Sun > Status Update

Julie wrote: "Also, I noticed that SH recently deleted an entire Community post written by one of his patrons that was actually supportive of SH. I think she may have deleted it because there was a former SH patron who commented on the post & eviscerated it. Maybe this means SH can't delete individual comments to a post, but can only delete the whole post itself? So if someone writes a really effective comment exposing SH, maybe SH will be forced to delete the patron's entire post, even if the post was supportive of SH's lies?.."

Thanks, Julie! This is very interesting :)
I don't have a Patreon account but it's certainly good information to have :)

Josy wrote: "Annika wrote: "Hmm, maybe Riptide missed to pull a book or something, Concourse was just releaseed on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Co......"

Yes now you've said that, you're right Josy. I think Riptide said they had informed Tantor Media but it may take longer for them to be removed.

Josy wrote: "Annika wrote: "Hmm, maybe Riptide missed to pull a book or something, Concourse was just releaseed on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Co......"

Audible will squeeze a penny till it shits two dimes. Since audiobooks take so long to complete, there was probably a contract in place months ago.

Wow so this had been a lot, I was just trying to see if my favorite author had a new book out and instead was greeted with a lot of loose threads.

First- I feel horrible for the survivors I hope this exposure gives peace, it seems a long time coming for some.

Sh was a favorite of mine, unlike many I won't backtrack all of a sudden, and pretend the books and stories didn't provide valuable moments for me, and help me through otherwise stressful times.

As a gay male person of color, this community, and its authors has had so very very little representation of anything not white, constantly abbed to the 9's (even office workers, agents i can excuse) rural and or mysteriously non working adults, it gets grating to sit through the same miscommunications of these characters in perfect lives getting back to bases and falling into lovely, mysteriously traditional gender roles.

SH provided a breath of fresh air in that aspect in some of his stories (I will also say not alone but BY FAR the most consistent and more frequent), or as I'm partially learning, some people who inspired Sh have provided.
As far as I'm concerned losing all publishers seems to be more than enough. Being ousted from the community is also great to help reduce the spread of something similar.

However this community seems horribly toxic, and funny enough I don't place the blame squarely on SH. I've always been super wary with the review bombs and mysteriously high and sugary ratings on favorite authors while discovering tons of gems that had nearly no reviews.

Whats even worse is now I know with the review bombs and deleted reviews etc, that the "community" you guys formed is less interested in the experiences and actual authorship book and maybe more in line with how people may be feeling about the author. and that's doesn't feel right (and no this isn't excusing the behavior and is more general attitude I got from reading the thread)

tl;dr.

-It's awesome that SH harmful actions against others have been exposed.
-It's awful that this person has had the most consistently relate-able and enjoyable novels in the genre for me, I had never even thought to seek anything more from authors than their next book.
- Reading the comments honestly make me less interested than I've ever been than interacting with these communities or Good reads beyond finding summaries of books that interest me for purchase, and the onus of that isn't really on SH.

Krad3434 wrote: "
Whats even worse is now I know with the review bombs and deleted reviews etc, that the "community" you guys formed is less interested in the experiences and actual authorship book and maybe more in line with how people may be feeling about the author."

I fully agree. We've lost sight of what book writing/reading is about--the story. Just like the music industry where people are more interested in those behind the music instead of the music itself.

That said I DO NOT agree with SH did.

Lou wrote: "We've lost sight of what book writing/reading is about--the story..."

Krad3434 wrote: "or as I'm partially learning, some people who inspired Sh.."

Susan, I'm sorry for getting into this again and I promise I don't mean to let this escalate into an argument. Noah, Jenn, & anon, I'm sorry for using your testimonies again to get my point across!

Sorry Krad and Lou, but I just can't let this go without commenting. What SH did was not "being inspired by some people". What they did was pretending to be friends or be in a relationship with someone for months and months to gain their trust and get them to open up about their lives and later using their stories, their lives, for their books. They stole people's real life experiences, sometimes even without changing names, without asking permission to do so. That's a huge violation and has nothing to do with being inspired. They used someone's secrets and intimate thoughts to write a book. I liked SH's books too but in this case, I can't and won't disassociate the books from who has been writing them or what has been done to people to write them.
https://twitter.com/sweetsakuradoll/s...
https://twitter.com/sweetsakuradoll/s...
https://twitter.com/JennLA82/status/9...

