THE TRUE STORY OF HOW INSPIRATION TURNS INTO INTIMIDATION. In 2011, April Brown shared a poem on a Blog. The poem is called "The Dash" by Linda Ellis. That simple act of sharing put her on a collision course with one of the Internet's most notorious copyright trolls. When the author discovered the post she accused Brown of theft, plagiarism and copyright infringement. Instead of asking Brown to remove the poem or sending a Cease and Desist Order, Ellis threatened to sue Brown in Federal court for $150,000 in damages plus attorney fees. Ellis demanded a payoff of $7,500 if Brown wanted to avoid litigation and the heavier fine and criminal penalties. Brown refused to surrender to the intimidating tactic and chose instead to warn others. The amazing story is chronicled in Poetic Justice.
About the Author: April Brown was born in Wenatchee, Washington and has lived within a few miles of the downtown Seattle core for almost 30 years. In 1992, she decided to devote her life to animal rescue and a few months later, Whisker City was born. To fund her charity, she became an auctioneer so she could sell used items and raise money to rescue and re-home animals of all breeds. She attended Missouri Auction School, returned home and opened the very first woman-owned auction company in Seattle. 30 years ago, she was one of 4 women to attend the very first class that allowed women to become police officers for the Nashville Davidson County Police Department. It was a short and precedent setting career. She's never forgotten the training and experience she gained and used many of the skills to dig up and investigate the facts for "Poetic Justice". She is proud of Charity Auction World, which is a solid and growing business that's still relevant after 20 years. One of the perks of both volunteering and working in the charity world is that good people surround her nearly every waking hour. This was not the case growing up. She left home at 18 and half-heartedly attended a Bible college in Nashville, Tennessee. Disillusioned with religion, she quit school and opened up a sandwich shop on the corner of the Vanderbilt campus called the Sack Lunch. In less than a year she closed shop and moved to Burbank, California. She worked at Warner Brothers in security, booked guests for Chuck Barris Productions booking game shows and scouted talent for Larry Flynt Publications. She moved back to Washington and started a clothing store called Kimono Madness where she designed and sold custom kimonos and jewelry. She got the comedy bug and began writing and performing stand-up routines at local taverns and produced comedy shows. She performed a stint at Mitzi Shore's Comedy Store in Los Angeles, California and moved to Seattle and continued performing standup. Admittedly not a good match for the lifestyle quit and began a career in mainstream media. She worked at KIRO TV and KSEA FM and opened a press agency, managed a health club, worked for the Washington State Attorney General before she finally landed on the dual career of auctioning and animal rescue and the rich full life she enjoys today.