Just heard her being interviewed on You & Yours on R4 talking about this - it's a fantastic post:

http://www.rosiefiore.com/1/post/2012/07/dear-stinkle01-youre-a-thief.html

Oh yes, I caught some of this! Will listen more carefully again - I was unpacking my shopping!

My favourite bit was this:

If, after all this, you’re still after a free copy of my book, please do message me. I’d like to invite you around to my house, so you can look me in the eye as you take a copy of the book off the shelf and walk out with it. It’s what you’re asking to do here, so have the courage to do it honestly.

Ironically, some self-published writers (with data to back it up, in Joe Konrath's case) say that their sales go up after they get pirated, presumably because increased word-of-mouth has increased legitimate sales. David Gaughran, author of Let's Get Digital, says that obscurity is a much bigger risk than piracy.

That said, it's still theft and if the people bought their copies as well as spreading word-of-mouth, it would be a better world.

Interesting post, and discussion under it. Someone called 'Adam' argues that authors who've given away their books for free have then gone on to see lots of copies. And yes there are plenty who do this. But he seems to have missed the point that Rosie has not chosen to go that route: the book is being given away free on her behalf against her will. It strikes me that this is what the internet allows people to do: impose their morality or lack of it on the work of other people. Besides, I suspect that Rosie, having a traditional publishing deal, will not be getting much of the e-book fee for her book anyway, as opposed to an author who's giving away free from a self-published context, or a trad. deal that allows for him to do so. In other words, Adam is advocating that Rosie should receive less than she's contracted to.

I'd like see Adam go in a restaurant, eat a meal then refuse to pay the bill, citing the fact that restaurants which give their meals away free to critics get more customers in the long run.

Completely agree, Terry. There's a big difference between an author giving something away as a promotion and someone stealing something, even if they end up promoting it later (and I bet a lot of people who read pirated copies don't actually bother to tell their friends how good the book was or post a good review). It should be up to the author to decide, not some tight-fisted thief.

I think it's all about attitude, really. For example, I got in a lift the other day and there was this guy - smart suit, well spoken - boasting to another guy about how his wife and her sister get nice clothes from M&S, wear them out to an event, then take them back for a refund. Which is not illegal, of course, but you do wonder what else he (and presumably his wife) would see as fair game; and whether after consistently practising such deception they won't at some point casually slide over into non-legal lifting, too, particularly if they think they'll get away with it.