Just a quick note to wish everyone here in the U.S.A. a Happy Thanksgiving 2023.
As most of you know, it has not been a good year for my partner and me. Between her disease and me, an engineer, taking on the role of a full-time home caregiver has stressed the household too many limits. But that’s alright. She’s still with us and, hopefully, will be for several years to come.
Her neurologist informed us at our last appointment that there is no way to predict how much time she has left. Unlike other fatal diseases, they can chart no metrics on a timeline to approximate how long she has left. It could be six months, six years, and anything between and even longer.
But I am thankful she’s still with us, as her family is as well.
Have a happy Thanksgiving. Just be careful not to overdo it.
And if you’re not sharing it with a loved one, friend, or even an acquaintance, find something to do. Take a walk, go to the park, ride a bicycle, read a book, or do anything that interests you. And remember, I have many good books you can read, you can find most of them on Amazon. If you haven’t read one of my books, check them out. You might be surprised.
I think it is important to give you, my readers, a follow-up on Amazon banning Her Client. After I made my last on the subject, I received several comments from many of you, supporting my contention that Amazon made an error of judgement. I know of other books that are just as brutal and even more so. So why was my book singled out?
I continue to contend that Amazon’s increasing use of AI algorithms to decide these questions is the fault here.
In the old days, a human would review the newly published work and decide. With so many authors are uploading self-published work coupled with Amazon’s need to watch costs and the bottom line, did they move too aggressively into the world of AI? Did they tailor these algorithms to more PC rather than letting the author’s creativity take precedence?
Yes, my faithful readers. This morning, I received an email that Amazon banned Her Client, the first book in the ‘Her Client Series.’ I don’t get it. It initially published and offered for sale on Amazon eight years ago, but suddenly, they reviewed it and chose to ban it.
The same thing happened in September of 2021 when they banned the second book in the series, leaving 1 and 3 in place.
Why they suddenly decided to unpublish the book on me is unknown. Amazon claims it violates its “content guidelines for appropriateness.” Yet, I know it passed those guidelines at least twice when I first published it and again a year later. I don’t remember exactly when the second review occurred, but that’s okay.
I learned over the years that there is no appeal process for this ruling, and without lots of sales, it’s impossible to get it published again without a major rewrite. In my opinion, a rewrite that will pass their guidelines with strip the story from the emotions of the characters. My readers know what I am talking about. I strive hard to get inside the heads of my characters, protagonists and antagonists alike. It’s the why they do what they do.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my recent experience with my advertisement for my Consortium series and suffering a Moderation by Amazon. With this article, I’d like to report on Moderation by Amazon, again; follow-up. ?♂️
Rinse and rewind
To those who might have missed my last post, I wrote about mother-effing Amazon moderating an advertisement I had run on their Kindle platform for years. And by moderation, they mean discontinuing distributing the advert. Suddenly, they discontinued running the ad, stating that it ‘does not comply with our current Creative Acceptance Policies.’
Their message went on to say,
‘Please ensure your ad does not contain erotica, pornography, or explicit sexual practices or preferences.’
Yep, earlier this week, I was hit with a moderation by Amazon…again. Mother effing Amazon. This time, it was for an advertisement for The Trafficking Consortium running for years. Why now? I have no idea.
Of course, they have rules and regulations on appropriate content. The advertisement followed them and stayed within the boundaries of their rules. I even paid a consultant who was well versed in their rules and practices to write the ad. I even got Facebook and Twitter copy I could use, although I don’t use their advertising services very much due to cost. The ad should have been safe.
At first, they just shut down the ad and notified me with a stupid generic moderation statement. Amazon’s message did not identify what was specifically wrong with the ad. I had to file an appeal to the moderation to dig into it. I ended up speaking to an Amazon Advertising Service Representative on the phone. After reviewing the ad, he agreed with me that it did NOT violate their rules and regulations. He then forwarded the appeal to someone up the chain.
