"Handbook For Mortals" Shows the Trad Publishing Industry is Corrupt, Too

One of the persistent drumbeats that traditional publishers and authors like to sneer is that only getting published makes you a "real" author. Self-published books are crap, they say. Indie authors are bad writers who attempt to manipulate the system with shoddy work and lousy covers, taking away space from the long-suffering "real" authors. After all, they say, if they were any good, authors would be published through a traditional publishing house, which ensures that only quality material reaches the shelves and success. If only that were true, then books like Fifty Shades of Grey wouldn't be out there. Or the most recent example, Handbook for Mortals.


As a self-published author, I've been following the story of Handbook for Mortals by Lani Sarem with great interest, but have a different take than others have. If you haven't heard about it, you can read the full story in all its shocking detail at Punjaba, but the short version is that a new novel called Handbook for Mortals shot to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List in its first week. When people on Twitter started looking into it, they discovered several bookstores were called to place bulk orders, and great effort was made to make sure the bookstores reported to the NYT List. In other words, someone (at this point, clearly the publisher) just bought thousands of books to try to make the list. There's apparently also an attempt to post fake reviews on Goodreads and an alleged movie deal on IMDB with the author starring in the first film (yes, Lani Sarem, the author). Even the cover seems to be a rip-off of artwork by an Australian author named Gill del Mace who was not happy to see it.

Seriously, read the article. It's crazy, and it's a complete crapstorm that is still ongoing as I type this. It seems like the only reason this book exists in the first place is the author originally wrote it as a screenplay and is trying to get a movie made on the condition that it's based off a "best-selling" novel. Wait'll you get to the part about the connection to Blues Traveler.

This isn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last, but I'm always reminded of the sanctimonious tone traditional authors like to have when looking down their noses at self-published authors. Yeah, some indie books are crap and some self-published authors do some pretty rotten things to try to be a success. But traditional publishers aren't exactly paragons of virtue, either.

Oh, and in case you're wondering if the book itself is actually any good, it's not. Here's an excerpt courtesy of HuffPo where the main character Zade describes herself, that classic narrative device everyone hates:

I’m slender, but I do not believe most would say skinny. Not ‘hot-girl skinny,’ at least. I have long legs that are toned but I think my thighs are too large and I do not have a thigh gap. My arms are kind of flabby and while I do have an hourglass figure I have always felt my butt is a little too big and my face is a bit too round.

There's also a bit about "the chunky pieces on the lower half of my long hair, which I had dyed to be a multitude of fun colors" which (by a shocking coincidence) perfectly describes the author herself. If you still think people are piling on, check out the sample and reviews (legitimate reviews) on Amazon.

Yeah, this just keeps getting better and better. Keep bringing such quality material to bookstores everywhere.

Related: 6 Reasons Why Indie Authors Are NOT Destroying Literature

UPDATE: Just wanted to add, whenever this sort of thing happens, I wonder what would have happened if a group of dedicated sleuths on Twitter hadn't decided to investigate. How many times have authors gotten away with all of this and went on to success?


"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

11 Best Post-Apocalyptic Novels

Post-apocalyptic fiction has become increasingly popular recently, especially in the horror and action genres. For some reason, the idea of civilization collapsing and people struggling to survive the aftermath appeals to us. Maybe it's our savage nature or a sense that life has become too easy, but we like to imagine the world that might come after we're gone. Here are the eleven best novels set after a potential world-ending event.


11. The Postman by David Brin

In a future America that's collapsed into anarchy, a drifter stumbles across a letter carrier uniform of the United States Postal Service and, with empty promises of aid from the "Restored United States of America", gives hope to an Oregon threatened by warlords. The original novellas were nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novella. The completed novel won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, both for 1986. It was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and Nebula Award for Best Novel for 1986.

10. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the Southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, Canticle is a huge scope of a novel, spanning thousands of years as civilization rebuilds itself. The book follows one man Isaac Leibowitz who starts by saving books from destruction, and leads to a monastic Order of Leibowitz who take up the mission of preserving the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the day the outside world is again ready for it. It's considered a classic of literature, one of the first science fiction novels to be seriously reviewed and studied by literary critics.

9. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

The novel is actually based on a satirical book written earlier by Brooks called The Zombie Survival Guide. Based on the background of the guide and inspired by an oral history of World War II, Brooks made a collection of individual accounts narrated by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission, following the devastating global conflict against the zombie plague. Other passages record a decade-long desperate struggle, as experienced by people of various nationalities. The personal accounts also describe the resulting social, political, religious, and environmental changes.

8. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

When a mysterious green meteor shower caused everyone who looked at it to go blind, the majority of humanity is left helpless. As the world struggles to survive, they are no match for the triffids, a carnivorous species of plant capable of moving on its own that begins hunting the survivors. This book is a classic and inspired many other post-apocalyptic stories like the movie 28 Days Later.

7. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

This book is more of a novella, but it's still worth including. It picks up with the life of Robert Neville, who believes himself to be the sole human survivor of a devastating plague, but he's not alone. Other humans, including his neighbor, have been turned into vampire-like creatures that come every night to try to kill him. Neville has turned his house into a fortress and spends the night barricaded and trying to resist the taunting of the "vampires." During the day, he goes out to hunt the vampires as they sleep, and try to find a cure for the plague. It's pretty much the model for every story about survivors barricaded against rampaging monsters.

6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Set in a near-future New England, the novel is about a totalitarian Christian movement that has overthrown the United States government and set up a brutal theocracy. The new Republic of Gilead is particularly harsh on women who are forbidden to read or travel freely. Because of widespread sterility, fertile women are forced to become Handmaids (concubines) for powerful men, including the main character Offred. As she lives in the new world, she struggles against the restrictions and tries to find an escape. The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award.

5. The Passage by Justin Cronin

This book is the first of a trilogy starting in a near future and covering the next 90 years. It begins with a government project to develop a new immunity-boosting drug based on a virus carried by an unnamed species of bat in South America. The test subjects escape and eventually unleash a mutated virus that transforms the world. The novel begins in 2016 and spans more than ninety years, as colonies of humans attempt to live in a world filled with superhuman creatures who are continually on the hunt for fresh blood.

4. The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard

Set in the year 2145 in a post-apocalyptic London, rising sea levels have flooded the city and turned it into a tropical lagoon. A scientific survey unit sent to map the flora and fauna in the area causes the survivors' minds to regress mentally. When part of the team turns tribal, the remaining team struggles to keep civilized. It's a haunting story of how our minds can shape our reality.

3. Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

Published in 1967, this depicts a dystopic ageist future society in which both population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by requiring the death of everyone reaching the age of 21. The story follows the actions of Logan, a Sandman charged with enforcing the rule, as he tracks down and kills citizens who "run" from society's lethal demand—only to end up "running" himself.

2. Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

This is a graphic novel about a society made up almost entirely of women. The idea of a world where men die off leaving only women is usually pretty sleazy, but Y: The Last Man was a more realistic and even feminist story. When a mysterious event kills off all the males except for two, women discover centuries of exclusion have left them out of all critical aspects of society. Governments, military, infrastructure and even the arts are wiped out in one blow. As the women struggle to rebuild, the last male human survivor tries to find his true love. The story is both personal with great characters and epic in scope as it deals with global competition and war.

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is set in a near future where an unexplained event has covered the world in ash and humans are the only living things left. A father and son struggle across the blighted landscape, trying to reach safety while avoiding and defending themselves from gangs of cannibals. The book isn't some Mad Max-type of adventure, though, by a beautifully written tragedy about the power of love and family. The novel was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006.

Do you have any other suggestions? Which ones have you read? Let me know in the comments!

"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

Sample Sunday: "The Wonderful WonderWoods"

The Wonderful WonderWoods, the fifth and final part of the "TOONS" series, is now available on Amazon. Here's a sample:

At that moment, the president stepped through the curtain and onto the stage. His footsteps echoed across the raised, wooden platform, drowned out by the thunderous applause of his executive staff. The elves in trench coats remained silent.



The Masked Executive acknowledged the applause with a wave of his hand as he took his place behind the podium at the center of the stage. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I trust you all slept well, so let's get down to business, shall we?"

