There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind.
— Kurt Vonnegut
The world has become distinctly unkind for a large number of people lately. Neil Gaiman writes about their experience more eloquently than I can. After looking into what it would take to sponsor a refugee here in Canada, and discovering it might be a bit beyond my capabilities right now, I decided to donate directly to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR. Yet I was still left feeling a little helpless, as though I should be doing more. Then I noticed Kevin Hearne running a fundraiser for UNHCR, and that inspired me to do the same thing. And maybe it's still not enough, but it's something, however small. The fabulously generous Camille Griep, Linda Tiernan Kepner, and the Martha's Vineyard Science Fiction Association, which runs the Viable Paradise writing workshop, have all rallied to the call.
So without further ado, here's the Kind Words UNHCR fundraiser. Please help us help someone who could really use a hand.
With your support, UNHCR will provide assistance such as:
- Deliver rescue kits containing a thermal blanket, towel, water, high nutrient energy bar, dry clothes and shoes, to every survivor;
- Set up reception centres where refugees can be registered and receive vital medical care;
- Provide temporary emergency shelter to especially vulnerable refugees;
- Help children travelling alone by providing specialist support and care.
How Kind Words works:
- You make a donation to the UNHCR, in whatever amount you like. The link provided is international, but if you scroll down you'll find a "Give Through Your National Office" button, which will get you proper tax receipts.
- You send me a screen cap of the UNHCR acknowledgement e-mail (which looks like the featured image on this post) to kindwords [at] katrinaarcher [dot] com as proof of donation. Please don't send me your PDF tax receipt, as it will contain personal details. If you also tell me how much you donated, I'll try to keep a running tally of how the fundraiser's doing.
- I enter your name into a draw for one of the prizes below. If you win, I will contact you for shipping details.
- You do a happy dance when you receive your prize in the mail. A refugee gets a start at a new life outside a war zone.
- The fundraiser will run until September 26th.
And what, you may ask, are the prizes?
One of two signed copies of Letters to Zell, by Camille Griep.
Everything is going according to story for CeCi (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White), and Rory (Sleeping Beauty)—until the day that Zell (Rapunzel) decides to leave Grimmland and pursue her life. Now, Zell’s best friends are left to wonder whether their own passions are worth risking their predetermined “happily ever afters,” regardless of the consequences. CeCi wonders whether she should become a professional chef, sharp-tongued and quick-witted Bianca wants to escape an engagement to her platonic friend, and Rory will do anything to make her boorish husband love her. But as Bianca’s wedding approaches, can they escape their fates—and is there enough wine in all of the Realm to help them?
In this hilarious modern interpretation of the fairy-tale stories we all know and love, Letters to Zell explores what happens when women abandon the stories they didn’t write for themselves and go completely off script to follow their dreams.
One of two copies of the anthology Witches, Stitches & Bitches, signed by Camille Griep
A STITCH IN TIME... IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY.
Exquisite revenge and knitted doppelgängers; heartbreak and happy endings; unicorns, doomed dogs, and penitent frogs; steampunk fairies, conflicted stepmothers, and baseball—you’ll find it all here. Our literary alchemists weave a spell of fascination, drawing you deeper and deeper, tale by tale, until escape is impossible. But you’ll enjoy every minute of the plunge.
These sixteen deft and delightful stories involving witches, stitches, and bitches run the gamut from darkly disturbing to just plain fun. They will each take you out of the ordinary and into the world of magic, where older, weirder, or merely other rules apply. And just when you think things are all sewn up... some bitch may have a surprise for you.
A copy of Planting Walnuts, by Linda Tiernan Kepner
Brannon, ex-Confederation Space Fleet Marine, blacklisted and broke, dodges an arrest warrant by joining an operation that needs money desperately enough to take the worst surveying jobs on the books. The team of Gonderjhee and Company, Surveyors, includes a cheated and bankrupt owner, an elderly office manager, an over-excitable intern, a clinically-depressed alien Fleet Captain, and a staff with a host of formidable handicaps, weaknesses - and strengths. Brannon's goal is to keep them all alive long enough to pick up his share of the profits. But they aren't the only ones getting an education out of this adventure.
One of two signed copies of Untalented, by yours truly
Saroya: Untalented, a stain on her family's honor. Orphaned and barred from the Guilds, she has nowhere to go when her Talent fails to emerge.
Loric: Brother-in-law to the king. Thwarted in his ambitions, he'd do anything to usurp the throne. And he finds just the scandal he needs when he unearths Saroya's hidden pedigree.
The Kingdom of Veyle: Where all power flows to the Talented, and where the Guilds and the Order of Adepts control the destinies of Talented and Untalented alike.
When calamity strikes the capital city, with Untalents blamed and on trial, Saroya knows that proving her Talent and parentage means saving more than just her own life. A tangle of lies hides secrets that force Saroya to choose between her future and Veyle's.
One of three writer care packs from the MVSFA, which consist of a Viable Paradise water bottle + pen & pencils, a Viable Paradise messenger bag + pen & pencils, or a Get Writing pack of pen & pencils
If you are a writer or other creative who would like to contribute an item to the prizes, please contact me prior to Sept. 26.
Please repost freely.
