Two years after her apparent suicide, the novelist has announced she is still very much alive. Is this what it takes to sell books nowadays?‘All publicity is good publicity,” Susan Meachen thought to herself as she prepared to stage her suicide. In September 2020, Meachen, the self-published author of what she described as “perfectly flawed” romance novels, logged on to Facebook, pretended to be her daughter and wrote a post declaring herself dead. Meachen’s “daughter” continued to post numerous times after that. She suggested that Meachen was “bullied in the book world to the point of suicide” and encouraged people to buy Meachen’s “final” book. Then, plot twist: last week, Meachen posted on Facebook again to declare that she wasn’t actually dead. Surprise! “Let the fun begin,” she added.My very first sentence, by the way, was – like Meachen’s death – part fiction. I have no idea what the romance writer was thinking when she offed herself online. Nobody does. But people have a lot of questions. Meachen has alluded to mental health problems, which should obviously be taken seriously – but that still wouldn’t excuse using your fake death to try to hawk books, as has been suggested in the days since she announced her resurrection. People in Meachen’s writing community are furious. “I think she believed that if she died, her books would get attention,” an author in Meachen’s writing circle told the BBC. “Now, this is a new gamble: ‘Hey, if I come back, that will get... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-01-11 07:00:12 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 09:04 Hodder thriller imprint Mulholland Books has acquired a fiction debut by "Saw" writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and author, screenwriter and illustrator Stephen Romano. Editor Ruth Tross bought British... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 15:47 Transworld/Bantam novelist Manda Scott has formed the Historical Writers Association as a forum for writers and to promote the genre. The internet-based group, which already boasts around 100 members including authors Simon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walter Zacharius emerged from the world of true-confession magazines and paperback genre fiction to found Kensington. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 05:36 The administrators of British Bookshops and Stationers will begin an online auction of non-book stock, including forklift trucks and office equipment, on Tuesday (8th March). Interested parties will be invited to view the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Laura Richards Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 14:59 Man Booker winner Howard Jacobson has dismissed social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, claiming both sites "will be the death of us". In an interview on Sky Arts' "The Book Show", The Finkler Question author confessed... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 15:50 The Orange New Writers Book of the Month promotion launches today [1st March] featuring Emma Henderson as the first writer to receive a month-long promotion in Waterstone's. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 15/02/2011 - 09:39 Indie publisher Salt has launched a digital imprint, Embrace Books, comprising four series of erotica and romance titles. Red Velvet is billed as "sexy, sophisticated romance", while After Dark is an "intense,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 16/02/2011 - 06:35 Independent publisher Myrmidon has bought world English language rights (excluding South Africa) to a novel shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize. Ed Handyside, publisher and founder, bought the rights to Trespass... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/02/2011 - 15:25 Accent Press imprint Xcite Books is launching a "one-stop shop" for romantic and erotic ebooks and audio formats. The site, www.erotica-romance-ebooks.com, will launch on 1st March and replaces Xcite's three current sites... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Meghan O'Rourke reported here last week, VIDA, an organization for women writers, has released a tally of male and female bylines for the 2010 run of 14 high-end, literary-oriented magazines. Despite a couple of relatively bright spots (the New York Times Book Review surprisingly being one),... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2011-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York City-based Dorchester Media LLC is fielding offers for the assets of its Lifestyle Entertainment Teen Magazine and Romance Groups. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Hodder Children's Books has acquired a teen paranormal romance trilogy, written by debut author and Random House adult fiction publicist Ruth Warburton. Senior editorial manager for fiction at Hodder Children's Sara O'Connor acquired world rights for a five-figure... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Nine HMV stores have shut their doors as the music retailer begins it's programme of closures. The HMV Group announced at the beginning of the year it would shut 40 HMV stores and 20 Waterstone's shops within 12 months in a bid to cut costs, and it has begun to close... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster requested that journalists and other writers not comment if asked whether they were responsible for the novel O, about a fictional 2012 presidential campaign. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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