STatement from Lisa Henry & Sarah Honey regarding Totally Entwined (now known as Entwined Publishing)

Guys, this is a long one! And we wish it was shorter too, but believe us, it's been a saga. But if you are an author or an aspiring author, you'll want to read it all. No missing stairs on our watch. 

On May 8 2024, we advised Totally Entwined that we wished to be released early from our contract with them, which covered the Bad Boyfriends Inc series: Awfully Ambrose, Horribly Harry, and Terribly Tristan. This was due to several issues we have posted about before: 

1. We got a Bookbub deal that cost USD $211. We paid for this ourselves, which was cool. What wasn't cool was that despite notifying TEG well in advance to have the price dropped on time, and following up several times only to be assured it would happen... the prices didn’t drop for Apple and Kobo. This was blamed on the distributor.
   
2. For the release of Awfully Ambrose, there was no social media messaging from TEG. The only promotion the book got was a release day blitz that we paid for ourselves and had nothing to do with TEG. On more than one occasion, we were advised that one of our books would go on sale, and to alert our readers. We did that, only to have the sale price not come through on the dates we were advised. And numerous times we had to alert TEG after the sale was finished to get the prices raised again.
   
3. We are firmly opposed to the use of generative AI. Having to opt out of AI audio instead of having to opt in told us that the values of TEG did not align with ours. The use of AI covers, although this was not an issue with our books, was also very concerning. Generative AI is unethical and environmentally destructive, and we did not want our brand associated with a company that uses it.
   
4. We got an email about a social media promotion company called BookBooster. We were told that we were "required" to sign up. At no point in this initial email were we advised BookBooster was a TEG company. The requirement to sign up was later walked back in a follow up email.
   

Even though it was very quickly walked back, the initial requirement that we would either have to pay for BookBooster or hand over our social media access to them was galling. Firstly, why were we expected to pay for promo that TEG should have already been providing in exchange for a chunk of our royalties? And secondly, lol, no, you cannot have access to our social media accounts.
Fun fact: The BookBooster website now has a footer that says it's a TEG company. It did not have that initially. You'll also notice that there isn't a single name on that website. The quote from the CEO is literally from "CEO." Very transparent. 

1. Which brings us to Fictionwide, another TEG offshoot that positions itself as a self-publishing platform. Basically, a hybrid publisher. We don't know about all of the testimonials on the site, but we know that at least one author there who is quoted is a TEG author, and has not used Fictionwide's pay-to-play hybrid publishing method. Again, super transparent, right? 
   

So, we wanted out for a bunch of reasons. After almost a month of negotiations, we signed an Agreement. We can’t be specific about the details, but we will say that we agreed to make a payment to TEG to secure our early release. We agreed to the payment despite there being nothing in our initial contract regarding it because we wanted to be free and clear and not drag the process out any longer than necessary—more fool us, lol! As part of the Agreement, TEG agreed to refund that payment if they breached any of the conditions of the Agreement. 

We got our rights back to our books (except the Portuguese translation of Awfully Ambrose — more on that below) on June 18 2024. 

Full disclosure: We initially asked for the rights to all our books back, including the rights to the Portuguese translation of Awfully Ambrose. TEG said we couldn’t have those, and we agreed. Then, when the Early Termination Agreement wasn’t in our inboxes when we were promised, we were told it was because TEG was still in negotiations with the Portuguese translator. This came as a surprise to us, since TEG had said we couldn’t have the rights back, so what could there possibly be to negotiate? We were advised in an email that “After consideration, it is not in our interest to retain Portuguese rights but we do want to ensure the translator is paid a fair rate for their work.” 

Yup, they were getting a payout figure for the Portuguese translator on a book they’d told us we couldn’t have back, and we’d already agreed they could keep. We asked if this meant they hadn’t paid the translator. We didn’t get an answer to this question. Funnily enough, once we mentioned we wouldn’t be covering that cost for them since that was a risk they took on as a publisher, the subject of the Portuguese translation was dropped. For a while, at least. 

But let’s get back to the English versions for a moment, because that’s where it gets really messy.

On August 26, we advised TEG by email that Amazon was still selling TEG paperback copies of our books. These were not third party resellers. These books were Print On Demand books fulfilled and shipped by Amazon. 

