I have been contacted via email by Lisa Chamberlain!
(This is Part 3 of what I GUESS is a series, now – here is Part 1 and here is Part 2)
This is super exciting because this means that she’s a real person and that’s all we really want right now – a real, genuine author behind the books. She has let us know that she is a very private person and has had issues having interviews done, but here is one from 2017 that she generously shared with us!
She also shared that she has a new multi-book publishing contract with Sterling Publishing, which is really exciting as well! It looks like those are scheduled to be out starting this April!
In addition, she said that she has been fighting her own private battle with Amazon about all these other books, because she feels that they are specifically copying her books (the prevalence of the name “Lisa,” the similarity in titles, and even the similarity in text between her original “Wicca for Beginners” and several of the PLR-style books I bought certainly confirm that suspicion).
I’ve also requested a more in-depth interview with her to hopefully discuss her and her practice, her experience and technique in self-publishing (she mentioned a publishing team!) and her experience in dealing with these copycats would be valuable information for the entire community.
I apologize to Lisa for her inclusion in the Fake Witchy Authors article, and am so thankful she was willing to share this information with us!
I am especially hopeful that she will be in further contact with me because if she is, in fact, trying to fight Amazon over these copycat writers, I definitely think we can help her! As I said in the last installment of this series (!?), Kelden and I were unable to find the original document that was being used to seed all the respun books listed on Amazon, and through careful comparison, I am seeing evidence that they might actually be using Lisa Chamberlain’s books for this purpose.
Compare this passage from Lisa Chamberlain’s book, “Wicca for Beginners: A Guide to Wiccan Beliefs, Rituals, Magic, and Witchcraft”:
“Some Wiccans resist the term and draw a clear distinction between themselves and Pagans. However, this distinction is aimed more at modern (or “Neopagan”) spiritual movements than the general sense of the word as a cateogry of “religion.” What Neopagan traditions, Wiccan and non-Wiccan alike, have in common is an affinity with older, pre-Christian belief systems that may not be well-represented in written history but have retained a place in the human imagination, even if their particular expressions have morphed and changed over time.”
Lisa Chamberlain, Wicca for Beginners, Page 14
… to this passage from Scott Spells’ book, “WICCA FOR BEGINNERS: The ultimate beginners guide to Wicca candle spells, herbal magic, crystal spells, moon magic, Witchcraft Rituals, and magic rituals”:
“A few Wiccans oppose the term and draw a clear differentiation among themselves and Pagans. In any case, this differentiation is pointed more at present-day (or “Neopagan”) profound developments than the general feeling of the word as a class of “religion.” What Neopagan conventions, Wiccan and non-Wiccan the same, share for all intents and purpose is a fondness with more seasoned, pre-Christian convinction frameworks that may not be well-spoken to in recorded history however have held a spot in the human creative mind, regardless of whether thier specific articulations have transformed and changed after some time.”
Scott Spells, WICCA FOR BEGINNERS, Page 131
At this point, I’m very much looking forward to hearing back from Lisa Chamberlain and hopeful that we may have finally found the REAL author that everyone is stealing from!
I know it’s a lot to put out very quickly, but I wanted to get this information about Lisa Chamberlain out as quickly as possible – when I said that if I’d gotten something wrong, to let me know, I REALLY meant it – and still do!
