Writing

Couple of things. First off, don't forget that Shaala, Made of Stone releases this Friday!!! And I'll have a guest post up on the Musa Blog that day, too - a sword & sorcery two-fer! You don't want to miss it!

I also want to talk for a minute about an organization I recently joined called Writers Unite to Fight Cancer. If you've read this blog for more than a day and a half, you know this is a topic near to my heart because of my youngest son's cancer diagnosis (and, more recently, that of my father). While I've tried to raise awareness about pediatric cancer and funds for cancer research, I'm keenly aware of the fact that my voice only reaches so far. I've seen some writers donate a percentage of their royalties to causes they care about, but the truth is, for a tie-in writer, that's a pretty empty gesture. I don't really write inspirational stuff (heh), and I'm not at a place where I can use my own experience as a cancer mom as grist for the writing mill (though I heartily recommend Jay Lake's The Specific Gravity of Grief - he says a lot that I would say, if I could). So I can't even use the one thing I'm reasonably good at to bring more attention to the tragedy of childhood cancer, and that's bothered me for awhile. There just isn't a lot I can do - not by myself. But with WUFC, I don't have to do it myself. There are almost 50 other local(ish) authors (including my friend David Lee Summers) who have the same goal I do: to use our writing - in whatever way we can - to fight cancer. I'm proud to be part of such a group, and I feel hopeful that together we can strike some real blows against this beast.

I hope you'll join us in that fight. One good way would be by coming to the Arizona Centennial Cancer Research Fundraiser in just over two weeks, and buying a book or two while you're there. Get some great stuff to read AND help fund the battle against cancer? Now THAT'S a two-fer! Heh.

Writing

Speaking of raising money, the PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon was this weekend, and Max's Runnin' Crew did a great job! Due to some logistics errors, we weren't able to see them before the start of the race AND we somehow missed them at the very crowded and crazy finish line, but we were able to meet up with them afterward at the PCH Miracles in Motion tent so Max could congratulate them on a job well done (and try to steal their medals, heh).



We are so grateful to Miracles in Motion for selecting Max as an Honor Patient and to David and Nina for working so hard to raise money in his honor. And, of course, to everyone who donated - you guys ROCK! Hope we can do it again next year!

I'm feeling: So many words...