I received a Kindle Quality Notice from #ebook-quality at Amazon the other day. Boy, was I surprised. It was for my book, The Trafficking Consortium. Published three years ago, it is one of my best sellers. From the feedback I’ve received over the years, people love the story, even if they cringe at the plotline. No one, and I mean no one, said anything about what Amazon just said.
They documented twenty deficiencies in the book. After three years and hundreds of sales, the notice surprised me. They told me that the book was at risk of being pulled.more “Kindle Quality Notice”…
Please accept my apologies for not writing for almost two weeks. These past days have been quite hectic as a result of my PCS (post concussion syndrome) and the release of my latest novel, ‘The Trafficking Consortium.’
Copyright (c) Richard Verry 2016
Let me tell you; there is good news on both fronts.
First, let me tell you about my book. Avril’s story about being kidnapped and sold into the underworld of human trafficking is doing quite well. In the first two weeks, more readers than I can imagine are reading it, and I received my first review yesterday.
Five stars! Can you imagine? I am ecstatic. You can find the review on Amazon’s website. Click any of the book titles and it will bring you right to it.
The reader/reviewer, Bibs wrote:
Another Winner, Another Panty Melter
“You did it again Richard. I couldn’t put it down. A very fast paced read. If you have not read a book from this author, you’re missing out. Every book I read of Richard Verry’s has been excellent. Please pick one up today, and you will be hooked. Thank you, Richard!!”
Wow! What an endorsement.
Bibs has reviewed many of my books, but by far and large, I believe that this one is by far the best for my career as a writer. Personally, I agree with the reviewer, but then again, I’m biased. Thank you Bibs.
If you haven’t yet read ‘The Trafficking Consortium,’ I suggest that you do. I’d be interested if you concur with the review or not.
There is more good news regarding my PCS. Over the past two months, I’ve been miserable. I was suffering near unbearable pain, at times moaning and screaming in a poor effort to deal with my headaches. They reached new highs during that time, and if you have read my recent posts, you already know this. Last week, I hooked up with yet another new doctor, this time, a chiropractor. He did a full assessment on my issue, concentrating on my neck and skull. Using a CBCT (a type of 3D cat scanner), he found that my C1 and C4 vertebrae were out of position, and not just on one side but both. The doc reported that discovering both sides out of position is rare. My C1 (also called Axis) was both skewed and rotated out of whack, making the opening for my spinal column smaller, pinching nerves.
Rich’s CBCT 2017-06-06
After getting my first adjustment to pop them back into the correct position, I felt better almost immediately. Within hours, my headache dropped to low levels. On my second adjustment appointment, he reported that both C1 and C4 were still in the correct position and no adjustment was necessary. I was both ecstatic and disappointed. The later because he denied me the opportunity to be adjusted again. How dumb is that? That’s what expectations can do. Yet, I was happy that his prior adjustment held. After all, the vertebrae had gotten used to being out of alignment and may very well want to get back to its old position. He tells me that this is very possible. On my third adjustment appointment, he needed to adjust me once more, which he took care immediately. The funny thing, over the past two days, I knew that I was out of adjustment, my headaches were growing worse and a bad fatigue had set in.
What really excites me is that someone finally found a physiological cause to my perpetual headaches. With the vertebrae out of alignment, they were pinching the nerves of the brainstem and spinal cord. The nerves have to transgress a very snug opening, so to have the vertebrae shrink their pathways even smaller, well, I could have been suffering from a host of issues. The brain, after all, controls the entire body.
I’m in good spirits and anxious to see whether this is the right treatment for me. If so, I can drop seeing the voluminous doctor and therapy appointments I attend each week. Better yet, I hope I can wean myself off the pills I’ve been taking to manage the pain. Wish me luck!
Well, that’s it for the time being. I look forward to today and tomorrow, getting back to writing and the like. Have fun.
