Plagiarism - it's an ugly word and it's an ugly act. Though really, it's almost too nice of a word for what it is. Too complicated. What plagiarism really is, is theft, plain and simple. And when it happens to an author, when someone steals our work and claims it as their own, it hurts just as much as if someone came into our house and stole our most precious possession.

I was recently alerted by one of my readers that Golden Moon had been plagiarized. I went to read the story she referred me to and, sure enough, the author took word-for-word chunks of Golden Moon chapters 23, 25, 26 and 27 to create "her own" date for Jasper and Bella. That was upsetting and disappointing. Her reaction to my PM letting her know I knew of the infringement and asking her to take down and re-write the chapters was even more so. Although she ostensibly re-wrote the chapters, she still left large chunks of my text in, including the "Caleb" character from chapter 25 (whom she re-named, as if that made a difference). And when I PM'd her with a long list of passages that were copied directly, word for word, from my story, she replied that she might be willing to change some of her dialogue and dialogue only, if it didn't interfere with the gist of "her story." She then had the nerve to put up an AN saying that I plagarized an article her cousin wrote years ago. Really? What then is the explanation for the direct copy of the dialogue between characters that has absolutely nothing to do with sightseeing? I was dumbstruck by the audacity and nerve. Then again, hard to expect much else from someone who had no compunction about stealing in the first place.

I will report both the author and the story to fan fiction and I hope that they will help take the offending chapters off the site. Frankly, given how many changes I have given this person to voluntarily correct her "mistake," I feel a harsher punishment is required, but that's not my call. If, however, does not help me resolve this, then I guess I will have little choice but to remove GM from the site so that this kind of thing does not happen again. I have been very sad when I have seen other authors do this, though even then I thought I understood how they must feel. Sad to say, I really understand it now.

I know that most of this community is made up of honest people, and it is a shame that a few bad apples can spoil it for the rest of us. Needless to say, since the situation is still unresolved it leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. But I really want to say thank you to the reader who alerted me to the problem, as well as to other readers who mentioned Golden Moon in their reviews of the other story, telling the author they knew she was copying my story. I'm not going to say what the other story is and I'm not encouraging people to look for it and flame the author. the fanfiction.net authorities will either help me resolve this or not. But I did want you all to know what's going on. And while it had always been my intent to come back and write the sequels to Golden Moon, after this whole affair I'm not really sure if I want to post any more of my work here for free so that other people can steal it without compunction or apology. Hopefully after this is all over I will be able to get some distance and perspective and cool off, but right now, well, I'm not a happy writer.

Again, thanks to those readers who know what I'm talking about and who have supported me through this. I appreciate it!

Just a little about myself. I'm 37 and married.

My DH and I are total DINKS (dual income no kids) so we can indulge in more personal obsessions than most adults with other responsibilities. My current obsession is Twilight and Twilight fan-fiction. I adore Jasper in almost any characterization, hence my story is a Jasper/Bella story. I appreciate all feedback, so if you're reading Golden Moon, please leave a review! Thanks!

At some point, I will be posting certain Golden Moon chapters from Jasper's point of view. The winners in the reader poll were: Chapter 37 (My kind of Rain), Chapter 40 (Just Like Heaven), and Chapter 54 (It All Revolves Around You).

SEQUEL AND OUTTAKE UPDATE (10-13-10):

So first I promised a sequel by September 2009, then February 2010. Here it is, October 2010 and no sequel in sight. And, unfortunately, this time I do not even have an ETA, because I found that I cannot estimate the time to complete my other writing project with any sort of reliability. Basically, it turned out to be a lot longer and more time consuming than I ever thought possible. And short of cloning me, there's really nothing anyone can do to speed up the process. All I can say at this point is that the hiatus is going to be a lot longer. The two sequels are outlined and I do plan to write them some day - I simply cannot say, at this point, when. I really apologize for the delay.

