Artistry Interview at Books for a Delicate Eternity
Chiara recently interviewed me for her Artistry feature. She likes to spotlight artists and creatives and approached me due to my photography. I had the honour of sharing some of my photos, both bookish and general. Aside from showcasing my photos, I also got to talk a little about my photography journey.
Corinne Catlin Scam
Beginning of the week Jon @ Bookish Antics wrote an exposé, BEWARE: Catfished By A Fake Penguin Employee. Publishers Weekly later picked up on the story. Corinne Rosanna Catlin (who also goes by her author name Christine Catlin) contacted several bloggers claiming to be a publicity assistant from Penguin Random House. Turns out it was an elaborate ploy to get her own book into the hands of reviewers.
Truth be told, I too fell for it though with some reservations. I thought it somewhat odd that she cited her private email address as the primary one when she was representing a company such as Penguin Random House. Figured there had to be some sort of protocol for official correspondence when she emailed me last month. I even told my dad about how weird it seemed someone from PRH of all companies should represent themselves that way.
However, she did use append her @penguingrandomhouse.com email address. In the end I used that email address to contact her, deliberately ignoring her private email address. She replied my email with her private email address but cut out the official PRH from her response. She didn’t even add it in CC. On one had, it seemed even more odd since I had already emailed her at the “official” address. On the other hand, I’ve had legit work contacts in the past who did exactly that. And since she did have access to an official company email address, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Thankfully the damages for me aren’t as drastic as for some others. Yes, I did give her a mailing address but it was a proxy address. PO boxes where I live are almost impossible to get due to limited availability versus the demand. I’ve been on the waitlist for almost a year already. To bridge the gap, I applied for a proxy address from my local post office and that’s the address that I gave Corinne.
Still, even if my own safety has not been compromised, my trust has. Some of you might remember the Kathleen Hale stalking debacle from October 2014. Now Corinne Catlin happened. It’s particularly disheartening because these were directed at the YA blogging community. This segment of the book blogosphere consists of a lot of minors. Safety becomes an even bigger concern when minors are involved. Thankfully she didn’t end up stalking anyone, though she did harass Jon for his phone number.
This case hasn’t been closed yet. Rumours abound as whether or not Corinne Catlin used to be an employee or intern at PRH. According to a company spokesperson, it seemed like she had never been employed there before but they are investigating. Hopefully we’ll have answers soon.
Stay Safe
The past week has once again been a reminder of how important it is to stay safe on the Internet. As wonderful as most people are in the online YA book community, there will always be those black sheep who try to abuse this. Here are some reminders from me:
- If possible use a P.O. Box or proxy address.
- Do a background check. Contact the publisher independently to ascertain employment status if things seem off.
- Practice bookstagram safety as well. Make sure you don’t accidentally share your home address on Instagram. Here’s how.
Food
Homebaked bread for breakfast
This week I baked bread for the family. I think I should make a habit out of it. There’re no good bakeries anywhere near where I live, so homebred bread trumps all. I just keep forgetting to plan ahead since bread dough needs a lot of time to rise, rest and prove before it can be baked.
Around the Blogosphere
Projects
- Jessica @ Bookish Serendipity updated about Operation Every Child, a project she launched to raise funds and donate books to a women’s shelter.
Books
- Laura @ Boats against the Current considered the pros and cons of book recommendations.
- Emily @ Loony Litrate identified 12 more places to put your books. All in good fun, guys. Bookshelves still are the most ideal.
- Nemo @ The Moonlight Library wondered if she is becoming too picky with her book choices.
- Alex @ Fiery Reads wondered why do we love to hate love triangles.
- Cait @ Paper Fury teamed up with fellow bloggers to predict 2016 YA genre trends.
Ebooks
- Jess @ Princessice of Books outlined 8 reasons e-readers are amazing. I absolutely love the way she noted pros and whom each point appeals to, and I wholeheartedly agree with her about everything, including #TeamPaperback.
Genres
- Cilla @ Paved With Books talked about what makes a great retelling.
- Sarah Clare @ Behind on Books took a look at the language and themes of YA.
- Kate @ Read and Dream talked about classics — such as her love-hate relationship, the prestige and its position in literature.
Reading
- Rachel @ Confessions of a Book Geek added up how much she spent on books last year.
- Maryam @ Imaginative Discussions weighed in on the book or movie first debate.
- SJ Bouquet @ A Tree Grows in Bookland gave tips on how to conquer the Goodreads reading challenge.
- Aneeqah @ My Not so Real Life struggles to stick to TBR plans.
- Valerie @ The Innocent Smiley shared 5 tips to remember details from books.
- Lauren @ Bookmark Lit explained why she joins and loves reading challenges.