TEG advised us that these books were no longer manufacturable by Amazon and there were no copies in stock. 

On September 20, after we queried why the books were still showing for sale, we were again advised that the books were not printable/purchasable on Amazon. 

On September 25, the required thirty days after notifying TEG of the issue, we ordered three paperbacks from Amazon, and then sent TEG an invoice for the fee that we paid them for our early release, in accordance with the conditions of the termination agreement. 

TEG again advised that there was no stock and that the orders could not be fulfilled and would be cancelled. They stated they were acting on the information Amazon provided them. Nevertheless, the orders were not cancelled at that time, and in fact one book was delivered. 

TEG declined to pay the invoice as they stated they were not in breach because it was a third party seller issue. We disagreed that it was a third party seller issue, as the books were Print On Demand and we had been assured multiple times there were none in stock. Also, the seller was showing as Amazon, not a third party distributor. 

TEG initially stated they would show us all their correspondence with Amazon over this issue, before walking back on that offer. They also refused to provide details of which Amazon rep they had been speaking to about this. 

About this time, we started asking other questions. Like, why were there such discrepancies between our list prices and our unit prices on our royalty statements when, to our knowledge, none of the books had been on sale at the time? Or why the library price had been set so low. This was put down to the distributor, and when we pushed for an answer we were told that TEG was “investigating.” That was in November 2024. Either it’s been a very long investigation, or they’re ignoring us. You choose. 

Now remember that Portuguese translation of Awfully Ambrose? Our Reversion of Rights letters for our other titles state: “Portuguese language rights will revert on 13th June 2030. For the avoidance of doubt, these rights will remain with Totally Entwined until the end of the contracted term.” Keep in mind that phrase “for the avoidance of doubt.” That seems pretty unequivocal, right? 

On the 5th of November 2024 we received Rights Reversion letters, unprompted, from TEG regarding the Portuguese translation of Awfully Ambrose. At no point had we asked for these rights back since signing the Early Termination Agreement and receiving those Reversion of Rights letters that stated TEG would retain the rights until 2030.

You guys, remember the doubt? Turns out we didn’t avoid it. 

Also, timing is a funny thing. We would never make any claims as to TEG’s motivation, but we do find it interesting that this occurred just as we were questioning previous royalty statements. 

We believe this is another breach of contract by TEG, both of the Termination Agreement, which stipulated TEG would keep the rights until 2030, and the original contract, which states TEG will consult with the author/s and also give at least 30 days notice to any amendments in the contract terms.

We emailed TEG twice in the following days asking for a response to our claim that removing this book from publication without our agreement was a breach of contract. We did not receive a reply on either occasion, but Lisa was removed from the TEG Authors’ Facebook Group, despite never having posted anything there about this dispute. 

When TEG finally did respond, they claimed there had been no breach, and that TEG had the contractual right to make whatever decisions they liked in regards to publication. TEG claimed that the Portuguese Translation was not subject to the Early Termination Agreement, but only to the original Contract.

They cited a section of the original contract that said they had absolute discretion over publishing decisions, but ignored a later section of the contract that stated the publisher would “appropriately consult with the Author” in regards to those decisions. They also ignored the part of the contract that said they had to notify us at least 30 days prior to changing anything in the contract. Like, we’re guessing, the date of termination. 

Since we were not “appropriately consulted” or even consulted at all, we consider this a breach. And that 30 days notice? How about zero days instead? 

It is also worth noting that even though TEG has reverted our rights to the Portuguese translation of Awfully Ambrose, they haven’t given us the files. Instead, they used those as leverage while Sarah attempted to negotiate with them about the release of a solo novella. 

Fun side note: We have an email from the CEO of TEG that was part of an email chain between the three of us that states, “Regarding Contractually Yours [Sarah’s novella]. Firstly, this is a separate matter entirely. Secondly, I cannot discuss another author’s work with you [Lisa] due to confidentiality obligations. I’m sure you understand that we are unable to address such matters within this context.” 

Which is perfectly reasonable, except she then attempted to use those Portuguese files as leverage in her negotiations with Sarah. So she can’t discuss another author’s work with a co-author (which is fair) but she can use a co-written book as currency in a solo negotiation? Make it make sense! 

