Buyer Beware!
Cyber pirating is a serious crime against the artist, the reader and society at
large. Luckily, we have some really great tips on how to safeguard against
cyber pirating from paralegal and author Raquel Zepeda Fitzgerald. And, she’s
even written a fun, imaginative novel, TORRENT TRAGEDY, about a cyber pirate
who gets just what he deserves. Luckily, The Latina Book Club is able to bring you an excerpt of this novel.
EXCERPT
By Raquel
Zepeda Fitzgerald
Next
morning around 10 a.m. Steve walks into his office to tell him about the surge
they just had in downloads of that new book. Right before Steve came in, he
heard a sound like something had been dropped into the urn sitting on his
credenza.
When
Steve looked at him he gasped and said what happen to your teeth?
What do
you mean?
Your
tooth, you’re missing a tooth,” he said.
“That’s
crazy.” But then he could feel that he was missing one front tooth.
Freddie
got on the phone immediately to his dentist’s office for an emergency
appointment. The next day his teeth looked fine, he’s was wearing a fake
temporary tooth.
At noon,
Steve ran into Freddie’s office telling him that they just had a surge of about
twenty downloads of the I Sorceress book. As he walked back to his desk, he
heard some noise coming from Frederick’s office like something hitting a metal
plate.
Frederick
could feel about twenty of his teeth being pulled out of his mouth all at once.
“That
sound!” he said to himself, “It’s the sound of my teeth in that urn!” He turned
around and tried to open it. But it would not budge. It just sat there like it
was glued to his credenza and the face of the man on it was laughing at him.
This
could not be true. Curses are not real. Sorceresses are not real. He decided to
let Steve go home early. He could not allow anyone to see him like this. He had
to read the book. Maybe he could send her an email. ###
Excerpt
printed with permission. All rights
reserved by author.
Book Summary: Evil genius Serge Michaels was
only 16 when he committed his first cybercrime. Later, he graduated to murder. With
the advent of e-books, Serge has a new playing field. When he pirates a new
book, I SORCERESS, the author sends him a cease and desist letter. When he
doesn’t comply, he receives a decorative urn from an unknown source, and soon
after he begins to lose body parts that end up in the urn. Cursed? Karma? Such
is the tragedy of Torrent, cyber pirate.
Order
your copy of TORRENT TRAGEDY by clicking here.
CYBER
PIRATING SAFETY TIPS
Q: Pirates have become romantic figures over
time. Is there anything romantic about Torrent Tragedy?
RAQUEL ZEPEDA FITZGERALD: No. There is nothing
romantic about Torrent Tragedy. Real pirates are not romantic. It’s simply a
story about an evil cyber genius who used his skill and anonymity to rob
people. Then he robbed a sorceress who cursed him. When I found seven sites
offering my books for a free download, I wrote this book. I was overwhelmed
with a passionate desire to find these pirates and torture them. So I did it in
writing. Three days later, I finished Torrent Tragedy.
Q: Do you believe in karma?
RAQUEL: Most definitely I do believe in karma.
Torrent Tragedy is about karma.
Q: Do you believe that "payback is a
bitch?"
RAQUEL: I believe that payback should be a bitch! Pirating
or stealing is a crime. People should be made to pay back what they stole.
Q: How can one protect themselves from a cyber
pirate?
RAQUEL: I just created a page on my website that
lists all of the authorized sellers for my works. I hope that will help. (http://bit.ly/2hfdTbV
) When you upload a book to a site like Amazon or Barnes and Noble, you are
given the choice to protect each download file. That would be the first thing.
Obtain a
copyright. It’s very easy. You just go to the copyright website where you can
file electronically for $35. When you find a website who is offering pirated
copies of your work, contact them with Cease and Desist email. You can also
send a hard copy, but the email should be sent immediately. When they claim
that they are not selling your product, even though it is as clear as day on
the url link you sent, prepare a DMCA notice. If they don’t respond to that,
send out tweets exposing that they are selling your pirated content. That
always works.
Never
place unique art whether it is actual art or copy, music, etc. on the cloud. If
you aren’t going to use your computer for more than an hour and it contains
original work, turn it off. It’s like closing the door to your home when you
leave.
You
should use a separate browser to do your banking. Use a service like Paypal to
purchase items online. There are many more things you can do. But the list is
too long. When Micro Soft is calling upon the authorities to make stricter laws
to fight cyber piracy, you know it is a serious problem.
This is
what I believe is the psychology behind pirating: Cyber piracy is the crime of
a coward because they don’t see their victims face to face. While the pirate
may believe he/she is anonymous, they are not. Like anything, there is always a
paper trail.
Another
serious problem is that people are under the impression that artists don’t have
to pay for food, clothing and shelter. Since we are creating drama, music, and
literature, we are just having fun. That is the assumption. People do not
realize that creating anything takes a lot of work. People do not associate art
with work. Therefore, it’s okay to steal it. That is their justification. This
justification opens the door to billions of dollars in pirated works. When
these pirates start going to prison, it will change.###
About the Author: Raquel Zepeda Fitzgerald has authored several books. In 2005, she published her
first edition of THE EYE OF OSIRIS. MY BONE COLLECTION, a collection of
three short stories was published in 2011. In early 2013, “Buyer’s Remorse,” a
short story about getting away with murder was released. During the autumn of
2013, Raquel published a sequel to THE
EYE OF OSIRIS, OSIRIS - THE SECOND COMING. She has just published
Osiris 333, which completes the Osiris Trilogy Mystery Series. A guidebook
for this series is available. In addition to books, Raquel has also
published a collection of greeting cards known as Think Blots, Shrink Blotz,
and Luv Blots. Having held the position of CEO for many years, Raquel has
also had a career in business and legal administration. She currently
works as a paralegal in the corporate securities industry. Visit her at www.raquelzepedafitzgerald.com.
BEWARE OF
CYBER PIRATES
READ
LATINO!