- Silvara Wilde @ Fantasy of the Silver Dragon asked, how many books to you read at once?
Publishing
- Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books lamented about 3 bookish things that annoy her.
- Jessica @ Bookish Serendipity declared that book trailers aren’t her thing.
- Eva @ All Books Considered is concerned that authors are rushing to publish books too quickly.
Blogging
- Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight tackled things she thought we already knew about behaving in polite bookish society. She also tackled the Corinne Catlin’s catfishing besides plagiarism and proper behaviour.
- Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction is looking for suggestions on a system for replying to comments on older posts.
- Josephine @ Josie’s Book corner addressed ARC envy and how to deal with it.
- Alicia @ Kernels of Nonsense was another victim of Corinne Catlin’s catfishing.
- Kat @ Cuddlebuggery showed a glimpse of the difficulties of book blogging with anxiety and depression.
- Ashley @ Nose Graze made it clear that it’s not worth stressing over blogging when it’s a hobby.
Reviewing
- Aila @ Happy Indulgences talked about staying true to your heart and your ratings
- Harvey @ Bookmarked gave ideas on how to boost your book reviews. He mentioned some great approaches to mixing things up.
- Pamela @ A Writer’s Tales stopped reviewing every single book she reads.
I cannot imagine why someone would do that. Its true these are targeted at blogger minors.
I am disgusted at the cat fishing incident that happened recently. While I wasn’t targeted as a victim for the scam, my heart goes out to all who experienced it. It make me fearful for the safety of myself and everyone else in the YA book community over the internet.
And thank you for featuring my post! 😊
Wow, okay first of all– how have I not visited your blog before? It’s gorgeous! Your recap is so organized and I can tell that your writing is professional, yet easy to understand.
When I first heard about the fake publicist, I got really scared. Back when I first started blogging, I’d take review requests from indie authors. It’s not that I don’t like indie authors, in fact I’m in support of them, but it just meant I had to directly give them my address. Thinking about it now, I don’t think I would have done that. I guess my desperation clouded my judgement. I’m actually thinking about doing a crash course on Internet safety so I’ll definitely be citing your “Stay Safe on Bookstagram” article.
Even though that did happen, I found that the blogging community was closer now than ever, which means a lot.
I’ll definitely be checking out some of these other posts and I look forward to your future ones as well!
I love your round ups. :’) SO MUCH CLICKS TO CLICKITY CLICK. But also that whole debacle with that fake publicists is SCARY. I still can’t really believe she did that. Like she’s permanently burned…forever. And wasn’t she trying to get her book out there? How can you be so naive to think it’ll a) work and then b) that if it doesn’t work that people will forgive and forget? GAH. SUPER SCARY. It definitely makes me regret how easy it’d be to find my address (what with my etsy business and all) if someone wanted. D: What a way to start the year. :(
As a teenage blogger, online safety has always been a topic of priority, My parents are super protective, so when I was younger I was never allowed to open online accounts without their permission and was totally restricted from social media. That’s certainly an effective method t stay safe, but it’s far from ideal in this day and age, especially since I intend to pursue a career in communication.
It’s always been a struggle for me to figure out exactly how much is okay to reveal in the context of my blog. When I first started blogging during 10th grade, I went by “D” instead of my first name. But now I’m almost off to a university, and the lines are getting fuzzier. I’m still hesitant about posting any photos of my face, but I’m open about my age (mostly because I feel uncomfortable if the person I’m talking to isn’t aware that I’m still a teenager). I’ve given publishers my address before but only to contacts that have reached me via emails that I sent to the publishing department. Otherwise, I only accept ebooks.
I haven’t decided what I’ll do about my bookmail when I go to university yet. I’ll probably have to figure out how to get a proxy address. It seems like the most convenient option for someone whose mailing address may change every year or so.
I am always anxious about having an online presence and how easy it could be targeted or threatened.
I had a nasty run in with an indie author a couple years ago who continued to harass me even after NetGalley had stepped in after I complained. It was scary! They trolled all my social media accounts and had their friends harass me too.
The blogging community is so open and supportive and enthusiastic that it makes me so sad and angry when someone takes advantage of that.
I basically never give out my address if I can help it. Or my full name. My past experiences have unfortunately made me very wary of indie authors, especially those that have no track record. And that in itself makes me feel guilty and unsupportive. But i’m slowly getting my confidence back in this respect, but ultimately something was broken. It takes time to fix it.
Phew! I didn’t mean for that to be so wordy!!
Anyway, a really great post here. Thank you for putting together all these links, I’ve already opened a few tabs to check them out, and thank you for sharing your own thoughts and experiences.
And heyyy! You included me in those links! Thank you so much! It means a lot. :D