Sun > Status Update

Curious how this is timing with riptide’s announcement...

What I hope is when this person goes to lick their wounds, they take the pause to look inside and learn something, so this karmic shitstorm hasn’t been for nothing. This is a massive wake-up call. Hugs to all those who spoke up.

Anne-Marie wrote: "What I hope is when this person goes to lick their wounds, they take the pause to look inside and learn something, so this karmic shitstorm hasn’t been for nothing. This is a massive wake-up call. ..."

I hate to be a Debbie Downer but this isn't the first time m/m authors have created personas that were at the very least ethically disgusting and this just stops one of many that are still out there. Sadly, it usually just means that a whole new crop of readers will get sucked into the next one because the last crops have already been mowed down.

It would be a step forward if we learned from this to take the accusation seriously early on and to encourage critical thinking instead of allowing herd/cult mentality to shut down critics. But that is true of every part of social media and if we can't solve it in general, it will be difficult to make a meaningful change in our small microcosm of the internet.

I'm not saying we shouldn't try though.

ME's comments...

https://www.facebook.com/meganjericks...

He says he's no longer interested in defending himself, proving his identity or participating in this community.

If it was me, and I had nothing to hide, I'd be standing on my rooftop and yelling come see me, I am really who I say I am. Here's proof...

True JenMcJ, making meaningful change is hard, period, not just on the internet. But we seem to be in a time of change and I believe in persevering. Especially on this day of all days.

That's some serious backpedaling on ME's part.

https://www.facebook.com/meganjericks...

Cry me a river.

T.M. wrote: "ME's comments...

https://www.facebook.com/meganjericks..."

Oh wow that was some turn about! She went from inciting censorship, gaslighting and bullying to "I am hurt too"??
Jumping ship much Megan?

Hey guys, I'm way behind in the thread, but I want you to know that Riptide has reached out to me. I believe they will be making a new statement shortly, but I'm not sure what that will entail.

Edited to add: I did not provide them with any information. Don't worry.

https://twitter.com/sweetsakuradoll/s...

Thank you Susan, Jenn, Dani, Francesca and all the others who have helped revealing the truth that lies behind this ugly individual(s). You are very brave.

I had a major author crush on "him" back when he was known for Icos only. I remember his twitter and tumblr posts about cancer, being a bisexual single dad of Italian origins, a history of abuse.. I remember how he used to post pics of the gifts sent by his most loyal fans.

Even if he didn't harm me in any way, discovering that I have been so easily fooled by such a prick makes me feel dumb and mad at the same time. I am very close to all those who have been hurt by Scamtino.

I hope at the end they'll get what they deserve.. indifference and oblivion

I hate to say this but look for Santino to reinvent themselves under a new author name and publish (read SCAM) people again.

Tamara (緑) wrote: "https://twitter.com/sweetsakuradoll/s..."

Ha! Looks like it's already gone:) at least I can't find his account anymore.

Giulio wrote: "Thank you Susan, Jenn, Dani, Francesca and all the others who have helped revealing the truth that lies behind this ugly individual(s). You are very brave.

I had a major author crush on "him" bac..."

Grazie amico mio.

Sammy Goode wrote: "I hate to say this but look for Santino to reinvent themselves under a new author name and publish (read SCAM) people again."

I believe that too 😶

I'm straying into speculating territory here, but Santino's Twitter retreat (and Megan's for that matter) do seem to be a calculated move. If you head over to SH's Instagram he posted about leaving Twitter entirely a day ago (to be exact 20 hours ago when I checked). That's planned. It looks shady as hell to me. His response is very carefully worded to imply things but not actually state anything.

I am still hoping something real comes out of this.

Major kudos to everyone still speaking up.

Susan wrote: "He posted on his twitter. More of A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING. But he's pretending he's given up.

*he = she = the two of them = the group of them = whatever."

Now that his/her lies have been uncovered, there's not much choice but to stomp off in faked self-righteous outrage.

Sociopaths don't apologize. They just find a new path to manipulation.

I just went to riptides publishing site and searched authors. Unless I’m completely inept, I’m pretty sure Santino Hassell’s name has been removed.

Sammy Goode wrote: "I hate to say this but look for Santino to reinvent themselves under a new author name and publish (read SCAM) people again."

Exactly! This is what I've been thinking is going to happen.

Possibly under a different genre.

Riptide's "investigation" should probably be done independent of editor Sarah Lyons, in case her integrity is as compromised as numerous people seem to suggest.

Monica wrote: "Just a couple of things to the ppl who are hesitant about “anon” account: Nikki, the girl behind the anon acc who presented all the evidence is a real person, plus, should it matter if she’s anon w..."

