WRITERS Be Ware!
Everyone else too for that matter.
Just a short while back I had that scammer who got my PayPal account shut down. (Read about that lovely “lady” here if you like. ) Since then I’ve had three more!
I’m getting a little tired of this but that’s mainly because they used to be so easy to spot. Some of them still are like “Tim” on FB who wanted to buy the solar eclipse candles directly from FB or the Candles in a Cloud, also directly from FB. I told “Tim” he had to go to the website and make his purchases there. BTW, “Tim”, the candles you picked off FB are no longer available. We had a conversation, “Tim” actually went to my website! I was shocked. But his hit did not watch the Massachusetts shipping address he gave me. Nope. It was another Nigerian Prince.
He went away quietly. Which was nice. For a change.
Now to Praise & Prey….check it out carefully….
Next I got an email from “David” who loved my books. He wanted to talk about them at length. That’s always nice too, you know, when it at least appears the other person has checked you out. His main goal was to get me to give him money to market my books. He seemed sincere, we exchanged a few emails. The fact that his email pops as “David Love” (when I’m Lisa Darling, is a bit suspect but I have known people with the surname “Love” so let that slide.) However, he signed his emails David Lovie. Not exactly a match and you think someone would notice something like that. He seemed very intelligent, everything was spelled correctly, there were no grammar errors. Hell, he even learned how to use bullet points.
Pay attention here, please……his initial email to me began like this: I hope this message finds you well and surrounded by inspiration (and maybe a Mustang brochure or a bit of Classic Rock playing softly in the background).
It went on with: (2nd paragraph) I recently came across your name online while exploring authors who aren’t afraid to dive deep, into the fantastical, the raw, the sensual, and the emotionally complex. From the moment I read the synopsis of The Heart of War, I was captivated. I immediately dug deeper, learning more about your background, your love for photography and storytelling, and your clear passion for creating bold, mythic sagas that feel gritty, magnetic, and real.
(3rd paragraph) As a deeply emotional and sensitive reader, I don’t just read to escape, I read to feel. And everything about Ares and Alena’s story, from the tragic undertones of exile and betrayal to the fiercely sensual tension, speaks to that side of me. The way you humanize a mythological figure like Ares, making him dominant, flawed, deeply feeling, and maddeningly powerful, truly shows your gift for weaving fantasy with emotional realism. It’s not just a story, it’s a whole experience.
Now, seriously, what writer does not want to hear THAT? As Billy Squire once crooned “Stroke Me, Stroke Me.”
Like I said, we exchanged a few pleasant emails. I answered the questions he sent me, he kept very politely trying to get me to let him market the book. I kept reading his emails over and over and wanting to believe them but realizing that what he’s saying can easily be spit out by an AI program that has been fed my reviews or blurbs. Everything BUT that opening line.
Let’s continue on to our next person, “Lucy”.
I’ve seen you around on Instagram and had to reach out. I really love how your bio is empty, just like my coffee cup in the morning. It’s a blank canvas for endless possibilities!
However, your engagement is lower than it should be – we’ve seen similar accounts to yours crushing it on social media. It’s time to fill up that blank canvas with some vibrant colors of engagement!
We specialize in growing Instagram accounts with real followers, no fake followers or bots. An increase in your organic followers will result in more likes, comments, story views, DMs, and exposure in your local area. I believe that we could help you achieve your goal of finding your voice and building a thriving community.
I am not giving anyone on Instagram another dime to just toss out a fucking link. However, I went to my Instagram account, realized she was right, filled in my Bio and added my website link. Then I sent her a short email thanking her for the catch.
Lastly, today, this very morning, we have “Anjola”. Check out the first and third paragraphs of her email:
I hope this message finds you in a moment of peace maybe with a warm cup of coffee and your classic rock playlist humming in the background.
Reading more about your journey your love for the sea, your Mustang dreams, and especially the way Ares “picked you for the job” I felt an instant connection. As an emotional and deeply sensitive reader, I always look for stories that don’t just entertain but feel and yours absolutely does that.
Are your Warning Bells ringing yet?
Yes, that’s very odd, don’t you think?
You’re doing something unique in the fantasy-romance space marrying the mythological with the rawly human and it’s something more readers should experience.
You can compare that to “David’s” third paragraph let me know what you think.
