For those of you who may not know what this means it is pure crap.  My books for at least eight weeks, I’m betting it will be longer, will not be available except on Amazon.  I’m presently looking into other distributors to take my books to.
This is thrown a big monkey wrench into my work especially since I was getting ready to release Cold encounters on paperback today.  I did get it release on Smashwords in an ebook.  I’m thinking about taking some serious steps toward promoting my books and that means me going a whole new route.  I’m fighting mad about this but I refuse to let Amazon or anyone else strong arm me.  I’ve fought YouTube twice, taken on facebook, I have to trouble with doing so with Amazon.  For those of you who are interested in supporting me if you do read eBooks please go to Smashwords.com and just type in Cathy Pace Matthews and help me fight back.  By helping me maybe you can help others who are now finding themselves locked into something they didn’t sign up for.

Really YouTube?
Evidently the right hand at YouTube doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.  They resolved my issue, so they think, and yet not everyone there is aware of this.
I just got an email from them that is a carbon copy of one I got on Monday asking for the URL for the video that these four companies have filed copyright claims to.  Them asking for it the first time I didn’t have an issue with however I was insulted with them thinking I needed to be informed on how to do it.  It reads as follows:
We need the URL for the video in question in order to proceed with your inquiry. Here are instructions for how to locate a video URL:

1. Find the video in question on YouTube.com
2. In the address bar at the top, you'll see the video URL (example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXXXXXXXXXX)
3. Copy the entire link and paste it into your email reply

 
Just so there is no issue of copyright infringements here I declare this is directly copied from an email sent to me by YouTube, for the second time.
I had responded to the first one and sent them the URL and they came back with something like, ‘oh this issue has been resolved and should no longer be a problem.  Yet here it is Wednesday and I just got a copy of the same email from them.  Again I responded by sending them the URL and again requesting that they send me the material from these four companies that they claimed my intellectual property was stolen from.  I’m quite sure I won’t get that but who knows maybe they will surprise me this time.
I am in the process of pursuing legal advice on this issue so we’ll see what happens.  So far they haven’t slammed my Fight Back video, knock on wood, but I still expect to hear something from them in that regard.  I can only hope.
Am I being a bitch?  I don’t care.  Do people think I should drop this?  I don’t care.  Am I mad?  I’m laughing my ass off.  Will they ultimately win?  Probably but at least I know I didn’t back down.  I’m going to continue to fight because it scares me that others don’t.  YouTube holds that little black mark over your head like the Sword of Damocles.  A larger company wants to claim your work then so be it.  It’s unfair however that you don’t get to see the work of the person or company making the claim against you.  Now some people have managed to dig into this but I haven’t and by damn I want to know what these companies have that resulted in their claims.  One of them I’m not really too worried about, I don’t think.  It was a sport wear manufacturer, from Finland I think.  Now how anything that was in that excerpt from that book could passible infringe on anything that company has out there, especially when it is this particular excerpt, puzzles the hell out of me.  The three other companies are production companies and when I say production I don’t think that needs to be explained.  Those are the ones that do concern me in particular one that has very close ties to YouTube.
Here’s the kicker.  I was actually going to close that video down because I had redone it to make it easier to read, I hope anyway, when I see the claim against it.  Well that little baby is still up as well as the new version with the exact same material in it.  Funny, so far no one has made a claim against that one, knock on wood.  Oh wait maybe that’s it.  The spacing between the lines.  So I infringed on their copyright of space?  Hey unless they have actually infringed on my intellectual property what else could it be?

As several of you know by now I'm locked into a battle with You Tube. This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you but it is to those of us who have to deal with them from a certain angle. Most people when you talk about You Tube see it from the other side of things.  You want to know how to do something, watch a movie, pull up your favorite music video, or watch one of their comedic skits they have on there you can and it’s different.  You love them.  Well outside of the commercials you have to sit through.
If you’re a large company or a big draw you get all the promotion you could want, even if you don’t need it, while the independent artist, regardless of what it is they do, is lucky if someone even finds their videos without specifically looking it up under our names and sometimes even that can be a challenge.  It would be nice if it was done in a more equitable manor but life isn’t fair and most of us accept that.  We get it even.  We can only hope that one day we might make it to the first or even the twentieth video to pop up when someone randomly looks something up.  For most of us that will never happen and again we get it.  If I had a million dollars to drop on promotions I might make it to number fifty on the list but I wouldn’t even count on that.  Since I don’t have that million to drop anyway it really doesn’t matter.
However when someone lays claim to your intellectual property and you’re expected, no made to feel intimidated, to accept it then that’s something altogether different.  Four different companies have laid claim to the intellectual property in one of my videos.  Always the same one.  Then when you do have the guts to dispute the big money company’s claim, yes they have all been big money, they post it as pending while the owner of the copyright reviews it.  The owner of the copyright?  I am the damn owner of the copyright but I have to wait on someone else to come back and tell me yes or no on whether I get to keep my work.  If they say no You Tube will block me using my own work and this other company can use it anyway they want and make money on it.  If they want to push it far enough the two and a half pages they are claiming are theirs, out of my book of close to three hundred pages they can now sue me for any royalties I might have made from the sales of my book.  That’s right, they can sue me.
You would be surprised at how many people are having to deal with this and are losing money to You Tube and Google with some of their practices.  Yes I’m fighting back and I’m fighting dirty.  Oh everything within legal parameters, but dirty.
So please continue to watch your shows, how tos, movies, music videos but remember there is another side to You Tube and Google.  Those of us on the other side are losing money, our work, and having our honor, integrity, and creativity called into question.  Please don’t take that wrong because I’m not calling you out for what you do just please understand that behind all the things you enjoy there are people fighting and losing a battle against large companies and no one is standing up for them.  In a lot of cases they aren’t even standing up for themselves because they are afraid to and with reason.  No one wants a black mark on their name and that is the ultimate threat that You Tube uses against you.  If I get one, and I probably will, I will display it with pride because I will have gotten it for not backing down.  I’m a fighter and I will not go quietly into that dark night.

