AIRLEAF VICTIMS UPDATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2008
Dear Fellow Airleaf Victims and Friends,
Next Sunday is the annual Brooklyn Book Fair in Brooklyn, New York. I am excited about attending the event so I can promote our new co-op, Books Of Excellence. If any of you are in the New York area and would like to meet up with me, please email me at Bonkaye@aol.com and I’ll make arrangements to meet you. We are constantly adding new members to our co-op, so if you haven’t had a chance to look at it lately, check us out at www.BooksOfExcellence.com.
I have been in touch with the U.S. Attorney in Indiana to see how our criminal case is coming along. I have been assured that the investigation is still being worked on and conversations by investigators taken place. I am hoping to have more information for you within the next several weeks.
I would like to take some time to talk about members of our group becoming VICTIMS all over again. This week, I have been working with five of our victims to help them with publishing and publicity scams where once again they have been taken for large sums of money. Omni Publicity, owned by Joe Ullrich in Tampa, Florida, promised one of our authors this deal:
PROPOSED CAMPAIGN
Research & Development
Omni Experts Online Directory Listing (1 year – a $399.00 value)
Press Release Creation
Broadcast (Online) Press Release Distribution
Direct Email
Aggressive Marketing
Twelve (12) Talk Radio Interviews
Any additional Interviews are no charge
Total Investment: $ 2395.00
And then came the GUARANTEE--
OMNI PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS GROUP GUARANTEE
Omni Publicity And Public Relations Group placements are no risk to you!
You only pay for the interviews you receive…period!
We assume all the financial risk! The professional staff of Omni Publicity And Public Relations Group will aggressively market you to talk radio shows throughout the country. Our efforts will yield the desired results of interviews – and you only pay for the interviews you receive!
We strongly recommend this campaign to you with complete confidence as it has been so successful for so many of our other clients. This exact campaign has secured interviews for our authors on a national, regional and local level. Some of our authors have also appeared on national TV as well as in print - most notability Dr. Phil, A Current Affair, Geraldo, FOX News Channel, NPR radio, The Miami Herald and GLOBE to name just a mere few – as a direct result of this campaign! The rates within are guaranteed for 30 days from the date of this proposal!
Our author fell for these smooth talking promises. This happened two years ago, and there was never one interview. When I called the Joe Ullrich on the victim’s behalf, explaining I was the leader of a predatory publishing/publicity group, he was very defensive telling me that the author was “crazy.” Often, disgruntled authors are classified as “crazy” by predatory publishers when they express their dissatisfaction. Good comeback, huh?
Anyway, I told the owner that he promised services that were never received, and that I have emails between the two parties where he offers a lot of “excuses” but no action. He claimed that he sent out emails to the media. When I asked him who the media was, he replied, “We can’t reveal that list.” When I asked him who he personally called as he guaranteed, again, “I don’t give out that information.” Okay, what information do you give out? That’s when the phone slammed in my ear. No doubt there may be authors who are happy with Mr. Ullrich, but that’s irrelevant to our author victim who received NOTHING that she was promised.
The “EXCUSES” need to be a RED FLAG to those of you who are currently paying for services that aren’t being delivered or paying for services that are free like book reviews from Barnes and Noble and Midwest. So now, I will be making a case through the Florida law enforcement agencies to help our victim get her money back.
