I’ve received several emails in recent days, all structured as the one below, received this morning. While I can’t tell you exactly what sort of scam this is – it’s got “scam” written all over it. My thoughts follow.
OK, so now an analysis of what smells bad…
1. The real Leïla Slimani is the first Moroccan woman to win France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt. I don’t think she’d be firing off random emails like this!
2. Claims to have written the Paul Madriani legal thrillers. Nope, they were actually written by Steve Martini, a few seconds on Amazon would tell you that.
3. Classic mass-mail shakedown bullshit (sorry, but I’m annoyed!) phrases such as “I’d love to hear about your writing journey.” This is designed to get a response from you, without any effort on their side.
I don’t know specifically what the scam is at this stage, but the aim of these emails is to get you into an email exchange, to get you emotionally invested and to warm you up for the kill…. A vanity press publishing package maybe, or just good old malware.
Whatever the killshot is, the cruddy invertebrates behind scams like these fully realize just how vulnerable authors can be to this kind of pitch. Don’t fall for it!
Hi there,
I'm Leïla Slimani, a suspense and legal thriller author with a background in law and journalism. Over the years, I’ve written over seventy novels, many of which follow the courtroom drama and high-stakes legal battles of defense attorney Paul Madriani.
Here’s a link to one of my books on Amazon:
The Perfect Nanny : Amazon.com
And here’s my Amazon Author Page:
Leïla Slimani: books, biography, latest update
I’d really love to hear more about your writing journey and the stories you’ve brought to life. If you’re open to sharing, I’d be glad to check out your work, feel free to send over your book link, website, Goodreads, or Amazon page.
Looking forward to connecting!
Warm regards,
Leïla Slimani
OK, so now an analysis of what smells bad…
1. The real Leïla Slimani is the first Moroccan woman to win France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt. I don’t think she’d be firing off random emails like this!
2. Claims to have written the Paul Madriani legal thrillers. Nope, they were actually written by Steve Martini, a few seconds on Amazon would tell you that.
3. Classic mass-mail shakedown bullshit (sorry, but I’m annoyed!) phrases such as “I’d love to hear about your writing journey.” This is designed to get a response from you, without any effort on their side.
I don’t know specifically what the scam is at this stage, but the aim of these emails is to get you into an email exchange, to get you emotionally invested and to warm you up for the kill…. A vanity press publishing package maybe, or just good old malware.
Whatever the killshot is, the cruddy invertebrates behind scams like these fully realize just how vulnerable authors can be to this kind of pitch. Don’t fall for it!
