Utah author says woman plagiarized her Christian romance novel, added sex scenes

A Utah author says a schoolteacher plagiarized her Christian romance novel, added graphic sex scenes and passed it off as her own.

Rachel Ann Nunes (NOON'-esh), author of "A Bid for Love," filed a federal lawsuit in August against Tiffanie Rushton, a third-grade teacher in Layton who wrote an electronic book called "The Auction Deal."

Both are about competing art dealers who fall in love. Nunes says Rushton copied her characters and plot, as well as some lines in the work, but added sex to appeal to a more mainstream audience.

Nunes says her suit draws attention to plagiarism in the increasingly popular online publishing world.

She is seeking $150,000 in damages. Rushton did not return phone and email messages seeking comment, and no attorney has yet been listed for her.