Oh, No, (S)He Didn’t!

Authors behaving badly. There have been several examples of how not to conduct oneself lately in the author world, especially in Romancelandia. I have another example which involves betrayal and outright theft of ideas. Don’t get me wrong—I know there are only so many ways to write the standard tropes within romance. How each author brings her unique perspective and voice to the writing and the window dressing of that trope is what brings difference and variety to the standard tropes and plot lines. However, what has happened here is not THAT.

I’m a member of a group of romance authors who have come together to write a series of romances based on the standard trope of the “mail order bride.” Our spin on that trope is instead of a MOB, we decided on mail order grooms. Several group discussions occurred between all of the authors. Documents were posted on Google Drive, accessible to all the authors in this group, including what was later relegated to just being background to the story. Character sketches were put into a document and uploaded to the Drive.

Right from the start, there were warning signs with one author. When gently nudged to verify historical facts or to change something because it wasn’t historically accurate, the author’s response was that readers wouldn’t care or notice. (Yes, my eyebrows reached my hairline with that comment. And, the history geek in me started whimpering in pain.) This author took a character who was written as a person of color and created a stereotypical, clichéd caricature. When concerns were raised about how that person of color was presented, our concerns were waved away. (I have other words I could use, but I’m doing my best to be polite here.)

After the concerns reached critical mass, this author was gently asked to leave the group. It was not just this author’s reputation on the line, but the reputation of every other author in this series.

Imagine our consternation when this author has now released a brand-new book—the first in a series—and EVERYTHING that was discussed in those group chats, posted in the Drive, put into character sketches, and even brainstormed privately between this author and another for the other author’s character and storyline has now appeared in this author’s new book. Characters were literally stolen whole-cloth from what the other authors posted on their sketches. Events that would be pivotal to the series we were writing, in the order we determined they should happen, have now appeared in this author’s book. The only thing this author appears to have changed is the name of the town and that one certain event will last a whole week and not just one day. It’s still in the same state, even! (Okay, the state we picked is pretty darn large, but I don’t think that state is big enough for the both of us.)

I’m dismayed, disgusted, and livid—that someone could be so blatant in this theft of ideas. While it isn’t legally wrong, the morality is at best, questionable.