Hey all,
It’s time once again for my weekly writerly column. Usually I focus on how my own writer life is going, often with a pithy list or some wry comments.
Today I’m gonna break that tradition for something that I feel is really important.
The strongman leader of Chechnya, in Eastern Europe, has embarked on a campaign to decimate his country’s queer community, with an emphasis on rooting out gay men. The government has set up concentration camps, has practiced torture on its own citizens, and has encouraged families to kill their gay relatives.
It’s a shocking reversion to a time we thought was long past.
Two of my writer friends, Dale Cameron Lowry and Olivia Helling, decided to do something about it. They’ve created a website to encourage our community to donate to four charities helping queer Chechens at home and to escape the country, and have set up a fantastic auction for the same cause:
https://readersandwritersforlgbtchechens.wordpress.com/category/all-auctions/
Note: some items available in the US only.
My Own Contribution:
I’m auctioning off a walk-on part for you, by name, in the River City Chronicles, my weekly serial that will be released in book form in late 2017 or early 2018:
So take a look, and see if you see something that strikes your fancy.
To bid, check the minimum bid, or the highest current bid in the comments, and post your own bid as a new comment.
It’s a great cause, and you’ll have done something good for the world.
Love to you all.