Comments on: AP News Picks Up Cassie Edwards Plagiarism Story and Gets Statement

By: Angela Dawn

Angela Dawn — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 07:09:35 +0000

Ya know what , I am really pissed!!Cassie is a wonderful woman who has captured people with such captivating stories as Savage Destiny , which by the way MY POETRY was in and her leading lady was named for me”ANgela Dawn” For anyone I dont give a damn who they are to say she is lifting her passages , GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR HIND END!!!!!I am a writer and hey guess what we tend to use terms and what not in more then one passage , that doesnt mean shit .YOu people need to get off of her like seriously.YOu jerks caused her to have a stroke , Hope you are happy!

By: pam

pam — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:13:28 +0000

who cares if she researches or get her ideas from others i have all of mrs edwards books i read them an keep them an read them again until she puts another one out, i love her books an i always will be a fan of hers an her romance indian books

By: Krys

Krys — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:45:49 +0000

I recently read several of her books and although she writes well, it comes off (to me) as her own work. Its was important for me to remember that I was reading a HISTORICAL romance novel and that information about culture and such does not come from CE’s head. All those passages she “lifted” are not highlighted, quoted and no where in the novel did she cite where her information came from. She didn’t even put in a comment saying something along the lines,” All historical and cultural information in this novel is reference.” Dan Brown did it for DaVinci Code and what a grand fiasco that novel caused.

I was raised on reading and I still read to this day. Reading helps me better understand the complexity of the society in which we live and how other people think. Whether it be fiction or non-fiction, it a different person’s thoughts, a different person’s outlook…

what better way for me to learn and grow? I speak for no one but myself when I say that to plagiarize is to create a chasm between the writer and the reader that should not exist. Edwards did not tell a little white lie. She didn’t steal a loaf of bread. No, she stole the works of other writers. She stole apart of who they are. Essentially, she made herself worth more than the writers she referenced by making them less important.

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:56:27 +0000

How could anybody in good conscience say theft of any kind is okay?

By: veinglory

veinglory — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:47:06 +0000

The big deal is not whether is affects readability (debatable) but whether it is theft (pretty well proven, as discussed above and in previous posts). Stealing from one’s colleagues is bad. No, really.

By: Lorie Reardon

Lorie Reardon — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:24:54 +0000

I cannot believe all the fuss over this with Cassie Edwards and her supposed plagiarism. Since when do people who read novels like Cassie’s bother to look for bibiliographies in the books (if they exist). I know I don’t and I have been reading this type of novel for 30 plus years. I read them for the characters, not for the research that the author did. If I want to know what the practices of Cheyenne people in the 1840s were then I will go to an historian’s book. Not a ROMANCE book. I read those for the romance and lets face it the soft porn. So grow up people and get a life.

By: Terry Stuart

Terry Stuart — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:13:23 +0000

Recently I read “Savage Trust” and I just finished reading “Shadow Bear”. Why are people so eager to jump on someone and blame them for something they think is wrong? They haven’t read the same books that I have read. I enjoyed both books so much. What I liked about them was the main characters, the action was what kept me reading more in both books. Ms. Edwards writes about Nature in a very beautiful way. She has a way of building the drama in her books to where you get caught up in what you read that you react by exclaiming feelings of joy or you can feel the danger that is coming. I thought the way that “Shadow Bear” ended was wonderful. I couldn’t help but smile as I read. Ms. Edwards used quotes from famous people and Scripture verses in “Shadow Bear” only to give an idea of what the chapters were about. When people write letters to family or friends and include words that they heard someone else say, as they write the letters, is that plaigirism? No, because many times words that we say are important to other people and by including their words in a letter (or in a book) we are sharing the same feeling of importance of the words to the person whom we are writing to. I give “Shadow Bear” the rating of 8 because it was a book that I really enjoyed reading and I have put it with the books that I want to keep so I can read it again sometime. People need to be careful what they say when they speak to someone, as they could twist something that is good into something very wrong, and by sharing it with others it turns into gossip and gossip hurts the person deeply sometimes that you are talking about. I know, because I had this done to me.

By: Loni Morgan

Loni Morgan — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:25:01 +0000

I have been reading Cassie Edwards books since I was 15 years old I love them and I will continue to buy and read them..I love her books! I support her fully and if you are one of her fans you will too..

By: Christine Camarda

Christine Camarda — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:39:14 +0000

I enjoy her books, and will to continue to read them.

By: Worderella Writes » Refresh Your Writing

Worderella Writes » Refresh Your Writing — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:53:28 +0000

[...] describe that park. Don’t take their idea as your own, of course, we don’t want another Cassie Edwards case on our hands, but allow their ideas, if imaginative enough, to spark a few of your [...]

By: Sheila Clover English

Sheila Clover English — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:45:48 +0000

Thank you Robin. I tried to find something on the RWA site about a standard procedure for listing resources, but was unsuccessful. I’m hopeful that someone who visits this site will be able to offer direction.
I totally agree that more open discussion would greatly benefit everyone as we move forward with, hopefully, resolution of this topic.
I have guidelines somewhere for listing resources from when I wrote for medical journals (in my past life). If I find that, I’ll share it here to see if there might be something we could use to create such a document for fiction writers.
It would bring about the proverbial “silver lining” if we could walk away with something concrete such as a document outlining procedures for listing resources for fiction novels.
I’m not sure if this is the correct venue for such brainstorming, but it has to start somewhere, right?

