Send the pirates to Davy Jones Locker

The other day I reported that I was acosted by pirates. At the time, I was filled with rage and righteous indignation. How dare someone steal my work that I slaved over! I reported the thefts to my publishers and sought commisseration on Twitter. And then I calmed down and remembered this is something every published author, indeed every business owner encounters. That doesn't mean theft is acceptable, but it's part of working in retail business. I found the pirate through Google Alerts. I signed up for Google Alerts so I would know when someone mentioned me on their blog or when a new review of one of my books popped up. I didn't know at the time it would be very useful to catch people pirating my books as well. At the time, I had wondered how other authors knew precisely which day I mentioned them on my blog to pop up when they had never visited before. One of them shared this nugget of gold with me. It's time I share it with other authors. Google Alerts is very simple to use. First, I typed in www.google.com. Then I typed into the search bar, "Google Alerts". When the link popped up, I clicked on that. A screen came up to "Create a Google Alert". (Unfortunately, the screen I snagged refuses to show here.) Enter your search terms: i.e. "Ashley Ladd", "Astatalk" Select "type". I chose "Comprehensive". Select from the drop down menu "How often". I chose "Once a day" Enter your email: i.e. youremail@aol.com In the box called "Search terms" place the name or term you wish to track. Authors would want to watch for their pen names. They may also wish to put the name(s) of their book(s). You can also put the name of known pirate sites. After your information is entered, click on the "Create Alert" button. This message will come up: You must click on the verification link Google Alerts sends to your email to activate this program. Congratulations! You will begin receiving Google Alerts. Finding the pirates is only the first part of the job. Next you must convince them to stop violating your copyright. Many publishers, perhaps all, have a designated person at their company who deals with ebook pirates. Find out the process with your publisher and use it to report the pirate. At Total-E-Bound, there is a copyright abuse report form linked from every page of the sight. At Ellora's Cave there's a specific person to email the report. In addition to reporting the violation to your publisher, you should send a polite cease and desist notice to the site hosting your books without permission. Sometimes the site is only the host of a link from the actual pirate, so give them sufficient time to remove the link. Also, you may have to dig deeper to find the person who is giving away free downloads of your books without your consent and petition them to cease and desist their objectionable activity. Many sites post their procedure for reporting abuse so it is proper to follow that in addition to reporting the violation to your publisher(s). If all else fails after sufficient time has been granted, legal counsel and representation should be sought. Good luck. Hopefully none of your books will be pirated, but if they are, I hope these steps help. Ashley

I'm an identity theft victim - ugh!

Ugh! I'm an identity theft victim. I was paid yesterday from the day job and also my TEB check finally cleared and went in, so I thought I had plenty of money in my account to pay my bills plus have a little left over for fun and groceries. This morning DD2 and I went to the Flea Market, bought a few things, and then we bought groceries with no problem. But when I went to fill up my empty gas tank, my card declined. I knew I had well over a thousand dollars in the account, so I was flabbergasted. I drove home on fumes instead of to my original destination in case I wouldn't be able to get gas and not be able to get home later. Then I called my bank. It turns out that they blocked my account bcause some bozo tried to buy electronics worth $761.09 this morning while I was still sleeping. Oi! Now my bank has to close my account to protect me. Since it's the weekend my bank's already closed and won't reopen till Monday so I can't get a new card for my new account number until then. As we're so crazy at work and I can't possibly take time off there, I just had the bank express my card to my house but that means I may not get it till Tuesday or Wednesday. I called the electronics company and they said they'd noticed the transaction was fraudulent so they already canceled it. I have to applaud both the bank and the merchant. I'm grateful for the diligence of both. However, I'm just a little stressed from all the hassle. The lady at the bank opened my card long enough for me to fill up my gas tank and get some cash out of the ATM before closing it permanently (well, the old account - I'll still get the new one in a few days.) I normally don't post twice in one day, but I had to get this off my chest. I had planned to write all day, but I tend not to be able to write when I get upset. I know everything has been settled as well as can be expected so I'm settling down. I need to write my blogs and schedule them for the week anyway and to visit my usual blogs and maybe hop around to a few new ones. Then hopefully, I'll get in the mood to write after all. I started a new story this morning that I'm excited about and I wanted to make some headway on it this weekend. I feel like hitting some heavy chocolate. I NEED chocolate. I have to have chocolate. I want to dive in a big vat of chocolate. On a brighter note, I took DD2 to see "Mama Mia" last night and it was laugh out loud funny. We both loved it and DD2 usually doesn't like musicals. I don't know why the sight of Pierce Brosnan singing - I mean singing in a musical where he was dancing around - struck me as so funny. He was a comedian of sorts in Remington Steele, but in a quieter way. Anyway, I laughed so hard I broke out into a coughing fit and began choking. At the end of the movie, everyone in the theater stood and applauded. I've not seen that happen in a long time. So at least I had a spot of fun this weekend. It wasn't a total waste.