Before I dish the dirt and share the latest news that’s hot off the press, I would like to thank everybody for their huge support, responses, and shares in response to my last article. It’s very encouraging to know that we are a community, and all stick together 🙂
Okay…for those of you who’ve been following my column, I live in Tenerife, and we have a huge volcano here. So, the other week, I thought the frigging thing had erupted because our community was hit by nothing less than a tidal wave. It started off as a small rumour, that created ripples, but before long, it turned into a full-blown tsunami!
I’m struggling to contain my emotions and anger as I’m writing, but having learned what I have, I feel compelled to write about this. A true story that reeks of deception and evil—two things I have personally been subjected to. My fourth book Computer Lover is based on my own personal experience of almost being the victim of an internet scam, and I’ve since spoken to people who’ve actually been victims of an internet scam and parted with thousands of dollars. Not only has that left them financially broke, but also emotionally scarred. I speak to these people regularly, and we’ve shared our experiences and the trauma it caused us. By doing that, we’ve formed a bond, and it grows stronger every day. And this little story is no different.
Right, so many of our community were friends with a person on social media that we learned to trust, love, and enjoy their virtual company. This person presented themselves as a man. I won’t name names (I make it my policy not to), but watch out for an author who has the initials BR who writes in the M/M genre.
Then a very astute and brave person outed them as being a woman. Okay, so that’s when the ripples started. We were all in shock, and whether it was self-denial or lack of trust in the person who outed them, we were very reluctant to accept their accusation.
Ha! Now we all thank that person because other people started to speak out about the identity of this BR.
I made a point of keeping track of what was being said, and all the speculation (there’s a big private detective inside of me I’m sure J ). Anyway, I was getting messages from friends who’d been very close to BR and they were confused and distraught—as I was.
I did my best to pacify the situation, and commented that until all the facts came out, I wouldn’t be judgmental…and I maintained my stance…until…social media exploded! Gees, I was seeing so much evidence to convict BR my pendulum was swaying heavily, and it was very much against BR. Then I looked at their website and reminded myself that they have participated in our community spirit by featuring me as a recommended author (as they were featured on mine and other author’s websites.) So, yeah, I was thrown into a state of confusion, and the pendulum swayed back to neutral, and my inner instincts told me to just wait.
That was hard…because I had friends and great supporters sending me messages expressing their doubt and confusion. Seriously, like being hit by a tsunami, we were all thrown into a state of confusion that reduced some people to tears. Like me, they struggled to believe that somebody would lie about their identity, spend months, years, whatever, connecting with people and instilling trust in them, only to deceive them.
Okay, so I waited for the storm to calm…but it didn’t! Suddenly the reality of the situation started to emerge. You can’t hide smoke, no more than you can stop maggots crawling out of a rotting carcass. The truth will eventually come out, no matter how hard you to try to conceal it!
I could write a book about this, but I’ll cut to the chase. The next thing we hear is that BR has had a heart attack, induced by all the pressure from the haters. Right, so we all feel sorry and worry…we all questioned ourselves about what we’ve said and the actions we’ve taken…but there were those that were not convinced.
I was still in doubt and wanted to believe that BR was who he claimed to be, along with some others, but then we get an update on the situation. A message on social media from Byron’s ghost and lost spirit:
“You wanted him gone? Well, you got your way. He died in my arms yesterday morning. He won’t bother you anymore…Your hateful words did their job and broke his heart. I just hope my heart can take this pain.”
This post was accompanied with ID that was supposedly from BR: Driving license, college pass, etc. but with all the names blacked out, and the photos on the passes looked nothing like the BR we all related to. (I’ve since been told she went to the extreme of manipulating a photo of Kevin Spacey that was flying around on the internet to create the photo on her BR profile because people had commented that she looked like him.) Erm. So, now I’m concerned and very suspicious…
This provoked a reaction, and I quote some of the most memorable responses:
- The end of BR, but this person will no doubt come back in a different guise so be wary.
- What? Can her husband now write in proper sentences and in English? Does she think we’re all stupid?
- I suppose we’ll have funeral pictures next?
- This is truly disgusting. What is wrong with her? She needs serious help.
- If it happened yesterday morning, why was their account active and liking pages today?
- Because he/she is a massive thunder **** and has no heart, morals, or soul. She is a demon from Hell.
Okay, so I see all this, but I still didn’t have conclusive evidence. Then it came…
A good friend, and fellow author, who was extremely close to BR, and felt exceptionally deceived, exchanged a conversation with BR’s ghost via messenger. BR’s message was:
“What does it matter? You’ve chosen your path. I’ve chosen mine. If I want to die on FB…just let me. You don’t care. Why should I?”
The last comment I saw on this subject was “Messaging from the grave now. It doesn’t know when to stop.”
Okay, so I’m no Miss Marples or Poirot, but I have a Post Graduate qualification, so I like to convince myself that I’m not thick, no more than the people in our community are! As much as we all tried to believe in BR, in our minds, the evidence against them was conclusive.
So, that brings me on to why this woman would decide to do this? Yes, we all know that authors write under pen names, or pseudonyms, but to deceive fellow authors, and readers is to quote from a fellow author “despicable.” And in my mind, taking a false identity and persona way too far.
And to think this woman is a part-time teacher “specializing in psychology” — what the hell was she thinking? That, because she teaches psychology, she was smarter than us, and could get away with this? NO…we are smarter than that! Sorry, but I think she’s the one who needs to see a real psychologist because she is seriously sick to have tried to pull this stunt! Having been deceived in the past, I know how hurtful and painful it can be to discover that somebody isn’t the person you thought they were.
Having almost been the victim of an internet crime, this hit me as hard as any other person who has been a victim of internet fraud, and it sucks! I know people who had to endure the humiliation of going to the police, and it almost destroyed them because they felt so foolish.
The moral of this story is…don’t screw with “US.” Because…if you do…you’ll get screwed back in return!!! BR’s career as an author is currently…well, let’s see if you hear any more of her! But if you do hear from her in a different guise…be scared…be very scared! This is a woman who comes across as not being quite normal, yet teaches psychology. Be very scared folks…even if you’re not…I know there are people like this out there in cyberspace.
Happy reading, ha ha ha!!! LJ
My website: www.LJCollinsauthor.com
My Twitter: @LJauthor
My Publisher: http://www.extasybooks.com/men-in-love-and-at-war-1/
YouTube video for Computer Lover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUdACmtgKNA
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