+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
upworthy
Joy

10 years after going unnoticed, daughter's TikTok turns dad's novel into number one best-seller

Lloyd Devereux Richards' crime thriller "Stone Maidens" shot to the No. 1 spot on Amazon.

stone maidens, booktok
@stonemaidens/TikTok

"Stone Maidens" is now flying off the shelves.

Never underestimate the power of the internet…or a daughter’s love.

Just ask Lloyd Devereux Richards, who’s now a bestselling author thanks to his daughter Marguerite Richards' TikTok going viral. Previously, he didn’t even know what TikTok was.

Lloyd began writing his serial killer thriller “Stone Maidens” back in 1998, based on real crimes that happened during his college years in the mid-70s. He would spend a little over a decade writing the book in the few precious hours he could carve out between his law career and being a dad to three children.

The book was finally published in 2012 after years of rejections from literary agents and editors. Unfortunately, this milestone was not met with many sales.

After seeing all her father’s hard work not pay off, Marguerite didn’t want his story to end on such an anticlimactic note.

“It was such a great book, and I knew how important it was to him,” she told The Washington Post. “He never was like, ‘Ah, nobody cares.’ He just always stayed positive. I thought maybe it’s just because nobody knows about the book.”

So Marguerite made a TikTok account dedicated to promoting his book. The first video showed footage of Lloyd at his desk, unaware that he’s being filmed. In the clip, Marguerite wrote how her dad dedicated so much time to writing it even though “being a dad came first,” and how much she’d “love for him to get some sales."

@stonemaidens It’s a beautifully written thriller on Amazon 🥹❤️ #stonemaidens#booktok#authorsoftiktok#thrillerbooks#books♬ original sound - e

The Post reported that the video reached a million views overnight. Even better, ”Stone Maidens” had suddenly become one of the top-selling books in its category on Amazon. As of now, hard copies are sold out.

Marguerite posted a follow-up video showing Lloyd finding out the good news, and it’s 100% heartwarming. Tears instantly stream down his face. He is left speechless over the wave of praise.

@stonemaidens you all are amazing! Life can be hard and then it can be wonderful suddenly (still crying) #stonemaidens♬ original sound - lloyd

“I’m ready for a nap!” he quips while throwing on his glasses. An app he had no idea existed completely changed his life in the span of 24 hours. Life is extraordinary in that way.

Subsequent videos show the pair celebrating the unexpected win, which has left Lloyd feeling “overwhelmed” and “blessed.”

Truly, even with all its inherent flaws, the internet can be an amazing tool for connection. As one person commented, “The world has so many hidden gems. Social media allows us to find them.”

One person noted how TikTok specifically could be a really positive platform, writing that “moments like this are why I stay on the app. The love and generosity from people is astounding. There is definitely more good than evil.”

As for Lloyd’s ever-growing fanbase—he’s been working on a sequel for the past four-and-a-half years. Stay tuned. Something tells me publishing won’t be nearly as difficult this time around.

And for those who might be finding themselves up against a similar challenge with their own creative endeavors, Lloyd does have a tip. Unsurprisingly, it has to do with resilience.

“Write, rewrite and write it again. And never give up.”

From Your Site Articles
books
Badge
Cargill
Cargill
Sponsored

Women working in Africa’s cocoa farms have received business education programs for 15 years. Here’s how that benefits the entire world.

All images provided by CARE & Cargill

The impact of the CARE and Cargill partnership goes beyond empowering cocoa farmers

True

Cocoa, the key ingredient found in your favorite chocolate bar, has been a highly revered food product throughout human history. It’s been used for religious ceremonies in Peru, royal feasts in England and France, traded as currency for the ancient Mayans. And considering that many of us enjoy chocolate on a regular basis (mochas and candy bars, anyone?) it seems like that love is still going strong even today.

And if you are someone who looks forward to that sweet chocolate pick-me-up on a regular basis, you likely have the women of West Africa to thank.

Women like Barbara Sika Larweh, a mother of six who works as a cocoa farmer in Larwehkrom, a community located within the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality in the Western North Region of Ghana.

care, cargillMama Cash now empowers other women to gain independence

Nearly 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where Barbara and other mothers make up over half of the labor force. These female cocoa farmers shoulder the same physical burden as their male counterparts—all while also running households and paying for their children to go to school. And yet, they typically don’t receive equal income. Nor do they have access to the resources that could help them achieve financial independence.

