He published the book 11 years ago, but it didn’t sell very well. Thanks to this video, it’s now one of Amazon’s best-selling books.
The book “Stone Maidens” by Lloyd Devereux Richards just became a big hit, 11 years after it came out.
Richards worked on the serial killer thriller for 14 years before it came out in 2012. Marguerite Richards, his 40-year-old daughter, made a TikTok video this month to show off her dad’s hard work and try to get him some long-overdue sales.
Marguerite made a TikTok account for her dad on February 7 and posted a video about his work without telling him.
In the clip, she said that her father “wrote his book” even though he worked full-time and put his children “first.” She added,
He’s so happy even though sales aren’t great,
before telling viewers,
I’d love for him to get some sales. He doesn’t even know what TikTok is.
She wrote that the book was a “beautifully written thriller” in the caption and told people to go to Amazon to buy a copy.
As the video went viral on social media, so did his book. It sold out quickly and became the number-one serial killer thriller on Amazon before it was restocked. It’s number 15 on Amazon’s list of best-selling fiction books after its first week on the list.
Nearly 45 million people have now watched the original video.
But Marguerite’s dad didn’t know about any of this until she showed him the first video she made and said he was number one. She also filmed all of that, which made for a very emotional clip.
The video I made of you got 15 million views,
she told him, as he exclaimed,
Oh my gosh.
As he read the comments from people who liked what he did, she said,
because of them, you’re the number one serial killer thriller.
She choked up and said,
I love you, dad.
Her 74-year-old dad was then seen wiping his eyes and saying,
I’m ready for a nap.
You all are amazing! Life can be hard and then it can be wonderful suddenly (still crying),
He got a chocolate milkshake to celebrate the news and said in another video,
These last couple of days, I can’t understand it, I feel blessed, you know.
He also told other writers about his tip, saying,
Write and rewrite and write it again and never give up.
Later, Marguerite thanked her fans and said,
Your support and kind words have changed our lives!
The book’s Amazon page has already been changed to reflect its success. The official summary now says that the book is based on a “TikTok sensation.” More than 900 people gave it a rating of 4.8, and most reviews were positive.
A source says that Lloyd has been working on a follow-up for almost five years.
