I've written a lot over the years about Brien Jones and his sleazy vanity press Jones Harvest (most recently, I blogged about his hilarious offer to turn your book into a screenplay). Now Bonnie Kaye's Jones Harvest Victims Blog has posted an open letter from Donna Hamilton, one of Brien's former employees, to the poor suckers who paid him to publish their books. It reads, in part:
Please know that it was always my intention to do an honest job for the authors that I worked with. I know how much your hard work means to you. I also know how hard you worked for the money that you invested to receive publishing and promotional services that you expected to be provided—especially when I promised you that the work you paid for would be done. At the time I sold you these services, I truly believed that you were paying for legitimate services that were being provided by the owners of the company. When I realized this wasn’t the case, I made the decision to leave.
Donna provided the authors with her email and phone number if they would like to talk some more with her. I applaud her honesty and I hope she is also talking to the Indiana Attorney General, who shut down the infamous Airleaf/Bookman vanity press, where Brien worked for years and acquired all of his valuable "publishing experience" before starting Jones Harvest.
It looks like the Jones fraudulence is finally at its end. It’s so sad that nearly a thousand people had to be robbed over the past 4 years. Thanks for your support, Lee, in exposing this insanity.
Bonnie Kaye
What’s the news?
Lee