By: Robin

Robin — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:34:46 +0000

Ms. English: I think you make a lot of good points, especially about “what next?” As a reader, I don’t know whether the RWA has a page on its website outlining use and attribution standards. Maybe some of the authors who visit here can answer your questions regarding those. I do, however, think that there needs to be more open discussion of what readers and authors can reasonably expect these standards to be, because the sense I’ve gotten is that there’s not one agreed upon baseline standard, or even if there is an articulated standard, there’s no unified interpretation of it.

By: Sheila Clover English

Sheila Clover English — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:13:58 +0000

I think it is healthy to discuss issues of plagiarism and copyright infringement, whether you believe or do not believe that Mrs. Edwards is guilty. The more blogs and forums discussing this as a topic, the better.
But, what constructive outcome is coming from this?
Can anyone point me in the direction of where we can find instructions for authors on how to credit secondary sources? There may be such a document and I would greatly appreciate someone pointing it out to me for my own edification.
No doubt Cassie Edwards has been judged by a jury of her peers here online. I have no idea how the legalities of all of this will end, but she has certainly been punished by her online jury.
I’m not saying she deserves or does not deserve that, just stating it as a fact.
Mr. Briggs brings up a very good and obvious (at least to me) fact. What is legal and what is ethical don’t always coincide.
I own the trademark to the term “book trailer” and have for many years. When I trademarked it you couldn’t even find that term on Google. Now I get a lot of snark about it saying that you can’t trademark a common term. Well, it wasn’t common when I trademarked it. Legally, you can use it. Ethically, you stand on ground with Ms. Edwards. You can say what you want, but it doesn’t make it right.
The point is, online “ethics juries” need to be sure that they too have not fallen victim to such acts at ANY point. The convict can’t be the judge. It’s fine to voice your opinion on ethical issues such as these. We should, in fact, voice our opinions. But, be mindful to to your own mistakes in life, as you judge people by theirs.
What is the point of continuing to discuss this if no one is looking for a way to ensure it doesn’t happen in the future, or that authors are given clear guidelines on this topic. Will this only be over when Cassie Edwards is punished to the satisfaction of her peers?
I don’t know Mrs. Edwards. I don’t read her. But this topic is of great interest to me and I hope it is the catalyst to awareness of this topic and clear guidelines on how to credit secondary sources.

By: Mike Briggs

Mike Briggs — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:29:44 +0000

For those who don't believe it was plagiarism, you obviously don't know what that big word means. This is a textbook clear case. Plagiarism is not a legal construct (though it is indirectly tied to some legally actionable offenses), it's a moral construct. Stealing someone else's words, thoughts and work is grossly unethical, even if the work is no longer protected by copyright. If I try to pass "A Midsummer Night's Dream" off as my original work, it is unlikely that Billy Shakespear will arise from the dead to sue me, but that doesn't make me any less of a thief. Sherry Lewis, by not having even the miniscule vestige of moral integrity required to denounce an obvious case of plagarism, has effectively become complicit in the coverup. The publisher, far from taking the moral high ground, is doing a disturbingly-convincing job playing dumb. If a publishing company cannot understand the basic fundamentals of their profession, they're incompetent at best. It's politics as usual in modern America.

By: Jackie Barbosa

Jackie Barbosa — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:37:02 +0000

What slays me more than anything is Ms. Edwards’ apparent admission that she borrowed from some of her sources but did not believe she was obligated to credit them because she was writing historical romances and it isn’t “expected.” This outrages me on so many levels, I’m not sure where to begin in expressing my disgust.

As an author of historicals, I feel a strong obligation to credit any source I use verbatim in my work and even, in some cases, those I have altered substantially. In my current manuscript, I quote a passage from Ovid’s _Amores_. Because I didn’t have time to translate it myself (and because I doubt my 20-year-old Latin skills would be up to the task), I found a translation online and then reworked it into rhymed couplets. Even though my translation is no longer word-for-word that of the original version, I fully intend to credit the source in my author notes should the manuscript ever see publication.

Obviously, not all authors of historical romance feel similarly inclined to “borrow” without attribution.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:09:36 +0000

I don’t believe it was plagiarism. Just my opinion.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:17:09 +0000

There is no defense so of course some people are crying “mean girls” and “bullies”. The best defense is a good offense.

By: Devon

Devon — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:50:08 +0000

AP? CNN? Yowza!

The cynical part of me suspected that nothing was going to happen to Edwards, b/c what were they going to do? Pull all of her books? I’m disgusted though. I know middle schoolers who could paraphrase better. She cut and pasted. Changing a word or two does not equal paraphrasing.

Will they look at her books more closely in the future? Will CE learn how to incorporate her research better? It will be interesting to follow.

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:25:47 +0000

The story has been picked up by cnn.com now. I think that their hosting server has “curled up in the fetus position.”

By: che

che — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:25:03 +0000

Anyways…is it just me or is anyone else having a hard time getting on SB?