The audience chuckled and leaned forward as one. Some got their notepads and pens ready.

The Masked Executive shuffled through his notes. "At this point in our fiscal year, I believe it would be most prudent to begin the reorganization of our management positions to more clearly define our goals. I shall now begin by reading our previous financial records and contrast them with our projected income."

After a moment of silence, the audience burst into gales of laughter. Elves slapped each other on the back, wiped tears from their eyes, and rolled in the aisles. The Masked Executive watched this spectacle with a blank expression, even considering the fact he had a mask over his head.

When everyone quieted down, and crawled back in their seats, chuckling to themselves, Jingles frowned, stood up, and said, "I don't get it."

The Masked Executive blinked. "What do you mean, 'You don't get it?'"

Jingles glanced over at the other executives for support. "I mean, I don't get it. Maybe if you told the punchline again, slowly, so we get the full effect--"

"You fools! That wasn't a joke! It was the introduction for my financial report!"

"Oh." Jingles scratched his head. "Well, when do you get to the jokes?"

The Masked Executives threw his papers to the floor. "There aren't any! This is a corporation, not a comedy club! Let me make this very clear. You will enjoy yourselves on your own time! From now on, you are here to work!"

Download it today!

"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

"Deep Dark" by Laura Griffin [Review]

Deep Dark by Laura Griffin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a difficult novel to review. There were some things that were absolutely awesome, and some other things that were absolutely awful. Together, they add up to a decent novel.


Reed Novak is a dedicated but troubled detective, still struggling with the aftermath of his divorce. He finds himself baffled by a serial killer who seems to know forensic evidence better than he does. When you're trying to catch someone who's covered their tracks so well that they even wear plastic gloves and shoe covers, clues are in short supply. He's a great character, tough but with a soft center looking for love.

Laney Knox is a hacker for the Delphi Center, a non-profit group that offers freelance crime scene investigation. She's still traumatized from an attack late at night by a mysterious man who almost killed her. When she discovers her best friend was murdered by the same man, she tries to anonymously tip Novak off to the killer. When he tracks her down, she reluctantly joins forces with Novak to stop him. But she also finds herself attracted to him, and they form a professional and personal bond.

THE GOOD

+ Writing
The writing is some of the best I've ever seen. Within a few words, the author is able to conjure up an entire scene. She puts in just enough information for us to visualize the world without putting in unnecessary exposition. She sprinkles in details that not only describe things, but also gives us a lot of background. Without coming right out and saying, "This character is a police officer," she will allow those facts to be implied and expressed in actions and description.

For example, this is the second paragraph of the book:
"She [Laney Knox] stared into the void, trying to shake off her grogginess. The outdoor lightbulb was new-her landlord had changed it yesterday. Had he botched the job? She should have done it herself, but her shoestring budget didn't cover LED lights. It barely covered ramen and Red Bull."

In those five sentences, we learn she's renting her apartment, she's independent enough to want to do things herself, she's poor, and she eats a diet that's favored by college students and (as is later revealed) computer hackers to maximize long hours and minimal flavor.

In other words, Griffin is a master of the writer's axiom: "show, don't tell." From the very first sentence, I was amazed at her command of the language. I can't say enough about that.

+ Characterization
Everyone in the novel feels like a fully developed character. The major heroes Novak and Laney have complex and detailed backgrounds. We learn about their family and friends and enemies and connections, so the novel is a journey of discovering who they are and what drives them. They also have their own little quirks and idiosyncrasies that show in the way they see the world, and even decorate their apartments. But the characterization continues all the way down to secondary characters. Even people who have one or two lines have little details that make them come to life as more than just clichés.

+ Romance
I'm not usually a romance reader, so I can't say if the romance in this novel is the best ever, but I thought it was good. As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy romance, I liked that the romantic subplot didn't overwhelm the actual story. It was a major element, but the suspense and tension didn't get pushed to the side. I did want the two of them to get together, and enjoyed their interactions together. Maybe some would think the romance was too thin, but I liked it.

