The latest literary craze appears to be "memoirs" supposedly based on authors' real lives that...well...aren't. Writer Margaret B. Jones recently disgraced herself and her publisher- Penguin Group USA's Riverhead Books- when it was discovered that her acclaimed autobiography "Love and Consequences" was a fraud.
In the gritty book, Jones claimed that she is part white and part Native-American and had been raised by an African-American foster parent called "Big Mom." She also "revealed" that she was a gun toting, drug sellin' member of the infamous Bloods street gang, but that she was able to break free and later go on to graduate from the University of Oregon.
Wow! Interesting life, huh? The thing, though, is that the whole thing was totally fabricated.
Jones's real name is Margaret Seltzer and she spent her youth growing up in an affluent San Fernando Valley, CA neighborhood. She also went to private school. Her own sister ratted on her and now the chastened writer claims that her book was based on stories about the experiences of other individuals she came across.
Bad excuse, Margaret, if that is your real name!
Now all copies of her book have been pulled.
Dang! No movie-based-on-book deals and her book wasn't even out long enough to receive an outraged public diss by Oprah.
