I have a real soft spot in my heart for those affected by hurricanes. First, I’m from the area of impact, and I don’t like seeing the places I spent time as a kid being destroyed. Secondly, I was on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina and that, honestly, changed my life. It’s amazing to see how much people can affect others with their good works. I am a huge humanitarian because of the time I spent down there. I’ve run donations that raised thousands of dollars and books for schools all over Africa. I’ve donated time and effort to rebuilding the Gulf Coast. I have spent time repainting homeless shelters and talking to fellow cancer patients and helping run organizations that helped women impacted by the civil war in Uganda. I firmly believe that people, through their actions and care for their fellow man, have the ability to change the world and do so on a daily basis.

I get REALLY passionate about that (if you can’t tell).

That being said, Sandy was horrible, and there are scenes on the TV that remind me acutely of Katrina and it sticks a knife in my gut because those memories still haunt me. I have memories of being in some of those Sandy-impacted places as a happy child. I am thrilled by how much people have already extended themselves to help those in need and I get even more excited when I see authors coming together with projects like this to help donate relief to people they don’t even know, both through their fantastic prose and through the money they can raise by selling said prose.

Therefore, I’d like to point you in the direction of this post by R. T. Kaelin so you can read a bit more about his project to create an anthology for the victims of Sandy, where all the money from said project will go toward relief funds. He has some really great authors already donating stories to this anthology, but would love more. It is an incredible project. We all know how much a great story can help in times of need. Plus, people who have been through hurricanes, or, like myself, were at ground zero during Katrina, know how much necessary food and medical supplies a few dollars can buy those who need it.

So pay attention to this link, and if you can, help out. This is a great anthology and I hope Kaelin gets inundated with donations.