Another one of our victims recently paid for a “Hollywood Dream” scheme in Atlanta, Georgia. The company, Jigsaw Filmwork, owned by a Timothy Crenshaw, promised her to put together a package for a Hollywood deal. He convinced her that there were investors ready to pay for the production, and the famous key gripper turned producer, Courtney Jones, would produce her movie. If you go on the Jigsaw Filmwork website at the following address, http://jigsawfilmworks-llc.com/mainmenu.html, you can see Mr. Jones as part of the staff. Is he? No clue. I just know this author was scammed. She paid the money, and waited and waited for a production package to be presented to her. In fact, she was supposed to be flown to “Hollywood” next week to meet with the production crew. They even had the nerve to have her make a list of who she would like to star in the movie. And even better—this company was found on the same website as Carl Lau, Go Big Network, looking for an investor. Here’s his profile that I found:
Timothy Crenshaw
Company: Jigsaw Filmworks
Industry: Entertainment
Location: Atlanta, GA (USA)
My Focus: Startup;
Startup Company Profile
Startup Name Jigsaw Filmworks
Location Atlanta, GA (United States)
Industry Entertainment
Year Founded 2007
Legal Status Unspecified
Business Stage Unspecified
Number of Employees Unspecified
Company Description We are an independent film company that produces films for the big screen, television and video releases. Timothy Crenshaw(Jigsaw Filmsorks) has been in the Entertainment field for 15 years working with artists such as JaRule, 112,Black Reign to name a few in the recording field. Now that he has moved over to the motion pictures industry business he has the pleasure of teaming with well know director/producer Courtney Jones based out of California.Courtney Jones has been involved with several motion pictures such as Star Wars, The Bratz, Fronterz plus many others.
Somehow, Mr. Crenshaw has come down with some rare illness called, “Don’t look for me after I get your money, ” and has failed to deliver the goods. I think he would be an excellent partner for Carl Lau or maybe Litestone Entertainment, don’t you?
As of late, some of you know I have been working with our victims who have become victims once again through Jones Harvest Publishing. To address this problem, I put up another website at www.JonesHarvestFraudVictims.com. I felt compelled to do this at the point when I had over a dozen new victims of this company. Jones Harvest has rallied their select fans to attack me for exposing them, but I stand by my claims that people are being defrauded through this company. At first, people were able to get their money back through threats, but now that has changed, no matter how much they “guarantee” your satisfaction or giving your money back. Well, actually, on their website, they make that guarantee to…“all new clients a money-back guarantee on our publishing, promotional and bookselling services.” Hmmm, what about their old clients who are asking for their money back?
Fans of Jones Harvest (3 to be exact) have written to me directly or via blogs to state that they are thrilled with the services from the company. And for those authors, I am thrilled for them. Remember—Airleaf had clients who loved them also. I wasn’t fighting for the ones who loved the company—I was fighting for those of us who were victims of the company.
When Brien Jones left Airleaf and started his own company, he promised that he would be “different.” He frowned on all of those schemes that made people have dreams that would never come true—or so he said. He only wanted to “sell books.” For that reason, I gave him a chance. I never knew him at Airleaf and he offered to republish my Airleaf book for free in return for allowing him to post my picture on one of his numerous websites, Author Celebrity. Jones also claims that I “forced” him to publish 40 other books for free in various emails he has sent to authors attacking me. Truth be told, I only asked him to publish one book for free—the book of Jason Hubal’s who was a disabled young man near death’s door. Jason and his mom, Gracie, invested $8,000.00 at Airleaf for nothing, and Jason was hoping to see his book before he passed on. I told Brien Jones it would be the right thing to do—and he did it. This was the only book I personally requested that he reprint for free.
Although numerous members of our group complained to me about Jones, I told you that we had to focus our campaign on Carl Lau because he was the owner of the company. When I would tell Brien about the complaints, he would always tell me that he was just a worker—in fact a victim too—of Airleaf. He wasn’t even allowed to open the mail. Whatever. In reality, he was the Vice President. He was the one who came up with the schemes. If you look at his promotions now—as many of you do and send them to me—it’s the same promotions as he did at Airleaf. And the promises:
• Weekly calls with progress reports
• Calls to every newspaper, magazine, and radio station in her hometown with a report
• One television appearance including a DVD version
• Three radio interviews including one on a nationally syndicated AM/FM radio show
• Submission of your book to a film producer for review and recommendations
And best of all, Jones Harvest states in their agreement: Each of these commitments is guaranteed. We will not be satisfied until we place your book in bookstores everywhere and you are a celebrity.
Does this sound all too familiar? Well, it’s déjà vu all over again for too many people.
I spoke to an author this week whose books were turned in over a YEAR ago—along with her money--to Jones Harvest and they are still not out or even corrected with galleys. EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES are all she is receiving.
