I’m not receiving royalties (which were already in arrears when they ceased). I’m not receiving calls. I’m not receiving emails or anything in the mail. The owner, Sandra Hicks, hasn’t even appeared on the AMP authors’ official loop for sometime — has even banned authors from there possibly coincidentally after they have spoken out and ask pertinent questions. When she did stop by it was to make statements that did not address the serious issues her writers are asking her. Issues including why do out of contract works — in some cases MONTHS out of contract — continue to be sold despite repeated pleas from the authors for them to be removed. In the last email I received from Sandra Hicks I was promised two of my out of contract works would be down end of September quarter, and yet they remain up for sale. I can only speak for myself and comment on things I’ve seen and heard, but I have been assured by many of the writers at AMP that they have received similar promises in the past all to no avail. I have emailed Sandra Hicks to tell her I do not wish to be associated with a company dealing in illegal practices — I have received no reply.

Fortunately, many of the subsidiary sellers have been paying attention and are starting to remove AMP books from their sites. The owner of AMP has failed to respond to them as well, and I’m assuming they also have to consider the long-term legal implications of breaking copyright. A heartfelt thank you goes out to them from all the authors involved.

Do not purchase my titles. You will be putting the proceeds into another woman’s pocket, not mine. Should you stumble across any AMP titles by other writers I suggest you contact those authors or read their blogs to see if they feel the same.

When cases such as these occur there’s often split reaction as to whether the authors should remain silent or not. My view on this is that it ‘depends’. Certainly in the beginning one tries to reach an amicable solution with the publisher, but when a publisher goes AWOL what can one do? AMP is now listed at many warning sites and in all conscience that is a relief — the 40+ writers mired in this mess would hate for any newbies to walk into this. So please, if you’re considering submitting to Aspen Mountain Press, I must advise you to think twice…and then a third time and a forth. You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache.