UPDATES: 1) NYT article: www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/opinion/susan-meachen-faked-her-own-death.html 2) Samantha A Cole has commented and stated that the screenshot of her calling Susan “weak” was from a fake account that did not belong to her, and that that is antithetical to her actual position on s**cide. --------------- If you or someone you know is experiencing suic*dal thinking or self-h**ming, know there is help and you’re not alone. It’s not uncommon to turn to s**cidal thinking and self-h*rm as ways to cope with painful emotions. Talking to someone can help you process these emotions, as well as get support through a difficult time. 988lifeline.org/?
The anthology was also NOT written for Susan. It was written when Julie Huss attacked Andi Jackson for using the same title for her book, "The Bully King." Susan's "death" happened just before publication so we added a dedication for her out of respect. (That she didn't deserve)
...except for the fact that there are several of us who remember her defending that position, rather than denying it, when it happened. Real advice: regardless of whether you think the screenshot is real, or faked...block Samantha AND Dylan and move on. They are both nothing but drama, and neither of them are innocent victims in any of this. Plus you're not going to miss out on any literary gems by doing so. Neither of them are the next Hemingway if you catch my drift.
and the “that’s the way i see it - they’re cruelly wishing death on me” / “they’d RATHER i be dead, then they’d be happy with their donation?”oh my god that sent me, thank fk she didn’t actually write that
"nobody had a gun to their head" and similar defences always kill me. It's like they know they manipulated others and the only defence left is "well they weren't threatened with death"
As someone whose boyfriend in highschool faked killing himself in front of me on a video call, my heart aches for her friends. For me it was only a few weeks until I found out. But to have thought your friend was dead for so long! Only for them to pop back up years later? That feeling of betrayal at times felt more painful than the mourning. I hope everyone effected by this stupid stunt is doing well. ❤
I had a good friend fake his suicide because I didn't want a romantic relationship with him. I know how bad that sucks. Especially if you're someone who has had legitimate struggles with suicidal thoughts like myself. I'm sorry that has happened to you and I hope you've surrounded yourself with better people.
@@graceanderson7933 I'm so sorry that happened to you. People act like faking a death is this unheard of crazy thing that rarely happens when in this digital age it's prevalent. I hope you're healing ♡
The fact that this woman still believes she has the moral high ground is insane to me. "Well, the bullies stopped when they thought I was dead, and now that I'm back the dog piling continues." MA'AM! I'm really questioning if she was ever bullied or if people were giving very valid criticism of her actions and she took it the wrong way. Much like right now!
Oh I 100% believe she made the bullying up. She never names anyone, and she never mentions any specifics, just says she was bullied. The only specific example is her husband claims that when she would send her books out, the critiques she received back were bullying. I think she made it all up and lied to him too.
Used to happen in fandom circles a bunch, called "pseudocide" where fanfic writers would do basically the same thing, including the fundraising and review grubbing "in honor of" and sock puppetry galore. So this is weirdly nostalgic...
I'm begging these authors to know what bullying actually means. People calling out your shitty (and in this case, borderline illegal) actions is not bullying!
I'm honestly flabbergasted because this is the exact things teens would do on fanfic writing sites to get out of shitty things they said or did, or to get more eyes on their stories. I cannot believe that a grown ass woman did exactly the same thing. I just-I'm in shock. It's giving me flashbacks to the time a mutual of mine on Wattpad came to me, distraught, because a mutual of hers had supposedly committed suicide the night before and their parents were posting on her Wattpad account talking about it. I ended up exposing the lie and warned her followers so they wouldn't grieve unnecessarily, but I didn't go too hard on the user because they were thirteen and obviously not mature. I'm genuinely trying to wrap my head around how an ADULT could think that this was acceptable, let alone the multiple adults (her kids and spouse) that would have needed to stay quiet in order for this ruse to happen. It's just wild to me.
So many people don't age mentally as well as we give them credit for. There are full-grown adults who will continue to treat the world the way they did when they were growing up. It's a cold reminder not to presume the maturity of someone based on their physical age.
i'm crying jesus tears over the fanfic author who pretended to be a hiv positive couple to justify writing a hamilton high school au fic centered around AIDS
When I was in high school I was in a bunch of RPs on livejournal with my friends, and we made a couple of internet friends (before that was a common thing) and this one girl was pretending to be a gay guy (and also pretending to be his boyfriend) and was basically just an entire catfish who got really close with my friend, and then one day the "boyfriend" came on the account and posted that the person had died from a heart defect or something, and my friend literally had.a breakdown thinking this internet friend died, and did a whole project in theater class dedicated to the person, and then like 2 months later the actual girl gets on the livejournal account and is like lol jk I'm alive and also I'm a girl and also neither of these two guys I was pretending to be exist.
"redacted her death" omg this woman. The audacity for her to not take any accountability and to try and gaslight people into believe she's the victim in all this. I can't.
What I hated most about reading about this on Twitter was the amount of people that were applauding her actions and saying things like "That's what you get for being a bully, you lose all your money." 😶😶😶 Excuse me? The people buying her book in order to show support wouldn't have been her bullies, (If there even were any) They'd have either been fans of hers or people that have friends or family members that have committed/struggled with suicide. All she did was scam people wanting to support her.
@@ReadswithRachel I use “Ma’am” and “Sir” for my animals as well and anyone who hears me say that thinks it’s hilarious 🤣 I’m glad I’m not the only one
Off topic but am I the only person who thinks it's freaking weird to write a bully romance for your daughter's wedding? Have I understood this right? If I were the daughter I would think she was throwing shade at my fiance.
I think the fact that she very likely faked this herself and thought it’d be fine to come back is a good sign that she should get back in therapy and reflect on this. I mean that in the nicest way possible. From one person with problems to another … get help Susan.
Hey, hi, hello! There's still quite a bit of misinformation concerning this whole issue, but I thought I'd clear a few things up. I am not an elected representative on behalf of the community, but I'm one of the authors in that anthology and have been involved in this drama since the beginning. Candace is also a friend of mine. So, the biggest thing... Susan Meachen is her real name. This has been confirmed by authorities in the Tennessee community where she lives where a fraud investigation is definitely happening. She has a host of 'other names' she's used to spy on the community as they mourned her, but the one that matters in the story is T.N Steele. It was created less than a month after her "death" and eventually "offered" to take over her reader group from Susan's PA. Because Connie (aforementioned PA) had a lot going on in her life, she acquiesced to allow this author that had (at the time) been active in Susan's group for nearly a year. So there's that. Also, it should be noted that while Samantha was definitely outright accused of bullying Susan to death, I don't think they were much of friends. More like acquaintances in the same community. She is the one who blew the whistle after Susan returned and rightfully so after what she'd been accused of and saddled with for two years. She was absolutely blamed for it. Now, the big one. The anthology. The Bully King anthology was NOT created because of Susan. It was actually created in response to a VERY successful Indie author going after a newbie whose debut book happened to have the same title as one of hers that released around the same time. She relentlessly bullied this author behind the scenes and tried to stop the release of the newbie's book. THIS anthology was created and named what it was to spite the bullying author as everyone involved took the side of the newbie author. The reason is it dedicated to Susan is because her "death" happened just ahead of its publication when bullying amongst the community was running rampant. So, we put that dedication in the front as a foreword and a note AGAINST bullying. Yes, there is bullying in the stories, but that is a trope wholly unto itself and is VERY popular among readers. The stories chosen were never done so 'in memory' of Susan. The only part about that anthology that had to do with Susan is it being dedicated to her and the last line is the most important. It was our stance that bullying is fine in books, but has no place in real life. As for the 'donations,' there was fundraising held after her 'death' to raise funds for her family to help with burial costs and anything else they might need during the hard time of losing a loved one to suicide, something many of those who donated has personally experienced. They were vicariously feeling her family's grief and wanted to help. They easily could have left the donations alone in the accounts where they were sent, and there wouldn't be an issue legally. Morally, well, she still doesn't think she did anything wrong and will never accept that what she did was atrocious behavior, even if it was "legal." But the 'family' kept those funds and, apparently, used them. She also reneged on contracts she had at the time for covers, logos, editing, etc. THAT is where the biggest legal issue comes in.
All this. Samantha didn't bully her. She was just an easy target to blame. The anthology was not written for Susan. In fact, it was complete and about to be published when all this happened.
Blaming any of this behavior on bipolar makes all of us with bipolar look bad. Yes mental health issues can influence behavior but it is the patient’s responsibility to mitigate risk factors and to hold themselves accountable for their actions
personally, at 15 years old i had to live with the fact that one of my online friends had killed himself. or rather thats what i thought for a full week when i was grieving, until his best friend texted me and a couple other people saying he was actually alive and had had a manic episode and decided to never go onto twitter again, then tweeted pretending to be her and announcing his death. while it doesnt even excuse what he did and i will never ever talk to him again, at least he had an excuse (not a valid one), but one nonetheless. anyway, having personally experienced something similar to what this author did, though not on the same scale, i can safely say the people who are mad about this are right. this is representative of a bigger issue of people thinking suicide is attention grabbing and just a quirky thing people who want attention do. ive struggled, so have many people, and to make it into a joke or a scapegoat of any kind feels condescending and so mean. not even rude, just mean.
I got really heated initially because I have a sibling who had to be hospitalized for attempting to take their life (and this lady stole money on top of it all!!)-but then I couldn’t help but laugh when the hippo was brought up. Such a weird combination of emotions in my chest right now. This whole thing is screwed up and it reminds me of Quizilla, years and years ago when it first came out (and I was in middle school-I feel so old) and users on the site would make announcements of other users deaths to later retract them weeks later. 🤦♀️
omg i haven't heard anyone mention Quizilla for years [: It was a wild time, esp when the whole "I'm the only girl in the situation with a bunch of boys" phase was going on. One author did it, got really popular, then it became it's own thing when everyone tried to replicate that success. It makes me lol that my and other story chapters were always less than 500 words per chapter. And you could tell that some of us struggled to hit that word count so our chapters would've been shorter.
@@sillysasuages Yes! I remember the reverse harems! I also remember doubling up “chapters” because I’d only ever write a few sentences and be convinced that that was an amazing chapter, but not enough to post on its own 😂 And the “sold as a slave and fall in love with my abusive master” (usually vampires-the year before Stephanie Meyer produced Twilight-so problematic) was also a big one. I had one friend who would read them and recommend them all the time.
