It seems, as many readers said to me, that NPR cannot get enough of Ferrets and all things Cassie Edwards. The plagiarism scandal was discussed on NPR’s Justice Talking, although when specifically I am not sure, as I haven’t been able to load the mp3. I imagine it’s not directly related to the larger discussion highlighted on that page about the FCC’s “new rules for media ownership.”
And should you be wishing for more of Mr. Tolme, there’s an extended interview with him on the NPR page of their coverage. It’s about 17 minutes long, so it surely doesn’t qualify as a sound bite. At least I don’t think it’s a “bite.” More like a major meal. I hope it brings increased job opportunities to Mr. Tolme, who continues to handle the entirety with class and style.
The Talk of the Nation blog continues the discussion as well.
I don’t know what the rest of the people commenting here or elsewhere on the matter plan on doing, but I can tell you what I’m going to do.
Pretty much what I’ve done with regards to that other well known plagiarist, Janet Dailey. I won’t buy her books. If I see anyone grabbing a book by either CE or JD at a bookstore, I’ll ask the customer whether they know that both of these people have stolen from other authors, and explain what I mean by that. I’ll engage readers in forums where I post in conversation about the matter of professional honesty and plagiarism, and will bring up both names every time.
I hope Ms Edwards can come to terms with what she has done to all the writers from which she stole, to all the readers she’s deceived, and to all the other people involved (i.e., editors and publishers) who she’s defrauded.
Which is not to say, regardless of how you chose to read it, that I am happy with anyone attacking Ms Edwards the person, grandmother, violinist, whathaveyou. What I am, and will be, taking stand against is the chronic theft Ms Edwards has engaged in for over two decades.
And a good afternoon to you, SAM.
The only person who can seriously torpedo their own career is the author. In this case, Ms. Edwards has harmed her reputation and tainted the romance industry by association, which is why I suspect Ms. Roberts weighed in. Edwards has engaged in plagiarism, no matter how you slice it, no matter if you adore her body of work or not.
There are lessons to be learned, a cautionary tale for all of us in the industry: shortcuts kill careers.
The SB’s, who hate Cassie and her books, “accidentally†came across something that looked like plagiarism.
I’m sorry, but I don’t think I understand the phrasing of this sentence. Perhaps SAM would be kind enough to unpack it a bit? I must infer from the context that the quotation marks are intended as sarcasm wrt the intentionality of the SBs’ (or rather, one of the SBs’ friends’) initial discovery of apparent plagiarism.
Are we to understand that this initial discovery was launched with the pre-emptive goal of nailing Edwards for plagiarism by any means possible? Formulated even before ever opening the covers of Shadow Bear, and with malice aforethought etc.? And somehow deliberately inserting Paul Tolme’s (and various others’) prose into every printed copy of the book?
If Cassie Edwards has an explanation for the “accidental” presence in her books of so many textual passages that’re identical to previous publications by other authors, I would be delighted to hear it. Especially for things like a four-page overlap into which Edwards inserts a self-congratulatory comment about those passages’ aesthetic merits, demonstrating that she esteems them beyond a mere recital of dry academic facts.
(Yes, that’s in the latest version of the PDF, minus the color-coding.)
(And I have no idea how that emoticon ended up in there.)
It’s kinda kinky, Julie L.
winky prose.
~I would really like to know why Nora Roberts has it in for Cassie Edwards?~
Nothing on a personal level.
I have it in for plagiarism.
Other than that? What Julie said.
And by the way guys, I’m getting pretty damn tired of waiting for the bowing. I want some bowing.
Would you settle for a curtsy?
Nora, just what sort of a bow do you want?
http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50282094/Bow_Tie.jpg
http://www.growingtreetoys.com/images/products/bg/010245.jpg
http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/11/38/23283811.jpg
http://images.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/13212/bow1.jpg
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/09/thequeen150906_700x462.jpg
And, just for you, to make up for the lack of a heart-shaped bed:
http://www.dianamystery.com/Jayne_heartshaped_tub2.jpg