Last year, I asked my author friends if they'd be willing to mail an autographed book (or books) my way, to be donated to families at our local domestic violence shelter. I discovered that my fellow authors are truly wonderful and generous people.

Well, I'm doing it again. And I intend to make this an annual tradition, so you can look forward to hearing from me again in 2008.

The families who will be receiving the books are people who have left their home, often with nothing more than they can carry. They're struggling to put their lives together, and they're stuck in a strange place for the holidays. So not only would autographed books make a wonderful Christmas gift, but as we all know, books offer an escape from a very stressful time.

Due to confidentiality issues, I don't have the names of the women and kids at the shelter, so these shouldn't be personally inscribed. Your generic John Hancock would be perfect.

Last year, I also received some used books. Those are also welcome, and can go into the shelter's library.

If you're willing to donate a book (or books), please e-mail me at jim -at- goblinquest.com, and I'll send you my mailing address. I'll try to post a list of everyone who donated. (So not only will you get good karma, but I'll say nice things about you here on LJ!)

I hope nobody will feel pressured or guilty about this. I've had financially tight holidays myself, back before the writing made me all big and famous and wealthy. Or maybe there are other causes you'd rather give to. Or maybe you just don't feel like participating. Whatever the reason, that's okay. This is meant to be a guilt-free request.

If you feel like linking to this entry or passing it along to your friends, please feel free. It's much appreciated.

And if you have questions or comments, please let me know. I'll update the entry as needed with any info I forgot to include.