Edit: The IP address of the sender was traced and we now know he/she lives in Newbury, UK. We understand that action is being taken against the culprit behind these emails.
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We received screenshots of two emails sent to one of our blog readers attacking fantasy author Melissa Douthit. We were also given permission to share them with our readers and alert people to be on the lookout for libelous emails like these that attack and libel any author or reader.
We have said in the past and we’ll say again — none of us here, neither Athena, Peter, Stitch, Tink, nor me, are authors. We also state this in our sidebar and Who We Are page.
The review MLW is accusing Melissa of writing is this one:
We want to let our readers know that everything said in these emails is FALSE information and reminds us forcefully of an attack on another Melissa, Melissa Foster, who was targeted by a failed author banned from Goodreads. So was Hugh Howey. Both Melissas and Hugh are innocent of the accusations made against them and we find the harassment and libeling of these authors disgusting and despicable.
Melissa Douthit has been accused of many things of which she is completely innocent. She has been accused of creating sock accounts in order to one-star other authors’ books and five-star her own. She has been accused of stalking, harassing, and attacking reviewers. And she’s been accused of being the founder of our blog and of the Facebook group WIN.
We know our readers already know this, but none of this is true. Melissa became a target of bully abuse two years ago when she . She left Goodreads in February of 2012 and stated clearly that she would never return. Just recently, she has published an article . She’s endured being harassed, stalked, carpet-bombed, and threatened.
We ask our readers to alert us if they see any of these libelous emails circulating around the internet. If you happen to receive one, please report it and inform the victimized party immediately.
Thank you!
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These scumbags never cease to amaze me.
I know I’m not Melissa. Do they actually believe everyone here is Melissa? They have no clue.
LOL. If only they knew how many of us there are. They would be scared. Very, very scared. MUWHAHAHAHA!
Yes, they actually believe everyone here is Melissa. Literally.
Dumb and dumber.
I’m also not Melissa. Like her, I AM an author who has better things to do (like write books and be pro-active towards my career) then spread libelous rumors and go after other authors out of jealousy and spite. REAL authors know that the secret to a successful writing career is to write, focus on their writing, and to stay away from these jealous, pathetic trolls (or should we say failing authors). From reading all of this information, it appears that the majority of the problem people are indeed jealous writers who are attacking any other author they feel is a threat to their barely existent writing career. Or high school kids that are bored or people acting like high school kids… Guess what, writers? – being an asshole isn’t going to help your career. Writing and focusing on your WRITING will. Also, Karma can be a real bitch. Or, it can be kind if you treat people with respect (I sold 305 books yesterday. That’s what happens when an author does it the RIGHT WAY. Quit being so damn hateful towards others) I, along with thousands of other authors now read this blog (mostly because of Anne Rice directing us here) and have found it both entertaining and disturbing. Now, I’m going to go back to writing, because that’s what a professional, adult, writer does.
+1
I’m not Melissa either. These idiots have no idea what they’re talking about.
Well said. I read something the other day that resonated with me: “If given the choice between practicing snark or kindness in life, choose kindness.”
Unfortunately, the trolls think being snarky (AKA verbally abusive) is cute, when really it’s just spreading negativity in the world…something the world definitely needs less of. What’s your legacy, people? What do you want your mark to be on the world?
OT but congratulations on your sales! It’s always nice to hear of a successful author who deserves it.
I’m not Melissa and I know the occasional name I’ve used here, ‘Amused’, is used by at least two other people.
This is an obvious set up that needs to be reported. To Amazon for starters. They really have crossed the line into criminal activity this time.
Why am I saying “they”, we all know who this dried up prune is. Most of the old BBA group have grown up and gone off to read books they like instead of spending their lives trolling.
You’re right, Jaq. This is criminal activity. They’ve committed crimes before though, like when they hacked or tried to hack into accounts or published private facts about people. Someday, someone is going to nail them for it.
“we all know who this dried up prune is.”
Linda Hilton? Lol.
So Melissa Douthit is talented enough to write all of the comments here (including mine), in all the various writing styles we have, but at the same time she’s insanely jealous of other authors. Right.
And the only way to shut her up is to secretly one-star all her books and ask all your friends and family members to do the same. This almost sounds like a chain letter: “You will suffer great misfortune unless you log on to Amazon to one-star all of Melissa Douthit’s books and then forward this email to at least five people you know and get them to do the same.” What’s next? Are the trolls going to start spamming people with offers of cash prizes in exchange for one-starring their enemies’ books?
I hope MD sues those trolls for libel. I can’t believe how much they’ve unfairly dragged her name through the mud, and she’s been gracefully silent about the whole thing. She’s smart: She knows it’s pointless to argue with the trolls. She’s obviously got better things to do, such as writing her books and living her life.
I have a pretty good idea who wrote those emails. I’m sure Melissa will find out through the proper legal channels who it is. I’m not Melissa either BTW. I am friends with Melissa. I do and will always support her.
Thank you, Emma! <3 Thanks to everyone for the support! I've forwarded the emails to my lawyer and he is working on tracing the IP.
Just wanted to congratulate you for not paying attentions to trolls and cyber losers. Honestly dont know whats wrong with people or teens nowdays. I really don’t get it. I also wanted to say that you’re very smart for not giving in, to their bullying. Many people give in and even go as far as to suicide, cause of cyber bullying. Trolls need to get a life but let’s be honest, most of them dont have lives and they already have realized that, hence their misery. I advice you to either be snarky/sarcastic with them or ignore them in a ‘lol’ style. I also am curious for something. Do GR reviews really change something to someone’s book? I mean, if someone badly reviews it or 1 stars it, does something even happen, or the reviews are just for an online opinion giving?
Wow, Melissa sure gets around. 😉 Amazing how much time is wasted on all this hatred. Those of us with actual lives are writing books, reading books, and/or working and caring for our families. A word of advice to those who are attacking Melissa and others: seek your fulfillment elsewhere. There’s life out there, away from the internet. A beautiful world with spring sun and flowers. Go to the zoo or a museum. Take your dog for a walk. Play with your kids. Smile at people. Actively seek to help someone in some small way. Try being positive for just one full day and see how it makes you feel. I guarantee it’s better than living in hatred.
Well said!