Kindles for Kids

And now, a special message from Danyelle Leafty. After my son's pseudo cancer-scare (turns out it was a virus that mimics lymphoma), this is a topic close to my heart. Please consider joining in.

What exactly is Kindles for Kids?

Kindles for Kids is my way of paying it forward. My goal is to raise enough funds to purchase 10 Kindle Fires for the pediatric unit of a local hospital in UT.

How does Kindles for Kids work?

From March 12th-31st of 2012, I will be donating the *royalties I make on THE FAIRY GODMOTHER DILEMMA: CATSPELL--both in paper and e-book form--toward the purchase of the Kindle Fires.

Royalties are paid a month to two months after the fact. Factoring in that as well as putting in the order, receiving them, and getting them ready, I will be delivering the Kindle Fires to the hospital in June of 2012.

How can you participate?

If you are an author (published) or a writer (unpublished), this link will explain it more. A more detailed link can be found here. In short, I'm hosting an open call for donating **books you have the rights to for the hospital. One book per Kindle Fire. You can also participate by writing a ***short story for a fairy tale anthology I'm putting together for the hospital. If you're a reader, this link will give you a few ideas on how to help spread the word.

How can you help?

The greatest help of all is to help me get the word out. You can do this by talking to people--online and in real life, posting about Kindles for Kids on forums, groups, on your blog, and by printing out and posting fliers. More detailed link here, as well as details for a photo contest. Link for the flyer here.

I can't do this without you, so thank you to all who participate in any way they can!


*Royalties up to 249,000 copies. After that, I have to buy an extended license for the photographs I use for the cover.


**All books will be vetted by me personally for both formatting and content. Since the Kindle Fires are going to the pediatric unit, I would ask that any donations are formatted and edited well, and that they go no higher than a PG rating.


***As with the books, please keep the short stories at a PG or G rating. Again, all stories that are chosen for inclusion in the anthology will be vetted by me personally. Also, because digital copies of the anthology will be donated to the hospitals, and there will be no money made off of them, neither the editor (me) nor the authors will receive payment or money for them. However, everyone who is included will receive a digital copy as either a PDF, a kindle file, or epub.

Paying It Forward (I can't resist a good contest!)

Shelly over at Market My Words is running a Pay it Forward contest. If you want to join in, tomorrow is the last day. (Yes, I deliberately delayed my entry so I'd have less competition.) The winner will get her (okay, or his) personal referral to Shelly's own agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin (Trident Media Group).

To enter, I have to reveal the person who has helped me in my writing or in my personal life. That's easy: Robyn Carr. I told the story of how I "met" Robyn on her recent Authors' Advisory conference call, but I didn't mention what a wonderful inspiration she is.

I don't write the same kind of fiction that Robyn writes, though I'm a huge fan of her work. Nevertheless, Robyn has taught me more about writing and the publishing industry in the years we've been exchanging emails than anyone else I can think of. I've asked her hundreds of questions and she has responded to each one--sometimes more than once! She's explained in detail the publication process, why you should get a publicist, how you get paid, and what it feels like to finally make the NYT Bestseller list.

She protests that she doesn't do enough for me to be labled my mentor but even though she can't critique my writing (she has no spare time for that, even if it wasn't unwise), she has constantly encouraged me for years now. She suggested that I look into writing YA, then told me my story idea sounded rather juvenile... and, after I explained it more, agreed that it just might work. Without her prodding, support, and approval, I'm not sure if I would have ever had the gumption to finish the thing. I can't wait for the day I can mail her her own signed copy. She'll have to read it then. :)