tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post3168175484938950579..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Question: Defame and fortuneJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-629459106901183042013-10-24T06:37:27.484-04:002013-10-24T06:37:27.484-04:00All I can say is, when in doubt, exercise caution....All I can say is, when in doubt, exercise caution. Better to change a ton of stuff so that the reader never recognizes he/she is the basis for a character.Dr. Cheryl Carvajalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323455180953109460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-15654138937676460622013-10-24T00:51:03.464-04:002013-10-24T00:51:03.464-04:00The Red Hat Club . . . all those old biddies I'...The Red Hat Club . . . all those old biddies I've seen in red hats over the years . . . WHO KNEW!<br /><br />Seriously, that was stoopit. The AuthorHouse one was funny, but the other, just wow.<br /><br />My nemesis does get a nod in my WIP. But just a physical characteristic I mention in passing. My betas get it, but no one else would. <br /><br />"SuSu's" life story is amazing and shards of it could have been sprinkled through a dozen books. But what was done was just wrong and dumb.<br /><br />I had someone file a Bar complaint on me for "misuse of my power as an attorney to intimidate and mock him in such a way as to reduce his sales of [item] from 4.2 units per week to 1.75 units per week." The Bar response was "dude, whatever."<br /><br />TerriTerri Lynn Coophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07290316565247120848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-41890762723868331382013-10-23T21:26:46.229-04:002013-10-23T21:26:46.229-04:00This is a thing I worry about/don't worry abou...This is a thing I worry about/don't worry about. I need to get published first for it to matter, amIright?<br /><br />But really. I can't imagine just putting not-my life story in a novel with a few other add-ons and calling it fiction, with the assumption that the real life inspiration wouldn't notice. Especially if she was my friend and lived nearby, which means she felt socially obligated to read the book (in the case of the Smith case).Jennifer R. Donohuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363886899308588391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-73608415660714840692013-10-23T17:52:58.043-04:002013-10-23T17:52:58.043-04:00@Calorie Bombshell, check out the EXODUS case agai...@Calorie Bombshell, check out the EXODUS case against Leon Uris, one of the master story tellers of the last century. In the book he mentioned a Polish physician by name (real name) who worked in a Nazi concentration camp during WW2. Whether the doc was guilty of anything or whether he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, I am unable to say. Apparently Uris blamed him for being in the camp, and the doc took umbrage at being mentioned in the book. His behavior after the end of the war was admirable in the extreme and he was honored by the British government. Using Britain’s peculiar Chancery laws, which are designed to give the rich a weapon against the poor, the doc sued Uris for libel. The jury found in favor of the doc and granted him an award in the sum of the lowest coin of the realm, one halfpenny. They also directed that he pay court costs and attorney’s fees for both sides. Talking about a Pyrrhic victory! Uris not only paid nothing but used the incident as the basis for a riveting bestseller that became the basis for an Emmy winning TV movie, QB VII. Very fine book, by the way.Steve Stubbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13421775912951050610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-43825774123824888012013-10-23T16:14:31.532-04:002013-10-23T16:14:31.532-04:00This is one reason why I write fantasy. Dragons ne...This is one reason why I write fantasy. Dragons never sue. They just flambe you.Elissa Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10727748060605823895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-609132211102841672013-10-23T15:51:49.365-04:002013-10-23T15:51:49.365-04:00Stewart won her defamation case against Haywood Sm...Stewart won her defamation case against Haywood Smith and St. Martin's Press (among others). However, the jury awarded her a pittance. In the final analysis, Stewart probably spent much more than that litigating her case. Calorie Bombshellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18039655088542854847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-58557399486849120972013-10-23T15:28:01.457-04:002013-10-23T15:28:01.457-04:00Whoa! Well, I am going to tell everyone I know who...Whoa! Well, I am going to tell everyone I know who is writing a book defamatory of Brandewyne to libel someone dead, like Napoleon, instead. If she would sue a beloved ex husband, she would sue – well I’d better be cautious and nor speculate about what she would do. Least said, soonest mended, you know.<br /><br />But I can’t help wondering what would have happened if the fake bomb the libelous ex-husband allegedly planted in front of his house and blamed on Brandweyne had gone off and blown the facade off his house. Or, worse yet, what would have happened had his divorce judge granted him a fake divorce and they were unwittingly still married. This story has lots of possibilities.Steve Stubbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13421775912951050610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-72107229783204304142013-10-23T13:24:58.171-04:002013-10-23T13:24:58.171-04:00Betty Smith was sued by her cousin Sadie Grandner ...Betty Smith was sued by her cousin Sadie Grandner for $250,000 for basing the character Sissy on her in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. (They settled for $1,500.)Stephen Parrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16883165490847664389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-19495297913222776182013-10-23T09:15:41.166-04:002013-10-23T09:15:41.166-04:00I laughed so hard when I read about the "tiny...I laughed so hard when I read about the "tiny penis" in Bird By Bird. But Lamott was a being whimsical there and didn't intend it to be one's sum total defense against libel. In fact, she does suggest drastically changing any character you base on a real-life character.Jane Lebakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00851954297667846546noreply@blogger.com