They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but to me, this one is only worth two: Fuck You. Tina Engler is saying "fuck you" to all of the EC authors who put their time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears into writing their stories - stories that they are NOT getting paid for. She's saying "fuck you" to all the EC editors who took the time to read these stories and correct any grammatical errors or storyline inconsistencies, who helped polish and make these works of fiction the best they could possibly be and then were let go without getting paid for their services. She's saying "fuck you" to all the EC artists who wracked their brains trying to mesh their artistic view with the author's vision of what the cover of their book should look like; who were then let go without being paid. Tina Engler is saying "fuck you" to all the readers who are unaware of what is going on behind the scenes. Those who, in an effort to support their favorite authors, unintentionally end up buying books that were written, edited, and illustrated by hard working and talented folks who will NEVER see a CENT of what you paid for it. Instead, it'll go into Tina Engler's pocket where she'll spend it on her fancy house, or fancy car, or her expensive shopping sprees. All the while these same authors, cover artists, and editors, who are the ones that actually did the work and deserve the money, are struggling to pay their RENT. They're getting shut off notices from utilities and eviction notices from their landlords but Tina Engler couldn't care less.
She refuses to pay that which she owes. She refuses to return the rights of all of those books back to the authors. Instead, she's just going about her day - she still has the Ellora's Cave site up and running, is still collecting money from purchases, and is still going ahead with her Romanticon event. Why? Because money is still coming in. Because she hides behind the power of Ellora's Cave. Because she thinks she can bully all of her victims into keeping quiet by threatening to sue them.
Thankfully, some of the authors are still taking a stand and speaking out against the injustice. Authors such as Cat Grant, Avril Ashton, and India Masters have mentioned their ongoing stress about lack of payment and the piss-poor excuses they get if they're lucky enough to get a reply.
This blog post is written to make people aware of what is going on. This is a time where the reading/writing community needs to band together and spread the word. Stop funding this thieving con artist! Let every one know that Ellora's Cave and its founders are trash. Share this blog post, or any similar posts by one of the EC authors. Or write your own post! It doesn't matter how the word gets around, as long as it gets around. STOP BUYING BOOKS PUBLISHED BY ELLORA'S CAVE.
If you want more dirty details about Ellora's Cave and all that is going on, read this post by Dear Author. She really dug deep and it is very informative!
And in an effort to make sure people spread the word (or at least share this post), I am going to give away one of Cat Grant's NON EC books, well three to be exact, The Courtland Chronicles Books One - Three boxed set Kindle edition. This will also serve as a way to support the author and make sure she gets paid for her work.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