I am personally quite grateful Audible hasn't removed the books yet. I hadn't had the chance to buy the 5 Boroughs books yet and am listening to audiobooks for the first time (yes I've seen all the links. There should have been some reparations but they have been more than dreadful enough in my view and i too find the ongoing pursuit
exhausting and disheartening. apologies for not being in lockstep i guess?)

Preface by saying I’m not one of the people directly affected by SH and their actions, but the only people who really can determine when “enough is enough” are those who have been. They’re the ones whose personal life stories were mined and stolen from them. They’re the ones directly hurt and silenced by this author to maintain their position in mm romance, many being directly attacked by this author and their friends in order to force them into silence and compliance. That’s why it’s taken a YEAR for people like Nikki, Angela, and other #NastyBirds to finally get facts out in the open, helped in large part by Sakura and her creating that anonymous docs thing and especially Noah sharing his story.

As a reader, I completely understand wanting to read the books because they were amazing and so different from run-of-the-mill mm. But what’s been coming out shows that reason why SH’s stories were so amazing and “real” and different from the norm? Because SH got close to people, got their personal stories, and - without permission or credit - turned those personal stories into those best selling books. Not to mention how SH would ghost those whose stories they got, adding levels of psychological trauma on those who’d considered SH a friend, a good-enough friend to tell those difficult-to-tell stories to.

So, yeah, tl;dr
- only people who can decide when enough is enough are those who were directly affected by SH
- reason why stories were a breath of fresh air and so unique is because they were people’s personal stories, retold without permission or credit

Everyone is free to read what they want, but when publishers start pulling books - especially already published ones - then maybe there’s a reason this author should no longer be read...

Josy wrote: "They stole people's real life experiences, sometimes even without changing names, without asking permission to do so. That's a huge violation and has nothing to do with being inspired. They used someone's secrets and intimate thoughts to write a book."

I'm aware. I also stated in my post that I did NOT agree with what SH did. I also wonder if there is a legal option for those that were affected.

Josy wrote: "I liked SH's books too but in this case, I can't and won't disassociate the books from who has been writing them or what has been done to people to write them."

That is entirely your choice and I don't suggest anyone does anything except that which they feel they need to do. However, I think Krad was referring to something embedded even deeper within the community, (i.e., people leaving glowing reviews [or not reviewing] books where the reviews (or lack thereof) have less to do with books than with who wrote them).

I have seen this behaviour at work in the MM community, where people leave reviews on books they openly admit they haven't even read, but trash anyway. Truly appalling pack mentality, because as you've probably guessed by now, they have their own little pack that follows them around.

SH got caught perpetrating this behaviour, but others still have their 'righteous' reviews on display for books they haven't read. Probably keeping tabs on this thread laughing for AIK. *shrugs*

Lou wrote: "Krad3434 wrote: "
Whats even worse is now I know with the review bombs and deleted reviews etc, that the "community" you guys formed is less interested in the experiences and actual authorship book..."

And I will ask once again: how would YOU feel, if it were your private, intimate details being appropriated for stories without consent?
If you again and again had to read people like you saying: well, the story is good, so I don't see why we have to hold the person behind this accountable.

The victims of SHs scams have stated that they want the stories gone, and I don't think that's too much to ask.

We are not interested in who's behind SH, we're not interested in if they have a dick or not!
We're interested in their gaslighting, their bullying and their appropriation of stories that do not belong to them.

Lou wrote: "I have seen this behaviour at work in the MM community, where people leave reviews on books they openly admit they haven't even read, but trash anyway. "

This isn't at all exclusive to the MM community. The fact is there are a variety of factors which affect consumer opinion about a product, and a book is a consumer product. And readers can, and do, form opinions about books based on a variety of factors that are pertinent to them. This occurs across genres and categories.

When a reader openly admits to not having read the book in their review and in expressing their opinion, then it's exceedingly easy for others to disregard such a review if they feel it has no merit.

Much worse, IMO, are reviews that are less than honest opinion. The vast majority of those reviews are 4 and 5 star reviews.

I removed my reviews and ratings of the books. The way I look at it, my positive review would be taken as a positive endorsement of the author. It's not that I don't think those books were still good, because they were and regardless of what I now know, I can't change what I felt about those books while reading them. I can't separate the books from the actions of the person, because in this case, the books are a product of those actions.

