Giving Back & A Giveaway
This contest is now closed. Thanks so much to those who visited and commented! My winners are Steph M (who’s on a roll!) and Ruth. I’ll email you guys directly about claiming your prizes.
Next week, many of you will meet Hold On Tight’s hero, Jake Taylor, for the first time. Jake grew up in a not-so-great household, and getting out of it was a major priority. When New York’s Twin Towers fell on 9/11, Jake knew for the first time what he wanted to do with his life — exact justice for that act of terrorism. He became an Army Ranger and fought, among other places, in Afghanistan, which was home to many of the Al Qaeda operatives who planned the 9/11 attacks.
Jake paid a high price for his mission, emotionally and physically, like so many veterans who sacrifice for our freedom. Writing the book, I had a chance to think hard about why men and women choose to fight, what they give up when they do, and how hard it is for them to come home, especially when they feel that war has broken or diminished them. Living with Jake’s pain opened my eyes to all the ways that it is hard to remake a life you’ve put on hold in order to fight a war you deeply believe in.
I feel a tremendous amount of gratitude, both to all the men and women who have fought to make this country what it is, and also to all the soldiers whose stories became part of Jake’s. As I wrote about his struggles and victories, I decided I needed to give something back to Jake’s community.
Part of the way Jake comes back to life in Hold On Tight is through athletic training and competition. So in honor of the men and women of our Armed Forces, I’m donating 5 percent of my earnings from the sales of the Hold On Tight e-book from now until September 30, 2014 (this includes ALL pre-orders, so if you’ve already pre-ordered the book, a portion of your purchase will automatically be donated) to Ride 2 Recovery, which organizes challenge cycling rides to promote mental and physical rehabilitation of injured veterans. (You can read more about Ride 2 Recovery here.)
Please spread the word about the book and my donation program, and please encourage your friends to buy Hold On Tight and support Ride 2 Recovery. Even you’re not a romance reader, please help spread the word about organizations like Ride 2 Recovery that give veterans the chance to heal and thrive.
In the general spirit of giving, this week’s giveaway is two ebook copies of Summer Rain, one each to two winners who will be randomly selected from those who comment on this post.
Summer Rain is the first of two volumes of rain-themed romance stories by some of your favorite writers. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of Summer Rain will benefit RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network). Contributors include Ruthie Knox, Molly O’Keefe, Cecilia Tan, Charlotte Stein, Mary Ann Rivers, Amy Jo Cousins, Audra North, Shari Slade, and Alexandra Haughton. (My story will appear in the second volume, due out in November.)
You must be 18+ to enter and live somewhere where I can gift a book from iBooks, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. This contest will run through next weekend and end Sunday, June 15 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
June 11, 2014 @ 7:28 am
I participated in a Ride to Recovery spin-a-thon a few years back, and ran a fundraiser for sexual assault awareness back when I wrote fanfic. Awesome causes! I’m spreading the word!
June 12, 2014 @ 10:07 am
Thanks, Rebecca! That’s so cool that you actually participated in one. I’m going to look out for one locally.
June 11, 2014 @ 8:54 am
I am happy to let my friends know. A lot of the obstacle course races we do often have a charity attached to them. It’s great to know that you are having fun and part of your fees are going to a worthy cause.
June 12, 2014 @ 10:08 am
Thanks, Steph! Yeah, knowing your work (or play) is benefiting a good cause adds a whole other dimension. I’m really loving the response to my partnership with R2R.
June 11, 2014 @ 8:10 pm
I didn’t understand what members of the military experienced until I read Jessica Scott’s novels. I wonder how U.S. inhabitants would think about the military differently if the country had mandatory service.
Besides reading fiction, I also like to read about startups. Eone’s timepiece, the Bradley, is named after an ex naval officer who lost his eyesight in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2011. The wristwatch allows users to tell time by touch using ball bearings and magnets. I would share much more, but I think my comment is long enough. 🙂
I didn’t know there would be a second volume of Summer Rain. Yay!
June 12, 2014 @ 10:10 am
You are always welcome to comment as long as you want on my blog. After all, I get to blab at you in bursts of 90K words at a time. 🙂 It’s only fair you get to talk back. 🙂 And that’s REALLY cool about the timepiece.
And yes, Winter Rain, in November. I actually don’t even know everyone who’s participating, but I’ll find out!
June 11, 2014 @ 10:16 pm
Two extremely worthy charities. Thank you for giving your proceeds to these organizations that help people heal and move forward.
June 12, 2014 @ 10:16 am
Thanks, Ruth! Thanks for stopping by the blog!
June 16, 2014 @ 2:18 pm
This contest is now closed. Thanks so much to those who visited and commented! My winners are Steph M (who’s on a roll!) and Ruth. I’ll email you guys directly about claiming your prizes.