Charity

Brenda Novak’s Auction For Diabetes Research

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Some of you may know that romantic suspense author Brenda Novak sponsors a yearly on-line auction to raise awareness and funds for diabetes research.  It’s an awesome event and a great cause, with hundreds if not thousands of fantastic items to bid on – from books to hand-crafted items to e-readers loaded with books, and to lunches or dinners with your favorite authors.

I’ve donated two items to the auction.  The first is something for writers.

I’m offering a critique of a three chapter romance novel proposal, which includes a followup phone call to discuss the manuscript.  Now I don’t want to brag, but I’ve done a number of these in the past few years, including one for Brenda’s auction.  Several of the authors have gone on to get published including Ashlyn Macnamara, who won a critique from me from the on-line auction a few years ago.  A Most Scandalous Proposal went on to final in RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart Contest, and it was subsequently sold to Bantam Dell.  It was a wonderful book to begin with, but Ashlyn swears she couldn’t have whipped the manuscript into its final shape without me!

That’s all to say that I give good crit, so if any of you aspiring writers are looking for some thoughtful feedback on your manuscripts AND you’d like to donate to a good cause, hop on over to the auction website and take a look at my auction proposal.

The other item I’ve got up for auction is a joint one – a NOOK Color that I’ve donated with my fellow authors from Rock*It Reads.  We’re a group of published authors who are also self-publishing, and we’ve donated this NOOK, loaded up with copies of our books.  And great books too, by authors like Elisabeth Naughton, Pamela Clare, and Kris Kennedy.  Good, eh?  Romance readers will definitely want to check it out!

Again, there’s tons of good stuff up for bid, so spend a while checking out the auction website.  You might find something you just have to have, and you’ll also be supporting a great cause!

We Remember

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We remember that heartbreakingly beautiful September day ten years, when it felt like the world might be coming to an end.  We remember the horror, and the terrible sense that this could not possibly be happening.  We remember the firefighters and first responders, who raced into the burning buildings, climbing countless flights of stairs to reach those in need.  We remember all those brave souls who lost their lives that day.

We remember Edgar Emery in the South Tower of the WTC, who help people evacuate the building after the first plane struck the North Tower.  He want back to help his collegues, and was trapped when the second plane struck the North Tower.  We remember Welles Crowther, a young equities trader and volunteer fireman who helped dozens of people evacuate the South Tower, and whose body was later found in the rubble.  We remember Christine Egan, a 55 year old nurse from Winnipeg visiting her brother, Michael Egan, who worked on the 105th floor of the South Tower.  We remember Ralph Gerhardt, who worked on the 105th floor of the North Tower and whose girlfriend, Linda Luzzicone, worked on the same floor.  It is believed that after the plane struck, Ralph went looking for Linda.  Both died in the attack.

And we remember the police officers who braved the chaos and smoke to help those in need.

We remember the workers at the Pentagon – civilian and military – who lost their lives that dreadful morning.

We remember the 40 braves souls of United Airlines Flight 93.

Their actions resulted in a fiery death in a field in Pennsylvania, but their courage saved untold lives.

We remember the brave men and women of the armed forces.  They have fought the enemy for ten long years, sacrificing so much for our safety and freedom.  We owe them and their families our deepest gratitude.

Some days it’s easier to remember that the world is full of hate, but in the memories that came from 9/11 there are hundreds of examples of love, courage, and sacrifice.  We may never be able forget the hate, but  let us surely remember and honor the love and courage of those who lived and died on that September day.

If you are looking to do something special on this anniversary of 9/11, I’d like to make a few suggestions.  The U.S. National Park Service is spearheading a campaign to raise funds to complete a permanent memorial to Flight 93, in Shanksville, PA.   If you are able, you might want to consider making a dontation to that campaign.  Or you might consider making a donation to help some of our wounded warriors and their families.  The Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation helps care for those brave men and women who disarm bombs and IEDs.  There are over 7,000 men and women who serve in these units, and many have been wounded in the line of duty.  You might want to check out their website or make a donation.

Thanks!

Sources:  The National Post

Katharine Ashe & The K.I.S.S. & Teal Campaign

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I’m thrilled to announce that the fabulous Katharine Ashe will be kicking off the blog tour for her latest book, In the Arms of a Marquess, right here on my blog!

She’ll be here all day tomorrow, so please make sure to drop by.  It’s sure to be a lot of fun, but we’ll also be doing something else that’s very important.  Did you notice the white and teal badge on Katharine’s book cover?  That’s the official emblem of Avon Romance’s K.I.S.S. and Teal Campaign, which supports research for Ovarian Cancer and also helps victims and their families.  Avon is donating 25 cents from the sale of each copy (print or digital) of In the Arms of a Marquess to support this campaign.  What an absolutely terrific thing to do!

So stop by tomorrow – we’ll be chatting with Katharine and helping put the boots to this dreaded disease.  Win/win!

A Worthy Cause

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That worthy cause would be the Brenda Novak Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research.  Brenda, a  New York Times best-selling author of romantic suspense, runs this auction every year in honor of her youngest son, who has Type 1 Diabetes.  To date, the auction has raised over a million dollars, cumulative, which is phenomenal!  The auction is a registered charity so donations are tax deductible.

Bidding in the auction is a wonderful thing to do in and of itself, but there are also some fabulous items up for bid that are very exciting for readers.  How about coveted Advanced Reader Copies (ARCS) of books by authors like Loretta Chase and Kelley Armstrong?  Or how about a set of autographed books from the wonderful Kieran Kramer?  You really need to check out all the fabulous items, including gorgeous jewelry, and awesome gift baskets by authors like Yasmine Galenorn.

And there’s also lots for you aspiring romance writers out there, including critiques from agents and editors like Laura Bradford, and authors like the fantastic Anna Campbell.

I’ve also donated a critique to Brenda’s auction, and you can bid on it here.  Not to toot my own horn, but I’m really good at this critique stuff!  In fact, last year’s winner of my bid went on to final in this year’s Golden Heart Contest, the prestigious Romance Writers of America award for unpublished authors.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get online and start bidding!

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