Why were you afraid in the first place?

Zuzu wrote: "Sammy Goode wrote: "I hate to say this but look for Santino to reinvent themselves under a new author name and publish (read SCAM) people again."

Exactly! This is what I've been thinking is going ..."

He might certainly attempt it, but his writer's voice will give him away, unless he has the ability to write in an entirely different voice. I'm guessing that's probably not the case.

Sammy Goode wrote: "I just went to riptides publishing site and searched authors. Unless I’m completely inept, I’m pretty sure Santino Hassell’s name has been removed."

Yap, that's right and the books are gone.

I don't know of it's permanent or just for the investigation. SH can't be found on the Riptide authors list right now. Waiting for a statement. I hope Dreamspinner will follow.

Well, well, well another one. Waiting to see what Riptide has to say...

And finally the numbers are slowly dropping on her patheon about. Now that people have moved some of this outrage and information to Facebook.

Andrea wrote: "I don't know of it's permanent or just for the investigation. SH can't be found on the Riptide authors list right now. Waiting for a statement. I hope Dreamspinner will follow."

I just checked Dreamspinner and as of less than 5 minutes ago he was still there.

Sammy Goode wrote: "I just went to riptides publishing site and searched authors. Unless I’m completely inept, I’m pretty sure Santino Hassell’s name has been removed."

But they are still available at other retailers :(

Ami wrote: "But they are still availabl..."

Amazon and other retailers can be beastly slow about unpublishing books. It's possible it's in progress.

Ami wrote: "Sammy Goode wrote: "I just went to riptides publishing site and searched authors. Unless I’m completely inept, I’m pretty sure Santino Hassell’s name has been removed."

But they are still availabl..."

Third parties usually take anywhere from 24 hours to 72 to remove books. Paperbacks take even longer, sometimes.

I've been following this thread since yesterday when I first heard about the situation. I'm sorry so many of you went through this, and I'm grateful for your courage in sharing your stories. For whatever it's worth, you have this author's support 100%.

Lucy wrote: "Manda wrote: "Martyrdom. More emotional manipulation."

Yep. That’s all that is. Blaming anyone who is talking as the reason for leaving. Again with the doxxing lie."

Normally I'd say get down off that cross Santino, Jesus needs the wood, but this is a serious topic. He's repeatedly lied, bullied and gaslighted people and now is playing the victim.

As for someone saying he'll take a good hard look at what he's done to others, I don't think so. All this could have been avoided if they just claimed they were a husband and wife writing team. And of course didn't try to scam people out of money for fake illnesses.

This is why I took a very long break from reviewing and this industry. I'm really over the drama, manipulation and catfishing.

I’ve been hesitant to comment on this because I wasn’t bullied or gaslighted and I wouldn’t consider myself a Shams superfan, but the latest tweets are unacceptable.

So. (this could get long) Shams first landed on my radar when the racism kerfuffle took down the DRitC event. I found his comments thoughtful and composed, so I thought I’d read some of his stuff. I liked it. I started following him on Twitter, quickly realized he was living in Texas (where I live) which inspired a greater affinity towards him. I’m ashamed to admit when he initially posted about people trying to dox him in January 2017, I reported them.

I felt sorry for the single bi dude living in a big bad red state all alone. People should leave him be!

Then a friend pointed me towards Nikki almost a year ago and things started to fall into place. Then he deleted almost his entire Twitter feed, Facebook feed, blog posts, everything. If that’s not an admission of guilt I’m not sure what is. If there’s nothing to hide why delete everything?

All of that socmed suddenly morphed into a promotional machine. But the thing is, my memory is long. I remember when he posted Grindr chats. I remember when he talked about fucking some random and finding out he was a Trump supporter the next morning because of the sign in his front yard. I remember when he totaled his friend’s car then went into a “deep depression” because he didn’t have the money to help his friend out. I remember him talking about how his anxiety was debilitating at times. I remember when he told his George Michael story and how he saw him as a hero because the police would entrap “gay dudes” at park bathrooms and how dangerous it was to cruise men there but he did it because he was so “thirsty” and the George Michael song that validated him. I remember him bemoaning his single status in his new home and struggling to pay his bills because it was just him. All alone.

All of which was a lie manufactured to garner sympathy and netted him an untold amount of gifts and money.

The sheer number of times he talked about being ill with this that or the other was mind boggling. As someone who once damaged a disc and had to see a chiropractor twice a day for almost two weeks and continues to see a chiropractor and massage therapist on a regular basis, I can tell you there is no way I would’ve been spelunking down a fucking mountain on an inner tube or whatever it was a week after going through that. There’s living your life and then there’s fucking stupid.