@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into the space set up by victims to tell them you are more concerned about the precious voice in MM rom literature you've now been deprived from? You know, the one that attacked, harassed, stole and abused friends' trust.

The lot of you and others are entitled to your opinions and to your decisions when it comes to Santino Hassell, but why come here to oppose victims of SH? Why come to a thread specifically stated to be a place for victims to get a voice to tell them about your poor poor loss of reading material?

For sure go ahead and lament and decry your opinion on the state of reviewing, and boast about your super duper awesome opportunity to listen to the stories reaped from years of abuse in your own space. But why do you feel you needed to do it in this space? Is your need for your whining "but I liked the books!" more important to you than the people impacted and affected?

Because honestly, the toxicity here is wafting off straight from you.

In other (good) news, in case anyone missed it, Cosmopolitan has taken down the article written by Hassell:

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertai...

Unfortunately there's still no word from St. Martin's Press in regards to the Single Dads Series.

Shelby wrote: "I removed my reviews and ratings of the books. The way I look at it, my positive review would be taken as a positive endorsement of the author. It's not that I don't think those books were still go..."

+ A million to everything you say here, Shelby

Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into the space set ..."

+1

Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into the space set ..."

+ A lot.

Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into the space set ..."

+1

Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into the space set ..."

1) I came here as this was where I was directed by a link in a review, not for any other reason. If people don't want the 'public' coming here, I suggest the links in the reviews are removed.

2) At no time did I claim to be deprived of a "precious voice" in MM lit--or anything VAGUELY along those lines.

3) At no time have I 'opposed' the victims, or even vaguely suggested victim blaming.

4) As for my 'liking' the books? I'm pretty ambivalent really. I have read a few, but...whatever. None of them ever made enough of an impression for me to write a review about it.

5) What I have stated in BOTH my previous posts is that I DO NOT AGREE WITH WHAT SH did.

6) Considering how high emotion is running (and rightly so), I agree this isn't the best place to discuss the state of the MM community.

7) Since what I've said in BOTH posts has been misconstrued despite being emphasized, and this post probably will be too....

I'M OUT.

But @Monica, thanks for accusing me of all those things. Especially in such a perfectly vicious way.

Mónica wrote: "In other (good) news, in case anyone missed it, Cosmopolitan has taken down the article written by Hassell:

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertai......"

According to some tweets in Thai, and Twitter translating those, the Thai release or production of what seems to be Strong Signal has been suspended.

@Shelby - exactly my reason for removing all mine.

@ Mónica - well said.

Also this argument that SH fulfilled a niche which no-one else is doing is absolute bollocks. There's a massive variety of books in the MM genre which fit outside of this impression of what's there:

anything not white, constantly abbed to the 9's (even office workers, agents i can excuse) rural and or mysteriously non working adults.

but because authors like SH were consistently hitting the top of the charts with the work they culled by gaslighting, manipulating, lying and other dodgy behaviours, THOSE other voices/authors get overlooked.

Try looking beyond the Top 10 for starters and you'll find plenty of own voices and other representation which doesn't fit into your (@ Krad3434) narrow view of what's out there.

Lou wrote: "Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into..."

Quiet is not my thing.

Yes, I did read what you wrote. No, I wasn't quoting you. I was using a hyperbole of what the three of you had commented. Including your bemoaning of the losing sight of what's "important" in lit: the stories (from your message 2306), which implies that the abuser who wrote them and stole them isn't worth exposing. I'm glad you were directed here for information. I'm not at all sure you actually read it, since the discussion regarding legal actions is right in this thread (from your message 2310). No, this isn't the place to do damning statements on your views of the reading community, as again, has been said several times in this thread too (which, again makes me wonder if you did read it all before commenting).

It's a good thing you agree that what SH did was awful. So again, why use this space set up by victims to air your grievances in regards to what you want?

On the difference between writing about "what you know" and writing about "who you know” I truly appreciated this post.

It's available here too.

Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into the space set ..."

+1000

[ to SH defenders here]

you can't claim to prevent toxicity if you're going to spread it in a space where people came to share their personal pain.

we're supposed to take your words on what toxicity is?
especially if you say you're happy to still benefit from those books? still hear them read them?

model citizens you are

Message 2314: Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing by coming into the space set ..."


This! Repeatedly hittin' that internet "LIKE" button!

D wrote: "Message 2314: Mónica wrote: "@ Krad3434, Lou, twistedkites,

I won't disagree with you about the toxic nature of certain actions, but don't you think that being toxic is exactly what you are doing ..."