We’ve talked a little bit before about the audiobooks for the Bad Boyfriend series. We signed Extension Agreements for these, but most of the major stuff is covered in the original contracts. We listened to some samples, chose a narrator, and were told the audios had gone into production. Later, when we asked about release dates, we were told that TEG could no longer contact our chosen narrator. Then we were told the audio had been postponed. And that was the last we ever heard about it until we got our rights back. (The audios are now out, thanks to Tantor—something we signed a contract for after getting our rights back. Tantor has been great!) 

The audio was just another thing we weren’t advised of until we chased it up. And another example of “appropriately consulted” about any changes being absolutely meaningless, apparently. 

On June 4 2025, we notified TEG that all of our ebooks were still being sold via Tolino/Thalia. We purchased them to make sure we were able to do it—we were. This is despite the fact that we were told on June 18 2024—a full year ago—that the distributor had been advised to take the books down. 

Back in June 2024 we’d asked for a complete list of all the vendors who had our books. Thalia/Tolino was not on the list of IPG’s vendors we were given. So we figured, okay, Thalia/Tolino was never advised—which was a breach of the termination agreement. Time to remind TEG about that invoice! 

On June 5 2025, TEG informed us that this was the fault of the “European distributor.” So is this a different distributor from IPG? A different list? We don’t know, because TEG hasn’t answered that question. But TEG did tell us, back in June of 2024, that our books would not be transferred over to the new distributor, because we’d already got our rights back. So did they go to the new distributor after all? We have no fucking idea. 

Fun fact: When we asked for a list of all the vendors where our books might still be on sale, we were told we couldn’t expect TEG to tell us proprietary information about their distribution system. Which is a hilarious stance for a publisher to take. “We make money selling books, but we’re not going to tell anyone where they might be able to buy them, because it’s a secret.” 

And, interestingly, if Thalia/Tolino has made any sales of those 5 ebooks (the three novels in English, the English box set, and Awfully Ambrose in Portuguese) in the past 12 months (and they have, remember, because we bought them), then where are the royalties? 

In July 2025 we asked for proof that TEG had sent notices to have the books taken down. We received a screenshot in reply. The screenshot did not show a date. As in, it showed the books were currently down, not when the request was made. Could have been twelve months ago like they said. Could have been twelve minutes ago. We asked for a screenshot or other correspondence showing when the request was made. We have not received a reply despite our attempts to follow this up. 

In fact, it was radio silence from TEG on all the following requests we made: 

• We are asking for a screenshot that confirms the date you made the request to the distributor.
  

• We are asking you to prove that you have maintained complete and accurate records in accordance with Section 6.7 of our contract. 
  

• We are requesting information as to the distributor and vendors that our books were sold under.
  

• Please show us where you gave us 30 days prior written notice that you were going to change the terms of the contract and the Termination Agreement by reverting our rights to the Portuguese translation of Awfully Ambrose. 
  

• Please show us where you appropriately consulted with us in regards to reverting our rights for the Portuguese translation of Awfully Ambrose. In fact, please show us where you consulted with us at all.
  

This was in August 2025, by the way. 

Let’s skip forward to December 2025, and remember earlier when we asked where the royalties were for those sales by Thalia/Tolino? Those sales that we know for sure were made because we bought the books? TEG got back to us, and they have “no record” of those sales and therefore they can send us no money, and “unless new information is provided, we consider the matter closed.” 

We can only assume that “new information” involves us planning an Ocean’s Eleven style heist on whichever building houses the computer mainframes for Thalia and plugging directly into them, because apparently sending a screenshot showing the exact titles we bought, the exact date we bought them, and the exact amount we paid wasn’t enough. Meanwhile, how fucking nice it must be to consider matters closed when they’re too hard to deal with. What a stress-free way to live your life! 

So what did we do? We resent the same information we’d sent them six months ago. To our surprise, the CEO is now “investigating.” Call us cynical, but we don’t really trust the investigative skills of someone who thinks being provided information a second time is the same as being provided new information. 

On December 30, we sent the CEO an email stating: 

Given that you failed to reply as requested to our email on December 3, and again on December 9, asking what steps you were intending to take to rectify this matter, and how long you anticipated the investigation would take, we consider this an admission that the breach is not capable of remedy. 
 
Please find the link to the invoice for the repayment of our Termination Amount here: (And there was a link!) 