GOLDEN MOON VIDEO TRAILER:

The amazing breenieweenie has created a video trailer for Golden Moon. It's totally awesome! To see it go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOw9uqzKzio

And also be sure to check out her other trailers for various Harry Potter fan fics featuring the Hermione/Draco pairing. They're all really fantastic! You can find links in her profile: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/889262/

AWARDS:

Golden Moon was the winner in the category "Best Non-Canon Couple" at the Cullen Clan Awards, June 2009.
Thank you to everyone who voted!
You can find more information at http:///

Golden Moon was Runner Up for the Edward Award for Best Romance at the Cullen Awards, May 2009.
A huge thanks to everyone who voted!
You can find more information at http:///

Golden Moon Playlist:

For those of you reading Golden Moon, you know I often use songs in the story. If you'd like to hear them, here are the links I was able to find. Please note, I'm not necessarily recommending the videos -- just the songs.

Concrete Blond, Lullabye from chapter 13

Suzanne Vega, Language from chapter 14 (I couldn't find the original on line, but this children's choir cover is really pretty)

Chris Isaac, Wicked Game from chapter 14 (great hot video!)

Ben Folds, Golden Slumbers from chapter 16

Sting, Sister Moon, from chapter 21

A-ha, We're Looking for the Whales, from the title of Chapter 23

Selena, I Could Fall in Love from chapters 23 and 28

Sting, Be still My Beating Heart from chapter 28

Madonna and Mandy Patinkin, What can you Lose from chapter 28 (this is a cover -- not quite as good as the original performers, but the lyrics are as Bella heard them in the story)

Aerosmith, I don't want to Miss a Thing from chapter 30

Book of Love, Lullaby from chapter 31 (this is a longer mix than on the original CD)

The Killers, Mr. Brightside from the title of Chapter 33

Norah Jones, The Nearness of You from the title of Chapter 34

Hellogoodbye, Here (In Your Arms) from the title of Chatper 35 (or if you prefer just the music and lyrics click here)

INXS, Never Tear us Apart from Chapter 35

A-ha, Cry Wolf from the title of Chapter 36

Gloria Gaynor, I will Survive from Chapter 36

Jonas Brothers, Just Friends from Chapter 36

Tim McGraw, She's my Kind of Rain from title of Chapter 37

Aimee Mann, Save Me from title of Chapter 38

Anything Box, Kiss of Love from Chapter 38

Culture Club, Love is Love from Chapter 39

Guys & Dolls, Sue Me form Chapter 39 (a scene from the movie with the one and only Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit)

The Cure, Just Like Heaven From Chapter 40

Ryan Shupe & the Rubber Band, Even Superman from title of chapter 41 (I put the link here because of the song. The video is from Star Wars so you can just ignore it, thought I actually really like it too)

David and the Citizens, The End from title of Chapter 42

Coldplay, Fix You from title of Chapter 43

Green Day, Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) from Chapter 44

Karen Ann, I'm Not Going Anywhere inspiration for Chapter 44 (for my favorite Karen Ann song which, unfortunately, doesn't fit the story, see this link to Sailor & Widow)

Sting, Mad About You inspiration for Chapter 44

Erasure, Run to the Sun from title of Chapter 45 (click here to see the lyrics)

The Police, Every Breath You Take from Chapter 46

Alan Parsons Project, Sirius from Chapter 46

Lil Bow Wow, Basketball from Chapter 46

Be Like Mike Gatorade Commercial from title of Chapter 47

Chumbawamba, Jacob's Ladder inspiration for Chapter 47

The Churchills, Sometimes Your Best Isn't Good Enough from title of Chapter 48

Duran Duran, Hungry Like the Wolf from title of Chapter 49

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Matador from title of Chapter 50

The English Beat, I Confess from title of Chapter 51

Ben Lee, No Room To Bleed from title of Chapter 52

Nickelback, Far Away from Chapter 53

Blue October, Calling You from Chapter 53

Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman, Come What May, from Chapter 54