Thankfully, positive changes are taking place. Barbara’s story exemplifies the impact of programs offered by CARE and Cargill, such as Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA), which are small groups that offer low-interest loans to individuals living in poverty, helping them to build savings without going into devastating debt.

Through these initiatives, women, like Barbara, are equipped with vital knowledge like financial literacy to improve household incomes, sustainable agriculture practices that improve yields, and nutrition education to diversify their family’s diets.

“They came and trained me on the VSLA. I dedicated myself and volunteered so that I would be able to train my people, too,” Barbara explains.

Within the first year of using the programs, Barbara and the people she trained profited—earning her the nickname of “Mama Cash.”

This is no isolated event. In cocoa-growing communities supported by CARE and Cargill programming between 2019-2022, the number of households living below the national poverty line decreased by nearly 32% in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana - as a direct result of increasing and diversifying income through using these programs.

Like Barbara, who today is an executive member of the Community Development Committee, more than 2.4 million women have used their success as entrepreneurs to transform into leaders and decision-makers within their communities. Whether it’s giving most of their earnings back to their families, reducing child labor, or exponentially increasing overall farm yields, the rippling effect is profound.

The impact of the CARE and Cargill partnership goes beyond empowering cocoa farmers. The joint initiatives have fostered progress on complex global issues related to social justice, such as gender equality, climate change, and food security. By improving access to quality nutrition, water, and hygiene, the joint programs have positively influenced the cocoa communities’ well-being.

Suddenly there’s a lot more to think about the next time you eat a candy bar.

Find out more about the important partnership between CARE and Cargill here.
From Your Site Articles
finance
Joy

Woman discovers the adorable reason why all the dogs won't leave the same spot on the lawn

Why are they so obsessed?

via Simtrisha/TikTok

A dog keeps a watchful eye over a a spot on the lawn.

A TikTok user named Trisha became alarmed after her senior dog, Jackie, seemed particularly captivated by a specific patch on the yard. The spot on the lawn was also of keen interest to the neighbor's dog, who was poking his nose through the fence, trying to get a closer look.

When Trisha went out to inspect the mysterious patch of grass, she realized the dogs were watching over a snug little burrow, home to a clutch of adorable baby bunnies.

Keep ReadingShow less
dogs
Community

Facebook group rallies to reunite members with long lost childhood items

Total strangers helped this woman find her favorite childhood toy

True

Many of us associate connection with social media: connection to the world, to friends and family, and perhaps even to others who share their ideas and hobbies.

Sometimes, that connection can restore old relationships or begin new ones. For Mavis Moon, however, social media is what helped reunite her with a long-lost family member: a blue, stuffed toy dog.

Moon was raised by her grandfather, who struggled with chronic health problems. One day when they were home alone, he suffered a massive heart attack. She immediately dialed 9-1-1, and when the emergency responders who arrived on the scene recognized how traumatized she was after witnessing the event, they consoled her with a blue stuffed dog. Her grandfather eventually recovered, and from that day forward she was never without her dog. He became a member of the family.

The stuffed animal brought her security and comfort. It was such an integral part of her life that her grandfather would carry it around when she couldn’t—he could always be counted on to be in the stands at her basketball games, holding up the dog to cheer for her. That stuffed animal went everywhere she went for years, until one devastating day when she lost him at a local fair.

Keep ReadingShow less
Science

Hawk drops snake on Texas woman, then tries to take it back in real-life horror story

File this under "things you didn't want to know were possible."

NPS/Kurt Moses (Public Domain)

Snakes are prey for hawks, but humans aren't usually involved in the hunt.

You know how sometimes you read a story that seems like it couldn't possibly be true, and when you find out it is, you think, "Yeah, I didn't actually need to know that could happen"?

This is one of those stories. And I'm only a little bit sorry for sharing it because it's also one of those stories where every detail gets more and more incredible (or in this case, worse and so much worse). I mean, it's a real-life story that starts with a snake falling out of the sky, for crying out loud. Cue the horror soundtrack.