I had no idea how deep the rabbit hole went when the story first broke. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it all. I can understand wanting to get out of the toxicity of a book group, but she had other options. And the fact that she lurked and even interacted in the group under a (another?) pseudonym suggests it was more about a long game of revenge or manipulation against the alleged bullies than prioritizing her mental health.
This was obviously an egregiously demented act from the start - but the way she justified all of her actions in the post you read at the very end was stomach turning. She genuinely believes she is the victim and has zero remorse for the tumult her actions caused other people. It is sickening.
You know shout out to the people I've been seeing covering this, because not one made a comment on her weight. I had no idea what she looked like. Basic decency says don't be fatphobic but I'm still shocked.
i feel so bad for finding rachels lil stumbles over words and especially her reactions to said stumbles really funny and adorable in a good way xD finally im not the only person who twists its own tongue!
Meachen read the Cliff's Note version of Much Ado About Nothing and the only thing she took away was that faking her own death would make someone feel bad.
Hello Rachel, I would just like to say that ever since finding your channel I've spent countless hours watching and enjoying your videos. I'm sorry that your boundaries are repeatedly being broken and I'm sorry that all this negativity and spitefulness has impacted you. I just want to say how much I enjoy your reviews and your snarkiness. Even with books that I've loved that you've given negative reviews to, I still listen and enjoy because you always manage to make it so entertaining. Hopefully this madness will all die down soon and you can move on with your life in peace. Just know that so many people are here in support of you and you are FAR from a "goodreads bully."
I'm so glad that ur back. I heard what happened with Piper CJ, I was so angry that someone tried to bully u. I hope that ur okay and doing well. I always look forward to ur updates
the DOUBLING DOWN!! I feel so sorry for all of her fans and friends and mourned her only for this to happen. This woman deserves everything that’s coming to her omg
Right off the bat reading the "daughter's" post I can see some red flags and I'm just 3 minutes into the video. First of all, if you want to write a message about your loved one dying but you're lying about it, do not give yourself away by saying "dead people don't post on social media." because you will give yourself away within seconds.
Also frankly I've seen tons of dead people post on social media. Sometimes it's "hey this is so-and-so's child/spouse/agent, unfortunately so-and-so died" posting under so-and-so's account, sometimes it's more confusing like Hermain Cain's twitter continuing to make tweets long after he died. Dead people post on social media constantly tbh.
19:42 Meachen’s response literally had me cussing at my phone I was so upset, what kind of monster does that? Also we’ve all been through tough times don’t mean we should pretend to be dead to stop the bullshit though, it makes everything worse. She’s a grown woman who’s acting like a bratty teen.
i definitely manifested this because early today i searched through your videos to see if you’d made one on this person😭 i am delighted that you’ve somehow read my mind i love your commentary
i've heard about this incident quite a bit and watched videos from other creators, but this one was by far the most thorough. thanks for all your research and attention to detail on this. it really is appalling 💀 hope everything is okay with you! you can always take a break and your viewership will still be here for you when you return.
Im so glad to see you! Your videos make my week and I adore your content! Thank you for inspiring all of us to continue reading and writing! You are amazing !!❤
I appreciate that bit at the end about vetting the quote source. I've been mostly off Twitter the past few weeks and missed that. Also Claribel Ortega is a treasure. Loved Witchlings last year.
I knew the story was mainstream once elderly members of my family started asking me about it since I’m a romance reader and blogger. What a crazy and messed up story. Great coverage again Rachel.
I’m not even in the book community, I don’t read like I once did and it’s sad to me, but one of your videos was in my recommendations and I’ve been hooked especially on the authors behaving badly (I love hearing the tea but also inappropriate behavior like you’ve mentioned others doing in other videos shouldn’t be just brushed under the rug when some quite negative things about them or that they’ve done that are less than favorable. I feel like I’m sitting with a friend getting the hot gossip of people I don’t know and I love it. You’ve got me hooked Rachel and your book organization skills, you truly deserve a reward it’s beautiful loved when it was color coded im commenting at the beginning and don’t remember the date on the last video I watched posting date but you had mentioned reorganizing the books and I just like need you to organize what’s left of my Stephen King collection and probably the rest of my life. Very aesthetically appealing and it’s a good organization tactic. Sorry I’ve fangirled seemingly the entire comment 💀 anyways tldr; you’re the best and I love the tea. and I wish I could get my reading skills from school bad of reading them so fast like don’t wanna talk about how long I’ve been on chapter three of a book I know I love bc it’s too embarrassing of a time span 😂
This whole situation is just... I don't even know where to start. I'm glad that the interview was hopefully fake because that was some of the most apathetic writing I have ever read. Hope your break is helping
In all honesty, it sounds like this woman does need some psychological help and I truly hope she is getting that. I felt like I was getting whiplash with all the twists and turns. (the hippo 'joke' from Twitter killed me into giggle fits)
I can’t fathom why she doesn’t see herself as in the wrong! Faking a death, let alone a suicide, is so messy, it sounds like a plot from a soap opera or a dramatic movie. And not in a good way.
Thank you for doing this video what this woman did is truly disgusting I'm so appalled because many people have committed suicide and the fact that she decided to do this is truly vile she belongs in jail 😈😠😡🤬
You either have to be extremely foolish or extremely desperate to attempt faking your own departure. Like, what did she expect would come about? Chocolates and warm, fuzzy hugs?