These last several weeks have been hard, but I have some good news. I completed the final steps in order to submit for publication my latest book, ‘The Trafficking Consortium.’ I uploaded it to Amazon last Wednesday. Sales for the first three days are off to a great start, selling numerous copies in the U.S., Great Britain, and Germany in only three days. This without any real marketing.
I’m ecstatic.
Oh yes, I have been talking about it for months now, but now it is a reality. Now begins the daunting task of marketing the book. Seeing the early results, I’m trying something new. I’ll let you all know in the months ahead how it goes. All that is left to do is the prepare the paperback version and upload it to the printers. If you get a chance, check the book out. It is available for free on Kindle Unlimited or just $2.99 to purchase it outright for your Kindle or your favorite eBook reader.
It’s a brutal erotic suspense thriller about Avril Gillios, a young woman in her mid-twenties, who get’s caught up in an international organized crime ring specializing in human trafficking. The thousand-year old organization call themselves ‘The Consortium.’ Their affluent and influential members can order or acquire anyone, men and women alike, to satisfy their unique needs and desires. From organ acquisition; to perverse sexual satisfaction; or feasting upon their prey, they seemingly operate above the law all across the globe.
Told from Avril’s point of view, the story describes how this criminal organization targets her, kidnaps her right off the streets of NYC and sells her to the highest bidder; marking the beginning of a new life, forever barred from returning to the only life she ever knew.
Copyright (c) Richard Verry 2016
She must navigate the perilous events that threaten her life to survive her ordeal and attempt escape. Sold to a sadistic monster, her captivity is relatively comfortable. Locked in a luxurious suite with all the trimmings included in the most elegant high-end luxury apartments enjoyed by the upper one-percenters, a cage is still a cage.
She endures brutal beatings and violent ravishments as her new owner trains her to be compliant to his demands and needs. Along the way, she discovers that her sadistic owner loves her, in his own way.
Confused and bewildered, she must figure out how to navigate the ever narrowing serpentine path to escape the growing threat to her life. Her captor eventually gives her an impossible choice, one that takes away all doubt of what he intends to do with her. However, he requires that she select the path that her life will take. Failing to choose is the same as choosing a horrific, slow, and painful death.
Will she choose life or death? I encourage you to find out for yourself.
Do you really know him? I have asked myself that question many of times when I was dating, engaged, hearing about my daughter’s’ date(s) and more recently playing a jurist from my couch as I watch Dateline and 48 hours!
This topic came back to the forefront of my mind as I read Richard Verry’s new novella, ‘The Breakup’.
Ginny is presented to us as she leaves work and goes home to get ready for a date with Doug. She is hoping and even expecting a marriage proposal. She is so way off as he has other ideas.
He engages her and surprises her with his detail of brutality. His desire to add her to his “trophies” scares her enough to beg for her life and the reader begins to question his lack of compassion as it relates to her. He is so consumed by his own sexual needs and fantasies, that this escapade has the reader thinking that Doug is heartless and questions how he could do this to Ginny. There are sexual needs fulfilled on both sides yet the story brings me back to my original question.
I know life and choosing a life partner is a risk. Yet aren’t there some signals that one may see that are ‘red flags’? Is he a loner? Is he too good to be true? If the answer is yes, than you are warned that it must be and to keep your guard up.
Ginny fell hard for Doug and she was rewarded in such a brutal, horrific way. Her pleasure was short-lived and the end was unexpected. The reader, meaning me, hoped that had she won his heart and he would change his plans accordingly. I was surprised that his own needs won out and that his feelings for Ginny were part of a game. It’s not a game I want to be part of and yet I know it happens.
If you liked Richard Verry’s novella, ‘Her Client’, this is a must read for you. Sit back and enjoy the roller coaster ride and ask yourself the same question, ‘Do you really know him’?
What do you think?
Janet M.
Available on his website, Amazon, Smashwords and your favorite eBook retailer.
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