+ Technical Details
From reading up on the back of the book, it seems like this novel is in the "Tracers" series. It seems like each novel is about different forensic research. I thought that showed because there's a lot of it. This novel is like an episode of "CSI" with different forensic scientists following clues on hair, blood, fingerprints, metal composition, and everything in between. Novak spends a lot of time talking to scientists, and various techniques are described in detail. I was especially impressed with how the novel following actual police procedure. I enjoy forensic science, so it was fun to read about people studying intricate clues to the mystery. As the description says, fans of "CSI" would eat this up.

+ Suspense
I've read a lot of suspense novels, and this serial killer is particularly diabolical. The idea of a killer who knows how to cover his tracks is an old one, but I've never seen one this detailed. I loved the chess match between the killer's hiding clues, and how the police still managed to find ways to track him down. The threat of impending death also ramped up nicely, and there were some good action scenes that made my heart race. A real page-turner.

THE BAD
- Action
For a suspense thriller, there aren't enough action scenes for me. There's basically a couple of chase scenes. I would have liked more actual action scenes - maybe a firefight or a car chase or something. If you made this into a movie, it would be people sitting around talking for two hours with about five minutes of action.

-CSI Clichés
It felt like Griffin has been watching too many episodes of "CSI." I mean that literally, as evidenced by the fact she calls the crime scene forensics team "CSI" at one point. To those who watch this show, the term "CSI" is a made-up term, an explanation for why the forensic scientists on the show will go out into the field, interview suspects, and carry out raids, none of which real crime scene technicians do. In the real world, crime scene forensics is known as "CS" or "forensics." Calling them CSI is comparable to someone calling the American space program "Starfleet" instead of NASA.

- Characterization
As much as the characters are more than clichés, they're not exactly complex. For example, the main character Laney Knox is described as being awkward and uncomfortable in social settings, but her actions show anything but. She has lots of friends, goes to parties and work where there are lots of people around, and her dialogue shows confidence and humor. This chick is practically an extrovert. Other than her interior dialogue and people saying she has social anxiety, there's no attempt to actually follow through on that. Lizbeth Salander of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is a great example of real social anxiety portrayed in fiction. Laney Knox is pretty much your cookie cutter "spunky chick" cliché heroine. That's not necessarily bad, since she's a fun character. I just was disappointed Griffin chose not to portray social anxiety realistically.

- Hacking
The author clearly knows forensic science, but has a limited understanding of the hacker community. She uses terms like "script kiddies" and actual hacking techniques, which shows some research, but other areas are weak. For example, Griffin describes the heroine as a legend in the hacking community because she did a DDOS attack. DDOS attacks are one of the most overused and easiest to carry out "script kiddy" hacks, so it's unlikely that would impress the hacker community as much as the author claims. Also, the heroine manages to guess people's passwords using various social engineering tricks, which impresses people, but real hackers know guessing passwords is a waste of time. As someone who works tech support and has to deal with people who can't even guess their own passwords, I know it's virtually impossible to guess someone else's. Especially when many accounts will lock after too many attempts. Real hackers will use tools to reset the password themselves or guess the password with automated cracker tools or bypass the password entirely. It seems like Griffin did some research to sound like she knew what she was talking about, but not enough to be an actual expert. Bottom line, the tech speak would fool someone with only limited knowledge of hacking, but real hackers roll their eyes.

- The Ending
I assumed this book was a typical thriller like James Patterson or Thomas Harris where the killer is unknown. I didn't realize it was supposed to be a mystery where the killer is one of the book's characters, and I was supposed to figure out who. When they revealed the killer as one of the characters already introduced, I was dumbfounded and disappointed. I mean, out of all the millions of people in the city, what are the odds the killer would turn out to be one of the twenty or so people in the novel? I know that's standard for mystery novels, but I wasn't expecting that in a novel billed as a thriller. I also found the revelation kind of ridiculous. Most of the clues the detectives spent weeks analyzing and pursuing ended up having almost nothing to do with finding the killer. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say the detective basically trips over the name of the real killer without relying on any of the research performed. Most of the clues didn't point to the real killer except in the vaguest sense. That means 90% of the novel could have been cut without affecting the resolution in any way.

When you put the good and the bad together, you get a novel that I would still recommend, but is held back by some major problems.

