Wait For It… a blog by Andy Ross

My Accidental Plagiary

Dear Mr. Cobblemeyer,

I was mortified to learn that I accidentally plagiarized your novel. Believe me, if I had known there were so many similarities between our two books, I never would have published mine.

I have always been a fan of your work. In fact, you’re one of the reasons I became a writer. So, it would be understandable that I was influenced by your writing style and characters. I guess I must have internalized your book, because I loved it that much. And, my subconscious allowed bits of it to escape through my typewriter.

For instance, I can now see that my novel about a young banjo player on a journey to find his uncle has some resemblance to your book about a guitar player on a journey to find his father. And, when my protagonist falls in love with a beautiful zookeeper, that somewhat resembles yours falling in love with a pretty veterinarian.

I do agree that my book’s post-apocalyptic hellscape is very similar to your description of Miami. And, while my story takes place on Omacron-5, the motorcycle gang from your book certainly influenced the mutant gorillas on hovercycles in mine. Although, I insist the similarity between the names Gordon McCloud and Gorzon Cloudchild was merely a coincidence.

I hope that you can take this incident as a fond homage. Just a fan who was touched by your work so deeply, that it felt as though it became my own. It wasn’t meant as a “blatant rip-off” or “wholesale idea theft” as your letter to my publisher’s lawyers suggests. Rather, those few dozen word-for-word paragraphs were a love letter to your novel and its lasting influence.

I hope to discuss this further with you soon. Maybe even over lunch. As an obvious fan of yours, it would be a huge thrill to meet you. I’d love to have you sign my book.

Yours truly,
Andy Ross