Peggy Jones, 64, told Fox 26 Houston that she was driving her riding lawnmower in the yard of her home in Silsbee, Texas, when out of nowhere, a snake landed on her from above. Before she could even wrap her mind around what was happening, the snake coiled itself around her arm and began to strike at her face, repeatedly hitting her glasses.

That would be more than enough all by itself, but that's not where this horror story ends. The hawk that had presumably dropped the snake really wanted it back.

Keep ReadingShow less
wild nature stories
Education

Scientists studied the bones of ancient women, and we might need to rethink 'women's work'

Women of the Bronze Age were anything but weak.

Canva

Certainly not the story we've been taught to believe

Think about the illustrations you've seen of men and women of the Bronze Age who lived thousands of years ago.

Perhaps there's one you recall from your elementary school text book — in which men are probably depicted hurling bronze spears and strangling lions with their bare hands, while the women are most likely pictured leading children around, sifting through grapes or weaving tiny reeds into baskets (presumably to hold the fruits of their husbands' labor).

Keep ReadingShow less
interesting
Health

After a tragic birth story out of Atlanta, an OBGYN breaks down 'maneuvers of last resort'

"A shoulder dystocia, if you don't know, is an obstetric emergency."

Dr. Fatima Daoud|TikTok

OB-GYN breaks down shoulder dystocia after tragedy in Atlanta.

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains graphic details of childbirth trauma and infant loss.

A couple in Atlanta, Georgia, experienced a devastating loss that by all stretches of the imagination seems impossible. Unfortunately, the unimaginable is one of the rarest of rare birth complications that resulted in the loss of their newborn son.

Jessica Ross and her partner, Treveon Taylor, were excitedly awaiting the delivery of their first child when during the pushing stage of labor, baby Treveon Taylor Jr.'s shoulder got stuck. According to the Cleveland Clinic, shoulder dystocia is when one or both of the baby's shoulders get stuck behind a bone in the pelvis, which doesn't allow the baby to exit the birth canal.

Ross found herself in this very situation, which eventually resulted in an emergency situation in which the doctor had to dislodge the baby from the pelvis and perform a Cesarean section. It is suspected that the force with which the baby was dislodged caused the infant's decapitation.

Keep ReadingShow less
childbirth complications
Family

'We're naming a child, not a dog': Man fights with wife over naming baby 'Zoomer'

Has the unusual baby name trend gone too far or is he stuck in the past?

via Polina Zimmerman/Pexels

A couple arguing over what to name their baby

Over the past decade or so, there has been a trend of parents choosing to give their children unique names. “We are deep in an era of naming individuality, where parents assume that having a [name] sound distinctive and unique is a virtue,” Laura Wattenberg, the founder of the naming-trends site Namerology, told The Atlantic.

There are multiple reasons for this change in American culture. One is that people have fewer children, so their uniqueness has become more important for parents. Another is that baby name data has pushed parents to go to further lengths to come up with names that won’t make them the third John or second Maria in a classroom.

The internet has also played a role in the change. People with unique names stand out online. Good luck if you’re looking on Facebook for a former classmate named Matt Smith.

Keep ReadingShow less
baby names
Health

Woman shares eye-opening video of what a birthday surprise from an abusive partner looks like

Abuse doesn't always look like abuse.

Lindsay Goodman|TikTok

Woman shares video of what domestic abuse can look like.

Being in an abusive relationship isn't typically something people flaunt around social media or their personal lives. Abuse can be difficult to recognize sometimes, even when you're the one being abused, especially if the abuse isn't physical. Emotional and verbal abuse behind closed doors while the abuser behaves differently in public can make you feel like your own perception can't be trusted.

Lindsay Goodman reposted a video from January 2022, where she reveals the behind-the-scenes of a birthday surprise from her abusive ex-partner. Goodman's birthday is August 10, and she has been reposting the video on her birthday every year to show her growth since leaving her partner.

Without the text overlay explaining what was going on, the birthday surprise seemed like an extremely sweet gesture filmed from the ex-partner's perspective. The original video has over 2.2 million likes and more than 13.4K comments on TikTok.

Keep ReadingShow less
domestic violence
Trending Stories