This is, this is bonkers. What was the family, or whoever may have originally made the s**cide story make the rounds (could've been an agent or someone else, who the hell even knows but them, really) , even thinking doing all this? And then returning?? Just like that?? Bruh, you had your new pseudonym , you were making money through that just as well and with less dirt, too, fresh start, clean slate, whatever, what was even the point of bouncing back like that???
Tbh I'm not that forgiving when someone fakes their death and comes back expecting nothing to change. I've literally had that happen in my family before, so very little patience for the excuses. Granted the main excuse I've gotten from that family member is just flat denial that it even happened, so I've never managed to get far enough for the wackier excuses.
I love this series of authors behaving badly! You should do a video of Terry Goodkin (Daniel Greene also has a video on him, but I would love to hear your view on this) he has pretty much been very rude to fans, fantasy readers and cover designers on social media and is pretty much a megalomaniac
Everybody I know can say with absolute honesty that they either know somebody who has attempted or successfully committed suicide. We have all lived through that experience and pain. To have Susan fake something that is such a universally painful thing is disgusting. To twist the knife and blame it on her ‘bullies’ just makes things worse. What a terrible excuse for a human being.
You didn't really touch on her pen name that she continued to post in the group under the whole damn time. Gas lighting a community to the extreme. But great vid as always
Sorry I really should comment after watching the whole video, but there's just so much to unpack. You knocked this one out of the park and found so many things I didn't see while combing the wreckage myself.
UPDATES:
1) NYT article: www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/opinion/susan-meachen-faked-her-own-death.html
2) Samantha A Cole has commented and stated that the screenshot of her calling Susan “weak” was from a fake account that did not belong to her, and that that is antithetical to her actual position on s**cide.
---------------
If you or someone you know is experiencing suic*dal thinking or self-h**ming, know there is help and you’re not alone. It’s not uncommon to turn to s**cidal thinking and self-h*rm as ways to cope with painful emotions. Talking to someone can help you process these emotions, as well as get support through a difficult time.
988lifeline.org/?
The anthology was also NOT written for Susan. It was written when Julie Huss attacked Andi Jackson for using the same title for her book, "The Bully King." Susan's "death" happened just before publication so we added a dedication for her out of respect. (That she didn't deserve)
Rachel - sent you a friend request on Instagram. Please accept.
...except for the fact that there are several of us who remember her defending that position, rather than denying it, when it happened.
Real advice: regardless of whether you think the screenshot is real, or faked...block Samantha AND Dylan and move on. They are both nothing but drama, and neither of them are innocent victims in any of this. Plus you're not going to miss out on any literary gems by doing so. Neither of them are the next Hemingway if you catch my drift.
"This is the third cover-designer that faked their death that I've heard of now" I'm sorry, THREE????
The “well no one MADE them donate” defense is so funny. It’s still FRAUD, Susan
“It’s still FRAUD, Susan” just kills me 😂
and the “that’s the way i see it - they’re cruelly wishing death on me” / “they’d RATHER i be dead, then they’d be happy with their donation?”oh my god that sent me, thank fk she didn’t actually write that
Let's see if they're prosecuted for it.
"nobody had a gun to their head" and similar defences always kill me. It's like they know they manipulated others and the only defence left is "well they weren't threatened with death"
@@FrankensteinsMom idk why but I want to just randomly say that now lol, it has the same energy as "identity theft is not a joke"
I don't think "Your honor, I was [pretend] dead at the time" is gonna hold up in a court of law, Susan.
As someone whose boyfriend in highschool faked killing himself in front of me on a video call, my heart aches for her friends. For me it was only a few weeks until I found out. But to have thought your friend was dead for so long! Only for them to pop back up years later? That feeling of betrayal at times felt more painful than the mourning. I hope everyone effected by this stupid stunt is doing well. ❤
what the- this sounds so extremely heavy!!
I had a good friend fake his suicide because I didn't want a romantic relationship with him. I know how bad that sucks. Especially if you're someone who has had legitimate struggles with suicidal thoughts like myself. I'm sorry that has happened to you and I hope you've surrounded yourself with better people.
@@graceanderson7933 @vinny oz I am so sorry for you both.
Oh my god I have no words. For both of you in this thread this happened to I am so so sorry
@@graceanderson7933 I'm so sorry that happened to you. People act like faking a death is this unheard of crazy thing that rarely happens when in this digital age it's prevalent. I hope you're healing ♡
The fact that this woman still believes she has the moral high ground is insane to me. "Well, the bullies stopped when they thought I was dead, and now that I'm back the dog piling continues." MA'AM! I'm really questioning if she was ever bullied or if people were giving very valid criticism of her actions and she took it the wrong way. Much like right now!
Oh I 100% believe she made the bullying up. She never names anyone, and she never mentions any specifics, just says she was bullied. The only specific example is her husband claims that when she would send her books out, the critiques she received back were bullying. I think she made it all up and lied to him too.
That she acts like she doesn't know that dead people are dead, so you can't hurt their feelings is fucking insane
Imagine if she put that level of creativity (faking her death for over a year) into her writing. She could have been a top tier author.
Used to happen in fandom circles a bunch, called "pseudocide" where fanfic writers would do basically the same thing, including the fundraising and review grubbing "in honor of" and sock puppetry galore. So this is weirdly nostalgic...
