Trestle Press Copyright Infringement Allegations

Many of you are probably aware there’s been a buzz regarding artistic copyright infringements by Trestle Press. I don’t have the time or the energy to list the growing list of links. It’s out there if you feel like spending the time Googling away.

My decision based on the evidence was to sever ties with my publisher. What follows is the exact e-mail I sent to publisher, Giovanni Gelati:

“Wow, I've been reading all the posts regarding Trestle. I've also read your posts regarding the facts. It's definitely disappointing and I'm sorry this has happened regardless of intent. I was really looking forward to working with you. At this point, I've had way too many bad experiences with copyright infringements and plagiarism, and don't want to be part of a heartbreak to anyone's creation. Sadly, and I do mean sadly, I will need to sever our relationship. I have nothing personal against you, but I've made up my mind.

Please remove my series, The Man of Shadows from the Trestle Press catalogue, provide me sales figures, and send all royalties owed to my Paypal acct.

I hate this has happened.

Angel Zapata”

And his response:

“sure thing, thanks.”

Oh, well. I guess that fuckin’ sums it up.

Is Plagiarism the only form of word theft?

Can we really trust fellow participants in our writing groups not to steal our ideas?

Writer, and creator of Crooked Fang, Carrie Clevenger has some sad and scary news. A character she created seems to have been “borrowed” by a former writing companion. A close variation of that character is now the title of that writing companion’s book!

Go to her site Mindspeak and speak your mind.

UPDATE:
The perpetrator has been unmasked at Christina Vincent’s site Naps in the Library. Read all about her unforgivable behavior here.

UPDATE (3.18.11):
I've gone ahead and disabled the links for this post. This is done to respect the wishes of Carrie Clevenger. She has dealt with the issue and would like to return to doing what we all share in common here...writing.

Thanks for coming to a writer's aid. No further comments to this post are required.

AJ Brown at Type AJ Negative interviews me about writing, horrors, and 5x5 Fiction

I recently sat down with the awesomely talented writer, AJ Brown of Type AJ Negative and chatted about writing, plagiarism, The Man of Shadows, and the upcoming issue of the brand new 5x5 Fiction.

Pull up a chair and join us here.

I had a lot of fun, AJ. Thanks! And may your computer live a long, long life...

Plagiarists are afoot...Let's be the boot in their ass

Writers/editors/fans of the written word,

It’s been over a year since I learned a story I wrote was stolen by a plagiarist and published under his name. Thankfully, the writing community came to bat for me and the unity we all felt was truly unbelievable. We learned a lot. We fought back. And although we couldn’t undo what was done, there was a feeling of triumph in exposing him as a fraud.

But sadly, plagiarism will never go away. Thieves will continue to steal. The best things we can do is support and encourage those victimized by these word thieves, and to keep the community active in spotting these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

There have been some recent cases. I implore each and every one of you to offer your support. Follow the links below.

Thanks,
Angel Zapata

AJ Brown
Plagiarism… It Effects the Family

Ramblings of a Tattooed Head
Plagiarism

The Writer and the White Cat
Help Pin the Tail on this Plagiarist

Aaron Polson
On Plagiarists, Fake Names and Other Random Things



ADDENDUM:
Michael Solender over at Not From Here, Are You has provided a link for those interested in protecting your stories through copyright (and it's FREE):

My Free Copyright

I also found a great article on protecting your website articles:

Copyright Website Articles— How to Protect your Work against Plagiarism

If anyone else has any other sites to help protect against plagiarism, please provide that info to me here in the comments section, and I’ll gladly create a link for all to use.

Thanks!


Copyright © 2010 by Angel Zapata

Plagiarism Rears Its Ugly Head…Again

But this time it didn’t happen to me.

As I’ve heard it said, "If it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us." To any writer, no truer statement can be made about the crime of plagiarism. Fellow writer, Greta Igl blogs about yet another recent incident. A friend of hers was shocked to find one of her poems published under a Facebook pal's name. From where do these monsters crawl out of? Do any of you also worry that one day we won't be able to publish anything online again for fear our words will be stolen?

Get over to Greta's site, For Write or Wrong and show her we writers stick together and won't tolerate such behavior.

Greta Igl’s For Write or Wrong: Stop! Thief!

Let’s give that Facebook bastard a piece of our minds.

