his tongue. Happy freakin’ Valentine’s Day to me. The Omega was beautiful.

Hello Samhain! Hello, you in there? I think you need to look at this. Hello?

J.L. Langley ~ My Fair Captain
From: Samhain Publishing

My Fair Captain is going Japanese!

News from Samhain is good they are launching into the Japanese market with some of their top titles. One just happens to be the SciFi Gay Romance from J.L. Langley ~ My Fair Captain.

J.L. Langley ~ With Abandon
From: Samhain Publishing

Yes! Finally!

J.L. Langley ~ Without Reservations
From: Samhain Publishing

From: Dear Author ~ Samhain Freebies: 2/15/2011 through 2/28/2011 Without Reservations by J.L. Langley

Wow! Set your calendar 2/15 ~ 2/28 for that free Kindle goodness.

J.L. Langley ~ The Englor Affair
From: Samhain

The Englor Affair do I have to say why? LOL! ummm, because I really like those two main characters.

1. Ally Blue ~ Forgotten Song This was the first gay romance I’d ever read. I was asked by our mutual publisher to give a quote for the book. I remember at the time I had put aside my very first MS because I had a gay character and he took over. I couldn’t concentrate on the main characters because he wouldn’t leave me be, so I continued to work on the Moon series (as Jeigh Lynn). I wanted so badly to tell his story but thought no one would want to read it. Then I was asked to give a quote for a brand new author. I read Forgotten Song and not only did I fall for Ally’s wonderful voice and style I realized that yes people would want to read gay romance. After that Ally and I became friends and a year or so later critique partners and to this day she remains one of my favorite authors (and favorite people).

2. Willa Okati ~ A Year And A Day After Ally got me hooked I went on a search for all the gay romance I could find and found Willa. I don’t remember what my first Willa book was and I had a hard time picking a fave because so many of Willa’s novels are among my favorites, but I had to add Willa to the list because she was so important to my writing and in particular writing The Tin Star. Without the nudge from Willa It would have taken me longer to get in the game. I remember when Willa was added to my Loose Id editors stable of authors and I was absolutely star struck. Well Livy, my editor, told Willa I had a serious case of admiration and Willa and I ended up becoming friends and eventually CP’s.

3. Laura Baumbach ~ A Bit Of Rough Again, when I started reading gay romance there wasn’t much around. When I found Laura I knew I’d found an addition to my autobuy list. I’ve always loved the rougher sex in books and finding this one was WOW! Not only was the sex hot and the story wonderful but it was well written.

4. John Jakes ~ North And South The North and South trilogy… This was the very first series of books I’d ever read. Somehow I’d managed to get through school with only Cliff’s Notes…not sure if I should admit that. o_O Anyway, I can remember reading the last book in the series, or maybe it was a reread of one of the others, while I was 8 months pregnant sitting in the computer room while Andre played Final Fantasy on the Playstation. I remember bawling my eyes out and Andre telling me to “put it down for crying out loud.” I didn’t. I kept reading. And yes it got better. There is indeed a HEA. ***Teddypig ~ No eBook Available***

5. Judith McNaught ~ Whitney, My Love I am a huge historical romance fan so I couldn’t not list at least one. I know several people have a problem with the alpha hero in this story, but you know what? I ADORED him! I felt his actions fit the time period. This isn’t a modern man and you can’t judge him by modern standards. Judith McNaught does her research and really puts you into a story. I really wish this book would release in ebook because I prefer ebooks nowadays and would love to reread it. ***Teddypig ~ No eBook Available***

J.L. Langley ~ His Convenient Husband
From: Samhain Publishing

And you were saying about M/M Romance being written by “straight” women for “straight” women? Really?
Gee, I think I might not be the only gay guy reading this stuff. I don’t think A Different Light would stick a well known M/M Romance writer on their front page unless they sold well to their gay customer base.

Thanks to Emilie for the Hot Tip!

J.L. Langley ~ My Fair Captain
From: Samhain

Here’s something that I found this weekend that puzzled me. Why would Samhain have The Englor Affair available through the Kindle Store but not the first book My Fair Captain?

Just seems strange.

J. L. Langley ~ The Englor Affair

I have to give J. L. Langley a big old round of applause for making off with the Samhain 2008 #1 Readers Choice Award. Good job Jen!

Good job everybody at Samhain! You guys were wonderful to spend time with yesterday.

It is my hope that other ePublishers will see the world does not end over a silly top ten bestseller list for the year and it is always a good idea to spend a little time publicly recognizing the contributions your writers make and award your writers for not just writing well but those writers also going out there and successfully selling their asses off which benefits everybody in the end and sets a great example.

If your ePublisher does publish a top ten bestseller list for the year then let me know and I will try to post it right here the same way I did these.