Well, I was surprised to see in my inbox a message from All Romance Ebooks CEO, Lori James. I’m going to post it in its entirety to see if some of the facts stated are really happening. So, below, is the email just received an hour ago:

“I wanted to take this opportunity to update all contracted publishers on some key elements involving the winding down of All Romance eBooks, LLC. First, we have completed the process of refunding all 2017 Pre-orders and Advertising. Next, all book files and images have been deleted. On Saturday, February 4, 2017the remaining server content will be wiped. Once the server content is erased, you will no longer have access to the publisher portal (https://www.allromanceebooks.com/publishers/index.php). Please make sure to log in and download any reports you might need prior to that date. We remain on schedule to remit payments byFebruary 28, 2017 of payment of the settlement amounts for those who agreed to accept our 10 % settlement offer. Finally, those who are due to receive a 1099 for the 2016 tax year will be receiving them via the post. Those who are due to receive a 1042 for the 2016 tax year will be receiving password-protected files via email. We will be sending a password protected document to the email address we have on record. The password to unlock the document will be sent via a separate email. As per our terms of agreement, we will be using the information that was in our database as of December 31, 2016. If you need to update any information for the 2017 tax form distribution, please send a request to allromanceebooks@mac.com.

Sincerely,

Lori James

All Romance eBooks, LLC”

So, a couple of questions have come out of this email.

1. Did the people that agreed to a 10% settlement (To note, I did not) really get their money?
2. Are readers really getting refunds for their preorders?
3. Did the authors that bought advertising REALLY get their money back?
4. Will I really get a tax form 1042 for amount earned in 2016?

I’m not sure if to totally believe her or not. After all, it sounds like a lot of promises for someone that swindled her partner and screwed over small publishers and authors.

So, if you can answer any of the questions above, please do in the comments below. I’d love to do a follow up post to keep on top of how this whole situation is going. I know a lot of authors, publishers and readers are affected by the closing of ARe, and I’m happy to keep on top of the info when it becomes available.

Remember, support authors! Read our books and review! It really helps!

-Marilyn

Note: Just had my new Time Travel novel release yesterday! So, have to shamelessly plug it because it is my bread and butter, or rather, helps pay my mortgage, groceries, and gas.

Here’s the link on Amazon (Available in Ebook and Paperback editions)