Wake up authors—there are no excuses for taking a year to put out a book. My publisher, CCB Publishing (www.CCBPublishing.com) does it in a month—4 weeks--and so does Bob Denton from Mountain Valley Publishing (www.MountainValleyPublishing.com). Both of them provide excellent publishing and distribution services and get your book out for a reasonable amount of money quickly and with integrity. Read the testimonials on their website and see for yourself.
As for the Better Business Bureau rating of Jones Harvest let me say this—when over 50 of our victims sent in complaints to the Indiana BBB about Airleaf, and just weeks prior to the shut down, the BBB was still giving Airleaf a positive rating. I called them a few weeks ago and asked how that happens. The woman explained to me that changing a rating takes time—it could even take more than a year. First, the BBB has to do an investigation which can take months. So, just because someone buys membership into the BBB and pays for the top of the line rating doesn’t mean a thing. Trust me when I tell you the BBB has complaints about Jones Harvest. I know. And so does the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney’s office.
The irony here is that I am being blamed for the future collapse of Jones Harvest. Once again, am I to blame that authors don’t get what they’re promised or pay for? Am I the culprit when people are being misled and lied to? I don’t think so. Quite frankly, I would have been very happy to end my predatory activism days with Airleaf. But too many of you are like my extended family. I will devote my time to any of you who are being burned again. That’s what family is about.
I felt the need to write about this now so that in the future, authors won’t come to me and say why didn’t I warn them earlier. I already feel bad that I’ve kept quiet too long in hopes of things changing for the better. Don’t allow yourselves to fall prey to savvy sales con men who promise you outrageous promises that can’t come true. Always do a thorough check first—or write to me and I’ll do a thorough check for you.
If you have any other companies you would like me to check for you, please write to me any time. Don’t allow yourself to be a victim AGAIN!
Love, Bonnie Kaye
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
AIRLEAF VICTIMS UPDATE AUGUST 23, 2008
AIRLEAF VICTIMS UPDATE AUGUST 23, 2008
Dear Authors and Friends,
I wanted to send you an update to let you know that I am still diligently working on our case. I am in touch with the Attorney General’s office through our representative Tom Irons. The case against Airleaf was filed in civil court several months ago when I wrote to you about the judgment. This is still in the early phases of being resolved. Most likely, Carl Lau will be declaring bankruptcy; however—we do have a chance that this will NOT happen based on some information I obtained this week.
On the website Go Big Network, a website that tries to hook people up with investors, I found this advertisement:
Carl Lau
Company: 2nd Century Films
Industry: Entertainment
Location: Greenwood, IN (USA)
My Focus: Startup;
Startup Company Profile
Startup Name 2nd Century Films
Location Greenwood, IN (United States)
Industry Entertainment
Year Founded 2008
Legal Status Unspecified
Business Stage Unspecified
Number of Employees Unspecified
Company Description A startup company with lots of projects to put into movies, Hollywood likes the screenplays and we have the right actors and directors to produce. Great investment for the long term or short term investor.
It also said Carl is looking for:
Entertainment $1,000,000.00
I found this very amusing. One million dollars to start his own film company—amazing! Well, I can always hope that he’s planning to use that money to pay for the judgment against him by the Attorney General’s office.
It seems that Carl Lau has no shame. After scamming hundreds of us, he’s looking to find new victims. I was happy to forward this information to the authorities who are investigating our case. I wanted them to know that sleeping dogs don’t seem to lie—or rather—lay still for very long.
I am staying in touch with the United States Attorney’s office in Indiana, as well as the FBI to keep pushing them for help. As soon as a decision is made, I will notify you and let you know next steps. This week marks one year since I started our Airleaf Victims group. We’ve made excellent progress in view of the obstacles that have been placed in our way. We must remain vigilant and not give up!
Here’s some very exciting news for our authors. I am always looking for ways for authors to boost their books. I looked into book reviews because some of our authors feel that having a book review will help with their book promotions.