The epidemic we had of fanfic authors faking their deaths back in the day
@@PurpleManatees fake cancer, car accidents, dead laptops, all the greatest hits
I was thinking this exact thing...
lol it used to happen on all kinds of forums and social networks too. people loved to fake their deaths on the old internet 😂
Where was I when all that happened? Oh. You said fandom. I guess I dodged that bullet by not getting involved with any fandoms.
I'm begging these authors to know what bullying actually means. People calling out your shitty (and in this case, borderline illegal) actions is not bullying!
I'm honestly flabbergasted because this is the exact things teens would do on fanfic writing sites to get out of shitty things they said or did, or to get more eyes on their stories. I cannot believe that a grown ass woman did exactly the same thing. I just-I'm in shock.
It's giving me flashbacks to the time a mutual of mine on Wattpad came to me, distraught, because a mutual of hers had supposedly committed suicide the night before and their parents were posting on her Wattpad account talking about it. I ended up exposing the lie and warned her followers so they wouldn't grieve unnecessarily, but I didn't go too hard on the user because they were thirteen and obviously not mature. I'm genuinely trying to wrap my head around how an ADULT could think that this was acceptable, let alone the multiple adults (her kids and spouse) that would have needed to stay quiet in order for this ruse to happen. It's just wild to me.
So many people don't age mentally as well as we give them credit for. There are full-grown adults who will continue to treat the world the way they did when they were growing up. It's a cold reminder not to presume the maturity of someone based on their physical age.
i'm crying jesus tears over the fanfic author who pretended to be a hiv positive couple to justify writing a hamilton high school au fic centered around AIDS
@@farhanasafran8124 Oh my God I remember hivliving! That was wild to watch go down on tumblr.
When I was in high school I was in a bunch of RPs on livejournal with my friends, and we made a couple of internet friends (before that was a common thing) and this one girl was pretending to be a gay guy (and also pretending to be his boyfriend) and was basically just an entire catfish who got really close with my friend, and then one day the "boyfriend" came on the account and posted that the person had died from a heart defect or something, and my friend literally had.a breakdown thinking this internet friend died, and did a whole project in theater class dedicated to the person, and then like 2 months later the actual girl gets on the livejournal account and is like lol jk I'm alive and also I'm a girl and also neither of these two guys I was pretending to be exist.
This is definitely some Daddy's Little Cannibal level crazy!
“I was never really in” *dramatic sigh and scene*
LITERALLY THIS LMAOOOOOO
My favorite part about author drama is how ridiculously dramatic they are every time. It literally feels like theyre a boom character every time
@@silkyhank 🤣🤣
"redacted her death" omg this woman. The audacity for her to not take any accountability and to try and gaslight people into believe she's the victim in all this. I can't.
What I hated most about reading about this on Twitter was the amount of people that were applauding her actions and saying things like "That's what you get for being a bully, you lose all your money."
😶😶😶 Excuse me? The people buying her book in order to show support wouldn't have been her bullies, (If there even were any) They'd have either been fans of hers or people that have friends or family members that have committed/struggled with suicide. All she did was scam people wanting to support her.
I constantly confounded by people’s lack of logic. I think maybe we should stop considering humans to be such “intelligent” beings…
Is it weird that I live in both hope and fear of being called "Ma'am" by Rachel?
It’s also what I use on my cat when she’s in trouble lol
"Ma'am your book was wonderful, I'm sure, Ma'am, that flagpoles don't work that way."
@@ReadswithRachel I use “Ma’am” and “Sir” for my animals as well and anyone who hears me say that thinks it’s hilarious 🤣 I’m glad I’m not the only one
Not her crying bullying when people are just like "why did you think this was a good idea and will we get the funeral money back?"
Off topic but am I the only person who thinks it's freaking weird to write a bully romance for your daughter's wedding? Have I understood this right? If I were the daughter I would think she was throwing shade at my fiance.
@Trinity M it's popular theme, but still very weird to wrote this to your daughter's WEDDING!
Imagine someone writing bully romances then saying bullying causes suicide.
Smoky Mountain Love sounds like the pseudonym for an STI
I think the fact that she very likely faked this herself and thought it’d be fine to come back is a good sign that she should get back in therapy and reflect on this. I mean that in the nicest way possible. From one person with problems to another … get help Susan.
I feel like it’s even worst that this happened during the pandarama.
Taking donations when so many people were struggling is so detestable
Hey, hi, hello! There's still quite a bit of misinformation concerning this whole issue, but I thought I'd clear a few things up. I am not an elected representative on behalf of the community, but I'm one of the authors in that anthology and have been involved in this drama since the beginning. Candace is also a friend of mine. So, the biggest thing... Susan Meachen is her real name. This has been confirmed by authorities in the Tennessee community where she lives where a fraud investigation is definitely happening. She has a host of 'other names' she's used to spy on the community as they mourned her, but the one that matters in the story is T.N Steele. It was created less than a month after her "death" and eventually "offered" to take over her reader group from Susan's PA. Because Connie (aforementioned PA) had a lot going on in her life, she acquiesced to allow this author that had (at the time) been active in Susan's group for nearly a year. So there's that.