-Angel

BTW, if you missed reading about my terrible case of plagiarism, I’ve provided links:

A Rage of Angel: I’ve Been Plagiarized and I’m Not Alone

A Rage of Angel: Plagiarized…Three Days Later

Plagiarized...Three Days Later

Whew…can you believe the response? That guy sure picked the wrong writing community.

As we all know, a writer by vocation pens alone. Some have called it a lonely life. I don’t know if I agree with that. What I do know is if I excluded the online community of writers I scribe beside, I wouldn’t have another writer’s voice cheering me on each and every day.

Three days ago, all I wanted was my daily dose of flash fiction. Who knew what opening that e-mail would do? And how far the echo of outrage would travel?

If this experience has taught us anything, it’s that the internet world of writers (and especially, small-press horror writers) is very, very small. For the most part, we’re all familiar with each other’s names and writing-styles. We know the editors and they know our work. But most of all, we know what line not to cross, and we’re willing to lay it all down and defend it.

It's brought us all closer.

We’ll never completely stop plagiarism from happening again to one of us, but neither will we be silent about it. Something has changed within us. Where once we may have remained a passive observer, we now stand vigilant, ready to strike back, and ready to identify the predator lurking in our midst.

My deepest thanks to all of the writers and editors who banded together with me in this time of crisis, and proved the value of our craft. The bevy of e-mails, tweets, and support I received on my blog from every walk of life has been like manna from heaven.

I never thought anyone would bother to steal any of my words. Thank you all for helping me take them back.

-Angel Zapata
10/1/09




The following is a collection of links created by each of you on your blogs, websites, and forums about that plagiarist scoundrel, Richard Ridyard. Sorry if I missed any:

http://www.sfwa.org/2009/10/editors-check-your-slushpiles-theres-a-plagiarist-afoot/

http://ringkeeper.blogspot.com/2009/10/beware-word-thieves.html

http://venusvulturenews.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/plagiarism-explosion/

http://jameslecky.blogspot.com/2009/10/three-times-is-enemy-action-mr-bond.html

http://inkinmysweettea.blogspot.com/2009/10/wrangling-words-on-web.html

http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=2166.0

http://editorunleashed.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2657

http://skullvines.com/?p=835

http://flashesinthedark.com/the-flashes-in-the-dark-news-page/

http://mumbling-sage.livejournal.com/35643.html

http://jodimacarthur.blogspot.com/2009/09/commitment-to-integrity.html

http://erincolelive.blogspot.com/2009/09/stealing-babies.html

http://jimsteel.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/calling-all-editors/

http://abrokenlaptop.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/plagiarism-ticks-us-right-off-obviously/

http://abrokenlaptop.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/we-interrupt-this-blog-post/

http://house-madam.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-when-i-opened.html

http://deborahb.livejournal.com/316037.html

http://surgebin.blogspot.com/

http://surgebin.blogspot.com/2009/09/plagiarism.html

http://scriitor.livejournal.com/tag/shock+totem

http://www.ruzkin.com/

http://www.infinitewindows.co.cc/

http://en.wordpress.com/tag/richard-ridyard/

http://www.damonlord.info/2009/09/plagiarism-is-wrong.html

http://www.eyesoretimes.com/2009/09/grand-theft-boogeyman.html

http://writtenwyrdd.typepad.com/writtenwyrdd/2009/09/an-apparent-case-of-plagiarism.html

http://surchur.com/all/plagiarism

http://www.dailytourniquet.com/?p=548

http://tweetmeme.com/story/195207747/we-interrupt-this-blog-post%E2%80%A6-%C2%AB-a-broken-laptop

http://aaronpolson.blogspot.com/2009/09/ive-been-violated-and-so-have-many.html

http://aaronpolson.blogspot.com/2009/09/wip-wednesday-this-is-me.html

http://leehughes.net/?p=283

http://jiraiyanews.blogspot.com/2009/09/copycat-alert.html

http://theycallmepotato.blogspot.com/2009/09/scumbag-steals-stories.html

http://writtenbysin.blogspot.com/

http://colburysnewcrimefiction.blogspot.com/

http://thrillskillsnchills.blogspot.com/2009/09/plagiarism-no-thank-you.html

http://pdbrazill.blogspot.com/2009/09/angel-zapata-plagiarized.html#comments

http://ionplayer.blogspot.com/2009/09/stolen-words.html

http://tensecondsaday.blogspot.com/2009/09/leap-of-faith.html

http://blog.verulamwriterscircle.org.uk/?p=607

http://conversationsfromlandsedge.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-pretender.html

