Exciting News!

Happy Friday, all!

I'm in a turning-cartwheels-even-though-I-don't-know-how-to-turn-a-cartwheel type of mood this morning. Not even the fact that the snow drifts now officially have more height than I and flakes are once again falling can make me feel angsty. Nope. I may not be able to see it, but the sun is shining all over the place.

You know how I know this? The 2nd Annual Writers for Hope Online Auction is officially off the ground!

As you may remember, last April I had the first Writers for Hope Auction here on the blog in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Editors, agents and agented & published authors donated work critiques (ranging from queries to FULL manuscripts!), consultation calls, and signed books. All the proceeds went straight to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network to support survivors of sexual assault and abuse.

And we're doing it all again this year!

I figured we should start off Sexual Assault Awareness Month strong - so the auction will be held here on the blog on Wednesday, April 1st. Like last year, it will be a one day auction, running from 12:00am to 11:59pm.

You want to know what's an amazing feeling? Nervously sending out requests to all the donors who participated last year and asking them if they're up for another round and almost immediately having my inbox fill with positive responses. In case you missed my Tweet the other day, I'll repeat - people who love books are the best people.

We're currently at 21 (and counting) donors for this year's auction - including some of the extremely generous folks of last year, as well as new faces!

In addition to work critiques and consultation calls, it looks like we're going to have more signed books this year - which is great news! So, if you're reading this, but are not a writer who's ready to have your work critiqued or are not a writer at all - there will still be items for you to bid on. Definitely stop by on April 1st!

Auction items will not be open for bids until midnight on April 1st, but if you're a person who doesn't plan on participating in the auction, but would still like to donate to RAINN - first of all, THANK YOU - you can do so on my RAINNmakers page at any time.

Over the next month there will be many updates, including donor introductions and auction item reveals - so be sure to check in! And spread the word! Last year, we raised just over $2000, ensuring that over 200 survivors of sexual assault had access to the help they need. It was absolutely amazing, but I think this year, together, we could blow that number out of the water.

Guys, I'm really excited about this. Like I could throw up - but in a great way.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend and I'll be talking to you again soon!