I admit when someone pushes me too far, and it really has to be way too far, I tend to respond accordingly.  Well I responded strongly.  Here is the email I sent to Google aka You Tube.
For the fourth time someone has filed a copyright claim against the same video of mine.  The fact that the first three, back in early 2017 backed off should have told you something when this one came up.  The fact that I only discovered this claim because I went in to edit some of my videos was the only reason I found this it has really set me off.  This one is from 2018 but beyond that I have no clue.  Please tell me how four separate companies can lay claim to my work.  That they have given me permission to use "my" intellectual property as long as I didn't make money off it but they could really lit me up.
This video is an excerpt from my book Blood Lines Family Ties.  They are claiming my intellectual work.  That the comment that is hanging out there now is "Your copyright dispute is currently being reviewed by the copyright owner. You'll receive a response within 30 days from when you filed the dispute."  How the hell can you assume that it is their copyright?  It belongs to me.  I understand about how this all goes through some computer and it somehow matches things up but come on.  Four companies on the same video.  Get real.  Also why is it that I don't get to see their work that I'm supposed to have copied?  I want that information.
The last time I sat back and played by your rules but not this time.  I've already started my campaign and come Monday I will be contacting my attorney.  Pull me from You Tube and it will only add to the flame.  I'm a sixty three year old woman and you are going to look pretty damn bad in the media picking on a poor little old lady and believe me I will use it.  You have a lot of attorneys to fight things like this I'm sure but boy do people love it when a little old lady gets picked on by big companies.  You are the ones to bring the money issue into this, not me.  When you did you brought into question my royalties on any of the book Blood Lines Family Ties that I have sold or will sell.
Also I should tell you I can back up my claims in so many ways it will make your head spin.  You might want to take a look at my latest video I posted.  You can pull it but I suggest you don't.  I'm not the only one you have pissed off by this and it is spreading everywhere and believe it or not there are other ways of spreading videos, messages, blogs, and any other number of things.  One other thing, Emma the character in the excerpt, that's based on my daughter.  You might not understand the significance of this but I do.
Oh Blood Lines Family Ties was published first on Smashwords in eBook form on 09-25-2015.