Then again, I guess when it’s all fiction you can do whatever you want, right? That’s the thing with narcissists. They cannot stop talking about themselves, because they see themselves as smarter than the plebes. But this plebe (who works with doctors regularly and has addicts in the family) knows that there is absolutely no way a licensed physician would discharge a patient with two bags of morphine. That’s a slap in the face to anyone who has an addiction or has people in their lives who struggle with addiction. What’s more, I remember blog posts and tweets where he talked about being an addict, how his ex wife helped him get clean, yet he posts videos where his pipe is visible, talks about smoking up and drinks on the regular? Again, slap in the face.

As vile as I find all the lies from cancer to random illnesses to garner sympathy and hoodwink people what I find most repugnant is how much he clearly hates queer people, how much he hates MM romance and women. The amount of hatred and vitriol he’s leveled at people who were supposedly his friends is appalling. The gaslighting has made some of these people contemplate suicide, isolate and struggle without support. Without the support of a friend they thought they had and that cannot be allowed. This cannot just get swept aside. Real people have been hurt. What has dogged me for going on a year is how many queer kids thought/think of him as a voice, a voice for them? See him as their hero. Queer kids have higher levels of depression and suicide than non-queer kids, so what will this do to them? What about all the people who maybe have donated money that they perhaps didn’t have but felt sorry for him? What sort of recompense are they owed? Can that even be calculated?

I never gave him money but I did give him publicity and for that I’m ashamed. I’m ashamed I supported some of his squad who have largely turned out to be bullies. I’ve been on the sidelines watching and waiting for the truth to come to light for almost a year, watching Nikki get knocked around, bullied and sued for telling the truth. Nikki deserves a fucking Nobel prize for what she’s done. She didn’t deserve any of it nor did any of the brave crew now speaking out or anyone that’s still out there who’s suffered at the hands of Shams, his squad and countless authors who blithely called them crazed and obsessed fans, of doxxing (you can't dox a fake person) and/or “sacks of pus”.

Nikki’s receipts clearly show the endgame has always been MF and today’s tweet from Shams reeks. I’m not going to stand idly by and allow them to walk away, reinvent themselves, start writing MF and leave all this destruction in their wake. The LGBTQ community and women have been marginalized for far too long.

I remember that time Shams said he was a “relentless motherfucker” who would use the might of his Patreon to “end” Nikki and company. Guess who else is a relentless motherfucker? I’m willing and capable of testifying in court, cosigning litigation or whatever else. Just point me in the right direction.

Sorry. That's what happens when I keep stuff bottled up for extended periods of time, I guess.

A friend has just informed me (and another friend verified) that he's no longer listed as a client on Courtney Miller-Callihan's agency site, either.

Bravo to all of the above.

Cadiva wrote: "Bravo to all of the above."

Bravo indeed!!

Typical, instead of addressing the issue, he runs and hides. Easier to still play the sympathy card with his loyal friends I suppose. Anyone that still supports him after this is an idiot.

Optimist, your post made me cheer. Thank you for your honesty, for your humility, and for your dogged willingness to fight for what is right. As a gay man who was thrilled to find a gay male author in a predominately female dominated genre (which is kinda of ironic!), I was disappointed not only to find out that this author wasn’t just a liar, but a fraud and a swindler as well. I’m sad, because “his” work was good, and “he” took that away from us with the awful behavior and terrible lack of morality.

I’m glad Riptide has dropped him. But I feel after reading this whole thread that there are others who were involved who need to be examined as well.

Avery wrote: "I've been following this thread since yesterday when I first heard about the situation. I'm sorry so many of you went through this, and I'm grateful for your courage in sharing your stories. For wh..."

Thanks, Avery :)

Sakura wrote: "A friend has just informed me (and another friend verified) that he's no longer listed as a client on Courtney Miller-Callihan's agency site, either."

What bothers me most are what other authors ARE listed as clients of the same agency - almost the entire Squad

Riptide's statement: http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statem...

It's an excellent statement. It was both fair and admitted error.

T.M. wrote: "Riptide's statement: http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statem..."

Hopefully they really look into Sarah Lyons. From what I've seen in the last couple of days, I find it hard to believe she just blocked a few people from her personal account.

http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statem...

I just want to take a moment thanking all these courageous women who came forward, who took the hits and the mud-slinging and the harassment, especially Nikki, who was relentless in her pursuit in making sure she was being heard and had receipts to show. The women who spoke loudly and clearly on social media, who didn't cower, who were so brave.