Also, it should be noted that while Samantha was definitely outright accused of bullying Susan to death, I don't think they were much of friends. More like acquaintances in the same community. She is the one who blew the whistle after Susan returned and rightfully so after what she'd been accused of and saddled with for two years. She was absolutely blamed for it.
Now, the big one. The anthology. The Bully King anthology was NOT created because of Susan. It was actually created in response to a VERY successful Indie author going after a newbie whose debut book happened to have the same title as one of hers that released around the same time. She relentlessly bullied this author behind the scenes and tried to stop the release of the newbie's book. THIS anthology was created and named what it was to spite the bullying author as everyone involved took the side of the newbie author. The reason is it dedicated to Susan is because her "death" happened just ahead of its publication when bullying amongst the community was running rampant. So, we put that dedication in the front as a foreword and a note AGAINST bullying. Yes, there is bullying in the stories, but that is a trope wholly unto itself and is VERY popular among readers. The stories chosen were never done so 'in memory' of Susan. The only part about that anthology that had to do with Susan is it being dedicated to her and the last line is the most important. It was our stance that bullying is fine in books, but has no place in real life.
As for the 'donations,' there was fundraising held after her 'death' to raise funds for her family to help with burial costs and anything else they might need during the hard time of losing a loved one to suicide, something many of those who donated has personally experienced. They were vicariously feeling her family's grief and wanted to help. They easily could have left the donations alone in the accounts where they were sent, and there wouldn't be an issue legally. Morally, well, she still doesn't think she did anything wrong and will never accept that what she did was atrocious behavior, even if it was "legal." But the 'family' kept those funds and, apparently, used them. She also reneged on contracts she had at the time for covers, logos, editing, etc. THAT is where the biggest legal issue comes in.
All this. Samantha didn't bully her. She was just an easy target to blame. The anthology was not written for Susan. In fact, it was complete and about to be published when all this happened.
Blaming any of this behavior on bipolar makes all of us with bipolar look bad. Yes mental health issues can influence behavior but it is the patient’s responsibility to mitigate risk factors and to hold themselves accountable for their actions
as a person on tumblr once said. there's a lot to unpack here so let's just throw away the whole suitcase
I think the most jarring part of this entire issue is that there are people out there who are now buying her books because of this.
personally, at 15 years old i had to live with the fact that one of my online friends had killed himself. or rather thats what i thought for a full week when i was grieving, until his best friend texted me and a couple other people saying he was actually alive and had had a manic episode and decided to never go onto twitter again, then tweeted pretending to be her and announcing his death. while it doesnt even excuse what he did and i will never ever talk to him again, at least he had an excuse (not a valid one), but one nonetheless. anyway, having personally experienced something similar to what this author did, though not on the same scale, i can safely say the people who are mad about this are right. this is representative of a bigger issue of people thinking suicide is attention grabbing and just a quirky thing people who want attention do. ive struggled, so have many people, and to make it into a joke or a scapegoat of any kind feels condescending and so mean. not even rude, just mean.
I got really heated initially because I have a sibling who had to be hospitalized for attempting to take their life (and this lady stole money on top of it all!!)-but then I couldn’t help but laugh when the hippo was brought up. Such a weird combination of emotions in my chest right now.
This whole thing is screwed up and it reminds me of Quizilla, years and years ago when it first came out (and I was in middle school-I feel so old) and users on the site would make announcements of other users deaths to later retract them weeks later. 🤦♀️
This woman is so going to hell for what she's done she's truly vile
omg i haven't heard anyone mention Quizilla for years [: It was a wild time, esp when the whole "I'm the only girl in the situation with a bunch of boys" phase was going on. One author did it, got really popular, then it became it's own thing when everyone tried to replicate that success.
It makes me lol that my and other story chapters were always less than 500 words per chapter. And you could tell that some of us struggled to hit that word count so our chapters would've been shorter.
@@sillysasuages Yes! I remember the reverse harems! I also remember doubling up “chapters” because I’d only ever write a few sentences and be convinced that that was an amazing chapter, but not enough to post on its own 😂
And the “sold as a slave and fall in love with my abusive master” (usually vampires-the year before Stephanie Meyer produced Twilight-so problematic) was also a big one. I had one friend who would read them and recommend them all the time.
I had no idea how deep the rabbit hole went when the story first broke. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it all. I can understand wanting to get out of the toxicity of a book group, but she had other options. And the fact that she lurked and even interacted in the group under a (another?) pseudonym suggests it was more about a long game of revenge or manipulation against the alleged bullies than prioritizing her mental health.
This was obviously an egregiously demented act from the start - but the way she justified all of her actions in the post you read at the very end was stomach turning. She genuinely believes she is the victim and has zero remorse for the tumult her actions caused other people. It is sickening.
You know shout out to the people I've been seeing covering this, because not one made a comment on her weight. I had no idea what she looked like. Basic decency says don't be fatphobic but I'm still shocked.
"let the fun begin" makes me lose it every time
"I hate doing videos in parts." - and then I realized the NYTimes cover story came out after this video was filmed 😭
I’m. So. Peeved.
i feel so bad for finding rachels lil stumbles over words and especially her reactions to said stumbles really funny and adorable in a good way xD finally im not the only person who twists its own tongue!
It is CONSTANT I have such a problem with it lol
@@ReadswithRachel SO RELATABLE XD
@@ReadswithRachelI find it really reassuring as someone with a speech impediment!
