Aiken Wields a Mighty Sword

PROMO GRAPHIC -- Cindilu2 created this beautiful graphic from the publicity photo by Miranda Penn Turin/RCA Records.

Scurrilous Perpetrators, Take Notice!

Aiken Wields a Mighty Sword

Once upon a time in the land of Carolina, a handsome prince and his beloved kingdom, in the midst of month-long festivities celebrating the imminent arrival of a very special disk, were rudely interrupted by a greedy, ill-advised local wench clambering for a piece of the pie.

The endearing prince, whose golden voice and caring heart have become legendary around the globe, wielded his mighty sword and proclaimed loud and clear for all to hear:

I have instructed my attorneys to not only vigorously dispute the claims that have been made but to also pursue all possible remedies against those involved in the perpetration of these untruths.

As a so-called `celebrity' I have become used to scurrilous allegations and untruths being made about me and my work. I have always taken the path of not reacting to these matters and have accepted them as, somehow, coming with the `job.' However, I cannot, and will not, stand by when these attacks are made on my family.

Scurrilous Perpetrators Addressed

The above statement was issued by singer Clay Aiken through RCA Records Monday in answer to a lawsuit filed Friday by Jeannie Holleman, who penned an unauthorized biography of him, tried peddling her wares with little success, and apparently turned to the courts to recoup the visions of dollar signs still dancing in her head.

In one fell swoop, Clay subtly but clearly addressed not only the ill-advised actions of an unauthorized biographer, but also any other scurrilous, pesky perpetrators contemplating ruinous campaigns against him, his family, or his highly successful singing career.

JH's lawsuit was filed just one day after RCA's publicity roll-out began for the singer's sophomore CD, A Thousand Different Ways, set to be released Sept. 19.

PHOTO INTERMISSION: Today's clickable interlude features blends and graphics of the CD promo by the following visual artists: CLAYPERFECT (1); Amazing_CA (2, 4); Claystruck (3); and Clayquebec1 (5).

Authoress Seeks Profit Recoup

JH has reportedly been working in tandem with a press agent, as well as an attorney, on her complaint. On her lawyer's web site, she claims she is suing because to date her book has only earned $500 profit and that Clay's alleged defamation of the book to his fans caused an irreparable loss in sales.

The authoress is seeking $260,000 in damages and asking the court to order CA "to retract the critical comments or endorse the book on his official web site, to write a positive introduction for the book, and to sell the book at his concerts for at least five years."

Delusional? What JH does not seem to understand is that by suing and attacking CA, she has set a course to lose much more potential profit. Most Claymates never even heard of this book until the lawsuit, and now we couldn't be paid to purchase it. In addition, her actions are providing more publicity for Clay than for herself.

Monday the story was covered by various media, online news and entertainment web sites, as well as several in the blogging community, including those with no CA affiliation like Wayward Bound Live Journal.

The AP story was carried by numerous online media sites like E-Online.

Amazon Sees the Light

As stated in the previous blog, Friday's online orders for ATDW catapulted Clay's new CD to the Top Seller position at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Ironically, until the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Amazon was pairing ATDW with the JH book as a suggested combo purchase. After numerous fan emails -- and possibly a word with CA's attorneys -- the 564-page tome has been removed from the page and, to date, has received mostly one-star ratings from 48 reviewers.

I particularly like these by Dave and Margaret, currently #7 and #9 on the page:

DAVE: I found this book at a used book store before a canoe trip, so for 2 dollars I gave it a shot. While fun for the poor quality of the writing, it is not entirely without merit. Growing tired of it on the trip, I found on the outside it made an excellent bug smasher and on the inside the pages, while uncomfortable, worked reasonably well for the purpose of sphincter cleaning when other resources ran out. Please do not waste your time reading this grade school quality effort.

MARGARET: I did buy this book here, read a few chapters and was totally repulsed by the author's bragging about how she consistently used Clay fans to get free trips to concerts and a free place to stay. Not to mention a free trip to Hawaii with room and board. Book was written as if by a fourth grader in its quality of writing and is exploitive to say the least. Only made it about a third of the way through and tossed it aside. First book I've ever read where I really felt the author owed me back my money!

Meanwhile, the Clay Nation has resumed celebrations and CD release party preparations for the impending arrival of ATDW ... in a thousand different ways!

Caro

RELATED TAGS: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, E Online, WaywardBoundLiveJournal, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Claymates