Do FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS and UNFURLED by Michelle Bailat-Jones Infringe the Copyright of THE FISHER KING by Hayley Kelsey? Read on to Decide for Yourself (and see more at https://medium.com/@hayleykelseyauthor)
History:
On June 24, 2013, I submitted a query letter, synopsis, and first 50 pages of my novel to NecessaryFiction.com’s then-fiction review editor Michelle Bailat-Jones for review. On or about June 30, 2013, Bailat-Jones requested a review copy for review. On that date, I emailed a PDF of it to her. Despite three follow-up inquiries, she never replied and a review never appeared on NecessaryFiction.com’s website or elsewhere by Bailat-Jones.
On January 19, 2014, I submitted a query letter, synopsis, and first 50 pages of my novel to agent Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates, which represents alleged infringer Bailat-Jones, which declined.
Nine months after Bailat-Jones requested to read my novel, in March 2014, Fog Island Mountains by alleged infringer Bailat-Jones, received The Center for Fiction 2013 Christopher Doheny Award.
On November 4, 2014 Fog Island Mountains was published by Tantor Media, Inc., and Audible, Inc. On October 23, 2018, Unfurled was published by Ig Publishing Co.
Bailat-Jones has made contradictory statements for the record re: the writing periods and completion dates of Fog Island Mountains: In one interview, she claimed that she completed the original manuscript in 2008-9, then shelved it. But in another interview, she claimed that she wrote it in four months between June 30, 2013 and the award’s October 30, 2013 submission deadline.
Does FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS Have Striking and Substantial Similarities to THE FISHER KING?
Setting: In FISHER, Chesapeake Bay coastal island. In FOG, Japanese coastal island.
In FISHER, there is a generations-old ancestral tie to island. In FOG, there is a generations-old ancestral tie to island.
In FISHER, three siblings leave island for mainland and return. In FOG, three siblings leave island for mainland and return.
In FISHER, feisty daughter-in-law uses two men as sperm donors to conceive an illegitimate child. In FOG, feisty daughter uses a sperm donor to conceive an illegitimate child.
In FISHER, continues a generational pattern of illegitimacy. In FOG, continues a generational pattern of illegitimacy.
In FISHER, characters attempt to escape environmental threat to island (drought, pollution). In FOG, characters attempt to escape environmental threat to island (tsunami).
In FISHER, daughter-in-law Gail has affairs with teenage sweethearts: two perpetual travelers who never married and have returned to island seeking a return to their pasts. In FOG, matriarch Kanae has affair with teenage sweetheart: a perpetual traveler who never married and has returned to island seeking a return to his past.
In FISHER, community opposes main character who holds out against and resists change. In FOG, community opposes main character who holds out against and resists change.
In FISHER, daughter-in-law Gail cannot transcend outsider status. In FOG, patriarch Alec cannot transcend outsider status despite marriage to islander.
In FISHER, one sibling is fragile youngest son. In FOG, one sibling is fragile youngest daughter.
In FISHER, rivalry among three siblings. In FOG, rivalry among three siblings.
In FISHER, love interests are passive males. In FOG, love interests are passive male characters.
In FISHER, characters' identities are wrapped up in being islanders. In FOG, characters' identities are wrapped up in being islanders.
In FISHER, patriarch and son fear change. In FOG, matriarch and daughter fear change.
In FISHER, patriarch falls ill bus resists doctors. In FOG, patriarch falls ill but resists doctors.
In FISHER, themes include: continuing family name, genes, vanishing way of life; family and community loyalty. In FOG, themes include: continuing family name, genes, vanishing way of life; family and community loyalty.
In FISHER, the narrative voice is a feisty first-person female. In FOG, the narrative voice is a feisty first-person female.
In FISHER, three deaths occur. In FOG, three deaths occur.
In FISHER, literary allusions to the Holy Grail myth. In FOG, literary allusions to ancient Japanese myth and folktale.
Does FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS Have Plot and Theme Similarities to THE FISHER KING?
There are eight main elements that comprise the "heart" on which FISHER turns, and FOG takes six of them:
1. Environmental Danger —Island is threatened by hurricanes and environmental degradation
2. Setting —The importance of place, specifically island and historical connection to it, to identity
3. Community —The importance of community to feeling of belonging and sense of purpose; despite marriage into family and many years residence, protagonist is unable to transcend outsider status
4. Inheritance —The importance of inheriting and passing on: family traditions and genes
5. Illegitimacy — Main female character has affair (sperm donor insemination) and illegitimate pregnancy to pass on family name and genes
Does FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS Have Line-by-Line Similarities to THE FISHER KING?
1 —Japanese coastal island. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 5 — Chesapeake Bay coastal island.
14 — batten down the hatches. IDENTICAL TO 306 —men would scramble to batten down the hatches.