View all my reviews
"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

Shakespeare Officially Made a Co-Author on Three Plays

William Shakespeare is no stranger to controversy with scholars debating whether he wrote the plays under his name or whether he partnered with someone else. There's a whole Wikipedia section on the debate. Some claim Shakespeare didn't write any of his plays. While this has been a theory among only fringe scholars up until now, Oxford University Press has waded into the fight by announcing that its new edition of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare will credit Christopher Marlowe as a co-author on three of Shakespeare's plays.


Your next question might be "Who's Christopher Marlowe?" Christopher Marlowe was an English playwright, poet and translator, considered the foremost Elizabethan tragedian of his time. He was known to be great influence on William Shakespeare, who only came to become the top Elizabethan playwright after Marlowe's death.

Apparently, the decision that Marlowe co-wrote Shakespeare's Henry VI plays is based on new research and analysis. Obviously, this was a controversial decision, because Oxford University is the first major publishing house to name Marlowe as co-author on any of Shakespeare's plays. It certainly sheds new light and questions Shakespeare's fame.

What do you think of this decision? Let me know in the comments

[via NPR]

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"Little Green Men" #2 is Now Available

I told ya I wasn't gone. The second part of the three-part series Little Green Men, "Training Day" is now online at Amazon. Here's the summary:

Jeffrey Foster is the only thing standing between Earth and total destruction from the alien armada heading right for it. First, he'll need to go through training at the Planetary Savior School, but it won't be easy. If the training doesn't kill him, the alien food will. Meanwhile, the Empire of Xenon is scouring the Galaxy to hunt him down. Will Jeffrey graduate as a full Planetary Savior? Will the Empire get to Earth first? Will Jeffrey be able to keep from strangling his annoying squadmates? 

"Little Green Men" is a three-part series of 20,000 words each, and is the second in the "Flying Saucers" trilogy. Fans of Douglas Adams, Monty Python, and "Red Dwarf" will enjoy this new series. Download the next installment today!

If you missed the first part "Better Homes and Aliens," you can still get it for 99-cents.

"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

"The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson [Review]

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist is back, this time in pursuit of a ring of human traffickers who are forcing women into prostitution. An idealistic reporter approaches his magazine "Millennium" with a killer story. He and his girlfriend are planning to release a report on the sex crimes industry in Sweden. Not only will the report detail the horror of these crimes, it will also expose the identities of police officers, judges, and politicians involved. It will also discuss a mysterious figure known only as "Zala" who is the mastermind behind the operation. "Millennium" plans to publish an issue dedicated to it, as well as publish a book that will out the names. But before the book can be published, the authors are brutally murdered, and Salander is accused of the crime. The police are hunting her while Blomkvist tries to find the truth and clear her name.


This is a very different book from the first novel, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." "Tattoo" was a dark and twisted mystery, mainly set on a remote island, dealing with grisly murder. At times, it felt like a horror novel along the lines of "Red Dragon" or "Silence of the Lambs." Readers of "Dragon's Tattoo" will probably go into this looking for a taut and gripping mystery. That's not what they get. The killer is revealed earlier on, a blond giant with a resistance to pain. The only mystery is the identity of Zala, but it's not a mystery that the main characters are even pursuing for most of the novel. This novel is more of a traditional thriller.

The feel of "Fire" is also much different. Most of this novel takes place in the city of Stockholm. It doesn't have the claustrophobic horror of the first novel. There's more police procedure with a team of detectives trying to track down Salander. Along the way, they dig deeper into Salander's past while Salander and Blomkvist try to get one step ahead of them. We find out some of the trauma that led to her emotional problems, and also discover she has a shocking connection to the man behind the slavery ring. There's also some political intrigue as Blomkvist's investigation of Zala leads to a government conspiracy.

Most of the familiar characters from the last novel are here, including the return of Advokat Bjurman, who Salander tortured and tattooed in the last novel. It turns out he's dedicated himself to avenging himself on Salander. Unfortunately, his plans don't go as he expects.

