What happens when you ignore copyrights?

I recently attended a class on publishing books.  I found it very informative, and also troubling.  The teacher told of an author (sorry, I forgot the name) who had been able to get a book published and it was a smashing success.  When the second book came out, it was not nearly as successful.  So when she had her third book written, the publisher indicated that they were not interested because her second book had not sold.  She knew that something was wrong about it because her Twitter and other accounts had been very positive.  So, she began looking into it.

When books are first published there is a digital copy given to book reviewers so that they can give a review of the book.  Apparently, someone had the digital copy of the second book and her fans were getting that copy for free.  So, she changed the digital version so that it was not a complete book.  Her fans were really upset and wanted to know where they could get the entire book.

The moral of the story:  If you like someone's work, show your support and buy it.  Do not cheat them.  If you do, there may no longer be an option to enjoy the work of the author, music artist or movie company.

January 21, 2018

This week has been filled with tender mercies.  Facebook has a list of suggested friends for each of us.  Recently one of my dear friends, Lee, with whom I had lost touch, came up as having a facebook account.  I was thrilled and sent a message, but received no message in return.

As most of you know, Jim and I recently moved from our home in North Salt Lake to a  home in St. George.  In the course of doing that, I found an old rolodex file with a telephone number for Lee.  I could not bring myself to throw out the little card without putting the number in my phone.  I was certain that it was too old to still be a good number, but I guess I just wanted to remember her.

Then Jim and I went to the Temple on Wednesday.  We had planned on going Tuesday but I wasn't feeling great so we postponed to Wednesday.  While there, one of my other dear friends was in the same session.  I had also lost track of him.  He lives in Bountiful and we had lived in North Salt Lake, attending the same Temple for years, but we had never seen each other.  To see him and his lovely wife in the St. George Temple was such a sweet thing.  He doesn't live here and he and his wife were just here on a break from life.  I gave thanks for the little things that made it possible for us to connect.

So, when I left the Temple, there was a call showing to Lee.  I called the number and she answered.  It turns out that my phone called her while I was in the Temple.  She didn't recognize the number and there was no one there, so she almost blocked the number.  Fortunately she did not, and we were able to reconnect.  I did not make the original call to her, but I am grateful that someone did!

Those were not coincidences, but tender mercies.