Thanks For Being The Life Of My Party!

The 3rd Annual Writers For Hope Online Auction has come and gone.

You know that feeling that sometimes bubbles up an hour before you're supposed to throw a party?

What if no one shows up? Seriously, what if I'm the only person here? Why did I make so much guacamole? This stuff isn't going to keep. Dear lord, I'm going to have to eat all this guacamole. That's just so much guacamole.

*Cut to a picture of me passed out, surrounded by empty guacamole bowls and chip bags - Spice Girls blaring in the background.*

That's my general frame of mind the day before the auction.

Three years, and I still get anxious about asking people to donate critiques and books. Still get nervous that, come the day, no one's going to show up to my party.

Of course, that's never what happens. I mean, the guacamole and Spice Girls does. Every year. Without fail. But the part where I'm alone at the party? Never.

Because you're all amazing.

Eighty people donated their time and work to this year's auction. An unprecedented amount of them contacted me and requested to give of themselves. This continued throughout the day of the auction, with people sending me messages and asking if they can donate items in next year's auction. These are people who not only are willing to do good, but who actively seek out such opportunities.

So, the next time you're looking for some new reading material or the perfect gift for your book-loving loved ones - start with the books written, edited, and represented by this group of folks. They're not only insanely talented, but also genuinely lovely human beings.

During the auction, your conversations made it trend for over five hours on Twitter. Almost 400 individual bids were submitted throughout the day. Very shortly after the winners were announced, I started receiving emails from people who had already donated their winning bids to the RAINNmaker page. And while each person was extremely excited about the items they had won, everyone focused primarily on how happy they were to have the chance to support this cause.

When all bids have been donated, we will have raised over $5000 for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network - ensuring that over 500 survivors have access to the help they need through RAINN's hotlines.

So, if you ever have one of those days where either news broadcasts or the conversations of the people around you make you feel a little skeptical about the fate of humanity, take a moment to think about all the people who made this event possible. The donors and the bidders from various places on the globe, who joyously gave of themselves in an effort to make the world a little safer and a bit brighter.

That's what I do.

I just remember this annual party I'm so happy to throw. And how grateful I am that you all showed up.

THANK YOU!

via GIPHY