19 —[Kanae’s childhood sweetheart, Fumikaze, became an adult without ever marrying or settling down]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 289 —We had been teenage sweethearts, 328—We may have been summer sweethearts once. 191—Don always with a new woman in tow…and each year there was a new one 278—[Peter regrets never marrying and settling down].
20 —[Kanae lies to Fumikaze]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 144—I knew he meant to console me— for lying.
34 —[Kanae angry at being abandoned]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 96—She was angry at what she saw as my abandonment, 124 —I felt abandoned, adrift, 139 —please don't abandon me.
35, 49, 76, 83, 107, 137—[Alec is foreigner, can never transcend foreigner status despite marriage to native]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 22— She's a come 'ere, 102–103—“come ‘eres” who were “from away” A “come ‘ere,” I soon learned, was anyone whose native lineage didn't reach back for generations…Short of marrying an islander, the only way to transcend the status of outsider was to have children, 127—While technically a “come ‘ere,” she had transcended that status by marrying a native and bearing three sons. Yet she remained outside the community, 225— As a “come ‘ere” I could ill afford to be further exiled by the community, 317— Don had never been one of the natives who viewed me as a “come ‘ere’ because I wasn't born here.
55, 87 —[Youngest child is fragile]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 47 —He grew into a thin, sickly child riddled with allergies and asthma who caught everything that came down the pike.
64— [Fumikazie wants move back to childhood town, return to past]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 285—The best port is home port…I thought there was more to life than Trappe Island…and a lifelong connection to one place.
65—[sex] feels like an hour. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 67— It [sex] took hours. 120—It lasted maybe a minute but seemed to encompass hours.
85 —Naomi fears change. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 14—I hadn't realized how much of his resistance to other options was based on fear, 255—Like his father, Sonny had always strenuously resisted change. Now change was upon his and he was shaken to the core. He wanted his future back, 343—I had always viewed his inability to separate from the island as fear of change.
87— Megumi [daughter] is just an angry person. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 119—It became clear to me that Peter was an angry young man, 200—Age and experience hadn't dimmed the flame of the angry young man he had been.
102 —Dialogue of strong ties which Fumikaze forgot, but never forgot childhood sweetheart. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 285— One woman. That's where life's real adventure lies. I felt his eyes on me.
116 —Children’s room remain unchanged since childhood. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 344— Behind the door Wes's room remained likewise unchanged.
136–137—stalled car. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 186—“You're going to stall the engine.” “I'm not going to stall it.”
Michelle Bailat-Jones Reviews
Do FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS and UNFURLED by Michelle Bailat-Jones Infringe the Copyright of THE FISHER KING by Hayley Kelsey? Read on to Decide for Yourself (and see more at https://medium.com/@hayleykelseyauthor)
History:
On June 24, 2013, I submitted a query letter, synopsis, and first 50 pages of my novel to NecessaryFiction.com’s then-fiction review editor Michelle Bailat-Jones for review. On or about June 30, 2013, Bailat-Jones requested a review copy for review. On that date, I emailed a PDF of it to her. Despite three follow-up inquiries, she never replied and a review never appeared on NecessaryFiction.com’s website or elsewhere by Bailat-Jones.
On January 19, 2014, I submitted a query letter, synopsis, and first 50 pages of my novel to agent Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates, which represents alleged infringer Bailat-Jones, which declined.
Nine months after Bailat-Jones requested to read my novel, in March 2014, Fog Island Mountains by alleged infringer Bailat-Jones, received The Center for Fiction 2013 Christopher Doheny Award.
On November 4, 2014 Fog Island Mountains was published by Tantor Media, Inc., and Audible, Inc. On October 23, 2018, Unfurled was published by Ig Publishing Co.
Bailat-Jones has made contradictory statements for the record re: the writing periods and completion dates of Fog Island Mountains: In one interview, she claimed that she completed the original manuscript in 2008-9, then shelved it. But in another interview, she claimed that she wrote it in four months between June 30, 2013 and the award’s October 30, 2013 submission deadline.
Does FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS Have Striking and Substantial Similarities to THE FISHER KING?
Setting: In FISHER, Chesapeake Bay coastal island. In FOG, Japanese coastal island.
In FISHER, there is a generations-old ancestral tie to island. In FOG, there is a generations-old ancestral tie to island.
In FISHER, three siblings leave island for mainland and return. In FOG, three siblings leave island for mainland and return.
In FISHER, feisty daughter-in-law uses two men as sperm donors to conceive an illegitimate child. In FOG, feisty daughter uses a sperm donor to conceive an illegitimate child.
In FISHER, continues a generational pattern of illegitimacy. In FOG, continues a generational pattern of illegitimacy.
In FISHER, characters attempt to escape environmental threat to island (drought, pollution). In FOG, characters attempt to escape environmental threat to island (tsunami).
In FISHER, daughter-in-law Gail has affairs with teenage sweethearts: two perpetual travelers who never married and have returned to island seeking a return to their pasts. In FOG, matriarch Kanae has affair with teenage sweetheart: a perpetual traveler who never married and has returned to island seeking a return to his past.