This is a good novel, but not as good as "Dragon Tattoo." Besides the lack of mystery, there's also a lack of Salander, who was the big star of the last novel. She spends most of the novel hiding from the police. While her fugitive status should be a source of tension, it's not. In the early stages, she finds an apartment which she rents in another name that the police don't know about, so she's untraceable. No car chases, no close calls. She just sits in her apartment, surfing the Internet, eating frozen pizza, and reading about how people are chasing her. Though Salander isn't as involved in the story, her moments are dynamite. She does a lot of sleuthing with her hacker skills, trying to help Blomkvist and find Zala. There's also a scene where she faces down two huge bikers, and comes out a winner. But Blomkvist is clearly more the hero in this novel, and he's just not as interesting to me as Salander.

I would also argue this novel has a lot of the same flaws as "Dragon's Tattoo," which desperately needed editing. There's a similar lack of focus as the last one. While there aren't as many sandwiches in this novel, we do get an exhaustive amount of information about Apple computers, Swedish politics, police work, and geography. One particularly memorable section where Salander goes to an IKEA store reads like a catalog as the author details the name and model of every stick of furniture she buys. There's also a scene where one of the detectives meticulously sweeps the dead couple's apartment for clues, cataloguing everything in every drawer and every pocket of the clothes he finds. Interesting to a point, but way beyond what we need to know for the story.

The opening of the novel is also unnecessary, dealing with Salander traveling the world on the ill-gotten gains she stole in "Dragon Tattoo." We read about Salander lounging on the beach in the Caribbean, having an affair with an underage boy (but she's a woman, so it's okay), and her suspicions about the couple in the hotel room next door to her. That subplot about the couple leads to its own conclusion which never comes up again, making it more like a short story than an actual part of the novel. You could have cut that whole section out, sold it as a separate novella "The Girl With the Sunburned Tattoo," and it wouldn't have changed a thing.

There are also more chapters about how incredibly attractive Blomkvist is, including a whole subplot about how a new intern at "Millennium" is desperately trying to seduce him, which doesn't factor into the plot at all. Poor Blomkvist moans about how frustrating it is for a hot teenage girl to be banging on his front door at night. Yes, Mikael Bonkvist is in full effect. Pretty much any female in the story is either sleeping with him or wants to sleep with him. Since Blomkvist is clearly a stand-in for the author, a fun game is to replace "Mikael Blomkvist" with "Stieg Larsson" and it makes his gushing praise even more ridiculous.

Let's also mention that Salander gets breast implants, which a lot of readers who enjoyed the feminist theme of the first novel found upsetting. It's a controversial move, but not surprising. Larsson was so focused on her small breasts in the last novel that it seems he simply couldn't handle writing another novel about a woman who doesn't have huge boobs. Certainly all the other women in the novel do.

The novel ends with a cliffhanger, leading to the third novel. But this book is still worth reading, even with its flaws.

View all my reviews

My parody novel, "The Girl Who Played With the Dragon Tattoo's Nest" is only 99-cents! Get it while it's cold!

Professor Accuses Latina College Student of Plagiarism Because of "Hence"

Via Tiffany Martinez

A young woman attending Suffolk University in Boston got a shock when her paper was returned by her professor. Not because she got a bad grade, but the reason why and how. On her blog, she explained:

This morning, my professor handed me back a paper (a literature review) in front of my entire class and exclaimed “this is not your language.” On the top of the page they wrote in blue ink: “Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste.” The period was included. They assumed that the work I turned in was not my own. My professor did not ask me if it was my language, instead they immediately blamed me in front of peers. On the second page the professor circled the word “hence” and wrote in between the typed lines “This is not your word.” The word “not” was underlined. Twice. My professor assumed someone like me would never use language like that. As I stood in the front of the class while a professor challenged my intelligence I could just imagine them reading my paper in their home thinking could someone like her write something like this?

When she says "someone like me," she means that she's Latina.


For background in her post, Tiffany Martínez explained she's a McNair Fellow and student scholar. She's presented at national conferences in San Francisco, San Diego, and Miami. She crafted a critical reflection piece that was published in a peer-reviewed journal managed by the Pell Institute for the Study of Higher Education and Council for Opportunity in Education. She's consistently juggled at least two jobs and maintained the status of a full-time student and Dean’s list recipient since her first year at Suffolk University. She also used this past summer to supervise a teen girls empower program and craft a thirty page intensive research project funded by the federal government.

