TikTok
11 years after he released the book to low sales, it's now one of Amazon's bestsellers -- all thanks to this video.
Lloyd Devereux Richards' book "Stone Maidens" just became an overnight success ... 11 years after it was first released.
The serial killer thriller was released back in 2012, after Richards spent 14 years toiling away on it before it was published. This month, his 40-year-old daughter Marguerite Richards made a TikTok video to shine a spotlight on her dad's hard work, hoping it could drum up some long-overdue sales.
And did it ever!
On February 7, Marguerite created a TikTok account for her dad without his knowledge and posted a video promoting his work.
In the clip, she said her father "made time for his book" between working full time and putting his kids "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."
In the caption, she called the book a "beautifully written thriller" and directed viewers to Amazon to purchase a copy.
As the video went viral on the social media platform, so did his book -- which quickly sold out, becoming the #1 serial killer thriller on Amazon before it was eventually restocked. Currently, in its first week on the Amazon Bestsellers Chart for fiction books, it's #15.
The original video has now been viewed almost 45 million times.
Marguerite's dad was oblivious to all of this happening, however, until she showed him the first video she made and told him he was number one. She, of course, filmed all that as well -- leading to one 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 supportive viewers, she told him, "because of them, you're the number one serial killer thriller."
"I love you dad," she said, choking up, as her 74-year-old pops was then seen wiping tears from his eyes and exclaiming, "I'm ready for a nap."
"You all are amazing! Life can be hard and then it can be wonderful suddenly (still crying)," she captioned the post.
He celebrated the news with a chocolate milkshake, saying in another video, "These last couple of days, I can't understand it, I feel blessed, you know."
He also shared his tip to other writers out there, saying, "Write and rewrite and write it again and never give up."
Marguerite later thanked fans, telling them all that "the support, and kind words have changed our life!"
The Amazon listing for the book has already been updated to reflect the success, with the official synopsis proclaiming that it comes from a "TikTok sensation." It currently has a 4.8 rating from more than 900 people, as reviews were flooded with positive comments.
According to The Washington Post, Lloyd has already been working on a sequel for nearly five years.
