Jeri Smith-Ready

Last week's charity & Twitter ARC winners

Congrats to the winners of last week's giveaways. Sarah Kuhn from Twitter gave me the best name for my laptop. So introducing...


Grr, Fang says. Grr.

Fang is a Hewlett Packard Mini notebook, I guess what some people would call a "netbook." I love him. He's a tiny computer, but unlike most netbooks, the keyboard is 92% full-size, so I don't feel like Goliath typing on the thing. I still plan to use Tardy (my old laptop) for most writing, at least while at home.

The winner of the suggest-a-charity contest (in which I choose a charity to receive 10% of author royalties from Bad to the Bone) is Cory, who came up with what had to be the perfect animal rescue organization for this book: Rescue Ink, a group of tough guys in New York City who stop animal abuse by any means necessary. No, just kidding, their methods are totally legal.

Here's a New York Times article about them, and here are a few of their programs, including puppy mill awareness programs, outreach to elderly and children, animal housing construction, and dog-fighting prevention. You can see a ton of pictures on their MySpace page.

I mean, who would dare mess with these guys? Most people who abuse animals and children are freaking cowards, or they'd be picking on people who could fight back.

I had many wonderful suggestions for charities, which I'll list below, but Rescue Ink seemed particularly perfect for Bad to the Bone, for several reasons:

• Dexter the Vampire Dog might once have been a victim of abuse, possibly being used as bait for a pit-bull ring.
• Some of these guys remind me of Ciara's landlord Dean.
• Tattoos are a recurring motif in the book. One of them even provides a clue as to the bad guy's motive.
• The Rescue Ink guys combine compassion with major badassedness, kinda like most of my vampires.

It broke my heart not to pick some of the other suggestions, but I'll list them here to give them a wee bit of exposure:

• RSPCA Victoria, who is helping the thousands of homeless animals displaced and injured by the Australian bush fires.
• Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that raises animals to assist people with disabilities.
• Petfinder.com, a fantastic online resource helping adopters find new furry friends to share their lives. They also have a foundation that right now is helping animals affected by the floods in the Midwest.
• Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in my favorite state to visit, New Mexico. They provide a home for wolves and wolf-dogs and also provide much-need public outreach and eduction.
• Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association Companion Animal Foundation - They provide assistance to low-income families so they can keep their pets healthy, and keep them with them, period. Very important in these times of economic hardship.
• Hill County Paw Pals is trying to build a shelter in a rural part of Texas.
• Support Our Shelters (S.O.S.) - helps support ferret shelters in need around the world.
• United Animal Nations Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) - UAN shelters and cares for animals displaced by natural disasters and other crises, such as criminal seizures and hoarding cases, in the United States and Canada.
• Canine Partners for Life - "Dedicated to training service dogs, home companion dogs, and residential companion dogs to assist individuals who have a wide range of physical and cognitive disabilities."

OK, I'm getting sniffly just looking at this list. If you have a few extra dollars, please consider giving one of them a hand.

Thanks again to everyone who suggested laptop names and charities, especially Cory and Sarah! Stay tuned for biggest giveaway yet. Next time, it won't be just an ARC. Muahahaha!

(In the meantime, you can still enter the ARC giveaway contest at Jaci Burton's blog.)

----------------
Now playing: The Who - Pictures of Lily
via FoxyTunes

Labels: animals, Contests, good, twitter, vampire series

• posted by Jeri @ 8:15 AM
• 4 comments