For the fourth time someone has filed a copyright claim against one of my videos on You Tube.  Now the first three times this happened, three at one time, You Tube at least notified me of this.  This time they didn’t.
Now this had nothing to do with images, soundtrack, hell the damn font I used, but these three companies files the claim against the written material from the excerpt of my book.  First the fact that three separate companies filed a copyright claim against what amounted to two and a half pages of my book Blood Lines Family Ties should have set off bell and whistles.  For You Tube that is.  It definitely set off bells and whistles for me but of a different sort.  Now this was in March of 2017.
Here it is November of 2018 and while I was doing some editing of some of my videos I found where another company had filed another claim against my work sometime this year but I was never notified.  I was also informed through this notice that I’m seeing for the first time that the other company, Big Frame – Awesomenesstv, was being kind enough to allow me to go ahead and use it so long as I didn’t make money from it.  Now they can attach commercial ads to it and make money all day long but I better not.  I guess this means any books I’ve sold as a result of this video they can sue me for.
The first three companies that filed the claim against the video went away after I filed a dispute but this one is going to allow me to use my video.  Understand something here, IT IS MY WORK, no one was standing over my shoulders when I wrote any of my books.
Here’s the kicker.  You Tube has never shown me anything of any of these companies that have made claims against me so what is it of mine they are stealing?  Can you tell me another way of looking at this?  I’m open to it but I can only see this as some type of theft at this point.  Think about this a minute.  Four different companies claimed to have written what is in that excerpt.  Add me to the mix and that is at least five people that had to have been there when it was written and that is only if there was one person from each of the four companies.
It actually gets worse.  You Tube does everything it can to keep you from filing a dispute.  I mean everything including barely veiled threats.  You can have your video blocked all the way up to being barred from You Tube.  Also if I hadn’t gone down deep to do some editing I would have never even known about this.  This is what is listed in the deep editing part of You Tube right now.
“Your copyright dispute is currently being reviewed by the copyright owner. You'll receive a response within 30 days from when you filed the dispute.”
I am the copyright owner you assholes.  I think I should be able to review what this company has that they claim they own.  Anyway I’m turning it over to an attorney and if You Tube, Google, and Big Frame – Awesomenesstv want to go into court with an little old lady and have that one spread all over the press then go for it.
Oh here’s another little tidbit about this piece of work.  I can take you from the exact spot from where this excerpt starts all the way to the place where it ends and as for Emma…well unless they can pull someone out of their ass that looks like my daughter who Emma is based on, and I want to see that one, I seriously doubt they can.
The part they claim is theirs.
“Why?”
“Why?  Because of you Emma.  I didn’t come looking for you, you came to me.  If you had just continued walking out to me that day you wouldn’t be here and the connection between us would have ended.  I wouldn’t have found out the things I have.  Instead Taylor was there to rescue you and because of that the connection stayed in place and got stronger with each day.  I’ve had you in my head ever since.  I thought a little turnabout was far play don’t you agree?”
“So it’s been about killing me all along.”  Emma now began to understand the terror he had been putting her through.
Allen let out a harsh almost demonic laugh.  “Is that what you think my dear?  Didn’t your boyfriend tell you what was happening?  No Emma it hasn’t been about killing you in days.  It’s been about you waking in me things that had died.  Making me remember who I once was and what I had.  You my smart little girl, figured that out already.  You got the images of Nadine and her burnt corpse.  You saw my children with the flesh burned from their bones.  You saw what I did that helped start all this, you who have been screaming and crying and fretting over your mind being invaded all day.  What the fuck do you think you did to me time and time and time again.” 
Allen again glanced at Emma and pulled on her arm.  The fires that burned in his eyes were growing larger and brighter by every second.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve made a trip like this in a truck is it.  I like that word, truck.  It makes it sound heavy and strong.  It’s a good word for this thing.  Anyway as I was saying this isn’t the first time for you.  You took a scary ride in one last year and that almost didn’t turn out too well, did it?  I promise you’re in for a treat this time.  This won’t end well for you my dear or for anyone you love.”  Allen felt Emma going limp and again he jerked her.
“Don’t you dare faint on me!  I want you conscious for this whole little joy ride my love.”  Allen spit the last part out as if it were a mouth full of venom.
So unless my name or the soundtrack which is listed for free to use on You Tubes website is what they are screaming about then I’m at a total loss.  Oh this portion of the video was also the part that came into question the first time but at least the three companies has the good sense to split it up in portions.
Attached is the complete video.  Oh I have since redone the video some months back because the book cover had changed as well as I wanted to make it where it ran a little smoother.  Same written content but no one has tagged this one.
I’m attaching the original video so you can read the whole thing.

It amazes me how so much garbage can get past facebook and yet one image can set them in a tizzy.  I posted something on one of my pages and decided to run a promotional on it.  No biggy really.  At least I thought it wasn’t.  Facebook however had another take on it.  This was their message to me.
Your ad wasn't approved because it doesn't follow our Advertising Policies. We don't allow ads that contain shocking, disrespectful or sensational content, including ads that depict violence or threats of violence.
How to fix: We suggest removing this type of content from your ad and/or using a different image or video.
For those of you who know me you know I couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t let it slide.  I responded with this.
Have you guys lost your frigging minds?  The particular image you seem to be having an issue with is the name of an upcoming book and also that happens to be the title of one of the fictional short stories in it.  It is in no way disrespectful, threatening, or sensational toward any living group, person, or object.  It is a fictional short story about a demon who has decided to make money at what she does anyway.  Good Lord people get a grip on reality or in this case a fictional horror story.
By the way I am an author of horror stories and told I'm quite good at it. Oh and here is a little video of something I just put together for S & G.
I was quite certain I was off to facebook jail, somewhere I’ve never been before, but I was going to get my say in to everyone before that happened.  I did too only I didn’t get arrested.  Facebook backed down in less than thirty minutes I must say.  Of course again I couldn’t let a sleeping dog lie.  My comeback to them backing down was as follows.
You guys really need to take a closer look at what you do.  First accusing me of anything like that is so far off base it isn't funny.  I may be a writer of horror but one thing anyone who knows me will tell you is that I try to respect everyone.  I even advise people on what they should and shouldn't do when it comes to posting on facebook.  When someone is trying to promote their image it pays to be careful of what you say and do, not just in real life but on social media as well.
Of course I was nicer about it than I wanted to be I have to say.  I wanted to come back with there is one group that does tend to send me a little over the edge and I can get offensive on occasion although I do try hard not to.  I do hate stupid people.  I kept my cool however and didn’t.
Now what was this oh so offensive image and the little example I sent.  Here goes.  The first one is the one that offended someone in their add program and the second one was a little video I sent to them just for the hell of it.

Now you tell me people how was that first image offensive?