Derek Jeter, copyright pirate

And Ford, for that matter.

What? A millionaire and a multi-billion dollar corporation breaking copyright laws?

No, not directly. But when you go to a site that is posting links to pirated versions of my books, an ad for Ford hosted by Derek Jeter comes up. And up and up and up. Ford and Jeter are indirectly paying these people to steal from me.

You'll forgive me for not posting a link.

It's pretty pathetic, actually - the books in question cost $2.99 if you buy them legitimately as ebooks fromAmazon. I get $2 of that - barely enough for a good cup of coffee these days. But since I drink a lot of coffee, I certainly appreciate the money. In a good month, one of these books might earn enough for five or six coffees a week.

I'm extremely grateful to my friends who help support me by buying these book legitimately. They've helped me support my family, albeit in a modest way. I hope I've been able to entertain them a little along the way. I suspect few of them are as well off as Derek, and I'm certainly not, but we've all been able to manage.

Meanwhile, business looks good on the pirate site, which of course claims it's not pirating at all, but merely referring people and facilitating "sharing." In just the few hours that the files had been posted, a three-book set had been downloaded ten times - and I'm sure the Jeter/Ford ad had run at least that many.

Yes, I've filed a complaint with them. I'll report if they ever actually take action. They are of course located out of the U.S., and of course spew complete bs on copyright law, even the international versions.

I'm not the suing kind, but I do have a solution to the problem. If legitimate companies and sports stars are going to support these sites, maybe they'll also support me. Derek, I'd love some seats in the moat*. Doesn't have to be for a full season - a few nights a week will suffice. Ford, I've had my eye on a Taurus SHO...

* To the uninitiated: The "moat" is the area of seats at Yankee Stadium, set off by a concrete wall, very close to the field with access to private clubs behind.