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/10/01/fiction-writer-plagiarist-tip-dont-steal-from-stephen-king/

http://kjmackey.blogspot.com/

http://twapedo.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/fictional-character/

I've Been Plagiarized...and I'm Not Alone

Early yesterday morning, via e-mail, I received my daily dose of Genre Flash Fiction from Editor, G.W. Thomas's site, Flashshot. The featured story was called, IMAGINATION'S BURIAL by Richard Ridyard. I usually look forward to being delighted, shocked, or horrified by another great story, and yesterday I wasn't disappointed. Only it wasn't in that "Wow, what a fantastic story" way, it was in the "Holy Sh**, someone not only stole my idea, but actually stole a line I created" reality.

Case in point, excerpts from Mr. Richard Ridyard's 100-word story, Imagination's Burial:

http://www.gwthomas.org/flashshotindex.htm

"We go to the end of the wreckage away from the crowds to search for survivors…We find two people unconscious, under rubble. We take turns drinking their blood."

Now: Read the 22-word story I wrote for the June issue (#6) of Micro 100 entitled "At the Depot."

http://micro100.blogspot.com/

"After the train derails, we desperately search through the wreckage. Luckily, six men and women survive. We take turns drinking their blood."

Initially, I was taken aback. Could someone have stolen my work? Is it a case of unconscious plagiarism? Maybe the author really liked my work and wanted to do something similar. I was upset and dumbfounded. I decided more research was required.

What I found was frightening.

Author, Deborah Biancotti has an excerpt from her award-winning story, "The First and Final Game" on her site:

http://deborahbiancotti.net/the/excerpts/e_2000_first.htm
Altair 6/7, Altair Press, ed. Robert Stephenson, pub. 2000
Aurealis Award Best Horror Short Story winner
Ditmar Award Best Short Story shortlist

"Electricity is irregular here, and so are phones, but the privacy is absolute. You could kill every single person in every single house and hardly anyone would disturb you. It's that kind of place."
Copyright Deborah Biancotti 2000 All copyrights reserved

NOW: Go to http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/richard-ridyard/the-tyburn-jig/ and read Richard Ridyard's story, "The Tyburn Jig." Here are the last three lines:

"Electricity is irregular here, and so are phones, but the privacy is absolute. You could kill every single person in every single house and hardly anyone would disturb you. It's that kind of place."

Absolutely shocking!

I don't claim all of Richard Ridyard's work is plagiarized, but there are some truly valid doubts and astonishing evidence found on many respected sites on the internet.

Sadly, there's more.

This is from author, James Wood’s story, "The Face of the Dummy" published on Short Stories org uk:

http://short-stories.org.uk/jwfaceofdummy1.htm
http://short-stories.org.uk/jwfaceofdummy2.htm

"As long as I live he'll haunt me, taunt me, then destroy me. There's only one escape for me...for both of us. Tomorrow they'll find us hanging from a beam in the centre of this room ...two stiff, inanimate puppets on the ends of our strings, our faces blackened and contorted by the tightened rope…will look closely at the two bodies hanging side by side, and will see the inescapable resemblance."
Copyright James Wood 1993 All copyrights reserved

Per Richard Ridyard's bio he's "a 21 year old Law student who lives on the Wirral, England." That's right. You read correctly. "LAW" student. And if by chance, one of his pseudonyms happens to be James Wood, he would have been the ripe old age of 5 years old the year he penned this story in 1993.

Here's an excerpt from Richard Ridyard's "The Hanged Man" which has been published on numerous horror sites including:

http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/richard-ridyard/the-hanged-man/
http://www.sffworld.com/community/story/2689p0.html
http://newfleshmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/09/he-looks-at-me-i-am-alone-and-nervous.html#comments
http://www.dailytourniquet.com/?p=548

"As long as I live he'll haunt me, taunt me and then destroy me. There's only one escape for me. for both of us. Tomorrow they'll find us hanging from a beam in the center of this room. two stiff, inanimate puppets on the ends of our strings, our faces blackened and contorted by tightened rope…will look closely at the two bodies hanging side by side, and will see the inescapable resemblance."