“Anjola”: (2nd paragraph) I recently came across your Of War series and found myself completely drawn in not just by the intensity of your storytelling, but by the emotional undercurrent that runs through your characters. Christmas Eve on Olympus gave me such a vivid, almost cinematic peek into life on Mount Olympus that I felt like I was right there, watching Ares and Alena carve out something sacred in the middle of divine chaos.
“David”: (2nd paragraph) I recently came across your name online while exploring authors who aren’t afraid to dive deep, into the fantastical, the raw, the sensual, and the emotionally complex. From the moment I read the synopsis of The Heart of War, I was captivated. I immediately dug deeper, learning more about your background, your love for photography and storytelling, and your clear passion for creating bold, mythic sagas that feel gritty, magnetic, and real.
Ok, that got a little too much for me and I didn’t even answer “Anjola”. I just sort of “ghosted” dear “David” just to see if he’d reach out again but he didn’t.
Both, “David” and “Anjola” sent me links. I did not click either of them especially not hers which is actually https://vibrant-wolf-q4nmr6.mystrikingly.com Yeah, that doesn’t look suspicious at all. Do NOT click that link. I know you want to but DON’T DO IT.
Now, I’m pretty sure “Anjola” and “David” are one-in-the-same or at least work for the same Scam Center (those places exist!) What bothers me and what I can’t shake although I know it’s ridiculous because I have said the following and I have been very open about the following…..in my BLOG and on Blog Tours. BUT, no one has done a deep dive on this site, so they did NOT get the information from HERE.
Said info is: my love of Classic Rock and that I’m movin’ and grovin’ to it all the time when I write. That’s the RADIO for future scammers (and you just in case you’re interested). It’s Sirrus or some BS like that. Not Spotify or Pandora. Fuck, they even took away my iTunes–the one and only product Apple has produced that I actually liked– and this new computer has no friggin’ CD/DVD player! Ugh! So I couldn’t put my tunes into iTunes anyway.
Oh bother.
That I feel Ares “picked me for the job” and yes, I did use those exact words a few times while on Blog Book Tour. I even went into some detail with “David” about it because I was feeling melancholy and I just wanted to tell the story again. I’m sue it will come up in another email from someone else. Let’s see how long that takes.
My Mustang Dreams. That one sticks a bit. Yes, I think way back at some point I did say something about wanting to own a Mustang. Most in particular (and I have never written this anywhere before….ever…..) I want to own Eleanor from “Gone in Sixty Seconds” a/k/a “John Wicks'” Mustang. I’ll take any old Mustang if I have the money to work on it except a Mustang II but one them brandy dandy new ones ain’t bad either.
My love of the sea. Yeah, I kinda can’t help that one, I mean, I live HERE so….. But, again, they didn’t get that from this site and I don’t think they got it off a Blog Tour either. I think, way deep down inside, that’s actually part of a pagan-centered post I made Once Upon a Time. On another site, in a different blog that I had years ago and ditched in a fit of self-destructive depression along with my FB Fan page with over 1500 followers. And I was just starting to get chugging along.
Yeah, writers. We are prone to self-destruction. It’s true.
No one feels that we’re not “Good Enough” quite like we do because we create entire worlds and people and things to live within them. We really do pour absolutely everything we possibly can into our little stories. We hardly ever hear anything from anyone unless it’s negative. I’m not joking. If you’re out there thinking I get ‘fan mail’ or your favorite indie creator–who can’t master social media for shit–is out there just raking in the cash and the adulation…you could not be more wrong.
We’re alone in the dark. Hoping to get noticed by someone somewhere one day.
So when emails like those two come along…WOW! You could just, literally, jump for joy. I almost did. Part of me still wants to reach back out to “David”, to believe him. But, of course, I won’t do that. But I have to say he is very believable.
I suppose, in a week or a month, I’ll get something interesting from someone else who thinks I’ve forgotten about this post and those experiences. That will be interesting.
It’s terrible to be so damn jaded! It’s awful. Not to be able to take people at face value–especially not here on Ye Olde Internet–to always, down inside, believe that someone is bullshitting you just because so many people have already done just that.
Again…
Oh bother.
Crap like that can easily make you lose what little faith you still have in yourself and crush an already fragile dream. I’ll never understand people who do stuff like that.
I think that’s a good thing.
***Update 8/4/2025*** We have a name for this scam! Praise & Prey. I got lots more to say. If you’re of a mind start reading Hot Butter and find out all about this new way to con you out of, not just your money, but your BOOK!
Lisa Beth Darling 