But to her professor, she couldn't possibly be bright enough to use the word "hence."  It’s patently offensive that a professor would dismiss an entire work as plagiarism simply because she used the word “hence.” While I agree it’s not a common word, it’s not proof of plagiarism. Just an elevated style of writing.

This really bothers me for personal reasons. My African-American mother, who was a valedictorian at her school, a published author, and was a Certified Public Accountant for many years, went to get a loan to start her own accounting business. She wrote up a professional business plan, put it in a binder, and submitted it to the loan officer.

The officer took one look at it, laughed, and said my mother didn’t write it. My mother continued to insist that she did write it, but the officer just kept laughing and threw it back onto the desk. She wouldn’t even look at it. Because of course, an African-American woman could never write a business plan on her own.

Know this sort of thing happens all the time, where people put minorities into boxes and won’t even accept their attempts to rise above them.

Also, as a graduate who earned a bachelor's degree from ASU, I'm offended by the blatant breach of procedure. I took the liberty of checking Suffolk Universities’ ethics policy, where it says: “A faculty member suspecting academic misconduct will contact the student using the Suffolk email address to schedule a meeting and will make all effort to do so within five business days of detecting the incident. During the meeting, the faculty member will present the documentation that led to suspected academic misconduct. If the faculty member reaches the conclusion that academic misconduct has occurred, he or she may impose limited sanctions that are meant to acknowledge the behavior in the context of providing remediation and addressing skill development.” [emphasis mine]

Clearly, her professor did not do this. If he or she suspected cheating, the professor needed to provide proof, specifically the writing that was copied. It’s impossible to prove something in the negative. In this case, the professor is making Tiffany prove that she didn’t cheat, which isn’t possible. What is she supposed to do, submit the entire body of the world’s written work to prove she didn’t copy it?

Sadly, the comments on the author's blog reflect the world at large with comments like:

Another Whiny latino playing the fake race card when she doesnt [sic] agree with the truth!!! You are whats wrong with the world,and also a horrible person! 

Get over it! Nobody uses the word “hence” stop playing the race card you lazy brat

Hope you get kicked out of school for plagiarism. Playing the race card to get out of trouble, what a douche bag you are!

And those are just the three most recent. With an attitude like that, no wonder she's struggling.

I wish Tiffany well in her studies. Her hard work is an inspiration.

[Via Cosmopolitan via Buzzfeed]

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Bob Dylan Won the 2016 Nobel Prize For Literature

The definition of "literature" is a broad one, and one that's been contested many times. But the term "literature" has been stretched further by the Nobel Prize committee, because they awarded Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016.

As you probably already know, Bob Dylan's life's work is as a writer of music, not as a writer of literature. He's been influential in popular music for more than five decades, and is known most for his songs in the 1960s like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'." Those songs became anthems for the American civil rights and anti-war movements.

According to the press release, the prize was awarded to Bob Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Essentially, the committee is arguing that his lyrics constitute a body of literature. It's the first time a musician has won the prize.

Whether music can be considered great literature, and whether Dylan deserves a Nobel Prize for his work, has become a topic of hot debate since the announcement. There have been arguments for and against the prize, and I personally don't want to weigh into it. I'm not a fan of Dylan specifically or pop music in general, so I don't feel qualified to comment on it. I also don't care for most writing held up as "literature," but that's just my opinion. But I'm sure the Nobel Prize committee made this choice as a statement to argue that music can be defined as literature.

What I've found most interesting is Dylan's response to the announcement, which is nothing. He hasn't commented on it publicly, and even removed mention of it from his website. So it seems like Dylan might not be too crazy about the prize either. One Nobel academy member publicly called him "impolite" and "arrogant" for the lack of a response, but what did they expect? He's been critical of all the awards he's gotten in his career. He's a loner, man. A rebel! Or he's just crazy. If they wanted gushing thanks and excitement, they should have awarded it to Taylor Swift.

What do you think? Should Dylan have gotten a Nobel prize? Is music literature?