Per a further Google search, I did find that it's possible he uses the pseudonym, "R.M. Valentine." View Google address:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22she+continues+her+search+for+ghosts%22&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8


1. Flashes In The Dark: Horror Flash Fiction in Daily Doses
Sep 27, 2009 ... still she continues her search for ghosts. She is startled at first, squinting as she looks with her dementia clouded eyes. She then looks ...flashesinthedark.com/ - Cached - Similar
2. A Place of Rest by RM Valentine at Story write
It is getting quite late but still she continues her search for ghosts. She is startled at first, squinting as she looks with her clouded dementia ridden ...storywrite.com/story/324646 - Cached - Similar
In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 2 already displayed.If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included.

I've included links to known published pieces from Mr. Ridyard in order for other writers and readers to draw their own conclusions:

Author's page on Flashes in the Dark includes, A Place of Rest, The Grief of Rapture, The Beginning of the End, and The Empty Swing.
http://flashesinthedark.com/2009/09/01/the-beginning-of-the-end-richard-ridyard/

Author's page on Microhorror.com includes The Hanged Man, The Empty Swing, The Tyburn Jig: http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/category/author/richard-ridyard

The Darkness Within:
http://thrillskillsnchills.blogspot.com/2009/09/darkness-within-by-richard-ridyard.html

School Boy Error: http://www.sffworld.com/community/story/3238p0.html

He’s also slated as editor for “Valentine Publications.” http://valentinepublications.com/


What? There’s more?

Here’s another excerpt from the brilliant, master of horror himself, H.P. Lovecraft, his story, “Ex Oblivione.”
http://www.classicreader.com/book/2727/1/

http://www.flashfictiononline.com/pdf/fpublic0006-ex-oblivione-h-p-lovecraft.pdf

“The days of waking had become less and less bearable from their greyness and sameness…”

Now: read Mr. Ridyard’s story, originally published on Flashes in the Dark (which has since been pulled for obvious reasons, but you can find evidence of it through a Google search)

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-US&q=%22the+grief+of+rapture%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

http://flashesinthedark.com/2009/09/19/the-grief-of-rapture-by-richard-ridyard/

“My last days were that of realisation. The days of waking had become less and less bearable from their greyness and sameness…”


In closing, and quoting the title of one of the author's many stories, this may in fact be "The Beginning of the End" for one Richard Ridyard. Maybe through this effort, he will step forward and come clean. PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED BY ANY WRITER.

What really gets me is that before I discovered this madness, I left said author positive feedback on one of his stories! I'm still upset, but strangely happy to expose an apparent fraud in our community. It's crazy, because several months ago I wrote a six sentence story not realizing the relevance it would have today. It's a warning, and I humbly present it to you, dear, honest writers.

Beware the Word Hogs

They eat up all your little piggy muses. Catch a woman poet by the toe and she'll tell you that she knows. A man won't admit it, but neither will he hesitate to flash his cut roast beef. This market isn't safe for writers. Stay within the safety of your homes and write with the bed sheets pulled over your head or cry wee little tears for the lost. When the word hogs come, they won't leave you with any words, absolutely none.
Copyright © 2009 Angel Zapata


ADDENDUM:

I did attempt to contact Mr. Ridyard through “Valentine Publications” and this is the reply I received from them:

Dear angel Zapata,

I was shocked and appalled to read the email regarding Richard Ridyard’s accusation of plagiarism, which I opened at 12:16 on the 29th of September. I have known Richard for over a decade and do not believe it possible for Richard to be morally capable of such an act. As a person with a great respect for the law and with such a love of literacy, I do not believe this is something he could commit knowingly, if at all.

I shall be passing this information onto Richard, but I urge you to contact him at his personal email: (I’ve removed it from this post, but did forward this to Mr. Ridyard) As officially this matter does not concern Valentine Publications.

I know Richard shall be contacting you soon regarding this accusation and we hope this matter can be rectified soon.

Yours sincerely

Valentine Publications - Team

I went back to visit the “Valentine Publications” website and found this waiting for me:

“The site is currently closed until further notice due to administration issues. We are still accepting submissions and are still aiming for 15th December 2009 release date for our first magazine. please come back soon! Mail@valentinepublications.com Valentine Publications Also please find us on facebook for more details and forum discussions.”

I have not received a reply from Mr. Ridyard.