I was excited to find that Barnes and Noble on line does FREE book reviews without charging authors. To make doubly sure, I wrote to them directly. Here was their response:
Thanks for your interest in the Barnes & Noble Review.
Publishers, authors, or publicists interested in having a published or forthcoming book considered for review by the Barnes & Noble Review can mail a galley/advance reading copy or finished copy of the book, along with a cover letter including appropriate contact information, to:
Deirdre Sonsini The Barnes & Noble Review
Barnes & Noble.com 76 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Best wishes,
The Barnes and Noble Review
Just to be sure, I wrote to Barnes and Noble to double check if there is any charge at all for this review and the answer was NO!!
Another excellent source of FREE book reviews is Midwest Book Reviews. You can visit their website at http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/url_sub.htm
There is great information on there about publicizing your book as well. Directions on how to subject your book for a review is also found there.
In September, I will officially be launching our author’s co-op Books of Excellence. If you haven’t seen our site lately, please check it out at www.BooksOfExcellence.com. We are happy to have any of our Airleaf Victims join the group. We will be promoting it at an upcoming book fair in New York in a few weeks. I have started Google advertising for the site, and our members have started buying books of other members in support. If you would like to join this innovative group, please drop me a note and I will send you the details.
Remember, as you pursue your republishing or promotional futures, make sure NOT to repeat the mistakes of your past. Thoroughly investigate any publisher who offers you anything beyond publishing your book. If a publisher is charging you money for a review, please let me know and I will check it out for you to find out if there really is a cost for the review. Also make sure that you have a signed contract. Many of our Airleaf Victims never received back a signed contract. No matter how “friendly” you are with your publisher, business is business. Also make sure you receive quarterly statements which is standard and promised. And if you buy a promotional package, make sure to ask for a regular accounting of where your book is being sold. For instance, one woman wrote to me recently to tell me that she was told by her publisher that her book is in 33 bookstores. When I questioned her about where these stores are, I couldn’t get a response. Make sure you find out the bookstore and call them to verify this information. And if you are told that your book is being solicited to all of your area media, ask for a list of the media and who was spoken to. Learn from your marketing mistakes of the past. Don’t allow yourself to be a victim again like a number of the Airleaf Victims who have come to me a second time. And if you feel you have been cheated by any book company, please let me know so I can help you retrieve your money.
Several of our authors have recently asked me about the credibility of the Better Business Bureau. In checking out a reliable publisher, don’t assume that you will get a reliable rating from the Better Business Bureau because of the long and difficult process involved. One of our victims recently tried to file a report on line, only to be frustrated because the site froze when she tried to submit it. When I tried to help her with the form, it froze on me as well. In frustration, I called the Indiana Better Business Bureau and explained my frustration. I also asked them what it takes on their part to remove a company that less than reputable from their list. I explained that so many of our Airleaf Victims complained to the Indiana Better Business Bureau, but yet Airleaf remained in good standing with them until the end. They explained that it is a long process to do an investigation on a company once they are a dues paying member. There are a number of steps that have to be taken, and this takes time. They were able to send me the form via email to be printed out and done manually, so that was a help. But as I’m watching the process of this specific complaint, I see the company in question has sent back a response which isn’t responding to the complaint. This means more time and more correspondence and more delays. It becomes a “he said—she said” ordeal with lots of delays. So it’s certainly possible for a company to keep that BBB Accreditation for a long time regardless if their reliability. This is why so many of us were misled by the Better Business Bureau when we checked out Airleaf in the past.
Bottom line—investigate, investigate, investigate before you make your next mistake!
I’m happy to check out any company that you are considering for feedback. Just send me a note.
I will be in touch soon. Please feel free to write to me for help with anything you need or any questions you have.
With love and hope,
Bonnie
Dear Authors and Friends,
I wanted to send you an update to let you know that I am still diligently working on our case. I am in touch with the Attorney General’s office through our representative Tom Irons. The case against Airleaf was filed in civil court several months ago when I wrote to you about the judgment. This is still in the early phases of being resolved. Most likely, Carl Lau will be declaring bankruptcy; however—we do have a chance that this will NOT happen based on some information I obtained this week.