+1

wish we had 1 on Gr :(

Giulio wrote: "On the difference between writing about "what you know" and writing about "who you know” I truly appreciated this post.

It's available here too."

+1...thank you for this link!

Lia Black

Such a profound piece.

I would like to add an excerpt from Lia's post here for those of you who want to come up in here and feel in any way that this abuser (SH) has rights to continue their abuse and feel it OK to do so. It's NOT. You may never see that these people (SH & crew) did anything wrong.

From Lia's post....

For anyone who has unwittingly rallied around an abuser that cried victim (and encouraged you to fight their battles):

Take a step back and examine your motives.

Were you protecting a friend whom you knew so well that you trusted they would do the same for you?

Was it the fear of becoming a victim yourself that made you an attacker?

Why would a friend demand such allegiance?

Why would a friend demand anything at all?

You also need to learn how to recognize manipulators and mob-mentality. I know, easier said than done, but once you spot the behavior, it’s easier to see unless you choose to ignore it.

If you know what it’s like to be a victim–remember that feeling.

Siding with a manipulator doesn’t protect you from becoming their victim.

If you’re unsure which side to take, take a step back and try to examine the evidence on all sides.

If you can’t discern the facts from the lies, don’t pick a side. There is a difference between cowardice and being a “conscientious objector”.

For me, at least, it’s much easier to trust someone who asks forgiveness for not being able to get involved because they were uncertain, than it is to forgive someone who fought against me for someone else’s cause.

Thank you Lia for putting it this way.

But I question if any of the pro-SH fans have ever been victims of any kind. Not-"oh, I know someone who was/is." Or "my _______ was/is."....but, has it happened to you personally? Did you feel violated? Where you afraid, fearful? Did you get angry? Afraid no one would believe you? Did you grieve? Because if you did have these and other strong emotions, then you would not come up in here spoutin' shit and tryin' to blow smoke up our asses, tryin' to make us believe that these ABUSERS (SH & crew) are swell people, that they are victims too, that enough is enough, the survivors should move on, and you're still gonna buy their products! *cussin' outburst deleted* It's your opinion, your money, your decision, your feels. But you need to sit 'cho ass down somewhere and think about it! They're gonna do it again, and you could be next. Never say that it can't happen to you. Never say never.

Krad3434 wrote: "Wow so this had been a lot, I was just trying to see if my favorite author had a new book out and instead was greeted with a lot of loose threads.

First- I feel horrible for the survivors I hope t..."

I think others have said most of what I wanted to say and about this so on something more positive have you tried KJ Charles?https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

I’m probably rehashing more of the same, but I think at this point we don’t doubt most people are against what SH did and on the victims’ side. We all understand the vast majority don’t wish to consciously condone horrible things like emotional manipulation, faking a deadly disease to solicit donations from concerned fans, etc.

As for trying to “separate” the author from their books, I can try to see where people are coming from, even though I won’t do it myself. Maybe if SH’s behaviour had just been about mildly rude online behaviour, fake identity, and such. I would still not want to support them, but I could see why the books could perhaps still be seen by some as their entity, untouched by the author’s actions.

However, SH went so much further than that and particularly some things SH did just cannot be separated from the books themselves, no matter how much we try. As has been mentioned repeatedly, they took advantage of people to steal their personal traumatic stories and used them in their novels, and proceeded to get paid for it. To me, this is an act of absolute moral bankruptcy, and it has become part of the books. Even in the supposition you put the SH figure aside, this abuse has become inseparable from the books. It is the books.

Now, continuing to buy the novels, enjoying their contents and giving positive reviews endorses them. Do they still contain positive things worth endorsement? Maybe. However, I don’t know about others, but when I open a bag of bread and I see some parts have gone moldy, I know the mold spores are now pretty much everywhere, visible or not. Any still edible parts may only be eaten with concern that the rot might appear in the next bite. Sorry for the nasty image, but the same way I’ll probably end up throwing the lot away, I don’t feel I can pick and choose which parts of the books are good to go or forget the rot hidden in there. None of it is fit for safe, enjoyable consumption anymore.

I believe in the good intentions of all who are shocked by what SH has done, I won't bring out the pitchforks against anybody, but I don't find it surprising that people are confused that some are against these horrible actions, and yet are still willing to continue their support of the books that resulted from them? There’s a deep contradiction there. Intention an action don’t match.

