Plagiarist Alert
Recently Shock Totem received a story from one Richard Ridyard. It didn't take the slush reader long to recognise a Stephen King story under the superficial rewordings. Not a particularly obscure one either, it's "The Boogeyman" from Night Shift. K. Allen Wood, editor of Shock Totem, writes about it here, with examples of just how blatant the theft is.
If only this were a lone example. Unfortunately Mr. Ridyard has also ripped off a horror writer named Angel Zapata, and got the story published! And Zapata's net sleuthing uncovered more examples. Apparently Mr. Ridyard (AKA R.M. Valentine) has been busy stealing from the likes of Deborah Biancotti, James Woods, and... H.P. Lovecraft! Read all about it here.
Good news is, apparently most of the online venues Ridyard/Valentine has published in have now pulled his works.
Now, not only is all this clearly unethical, and illegal, it also strikes me as incredibly, stupendously stupid. I mean, honestly, trying to pass off the words of Stephen King as your own... to horror magazine editors and the horror-reading public? And he didn't think anyone would pick up on this?
Count me astounded.
If only this were a lone example. Unfortunately Mr. Ridyard has also ripped off a horror writer named Angel Zapata, and got the story published! And Zapata's net sleuthing uncovered more examples. Apparently Mr. Ridyard (AKA R.M. Valentine) has been busy stealing from the likes of Deborah Biancotti, James Woods, and... H.P. Lovecraft! Read all about it here.
Good news is, apparently most of the online venues Ridyard/Valentine has published in have now pulled his works.
Now, not only is all this clearly unethical, and illegal, it also strikes me as incredibly, stupendously stupid. I mean, honestly, trying to pass off the words of Stephen King as your own... to horror magazine editors and the horror-reading public? And he didn't think anyone would pick up on this?
Count me astounded.