On the website Go Big Network, a website that tries to hook people up with investors, I found this advertisement:
Carl Lau
Company: 2nd Century Films
Industry: Entertainment
Location: Greenwood, IN (USA)
My Focus: Startup;
Startup Company Profile
Startup Name 2nd Century Films
Location Greenwood, IN (United States)
Industry Entertainment
Year Founded 2008
Legal Status Unspecified
Business Stage Unspecified
Number of Employees Unspecified
Company Description A startup company with lots of projects to put into movies, Hollywood likes the screenplays and we have the right actors and directors to produce. Great investment for the long term or short term investor.
It also said Carl is looking for:
Entertainment $1,000,000.00
I found this very amusing. One million dollars to start his own film company—amazing! Well, I can always hope that he’s planning to use that money to pay for the judgment against him by the Attorney General’s office.
It seems that Carl Lau has no shame. After scamming hundreds of us, he’s looking to find new victims. I was happy to forward this information to the authorities who are investigating our case. I wanted them to know that sleeping dogs don’t seem to lie—or rather—lay still for very long.
I am staying in touch with the United States Attorney’s office in Indiana, as well as the FBI to keep pushing them for help. As soon as a decision is made, I will notify you and let you know next steps. This week marks one year since I started our Airleaf Victims group. We’ve made excellent progress in view of the obstacles that have been placed in our way. We must remain vigilant and not give up!
Here’s some very exciting news for our authors. I am always looking for ways for authors to boost their books. I looked into book reviews because some of our authors feel that having a book review will help with their book promotions.
I was excited to find that Barnes and Noble on line does FREE book reviews without charging authors. To make doubly sure, I wrote to them directly. Here was their response:
Thanks for your interest in the Barnes & Noble Review.
Publishers, authors, or publicists interested in having a published or forthcoming book considered for review by the Barnes & Noble Review can mail a galley/advance reading copy or finished copy of the book, along with a cover letter including appropriate contact information, to:
Deirdre Sonsini The Barnes & Noble Review
Barnes & Noble.com 76 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Best wishes,
The Barnes and Noble Review
Just to be sure, I wrote to Barnes and Noble to double check if there is any charge at all for this review and the answer was NO!!
Another excellent source of FREE book reviews is Midwest Book Reviews. You can visit their website at http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/url_sub.htm
There is great information on there about publicizing your book as well. Directions on how to subject your book for a review is also found there.
In September, I will officially be launching our author’s co-op Books of Excellence. If you haven’t seen our site lately, please check it out at www.BooksOfExcellence.com. We are happy to have any of our Airleaf Victims join the group. We will be promoting it at an upcoming book fair in New York in a few weeks. I have started Google advertising for the site, and our members have started buying books of other members in support. If you would like to join this innovative group, please drop me a note and I will send you the details.
Remember, as you pursue your republishing or promotional futures, make sure NOT to repeat the mistakes of your past. Thoroughly investigate any publisher who offers you anything beyond publishing your book. If a publisher is charging you money for a review, please let me know and I will check it out for you to find out if there really is a cost for the review. Also make sure that you have a signed contract. Many of our Airleaf Victims never received back a signed contract. No matter how “friendly” you are with your publisher, business is business. Also make sure you receive quarterly statements which is standard and promised. And if you buy a promotional package, make sure to ask for a regular accounting of where your book is being sold. For instance, one woman wrote to me recently to tell me that she was told by her publisher that her book is in 33 bookstores. When I questioned her about where these stores are, I couldn’t get a response. Make sure you find out the bookstore and call them to verify this information. And if you are told that your book is being solicited to all of your area media, ask for a list of the media and who was spoken to. Learn from your marketing mistakes of the past. Don’t allow yourself to be a victim again like a number of the Airleaf Victims who have come to me a second time. And if you feel you have been cheated by any book company, please let me know so I can help you retrieve your money.