It’s like people’s pain has been acknowledged, only to be replaced immediately with various claims about artistic loss, the book being apart from the author, or the pile-on being excessive for some. It might not be the true intention, surely, but in the light of this situation that has caused so much harm, is it surprising this will make people feel like their suffering is being dismissed by putting the book in some sort of "innocence" vacuum? Is it surprising it will put many in defence mode, make them feel attacked in some roundabout way? I think they've got the right to feel that.

As far as I’m concerned, I’ll draw a red line with permanent marker, and then go get myself one of the other many well-written, diverse m/m books out there instead. I won’t lack for reading materials.

Ais has posted about her experiences.
You can find the 'I just wanna know the gist of it' version on tumblr:
http://ais-n.tumblr.com/post/17215032...

If you choose to read the longer version, I suggest you make a cup of tea and download the PDF to your ereader, because it is the size of a small novella. And it deserves your full attention.
http://aisylum.com/statement_2018_Ais...

LenaLena wrote: "Ais has posted about her experiences.
You can find the 'I just wanna know the gist of it' version on tumblr:
http://ais-n.tumblr.com/post/17215032...

If you choose to read the..."

Thanks!

I haven't commented at all so far, I'm not really part of the community, I'm just someone who reads m/m books and have been a huge fan of "In The Company of Shadows" for a long time. I'm commenting just to say thanks to Ais, because she's a wonderful person, someone who has clearly gone through a lot of pain but has always been so very kind to the fans of her and "Sonny" 's story through the years. I think her message can teach something to everyone about kindness and humanity and forgiveness.

LenaLena wrote: "Ais has posted about her experiences.
You can find the 'I just wanna know the gist of it' version on tumblr:
http://ais-n.tumblr.com/post/17215032...

If you choose to read the..."

I'm about 2/3rds through the PDF, but I've been crying for the majority of it, reading Ais's testimony. It's the confessions of an abuse victim that SH fucked with for fucking years. All the hallmarks, the red flags...what "he" did to her, the state of mind she was in because of this person(s)...the patterns are so painful and terrible, and I'm seeing red--and keep in mind this is told from the POV of a victim who still self-doubts and tries to be fair and kind, so there's no doubt that it was worse than what we're seeing.

I just want to wrap her up in this protective layer of happiness and health and shield her from all of this. Jesus Christ, the way SH treated her and then made her feel like it was her fault while using this thing they'd built together to build "his" own platform and audience...it's abhorrent.

Ais, if you're out there reading these comments...know that nothing with Sonny was ever your fault. You're a lovely person, and I hope you're happy and well.

I tried. I really tried. But I had to skim parts of Ais's PDF statement because my eyes started filling up with tears and I didn't want to have to tell my partner why I was crying. I'll try reading the whole thing (without skimming) later. That was heartbreaking. All the gaslighting, ghosting, reappearing, ghosting, and more gaslighting... I've never even interacted with Ais before, but I want to hug her right now. She seems like such a sweet person with a huge heart and endless empathy for others.

I'm not sure if this was posted yet or not [it probably has] but I'm very far from being caught up on this thread and have no clue if it has or hasn't [I just came by to post this]!

That said, I'll just be re-posting Isobel Starling's post from Facebook [with a link to that post as well]::

"This is a statement from "In the Company of Shadows" co-writer Ais Lin. There is a link to a 39 page pdf in this statement. It is devastating. Please read it and validate Ais. She has been through hell and deserves to be heard.

'And there were other times that Sonny stood silently by while my suicidal ideations got worse and worse. Times I felt like I had nowhere to go because everywhere I turned, I knew if I tried to reach out, everyone would side with him. Times I was in such distress and despair and so completely unable to function, I was breaking apart bit by bit in a way I didn't dare voice too loudly because I was too afraid of hurting anyone else. Times I'm honestly a little surprised Sonny wasn't a contribution in the death of me'."

This is the link to Ais's PDF :-/ :: http://aisylum.com/statement_2018_Ais...

And this is the link to Isobel's post ::
https://www.facebook.com/isobelstarli...

**************************************

My G-D ... I haven't read everything yet, but I have NO words ... just horror and disgust and grief and fury on behalf of and in ABSOLUTE SUPPORT of all the survivors who've gone through and are STILL going through this loathsome, despicable, unimaginable, senseless tragedy :-/!!!