In addition, as the Portuguese edition of Awfully Ambrose is not subject to the Termination Agreement, given that you reverted our rights without consultation or agreement, please advise us how you intend to compensate us for sales made in contravention of our rights. 
 
 
I mean, you know how this is gonna go, right? But we didn’t find out until January just how long the CEO was going to ignore us for, because she was out of the office. Presumably investigating in person at the Thalia/Tolino offices, right? Right? You guys? Right?

We welcomed the new year with an email from the CEO sent January 2. You will be shocked to learn she didn’t mention the link to the invoice at all. Instead, though—and this part was genuinely shocking—she cut and pasted part of an email from the mysterious distributor to prove, I guess, that she actually was looking into it. Which was great and all, except it’s still a breach? And it still hadn’t been remedied? And our Termination Agreement says we have to give them a “reasonable period, not less than 30 days, to remedy the breach.” 

It was already 30 days, you guys. If we count from when we first told them Thalia was still selling our books, it was 30 days and six whole months. So we sent back another email, and another link to the invoice, and gave them until January 7 to pay it. But we were pretty sure we were about to learn that our idea of reasonable and the CEO’s idea of reasonable were very different animals. 

So what happened on January the 7th? Absolutely nothing. No reply to our previous email at all. Just typical radio silence from TEG. Apparently, despite what our contracts and Termination Agreement says, they can just ignore us when they breach them. 

Who’s surprised? Show of hands? Yeah, we thought not. 

So where are we now in all this? 

Back in July 19 2025, the CEO of TEG advised us that “Your email refers to Clause 9.8 of the original publishing agreement. This clause applied during the active term of the agreement. Your titles were reverted to you last year, and all contractual obligations on our part concluded at that time.” So, basically, every question we’ve raised about royalties, about library pricing, about anything, they don’t have to answer. 

If that’s the case, and the CEO is adamant it is, then it looks like our contractual agreements are also concluded, so here are some clauses of our original contracts that are no longer subject to confidentiality: 

Section 9.8: The Publisher shall co-operate fully with the Author in any audit and assist in providing such information as the Author may request to establish whether there are any errors or omissions and to fully audit the accounts.

Section 5.9: The Publisher reserves the right to make amendments to this Agreement upon prior written notice to the Author of no less than 30 days.

Section 5.11: Unless stated otherwise, where in this Agreement the Publisher reserves the right to amend or alter the Work or to make any decision in connection with the publication of the Work, the Publisher will appropriately consult with the Author and shall take into account, but not be bound by, any view held by the Author.

The CEO of TEG maintains they have acted in good faith and met their obligations. To sum up: 

1. They have failed to provide us with a complete list of vendors where our books were for sale. We’re not sure how that meets the obligations of Section 9.8, but here we are. 
   
2. They didn’t notify us 30 days before reverting the rights to our Portuguese translation. Not a breach of Section 5.9, according to them. 
   
3. When we signed the Termination Agreement for all our books, the Portuguese translation was explicitly excluded from that agreement, with rights to return to us in 2030. We received no further correspondence regarding it at all until we were sent a Rights Reversion notice. We’re not sure what the “appropriate consultation” in Section 5.11 would be, but it’s probably not “fuck all, actually.” 
   

So, TEG claims they haven’t breached the contract, ever. Not for not notifying us they were returning our rights for Portuguese Awfully Ambrose, not for continuing to sell our books a year after we got our rights back, and not even for not paying us for those books they continued to sell. And the fun part about that is that they know that it would be incredibly difficult and costly for two authors on the other side of the world to take legal action against them. So I guess all we can do is tell you what happened (and trust us, this is only the highlight reel, not the whole saga!) and hope that by sharing a small part of our experience we might save other authors from going through the same thing. 

Final fun fact: Because we didn’t sign a Termination Agreement for the Portuguese rights for Awfully Ambrose, there is no non-disparagement clause in play for that title. So, for the avoidance of doubt, when it comes to our English titles, we make no claims as to TEG’s motivation and no comment on their professionalism or lack thereof. When it comes to the Portuguese version of Awfully Ambrose, however, TEG can go fuck itself, and we’d like to tell every author in the world to avoid the hell out of signing a contract with them unless you would also like to be screwed over for years to come. 


Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey 

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