Several of our authors have recently asked me about the credibility of the Better Business Bureau. In checking out a reliable publisher, don’t assume that you will get a reliable rating from the Better Business Bureau because of the long and difficult process involved. One of our victims recently tried to file a report on line, only to be frustrated because the site froze when she tried to submit it. When I tried to help her with the form, it froze on me as well. In frustration, I called the Indiana Better Business Bureau and explained my frustration. I also asked them what it takes on their part to remove a company that less than reputable from their list. I explained that so many of our Airleaf Victims complained to the Indiana Better Business Bureau, but yet Airleaf remained in good standing with them until the end. They explained that it is a long process to do an investigation on a company once they are a dues paying member. There are a number of steps that have to be taken, and this takes time. They were able to send me the form via email to be printed out and done manually, so that was a help. But as I’m watching the process of this specific complaint, I see the company in question has sent back a response which isn’t responding to the complaint. This means more time and more correspondence and more delays. It becomes a “he said—she said” ordeal with lots of delays. So it’s certainly possible for a company to keep that BBB Accreditation for a long time regardless if their reliability. This is why so many of us were misled by the Better Business Bureau when we checked out Airleaf in the past.
Bottom line—investigate, investigate, investigate before you make your next mistake!
I’m happy to check out any company that you are considering for feedback. Just send me a note.
I will be in touch soon. Please feel free to write to me for help with anything you need or any questions you have.
With love and hope,
Bonnie
Sunday, June 29, 2008
AIRLEAF VICTIMS UPDATE JUNE 28, 2008
Dear Airleaf Victims and Friends,
I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet nearly five hundred of you via email, telephone, mail, and in-person visits. I feel as if you are my extended family because we've shared so much together. Some of us will remain lifetime friends long after Airleaf is behind us.
It has been nearly a year since I started my campaign to stop the fraudulence at Airleaf. In this past year, together we have done what people said was impossible—namely put Airleaf out of business and have charges brought by the Indiana Attorney General's office all within this relatively short time period. I have no doubt that other charges will be brought on the criminal end even though things are not moving as quickly.
For the past 10 months, I have sent out my updates on a weekly basis to expose the fraudulence that went on at Airleaf as well as to give important information about republishing your work. Recently, I exposed similar Airleaf-type fraudulence going on at Jones Harvest Publishing. Brien Jones has sent out notes asking people why I am doing this to him. All I am doing is alerting people to the marketing fraud that Brien is repeating at his own company in the same contemptuous way he did at Airleaf.
I would like to tell you something of my past relationship with Brien. When I started my group of Airleaf Victims, a number of people believed and accused me of working with Brien Jones to start the group. They thought he was using me to get back at Airleaf and Carl Lau. Although Brien was very helpful in giving me information about Airleaf, as were other former employees, he was certainly not responsible for my actions. In fact, he was not in favor of them and discouraged me from starting the Airleaf Victims campaign. He still felt some sense of loyalty to Lau or perhaps it was fear of repercussions to him if Lau suspected Jones of working with me.
Many of you wrote to me in the early days when I started my campaign that Brien was the person you held responsible for the loss of your money. I tried to "redirect" your anger against Carl Lau because he was ultimately the person responsible for not providing the services and taking the money into the Airleaf bank account.
From our first conversation, Brien swore to me that he was going to be different than Airleaf. He only wanted to sell books. He said his goal was to travel from bookstore to bookstore asking them to take books because authors want their books in bookstores. In the beginning of his business, he told me that the Hollywood pitches were a waste of time and knocked Airleaf for doing that. He promised me that every promise he made to authors would be kept. HE WAS DIFFERENT THAN CARL LAU AND AIRLEAF. And guess what? I believed him. Because I believed him, I allowed him to use me to gather other authors for his business. That would have been fine if he was doing an honest job. But he wasn't—and he isn't. So many of our authors told me horror stories about Brien, and in time, it became impossible to overlook them. He had an excellent explanation for every accusation, but could so many people be wrong? Now I realize I was naïve and trusting even after being stung. So if it happened to you TWICE, know that you're not alone. But guess what? It won't happen to me ever again. I've learned to be smarter.