English is anguish. 🤣
Meachen read the Cliff's Note version of Much Ado About Nothing and the only thing she took away was that faking her own death would make someone feel bad.
Hello Rachel, I would just like to say that ever since finding your channel I've spent countless hours watching and enjoying your videos. I'm sorry that your boundaries are repeatedly being broken and I'm sorry that all this negativity and spitefulness has impacted you. I just want to say how much I enjoy your reviews and your snarkiness. Even with books that I've loved that you've given negative reviews to, I still listen and enjoy because you always manage to make it so entertaining. Hopefully this madness will all die down soon and you can move on with your life in peace. Just know that so many people are here in support of you and you are FAR from a "goodreads bully."
Got the suicide warning from TH-cam. This is gonna be an interesting one
*sinks down in chair in secondhand mortification*
(At all of Susan's nonsense. Yikes. 😬 I didn't think it would get worse but it got way worse.)
i need to sleep i get up early
*rachel drops a 25 min vid
i'll sleep when i die
🦛🦛🦛
I cannot with the hippos! Need a hippo merch item -- just a hippo with a mouth open and a speech bubble saying "Pre-order my book!"
😂😂😂
Can't wait for updates on the fraud charges, holy crap.
Happy to see you this week. I hope your break from socials is going well.
Omg not the fundraisers!?!? This is screaming “scam artist” 🤢
I'm so glad that ur back. I heard what happened with Piper CJ, I was so angry that someone tried to bully u. I hope that ur okay and doing well. I always look forward to ur updates
Wait what happened?? I’m not on any other socials so I always feel so blindsided!!
Nvm, I found it. I have no words!! Was she really doxxed? I’m 🤯🤬
No one’s DMed me telling me I’ve been doxxed and so far nothing weird has shown up at my house so hopefully that’s just a rumor
the DOUBLING DOWN!! I feel so sorry for all of her fans and friends and mourned her only for this to happen. This woman deserves everything that’s coming to her omg
I was so waiting for this one! You never disappoint… again what not to do as an author. But this? NEVER do this! Periodt!
Right off the bat reading the "daughter's" post I can see some red flags and I'm just 3 minutes into the video. First of all, if you want to write a message about your loved one dying but you're lying about it, do not give yourself away by saying "dead people don't post on social media." because you will give yourself away within seconds.
Also frankly I've seen tons of dead people post on social media. Sometimes it's "hey this is so-and-so's child/spouse/agent, unfortunately so-and-so died" posting under so-and-so's account, sometimes it's more confusing like Hermain Cain's twitter continuing to make tweets long after he died. Dead people post on social media constantly tbh.
19:42 Meachen’s response literally had me cussing at my phone I was so upset, what kind of monster does that? Also we’ve all been through tough times don’t mean we should pretend to be dead to stop the bullshit though, it makes everything worse. She’s a grown woman who’s acting like a bratty teen.
i definitely manifested this because early today i searched through your videos to see if you’d made one on this person😭 i am delighted that you’ve somehow read my mind i love your commentary
This is a crazy story! There's bound to be more to come, people like this want the attention
i've heard about this incident quite a bit and watched videos from other creators, but this one was by far the most thorough. thanks for all your research and attention to detail on this. it really is appalling 💀 hope everything is okay with you! you can always take a break and your viewership will still be here for you when you return.
My TH-cam algorithm today was like: 'Buddy, I'll show you controversy in communities you never even knew existed!'
welcome to hell
15:23 has me dying laughing 😂😭😂
The *mouse* does not play 💅💫
Before this I had never heard of the author or read her books and I definitely never will
Im so glad to see you! Your videos make my week and I adore your content! Thank you for inspiring all of us to continue reading and writing! You are amazing !!❤
Ditto to that!
this better be a fucking lifetime movie
6:06 Being a part of the veteran community, mindsets like those are very common. It's sad.
6:30 all I could think:
"Nice community"
"Thanks, it has pockets"
I appreciate that bit at the end about vetting the quote source. I've been mostly off Twitter the past few weeks and missed that. Also Claribel Ortega is a treasure. Loved Witchlings last year.
"I haven't done this in a week and already I'm bad at my job" me every time I take a vacation day
As some who has suicidal depression and has found help for it...this...this....I have no words.
Also I have started saying 🎶 thank you for being a friend 🎶 thank you for the serotonin
Hell, READY TO GLARE did a video on this. She had someone she knew online did this and it was fucked up!
The way that I jumped on this video! :D The moment I read the news I thought of you.The hippo took me out, I think the whole building heard me laugh.
I loved the cameo by Carlos, thank you for the camera assistance Mr. ReadswithRachel!
I knew the story was mainstream once elderly members of my family started asking me about it since I’m a romance reader and blogger. What a crazy and messed up story. Great coverage again Rachel.
