I wrote a while ago about scams that I had received about promoting my books – click here. I’m still getting them – several a day. Most are now immediately blocked and deleted – but I play along with a few.
Below is the correspondence that I received which purported to come from the real local radio station Frome FM (in red) with my replies to them (in green) and a response from the real Frome FM (in blue).
Frome FM is real and they do have a staff member called Mike Grenville but the immediate giveaway was that the approach came from a gmail account.
If you’d like to tell the fake Frome FM Mike Grenville that you’ve read about his approach to me feel free to spam the spammer.
There must be enough people being fooled that this sort of approach is worthwhile. That’s rather sad. As I wrote two months ago, some of these approaches wouldn’t fool anyone, but some are quite enticing, but the ‘author scamming industry’ is now sending so many of this general type of approach that any mention of help in promoting a book now raises immediate suspicion.
You could buy my books from Bookshop.org and I have set up a booklist to make that easy through this link https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/MarkAvery Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
From: Mike Grenville <mikegrenville.fromefm@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 4:32 AM
To: mark markavery.info <mark@markavery.info>
Subject: What led you to write Remarkable Birds?
Dear Mark Avery,
I’d love to have a chat with you about Remarkable Birds and some of the story behind it.
I’m putting together the next round of recorded conversations and would be interested to hear what led you to write the book, how the idea developed, what you discovered along the way, and whether the experience changed your thinking in any way.
I’m not looking for a standard Q&A or simply a conversation about promoting the book. I’m more interested in what sits behind it, your journey, the ideas and experiences that shaped the work, and where the conversation naturally takes us.
If you’re working on a new book or project, we can talk about that too. And if there’s a funny, unusual or unexpected part of your life that you think listeners would enjoy hearing about, I’d be just as happy to hear that.
It’s a relaxed remote recording, and I’ll send over a few themes beforehand so you know what we might explore.
I’m arranging the next few recordings now. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, just reply and I’ll send over a few available dates and the details.
Best wishes,
Mike Grenville
Frome FM
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2026 7:14 PM
To: mark markavery.info <mark@markavery.info>
Subject: Re: What led you to write Remarkable Birds?
Dear Mark,
Thanks for asking and I completely understand your caution, especially with the amount of spam authors are receiving. I don’t have a physical copy of Remarkable Birds, but I’ve familiarised myself with the book and what it sets out to explore. It looks at some of the remarkable stories, behaviours and characteristics of birds, while also touching on themes such as migration, survival, extinction and our relationship with the natural world. The conversation itself would be relaxed and conversational rather than a formal interview or a standard Q&A. I’d like to explore what led you to write the book, how the idea developed, some of the interesting discoveries behind it, and anything from your experience that you think would make for a good conversation. I’ll send you the themes and questions we’re likely to discuss in advance, so there are no surprises and you have a clear idea of what we’ll cover. Hopefully that gives you a better sense that this is a genuine invitation,. Best wishes, Mike Grenville +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mike – OK. Remarkable Birds is unusual in that the publisher approached me and asked me to write it rather than me trying to persuade a publisher to take me on! And so, I was writing to a brief rather than starting with a blank page. It is probably the most profitable book I’ve written and in some ways the easiest. I can explain all that. And I can explain the system of getting an advance and how that works which might interest your readers. And Remarkable Birds was a book used by Anthropic for training AI – amongst thousands of others – and I am one individual amongst thousands who should get a compensation payment in due course. One of the species, the Passenger Pigeon, is a species about which I wrote a whole book (A Message from Martha) and I could talk more about that ; an extinct American pigeon which was the most abundant bird on Earth just 50 years before the last one, called Martha, died in Cincinnati Zoo on 1 September 1914. I can talk a lot! When? How long? Live or edited? I’m still a bit cautious but I can see that FromeFM exists, and someone with your name is associated with it. M +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: Mike Grenville <mikegrenville.fromefm@gmail.com>Sent: Monday, September 14, 2026 8:01 AM
To: mark markavery.info <mark@markavery.info>
Subject: Re: What led you to write Remarkable Birds?
Dear Mark,
Thanks for getting back to me. Those are some fascinating points, particularly how the publisher approached you with the book and the story behind the Passenger Pigeon. I’d be very interested to hear more about those, as well as your experience with the advance and how that process works. The recording would be a relaxed audio conversation, lasting around 25–30 minutes. It would be recorded remotely, and the finished conversation would be edited before being prepared for broadcast. I’ll send over a few themes and questions beforehand so you know what we might explore, but the discussion can develop naturally from there. I’m currently arranging the next recording. Would you like me to send you the available date and further details for you to go through? Best wishes, Mike Grenville Frome FM +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mike – yes, please Dr Mark Avery +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: Mike Grenville <mikegrenville.fromefm@gmail.com>Sent: Monday, September 14, 2026 8:19 AM
To: mark markavery.info <mark@markavery.info>
Subject: Re: What led you to write Remarkable Birds?
Dear Mark,
I currently have these recording times available: – September 21 — 7:00 PM London time – September 23 — 7:00 PM London time – September 26 — 7:00 PM London time I’m currently finalising the next round of recordings, so if you’d like to take part, it would be helpful to confirm your preferred date soon and I can reserve the slot for you. There is also a Media Spotlight Contribution associated with the feature. This goes towards the production side of the recording, including preparation, recording, editing, and the work involved in putting the finished conversation together for broadcast and audience exposure. It also supports the media spotlight around the author and their work, rather than being a fee for the interview itself. There are three levels of Media Spotlight Contribution, each offering a different level of promotional support and visibility around the feature. I’ll send you the three options so you can see exactly what is included at each level and choose the one that best fits your goals and what you’d like to get from the feature. Once you’ve selected the level that suits you, I can confirm everything and secure your recording date. Looking forward to hearing which date works best for you, and to having the conversation about Remarkable Birds, your writing, the Passenger Pigeon, and the experiences behind the book. Best wishes, Mike Grenville Frome FM +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I contact FromeFm thus: See emails below – I have a feeling this isn’t from you really. M Dr Mark Avery +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FromeFm reply thus: Mark I am very sorry to confirm that your suspicions were correct and we did not send the email. Best wishes in promoting your book.