Since exposing the fraudulence of Jones Harvest three weeks ago, two people have written to me to tell me that they are happy with Brien Jones and Jones Harvest Publishing. I'm glad to hear that. But I've explained to these authors that there were people who were very happy with Airleaf as well; however, that didn't mean the majority of us weren't victims of predatory publishing. Brien makes promises in writing that he is not keeping nor does he have any intention of keeping. Even stamping that a book is has a copyright when there is no copyright is a blatant slap in the face of every author when that happens. Promising people fame when there is no fame to be had is repeating the same scam as Airleaf did. As so many of you have written to me over the past six months, you can no longer tell the difference between the Jones Harvest ads and the Airleaf ads. This is sickening for sure.
The lesson to be learned from our tragedy with Airleaf is not to make the same mistake twice—or in some of our cases, three times. And, if you made the mistake a second time, you can fix it. Make sure that you have a signed contract in hand from whomever your new publisher is. Make sure you get statements and payments as you were promised. Write down on your calendar the quarterly dates they are do. When you go to a publisher, have him put INTO writing what you can expect to make with the sale of your book. Seeing the profit margin may drive you to keep checking out other possible solutions. Do research on Google. Put in the name of the company and put Complaints about…. And see what comes up. You learn a whole lot that way. And then check with others who have used the company. Check with me! I'll research it for you and let you know what I find out. I have friends now in the predatory publishing world—thank you Victoria, Anne, and Dave! You are all guardian angels of our vulnerable and believing authors. Check out their Preditors and Editors and Writers Beware columns. Learn how to be a good detective before falling for promises that will be broken.
At this point, you will stop receiving the Airleaf Victims update on a weekly basis. I will send you all a blitz whenever there is news on the case. If I need help in getting results, I will write to all of you for your help. I am trying to refocus myself into positive action such as our Books of Excellence Author Co-op and exposing other predatory publishing to make sure victims have a platform.
If you need help in anything and want my help, don't hesitate to write to me. Otherwise, you'll hear from me on an informational basis only. I will let all of you know once our site for the authors' co-op is up and functioning. We will be very proud to accomplish this to show the world that our books will continue to be seen and read.
Incidentally, if you have the WE Entertainment channel on your cable (Women's Entertainment), you can see me in an episode of Secret Lives of Women being rebroadcast on July 1st at 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. You can also catch it on July 4th at 8 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. The episode is "Dirty Little Secrets of Suburban Housewives." It is certainly quite a shocking hour not for the faint of heart—or those under aged! I'm in the segment with the woman who has a gay husband. They interviewed me doing a counseling session with the woman. It's on the second part of the show.
Love to all of my victim fighters who helped make history happen. Better days are ahead.
With love and hope,
Bonnie
I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet nearly five hundred of you via email, telephone, mail, and in-person visits. I feel as if you are my extended family because we've shared so much together. Some of us will remain lifetime friends long after Airleaf is behind us.
It has been nearly a year since I started my campaign to stop the fraudulence at Airleaf. In this past year, together we have done what people said was impossible—namely put Airleaf out of business and have charges brought by the Indiana Attorney General's office all within this relatively short time period. I have no doubt that other charges will be brought on the criminal end even though things are not moving as quickly.
For the past 10 months, I have sent out my updates on a weekly basis to expose the fraudulence that went on at Airleaf as well as to give important information about republishing your work. Recently, I exposed similar Airleaf-type fraudulence going on at Jones Harvest Publishing. Brien Jones has sent out notes asking people why I am doing this to him. All I am doing is alerting people to the marketing fraud that Brien is repeating at his own company in the same contemptuous way he did at Airleaf.
I would like to tell you something of my past relationship with Brien. When I started my group of Airleaf Victims, a number of people believed and accused me of working with Brien Jones to start the group. They thought he was using me to get back at Airleaf and Carl Lau. Although Brien was very helpful in giving me information about Airleaf, as were other former employees, he was certainly not responsible for my actions. In fact, he was not in favor of them and discouraged me from starting the Airleaf Victims campaign. He still felt some sense of loyalty to Lau or perhaps it was fear of repercussions to him if Lau suspected Jones of working with me.