This probably isn't over. There are many others who were involved in the gaslighting, the misrepresentations, the blatant lies, the harassment of those seeking the truth. And many, many more who were duped, who are hurt, angry, grieving.

Please be kind to one another.

I originally made a small post earlier but under an anonymous name. I deleted it. But Jenn said I need to tell my story. I would feel better. I love you, Jenn, but I feel like throwing up.

I'm not going to go into the how I met "Sonny" story. I pretty much met "him" the same way as many of you. I too did many, many things I'm not proud of. I ended relationships with some of the best people I've ever known. I was fucking stupid.

I'm here to talk about what's been posted about me on twitter. If you been following Nikki's tweets... I am the Alissa who went to RT in 2015 and met who I thought was Alisha Monroe. Now... I have had NO contact with Nikki as I have been off twitter for almost a year and a half. I'm not sure where she got her information but I guess that's neither here nor there.

Alisha Monroe befriended me. She saw on my twitter I was going to RT. She showed up on Saturday and we spent the day together. I was there when she met her idol Christopher Rice. When she met Megan for the first time. I knew she was good friends with Santino but at that time I had already cut ties with him. She talked about him a lot. She also talked about Jenn. I said nothing negative. I actually had an amazing time with her. NOT knowing she was Alicia Torres Hassell the whole time. And we're the creepy stalkers? Who the fuck does that? I spoke with Jenn that night and told her everything. We agreed it was weird how much she knew about Sonny.

After the conference, Alisha Monroe basically disappeared off social media. She wouldn't answer my messages. But then... a friend who was in H&H asked me if I knew her because she was posting a lot about how well she knew Santino... like throwing up on him at a Halloween party. Ding, Ding the bells went off in my head.

I'm not going to go into details but I realized Alisha Monroe was Alicia Torres wife of Mike and roommate to Santino. I confronted her in her DM's (Alicia's rant over this is well documented by Nikki). All I told her was I knew who she was and did "they" laugh at me at RT. I told her I would never bother her again. I did not threaten her. I then deleted my FB, GR and twitter accounts because I was afraid of what she would do to me. That she would go after my friends.

I set up another GR account and only followed a few people. Imagine my surprise one day to get a message from someone calling themselves Team Starling 82. Anyone remember them? They told me I was being accused of doxxing an author. They knew my real name and where I worked. They told they were going to expose me in both my private and professional lives. I was a danger to the people I worked with. I freaked the fuck out. I messaged Jenn and she and I talked. She told me about the anon accounts on twitter and that I was a suspect. I had NO idea this was going on.

I have been living in fear for over a year. I had to retain a lawyer... waiting for the day I was accused of something I didn't do. I canceled two book cons because Megan and Amy Jo threatened to tell security I was a stalker and a threat. I have the screenshots from their conversation on Twitter to prove it.

I'm still afraid... because I don't trust her. She is still out there. I believe she will want revenge. She has eyes and ears everywhere.

I know this isn't everything. I'm sure I will remember more. But I want to say thank you to the small group of friends who have gotten me through this.... I love you all. You believed me.

To Susan... thank you so much for having the courage to post this.

To Jenn... I believed you then.... I will always believe you.

Am I proud of my behavior? Fuck no. I'll be the first to admit I was obsessed with him for a time. But I did not doxx him nor did I share anything I knew about him except to people who already had that knowledge. I made mistakes ... especially one specific one that a day does not go by that I don't think of it.

To the ladies on twitter who wouldn't sit down or shut up... who persisted... you fucking rock. I wish I had your courage.


OH... I too, along with three others, gave money to Sonny because we felt horrible for him. Did he ask for it? No. But did he accept it under false pretenses anyway? Yes. And I still have the receipts from Amazon to prove it. This was back in 2014.

I know I rambled. I'm quite shook. I'm not sure this over... but how I want it to be.

T.M. wrote: "Riptide's statement: http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statem..."

That is a FANTASTIC statement. THAT'S how innocent people respond to accusations. NOT by further lying, discrediting and otherwise bullying the people bringing the charges.

Oof. And I just finished reading a bunch of Hassell's works, too. I guess I'll remove my ratings and so forth. *sigh* I guess it's nice that I just figured out how to do that?

Alissa thank you for your courage in speaking out. Thank you all.

I defended SH up until I found out about the money and cancer stories, it sickens me that I unwittingly helped stop the spread of information.

Although I've never been an apologist for them, I'm annoyed I let his PA know about the 'Kay' account after a comment was left on a review.