LenaLena wrote: "Ais has posted about her experiences.
You can find the 'I just wanna know the gist of it' version on tumblr:
http://ais-n.tumblr.com/post/17215032...

If you choose to read the..."

Thank you for the link, LenaLena.

Wow.

Alan wrote: "She seems like such a sweet person with a huge heart and endless empathy for others. "

Endless empathy: that is a great way of describing Ais!

Sakura wrote: "I just want to wrap her up in this protective layer of happiness and health and shield her from all of this. Jesus Christ, the way SH treated her and then made her feel like it was her fault while using this thing they'd built together to build "his" own platform and audience...it's abhorrent.

Ais, if you're out there reading these comments...know that nothing with Sonny was ever your fault. You're a lovely person, and I hope you're happy and well. "

+1000

Ais has my utmost respect and admiration. Such a kind, compassionate, generous soul <3

Nereida wrote: "I’m probably rehashing more of the same, but I think at this point we don’t doubt most people are against what SH did and on the victims’ side. We all understand the vast majority don’t wish to con..."

+1000! To the whole comment, but especially:

I won't bring out the pitchforks against anybody, but I don't find it surprising that people are confused that some are against these horrible actions, and yet are still willing to continue their support of the books that resulted from them? There’s a deep contradiction there. Intention an action don’t match.

Sakura wrote: "I just want to wrap her up in this protective layer of happiness and health and shield her from all of this..."

+1
...and here is a way to support her: https://www.patreon.com/ais

QuietlyKat wrote: "Sakura wrote: "I just want to wrap her up in this protective layer of happiness and health and shield her from all of this. Jesus Christ, the way SH treated her and then made her feel like it was h..."


+1

The more that comes out about this, the more I wish there was some criminal or civil court recourse for the victims.

My heart goes out to all of them once again and my admiration for the courage to bare their souls as they have done is limitless.

Cadiva wrote: "The more that comes out about this, the more I wish there was some criminal or civil court recourse for the victims.

My heart goes out to all of them once again and my admiration for the courage t..."

exactly, I wish there was a closure of the legal kind.

There is a bit of a discussion up thread of the issues around pursuing SH legally.

Their long con is done. I can only see them reappearing under a completely new identity.

Amazonaute wrote: "There is a bit of a discussion up thread of the issues around pursuing SH legally.

Their long con is done. I can only see them reappearing under a completely new identity."

Sadly I suspect you're right and this was all done with the intent to move into the MF Romance market.

they could just try the MF market. see what happens to them -_-

it will be obvious who's them btw, just be on the lookout for new mysterious MF author

Amazonaute wrote: "There is a bit of a discussion up thread of the issues around pursuing SH legally.

Their long con is done. I can only see them reappearing under a completely new identity."

I’ve just found out about this situation in the last twenty minutes, and by no means have I read or caught up with all the comments and testimony victims have provided so I apologize if this has already been asked/answered. In regards to SH, do we know how much money was scammed? Based on that dollar amount there may be some interest on law enforcements part—even if an investigation never happens, at least a report has been made and a paper trail has been started. I’ve had victims make reports to my office on allegations that don’t meet the requirements to open a substantive case, but we write up and file an informational report in case any further details or events develop and provide me with enough elements to conduct a criminal investigation. Once again, I’m not sure of all the details and what jurisdiction this situation would fall under, but I would strongly encourage talking with a lawyer or victim’s advocate for further guidance.

http://victimsofcrime.org/our-program...

My condolences to everyone who has been affected.

Moose wrote: "I’ve just found out about this situation in the last twenty minutes, and by no means have I read or caught up with all the comments and testimony victims have provided so I apologize if this has already been asked/answered...."

Thank you for this information and the link.

Another suggestion for not giving positive advertising to this author. i love the the m/m new releases list. It only just occurred to me to go back and remove my votes for SH books. A lot of theirs are still showing at the top of the lists.

In my opinion, it wouldn't be right to ask the list makers to remove books, in the same way that publishers have, they only set up the lists, we are the ones who vote on them. However, the top books only have about 83 votes in some cases. So if people wanted to, they could always go vote for their favourites without taking any negative action and then people like me, looking for suggestions on the best books might not still see SH at the top of the lists.

Here are a couple of links to two of those months but if everyone here just went through and voted on their favourites each month, it can only be a good thing to focus peoples attention on other better authors right?

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...