美国国家公共电台 NPR--Daughter's 17-second TikTok attracts millions to her dad's mystery 'Stone Maidens'

Daughter's 17-second TikTok attracts millions to her dad's mystery 'Stone Maidens¹'

Transcript²

A novel by attorney Lloyd Devereux Richards languished³ in obscurity until his daughter posted on TikTok: "I'd love for him to get some sales." It's now a best-seller.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Here's the plot of a popular book.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FADEL: Young women are turning up dead in southern Indiana. And the killer⁴ is leaving behind clues - stone figurines.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We do not say it's a popular new book because it first came out 11 years ago. The sudden popularity of this story is a story in itself and begins with the author.

LLOYD DEVEREUX RICHARDS: I'm Lloyd Devereux Richards, the author of "Stone Maidens."

INSKEEP: Richards was inspired by real-life unsolved crimes that he heard about years ago while studying law in Indiana. So he tried to launch a second career.

L RICHARDS: I was a full-time⁵ corporate⁶ lawyer. And my daughter and son would often watch me in the attic⁷, where I worked on, you know, evenings and weekends, learning how to write a novel.

FADEL: It's the fate of many books. Publishers never really know what novels will catch fire - until they do. But Richards' daughter, Marguerite, didn't accept that.

MARGUERITE RICHARDS: It made me sad. I knew he was a beautiful writer. And what really touched me was he continued to write. And he wrote a couple of books after that. And in my mind, I was like, what a strong person, when no one's buying the first book, to just keep going and never complain and stay positive. And that just really made a big impression on me.

INSKEEP: So a decade after that first novel, she produced a TikTok video to promote her father's book. Nobody can predict what takes off on social media either, but this did.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BEAUTIFUL BOY")

STEVE CARELL: (Singing) Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.

M RICHARDS: I was like, maybe if I made a video where people could see his book, people would read it. And when I woke up in the morning, the video had 700,000 views. And he had, like, a thousand or 2,000 followers⁸. I actually cried. I couldn't believe that it went that viral.

FADEL: That video now has over 47 million views. And Lloyd Roberts' (ph) book is a bestseller.

L RICHARDS: I'm just amazed. I feel like I've won the lottery⁹. I really do. There's no other comparison. I've had - never had anything like this happen to me in my life.

M RICHARDS: We're a really good team. And we're taking care of each other. And we're just trying to have as much fun as we can because this is incredible. We were always close. And this is just, like, bringing us even closer.

FADEL: Lloyd is once again writing in the attic, prepping a sequel.

(SOUNDBITE OF LRKR'S "MOON ROCKS")

1 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 languished   

长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐

参考例句：

• Our project languished during the holidays. 我们的计划在假期间推动得松懈了。
• He languished after his dog died. 他狗死之后，人憔悴了。

4 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

5 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

8 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

9 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。