I’m not even in the book community, I don’t read like I once did and it’s sad to me, but one of your videos was in my recommendations and I’ve been hooked especially on the authors behaving badly (I love hearing the tea but also inappropriate behavior like you’ve mentioned others doing in other videos shouldn’t be just brushed under the rug when some quite negative things about them or that they’ve done that are less than favorable. I feel like I’m sitting with a friend getting the hot gossip of people I don’t know and I love it. You’ve got me hooked Rachel and your book organization skills, you truly deserve a reward it’s beautiful loved when it was color coded im commenting at the beginning and don’t remember the date on the last video I watched posting date but you had mentioned reorganizing the books and I just like need you to organize what’s left of my Stephen King collection and probably the rest of my life. Very aesthetically appealing and it’s a good organization tactic. Sorry I’ve fangirled seemingly the entire comment 💀 anyways tldr; you’re the best and I love the tea.
and I wish I could get my reading skills from school bad of reading them so fast like don’t wanna talk about how long I’ve been on chapter three of a book I know I love bc it’s too embarrassing of a time span 😂
This whole situation is just... I don't even know where to start. I'm glad that the interview was hopefully fake because that was some of the most apathetic writing I have ever read. Hope your break is helping
Nine kids killed themselves at my high school in my junior year. This is sick and twisted.
The THIRD cover designer? Cover designers, are you guys okay?
I have been waiting for you to cover this! As soon as I read the story, I knew it belonged in, “Authors Behaving Badly.”
In all honesty, it sounds like this woman does need some psychological help and I truly hope she is getting that. I felt like I was getting whiplash with all the twists and turns. (the hippo 'joke' from Twitter killed me into giggle fits)
Claribel’s tweet took me out 😂😂😂
I think you mean Flaribel* ;)
@@ReadswithRachel 😂😂😂yes of course
I can’t fathom why she doesn’t see herself as in the wrong! Faking a death, let alone a suicide, is so messy, it sounds like a plot from a soap opera or a dramatic movie. And not in a good way.
Lmao why is her first tweet on that screenshot the iCarly theme sing 😂 🤣
16:26 I thought you meant another McGuire author and almost had a heart attack. Phew
To fake something that would harm so many people is just...so awful.
Thank you for doing this video what this woman did is truly disgusting I'm so appalled because many people have committed suicide and the fact that she decided to do this is truly vile she belongs in jail
😈😠😡🤬
You either have to be extremely foolish or extremely desperate to attempt faking your own departure. Like, what did she expect would come about? Chocolates and warm, fuzzy hugs?
Lol, funny you should say that about the name "butterbaugh", I just spoke to a woman at work whose last name, cross my heart, was "Schmuki"!
My family is friends with a family whos last name is Buttkis.
@@ReadswithRachel no! That is hilarious!
“Hedge of protection” is so CRINGE! 🤢
This is, this is bonkers. What was the family, or whoever may have originally made the s**cide story make the rounds (could've been an agent or someone else, who the hell even knows but them, really) , even thinking doing all this? And then returning?? Just like that?? Bruh, you had your new pseudonym , you were making money through that just as well and with less dirt, too, fresh start, clean slate, whatever, what was even the point of bouncing back like that???
Tbh I'm not that forgiving when someone fakes their death and comes back expecting nothing to change. I've literally had that happen in my family before, so very little patience for the excuses. Granted the main excuse I've gotten from that family member is just flat denial that it even happened, so I've never managed to get far enough for the wackier excuses.
Your makeup is so good! 💜
Thank you!!
THE HIPPO PART 😭
The hippo part had me rolling 😂
Leave the mortal coil? It's SHUFFLE OFF, Susan. SHUFFLE OFF.
Yessssss I thought we'd have to wait for this one 👐 Tapping Immediately
I love this series of authors behaving badly! You should do a video of Terry Goodkin (Daniel Greene also has a video on him, but I would love to hear your view on this) he has pretty much been very rude to fans, fantasy readers and cover designers on social media and is pretty much a megalomaniac
I have plans to! ❤
“Did I leave the mortal coil?” I can’t I can’t I am wheezing please
Everybody I know can say with absolute honesty that they either know somebody who has attempted or successfully committed suicide. We have all lived through that experience and pain. To have Susan fake something that is such a universally painful thing is disgusting. To twist the knife and blame it on her ‘bullies’ just makes things worse. What a terrible excuse for a human being.
I kept seeing this around but I was like, I bet Rachel's got us covered, I'm not gonna look this up 😂
I got you ❤
It makes me wonder if there is something mentally wrong with people who do this. I don't know what else to think about it if it's not the case. Smh.
FROM THE HIPPOS MOUTH lmao
I laughed so hard at that 😂
@@MsJayteeListens it was so funny 😂
“Hedge of protection” gave me a visceral reaction. I’d erased the phrase from my memory. Ick indeed.
You didn't really touch on her pen name that she continued to post in the group under the whole damn time. Gas lighting a community to the extreme. But great vid as always
Hey Rachel, hope everything’s okay. I know taking a break can suck as a content creator, but it’s ok to prioritize yourself
It’s so hard because I’m a workaholic 😩
Rhonda is real.. I promise you..🖤. Keep up the great work.
Yup, I'm real! My name is real as I've had it for 41 years! LOL
Sorry I really should comment after watching the whole video, but there's just so much to unpack. You knocked this one out of the park and found so many things I didn't see while combing the wreckage myself.
Lost it at "THE MOUSE WILL SUE YOU"
I just found you. As much a I want more videos, take care of yourself!
I love Claribel 🤣🤣
Keep up the good work Rachel! Love your content. Glad to see another upload ^_^
I was absolutely delighted to see that you uploaded. When I saw the subject of today's video, I was even more so!💕
You’re awesome, Rachel.