Married At First Sight

Writers Beware! 

NDA's and Copyright will not protect you from these predatory networks and prodco's! There is no justice for people like me, hardworking talent fighting to make it. The laws favor and are created by powerful corporations who are out to steal your work.  They actually hire people whose only job is to troll the internet looking for shows to rip off.  Do not post your work on TV Writer's Vault! That's where my show was stolen!  That NDA is worthless!  Remove your work from TVWritersVault.com immediately before it gets ripped off!

A judge ruled to dismiss my case today because the law as it is written now does not protect writers of reality shows. It is ridiculous to say that copyright law does not protect reality shows because it is just an idea and ideas are public domain. I wrote a five-page treatment detailing every episode for an entire season, and they copied it, even the title!  They even used some of the same verbiage in promoting the show.  But, a treatment is not considered intellectual property.  They say a reality show is unscripted, but we all know that is not entirely true.  The way the law is written, this network could have admitted to acquiring my show and signing the NDA, but because they tweaked it and made a few minor changes, it is legal.

This just isn't right.  It is beyond unfair and unjust!  I have been robbed before, but it didn't hurt like this because I could count on the law to make it right.  Even though I was unable to recover what was stolen, the thieves were held accountable and punished, and I felt some vindication.  I don't like losing.  I hate losing my work, and I hate losing this case before it even began.  This was not a fair fight.  I will never get over this!

I am beyond devastated.  Don't know if I will ever recover. Meanwhile, they're making millions off my hard work while I struggle to survive.  I am literally on the verge of becoming homeless.  I just feel like giving up. You have no idea how hard I worked to come up with something original and good! And they just ripped it from me!

If I could find my inner warrior, I'd go to the Supreme Court and try to change this law.  It needs to be expanded to cover reality shows.  This is a new genre, so the law needs to be updated.  Just as in the case of the Internet as it relates to music, tv shows, and movies, the laws had to be expanded to protect these media from being illegally downloaded and sold.

Who's with me?  If there are any writers out there who have experienced something similar, holla at me.  Share your experience in the comments below.  I know there are many writers out there who, like me, didn't even get the chance to fight for their rights in court, getting cut off at the knees by gutless judges who sided with these shady networks by granting their motions to dismiss!  Or unable to even file a lawsuit because they could not afford an attorney.  Just like anything else, nothing changes until people stand together and fight injustice!  I  can't do this alone.

Read the TMZ article that picked up my story when I filed the lawsuit several months ago...

 http://www.tmz.com/2014/12/18/married-at-first-sight-lawsuit-stole-idea/

Is there a support group for victims of copyright infringement?  Sign me up!

7 Lucys Excerpt

Here's a short excerpt from my new short story

"7 Lucys"

FREE on Amazon!

     Mondays were the worst.  I hated Mondays.  The job had always been boring, so mind-numbingly boring.  That is, until she showed up.  

     I was drawn to her for some reason.  Rolled over the maid’s foot tryin’ to get to the window.  I couldn’t take my eyes off her.  I wondered where she’d come from and what misfortune had brought her to motel hell.  She definitely didn’t fit in with all the low-lifes who frequented this place or the lost families who wandered in.  She was bright and clean and beautiful.   

     There she was unpacking her shiny car.  Corey must’ve checked her in when he was covering the front desk while I was fixing a toilet in one of the rooms.  I searched the sign-in book for her name….  

     Lucy.  She just signed it Lucy.  She wrote it in a funny way:  all in fancy cursive caps.

     That happens a lot around here.  People reluctant to give their real names, I mean.  Signing only their first name or using a fake name.  Corey’s policy is to look the other way.  “Beggars can’t be choosey!” as he would say.  In my mind, it isn’t always clear who the beggars are, us or them?  We get desperate for customers sometimes.  There are times when the motel is deserted, and we’re not sure if we can even keep the lights on.

     I wondered if Lucy was her real name.  Her yellow skirt fluttered around her shapely brown legs as she walked in and out of Room 27.  She was like a fresh summer breeze.  I didn’t usually go for brown chicks.  I say brown ‘cause from a distance, I couldn’t really tell what race she was.  She could have been Hispanic or African-American, wasn’t for sure then, and I’m still not for sure.  I’m not racist or anything.  I just can’t tell you if she was black or Hispanic or both.  It didn’t matter to me.  Pretty is pretty… and she was pretty.  I guess the truth of the matter is that I’ve always been too chicken shit to ask a girl out if she wasn’t white.  They seemed out of my league somehow.  That sounds stupid now that I’m putting it out there.  But, I suppose we all have stupid voices in our heads that talk us out of going for what we want, and this wheelchair doesn’t make it any easier for me....

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING... 

7 Lucys

CLICK HERE to download now!

Boone is a 35-year-old disabled Iraq vet.  He’s had some tough breaks, and he’s just going through the motions until the sweet release of death.  In this short story, he recalls the day that changed his whole outlook on life.  It was the day Lucy walked in to the motel he runs with his ex-military buddy.  He can’t figure out if she’s crazy with multiple personalities or if she’s a spy.  But, Boone’s encounter with Lucy sparks something inside him, and he will never be the same.  This is the calm before the storm.  Get a glimpse of Lucy before she wreaks havoc in the novel “Ripples”.

FREE Kindle Edition!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LGYBVMU