In FISHER, community opposes main character who holds out against and resists change. In FOG, community opposes main character who holds out against and resists change.
In FISHER, daughter-in-law Gail cannot transcend outsider status. In FOG, patriarch Alec cannot transcend outsider status despite marriage to islander.
In FISHER, one sibling is fragile youngest son. In FOG, one sibling is fragile youngest daughter.
In FISHER, rivalry among three siblings. In FOG, rivalry among three siblings.
In FISHER, love interests are passive males. In FOG, love interests are passive male characters.
In FISHER, characters' identities are wrapped up in being islanders. In FOG, characters' identities are wrapped up in being islanders.
In FISHER, patriarch and son fear change. In FOG, matriarch and daughter fear change.
In FISHER, patriarch falls ill bus resists doctors. In FOG, patriarch falls ill but resists doctors.
In FISHER, themes include: continuing family name, genes, vanishing way of life; family and community loyalty. In FOG, themes include: continuing family name, genes, vanishing way of life; family and community loyalty.
In FISHER, the narrative voice is a feisty first-person female. In FOG, the narrative voice is a feisty first-person female.
In FISHER, three deaths occur. In FOG, three deaths occur.
In FISHER, literary allusions to the Holy Grail myth. In FOG, literary allusions to ancient Japanese myth and folktale.
Does FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS Have Plot and Theme Similarities to THE FISHER KING?
There are eight main elements that comprise the "heart" on which FISHER turns, and FOG takes six of them:
1. Environmental Danger —Island is threatened by hurricanes and environmental degradation
2. Setting —The importance of place, specifically island and historical connection to it, to identity
3. Community —The importance of community to feeling of belonging and sense of purpose; despite marriage into family and many years residence, protagonist is unable to transcend outsider status
4. Inheritance —The importance of inheriting and passing on: family traditions and genes
5. Illegitimacy — Main female character has affair (sperm donor insemination) and illegitimate pregnancy to pass on family name and genes
6. Illness —Patriarch contracts fatal illness, dies.
Does FOG ISLAND MOUNTAINS Have Line-by-Line Similarities to THE FISHER KING?
1 —Japanese coastal island. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 5 — Chesapeake Bay coastal island.
14 — batten down the hatches. IDENTICAL TO 306 —men would scramble to batten down the hatches.
19 —[Kanae’s childhood sweetheart, Fumikaze, became an adult without ever marrying or settling down]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 289 —We had been teenage sweethearts, 328—We may have been summer sweethearts once. 191—Don always with a new woman in tow…and each year there was a new one 278—[Peter regrets never marrying and settling down].
20 —[Kanae lies to Fumikaze]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 144—I knew he meant to console me— for lying.
34 —[Kanae angry at being abandoned]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 96—She was angry at what she saw as my abandonment, 124 —I felt abandoned, adrift, 139 —please don't abandon me.
35, 49, 76, 83, 107, 137—[Alec is foreigner, can never transcend foreigner status despite marriage to native]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 22— She's a come 'ere, 102–103—“come ‘eres” who were “from away” A “come ‘ere,” I soon learned, was anyone whose native lineage didn't reach back for generations…Short of marrying an islander, the only way to transcend the status of outsider was to have children, 127—While technically a “come ‘ere,” she had transcended that status by marrying a native and bearing three sons. Yet she remained outside the community, 225— As a “come ‘ere” I could ill afford to be further exiled by the community, 317— Don had never been one of the natives who viewed me as a “come ‘ere’ because I wasn't born here.
55, 87 —[Youngest child is fragile]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 47 —He grew into a thin, sickly child riddled with allergies and asthma who caught everything that came down the pike.
64— [Fumikazie wants move back to childhood town, return to past]. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 285—The best port is home port…I thought there was more to life than Trappe Island…and a lifelong connection to one place.
65—[sex] feels like an hour. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 67— It [sex] took hours. 120—It lasted maybe a minute but seemed to encompass hours.
85 —Naomi fears change. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 14—I hadn't realized how much of his resistance to other options was based on fear, 255—Like his father, Sonny had always strenuously resisted change. Now change was upon his and he was shaken to the core. He wanted his future back, 343—I had always viewed his inability to separate from the island as fear of change.
87— Megumi [daughter] is just an angry person. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 119—It became clear to me that Peter was an angry young man, 200—Age and experience hadn't dimmed the flame of the angry young man he had been.
102 —Dialogue of strong ties which Fumikaze forgot, but never forgot childhood sweetheart. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 285— One woman. That's where life's real adventure lies. I felt his eyes on me.
116 —Children’s room remain unchanged since childhood. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 344— Behind the door Wes's room remained likewise unchanged.
136–137—stalled car. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 186—“You're going to stall the engine.” “I'm not going to stall it.”