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Burlington author Mary Kellis wanted to inspire others with her first novel, "Of Atlantis."

Instead, the 50-year-old Burlington resident is the center of an Internet controversy and allegations of plagiarism.

Angry messages on her Web site call her a "thief" and "plagiarist" and offer links comparing the prologue to her novel to the work of famed British author David Gemmell, now deceased.

She blames a United Kingdom-based ghostwriter who has been accused of plagiarism in other cases, too.

"The only thing I'm being guilty of is being stupid and naïve," she said.

The book was set to be published by Roval Publishing, a print-on-demand publishing service, but has since been put on hold to ensure that no other portions have been plagiarized, according to information on Kellis' Web site.

Kellis has written under the pseudonym Lanaia Lee for four years. She began writing after an aneurysm, a stroke and a coma rendered her disabled. In an interview last week, Kellis said she didn't know about the similarities until she saw the allegations on her site about two weeks ago.

Over the past four years, Kellis has written poems and short stories, but never a novel, she said.

She wanted to write "Of Atlantis" because she'd had the story in "her head for years."

Though the fictional novel is based on one of her short stories, "the thought of writing a novel overwhelmed me."

She turned to the ghostwriter, who told her he had read some of her work online.

"Then he approached me with the promise of representation," Kellis said.

After agreeing to work with the ghostwriter, Kellis said she began to see information online that discredited him.

"I was warned and I ignored it," Kellis said. "I was talking to him four or five times a month, so I ignored what was on blogs about him."

Now that the plagiarism has come to light, Kellis maintains she shouldn't held accountable.

California-based writer Brian Parkinson disagrees.

"I think she thinks it's like hiring someone to do work at your home, and it's not," Parkinson said.

When a ghostwriter is hired, the author pays the writer to write what is believed to be original work and then puts her name on it.

It's Kellis' name on the work, not the ghostwriter's, he said.

Parkinson is a member of the AbsoluteWrite.com networking site for writers.

He said he learned of Kellis' situation after reading a thread of message board postings about plagiarism and Kellis in particular.

Kellis' problem is not an isolated incident, and she is not this ghostwriter's only victim, Parkinson said.

If Kellis had responded better, he said, she may not have taken such a beating on the various Web sites and message boards.

"Had she removed the information and acknowledged that she was, too, a victim, all would have been fine," Parkinson said.

Instead, Kellis has responded negatively and chosen to remove the plagiarized work from some sites and not others, Parkinson said.

"Her reaction to it has been to play the 'handicapped card.' You've been scammed, but you also have to take responsibility," he said.

Kellis has already rewritten the prologue of her book and has it posted on her Web site.

She offers a word of advice to aspiring writers.

"If you hire a ghostwriter, be sure you know what you're getting into. Don't be stupid like I was," she said.

Contact Tiffany S. Jones at 449-4731, or tjones@news-record.com