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Image Source: By Alberto Cabello from Vitoria Gasteiz - Bob Dylan, CC BY 2.0, Link

The Most Feared Books of All Time [Infographic]

Works of art have always been met with harsh criticism. If a book is deemed controversial, it can be challenged, and if that challenge is successful, it can be banned. Books ranging from The Bible and “The Communist Manifesto” all the way to seemingly innocent stories like “Green Eggs and Ham” and the “Harry Potter” series have been met with challenges, or even been banned. Readers.com put together a list of the most feared books of all time in the infographic below.

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"Neuromancer" by William Gibson [Review]

Neuromancer by William Gibson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Neuromancer" is the classic novel that kickstarted the cyberpunk genre. It didn't invent cyberpunk, but it certainly set the tone for all the novels and movies that followed.

The novel is pretty much what we all thought computers would be like in 2016. Instead of clumsy keyboards and screens, users plug computers directly into their brains. "Neuromancer" tells the story of Case, a hacker who navigates cyberspace, a virtual reality representing all the computer networks of the world. After getting his hacking ability surgically removed by a double-cross, he jumps at the chance to recover his lost ability and pull off a new and dangerous job. But he soon discovers that the people he's working for have a hidden agenda, and he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving an ancient and powerful family and an evolving artificial intelligence.


The greatest achievement of "Neuromancer" is how Gibson makes the future feel real with what he calls "super-specificity." In our modern world, we don't just drive cars. We drive a Honda or a Ford, and the type of car can tell us a lot about a character in a story. In the same way, Gibson uses brand names for any products they use, even if he has to make one up. If Case sees a holographic projector, it's not just a projector. It's a Braun holographic projector. Case doesn't just use a cyberspace deck, he uses a high-end Ono-Sendai Cyberspace 7. He doesn't just put on a spacesuit, it's a Sanyo suit. Details like this help flesh out the story, and make it deeper.

Gibson also pioneered a style that moved against the typical portrayal of the future as sleek, clean, and miraculous. In Gibson's world, futuristic technology can be broken, grimy, cheap, and malfunctions, just like in our world. A character with a cybernetic arm has a "Russian military prosthesis, a seven-function force-feedback manipulator, cased in grubby pink plastic." Molly relishes a steak made from a living animal instead of "vat grown."

Gibson's prose is incredibly dense, poetic to the point of distraction. Sometimes, I have to read over his sentences a few times to translate his analogies and flowery text into real visuals. But I respect his love of words, and he often creates amazing sentences that bring the scene to life. Like: "Lifeless neon spelled out METRO HOLOGRAFIX in dusty capitals of glass tubing."

Unlike most science fiction, "Neuromancer's" future isn't just populated with white males. Case meets a variety of races from Japanese gangsters to space-bound Rastafarians. The beauty of the novel is how it takes us through a dizzying cross-section of the future. We travel from the seedy slums of Tokyo to the luxurious hotels of a space station. Istanbul, Japan, and other countries are all described so we can see an entire world with different cultures, not just the United States like most scifi novels.

Even Gibson himself mocked the outdated technology, like pay phones. But in a sense, we're living in the world Gibson imagined, where we can jump in and out of a digital reality at will, go anywhere virtually, and have any fact at our fingertips. The mistake Gibson made was imagining that accessing cyberspace would require brain implants and virtual reality. The cyberspace concept now feels dated and kind of cheesy. But even though the computer technology that caused such a stir in the eighties has faded in glamour, the rest of his world has become more vivid. Gibson described a world where things like weapons, genetic engineering, space travel, and body modification had reached new heights, and those still hold up. The overall conflict between security and those who would try to violate it still resonates.

Related: Why William Gibson Confuses Me

View all my reviews
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I'm Writing For ComicBookResources.com

I've joined a new team at Comic Book Resources, where I'll be writing lists and news articles. Here's a handful of the articles I've written.

"Surge Order" Sends Fans on a Comic-con Scavenger Hunt For Rare Comics
New "Star Trek Beyond" Clip Sees Scotty's Introduction to Jaylah
Report: "Divergent" Finale Could Move to TV, Spawn Spinoff Series

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