www.andrewmackay.net:

I love a good scam, I do. Some people have to turn and look at car accidents. Me, I have to read gory details of different scams.

It turns out that there are an awful lot of scams out there trying to attract writers in hopes of (what else?) taking their money without providing any product or service. Very occasionally, you’ll find one that wants to take your writing as well as your money, but it’s pretty rare. Most of these people are in the business of separating hopeful people from their money.

Outside of googling an organization before you submit to them, a great resource is the Writers Beware Blogs. You can read several of the latest schemes that they’ve heard about. You’ll see that these folks know how to research a scammer, too!

This week, I’ve got an easy one… Friday evening, my family and I leave to visit my parents and extended family in … Canada! Whoo hoo! I can’t wait. There’s something quite lovely about crossing the border, even as my roots sink deeper into this West Virginian soil. I’ll look forward to harassing some poor soul in St. Catharines for my first true Double-Double in a year (For my uninitiated readers, that’s a coffee with two creams, two sugars, and two whacks of nicotine or something else addictive… how else can you explain it?) Canada, I’ll see you on Saturday.

(Side note: images are back! I use http://www.morguefile.com/ as my source for Free, Royalty Free images. I was saddened when it seemed like they wouldn’t be back, and now I’m gladdened (is that a word) that they made it back to life. If you ever need a photo for a project, check out the Morgue File. You’ll be glad you did.)

You may have to let this one work on you.