A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog article about how a Dr Paul Donna had stolen the blurb from my book, Tapestry Weaving: Design and Technique, and published a book of his own called Tepestry [sic] Weaving – The Pratical [sic] Guide to Quality Work (Weav [sic] Like An Expert).

https://joannesoroka.co.uk/scam-alert/

I had two unexpected responses to the blog.

On one Facebook forum, a correspondent said that this was a ‘scam of a scam’ – since in his considered estimation, it is not possible to learn tapestry from a book. Not that he had read my book. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course.

I also complained to Amazon, who said it was their policy to give my email address to the scammer, in case they wanted to dispute the claim. Amazon acted fairly swiftly to take down the offending material, but then I got an email from an Oghenero Kennedy, not Dr Paul Donna, with the subject line: Please Ms J Soroka, have mercy, I’m truly sorry

Dear Madam, 

Please, I wish to humbly apologize for the title “tapestry weaving” which I published on Amazon. Please ma, I’m deeply sorry, I got a mail from my Amazon today concerning the above title. Please ma, I’m deeply sorry, I’m just a novice who started publishing not quite, please ma, I’m just a young man trying hard to fed for himself and family, I only started publishing recently as a novice. Please ma, I’m deeply sorry, I promise to unpublish the title and also share any royalty earned on the title, no matter how small or big the amount earned might be. Please ma, I’m deeply and truly sorry, please ma, I’m deeply in pain as my kdp [Kindle Direct Publishing] account has been terminated, this means hunger for me and my entire family ????. Please ma, I’m ready to compensate you in any form, please ma, please forgive me and contact kdp on my behalf, please ma. Thank you very much ma, I’m really grateful.

Love the emoji!

Dr Paul Donna has disappeared from Amazon, but a book by Jensen Boyle, Tapestry Weaving Made Simple, includes some of the same text as the sample page of the one that stole my blurb. So any sympathy I might have had for the poor young man only trying to feed his family went out the window. Jensen Boyle is also the author of several books on a wide variety of subjects, just like his avatar, Dr Paul Donna, although not in comprehensible English.

Now I am awaiting the email from Oghenero Kennedy offering me a portion of millions of dollars, if only I give him all my bank details.