For 14 years, Lloyd Devereux Richards got up early, stayed up late and worked weekends to write a book, juggling his passion with a high-demand job as a corporate attorney and raising three kids.
At last, Richards’ book, “Stone Maidens,” published in 2012. Modest sales followed.
And then on Feb. 8, “Stone Maidens” became an overnight success, all because of a 17-second TikTok that Richards’ daughter posted about her dad and his labor of love.
“My dad spent 14 years writing a book,” the video described as it showed Richards at work in his attic office. “He worked full time and his kids came first. But (he) made time for his book. He’s so happy even though sales aren’t great. I’d love for him to get some sales. He doesn’t even know what TikTok is.”
The video changed Richards’ life almost overnight.
Since it was posted, the has amassed a whopping 47 million views.
“Stone Maidens” skyrocketed to Amazon’s top-selling serial killer thriller and became its No. 1 seller last week and this, with a high review rating of 4.7 stars. Richards is now in negotiations over his second book, and Hollywood studios are talking to his literary agent about movie deals.
When reached by USA TODAY on Thursday, the father-daughter duo were barely keeping up with a flood of interview requests. It’s all been so overwhelming but also incredible, Lloyd Richards said.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Richards said from his home in Montpelier, Vermont with his daughter by his side. “I’m pretty grateful but I don’t understand it really. I just didn’t understand the power of TikTok. I’m 74, I just am not aware of those things.”
Richards’ daughter, Marguerite Richards, said she was fairly new to TikTok when she decided to shoot some video of her dad in his attic, where she has fond memories of watching him working on “Stone Maidens” throughout her childhood.
“I posted it around 7 o’clock on February 7, and when I went to bed I checked and there were like, 200 views in three hours,” she said. “So I was like, ‘OK, even if just a few people see it and he sold a couple of books that he worked so hard on, that’d be exciting.’ And I woke up in the morning and there were 700,000 views. And I was like, ‘Oh my God.'”
By the end of the day it hit 4 million views and kept snowballing from there.
While his daughter watched the views skyrocket, Richards had no idea anything had changed. She hadn’t told him about posting it and he doesn’t spend much time on the Internet.
When the views reached 15 million, Marguerite decided to film her dad’s reaction for another TikTok.
In that video, Marguerite tells her dad how many people had seen the video and showed him some of the comments they had posted about him and the book.
“I bought it, so excited to read it,” one user said. “I hope your dad succeeds. He looks like such a nice dad.”
Another wrote that they were “ordering!”
“What a precious soul,” they wrote. “He deserves all the good coming his way!'”
And another: “I bought it! Just a third through now but I will probably finish tonight because I can’t put it down!”
As he read through the comments, Richards began crying. So did Marguerite.
“Because of them you’re No. 1,” she said through tears. “I love you, Dad.”
Visibly overwhelmed, Richards choked out a “Thank you,” wiped his eyes, and declared that he was “ready for a nap.”
That TikTok has 8 million views, and the account Marguerite created now has more than 330,000 followers.
“It stunned me,” Richards said. “People said such wonderful things about my book and I was so overwhelmed. I was happy but I couldn’t believe that many people would feel that way so quickly.”
“It makes me feel so good,” he added. “It’s such an uplifting experience.”
Perhaps the best nugget of joy that’s come from their overnight fame is that Marguerite and Lloyd are spending even more time together than usual.
Since the TikTok took off, Marguerite has become his default publicist, fielding interview requests and trying to create more videos for Richards’ adoring followers.
It’s a good thing she only lives five minutes away.
A self-described daddy’s girl, Marguerite is having the time of her life watching his success.
“I would have been excited if even 50 people bought his book,” she said. “So I’m just shocked and thrilled. It’s like you’re having an out-of-body experience. Like, is this really happening?”
Her fierce love for her father comes through in the pair’s TikToks. It’s so infectious, a lot of their followers have taken to calling Richards their “TikTok Dad.”
“They’re like, ‘Thanks for sharing your dad with us,'” she said. “And the answer is, ‘You’re welcome.'”