Many of you wrote to me in the early days when I started my campaign that Brien was the person you held responsible for the loss of your money. I tried to "redirect" your anger against Carl Lau because he was ultimately the person responsible for not providing the services and taking the money into the Airleaf bank account.
From our first conversation, Brien swore to me that he was going to be different than Airleaf. He only wanted to sell books. He said his goal was to travel from bookstore to bookstore asking them to take books because authors want their books in bookstores. In the beginning of his business, he told me that the Hollywood pitches were a waste of time and knocked Airleaf for doing that. He promised me that every promise he made to authors would be kept. HE WAS DIFFERENT THAN CARL LAU AND AIRLEAF. And guess what? I believed him. Because I believed him, I allowed him to use me to gather other authors for his business. That would have been fine if he was doing an honest job. But he wasn't—and he isn't. So many of our authors told me horror stories about Brien, and in time, it became impossible to overlook them. He had an excellent explanation for every accusation, but could so many people be wrong? Now I realize I was naïve and trusting even after being stung. So if it happened to you TWICE, know that you're not alone. But guess what? It won't happen to me ever again. I've learned to be smarter.
Since exposing the fraudulence of Jones Harvest three weeks ago, two people have written to me to tell me that they are happy with Brien Jones and Jones Harvest Publishing. I'm glad to hear that. But I've explained to these authors that there were people who were very happy with Airleaf as well; however, that didn't mean the majority of us weren't victims of predatory publishing. Brien makes promises in writing that he is not keeping nor does he have any intention of keeping. Even stamping that a book is has a copyright when there is no copyright is a blatant slap in the face of every author when that happens. Promising people fame when there is no fame to be had is repeating the same scam as Airleaf did. As so many of you have written to me over the past six months, you can no longer tell the difference between the Jones Harvest ads and the Airleaf ads. This is sickening for sure.
The lesson to be learned from our tragedy with Airleaf is not to make the same mistake twice—or in some of our cases, three times. And, if you made the mistake a second time, you can fix it. Make sure that you have a signed contract in hand from whomever your new publisher is. Make sure you get statements and payments as you were promised. Write down on your calendar the quarterly dates they are do. When you go to a publisher, have him put INTO writing what you can expect to make with the sale of your book. Seeing the profit margin may drive you to keep checking out other possible solutions. Do research on Google. Put in the name of the company and put Complaints about…. And see what comes up. You learn a whole lot that way. And then check with others who have used the company. Check with me! I'll research it for you and let you know what I find out. I have friends now in the predatory publishing world—thank you Victoria, Anne, and Dave! You are all guardian angels of our vulnerable and believing authors. Check out their Preditors and Editors and Writers Beware columns. Learn how to be a good detective before falling for promises that will be broken.
At this point, you will stop receiving the Airleaf Victims update on a weekly basis. I will send you all a blitz whenever there is news on the case. If I need help in getting results, I will write to all of you for your help. I am trying to refocus myself into positive action such as our Books of Excellence Author Co-op and exposing other predatory publishing to make sure victims have a platform.
If you need help in anything and want my help, don't hesitate to write to me. Otherwise, you'll hear from me on an informational basis only. I will let all of you know once our site for the authors' co-op is up and functioning. We will be very proud to accomplish this to show the world that our books will continue to be seen and read.
Incidentally, if you have the WE Entertainment channel on your cable (Women's Entertainment), you can see me in an episode of Secret Lives of Women being rebroadcast on July 1st at 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. You can also catch it on July 4th at 8 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. The episode is "Dirty Little Secrets of Suburban Housewives." It is certainly quite a shocking hour not for the faint of heart—or those under aged! I'm in the segment with the woman who has a gay husband. They interviewed me doing a counseling session with the woman. It's on the second part of the show.
Love to all of my victim fighters who helped make history happen. Better days are ahead.
With love and hope,
Bonnie
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