Friday, February 25, 2011

Big names, big hearts


This week has been painful. I lost a dear family friend, Joanne, to cancer Wednesday. I will hold her always in my heart as the funny, bright, energetic woman she was. The same day, author L.K. Madigan died of that damned disease. May you both be at peace after the long suffering. May we find a cure someday.

No photos really work for this, so I chose a moment of peace in nature, which always calms my soul.

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The loss of my friend followed on the heels of the horrendous earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand that has taken more than a 100 lives, with more than 200 people missing and possibly buried in the rubble of what was once a beautiful, thriving city.

How can we help, especially if we live half-way around the world? Let Neil Gaiman show us one way. Yes, that's a teaser. The answer lies ahead.

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While the search for the missing continues in the NZ's Canterbury region, people who survived are dealing with injuries, homelessness, loss of all they owned. The Red Cross is already stepping in to help the survivors, and two New Zealand speculative fiction writers have come up with an amazing way to assist that.

J.C. Hart and Anna Caro are compiling an anthology of short stories with themes of survival and hope. The funds are to be donated to the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal and other charities. They contacted numerous authors and have received promises of stories for the book from many established writers.

Among them, *drum roll* NEIL freakin' GAIMAN!

Mr. Gaiman, not only writes surprising, marvelous stories, he's proven time and again that he is a generous man, fully involved with life.

I'll be buying this anthology, for sure, when it's published. You can keep up on the progress at Tales for Canterbury.

Thank you in advance for lending support to this fantastic project.

25 comments:

Bish Denham said...

So sorry for your loss Tricia. I know how it is...We lost a friend last Saturday. Sigh.

Why is it bad things seem to come in threes?

Donna said...

So sad. The anthology underway is a wonderful example of people using their gifts and hard work to help one another. Thanks for letting us know about this.

And my condolences on the loss of your friend.

Anne Gallagher said...

I'm so sorry for your loss.

What's happening to the world is unthinkable. Yet it continues.

Fitting picture.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Bish: I'm going to do a post one of these days about Three, because it's also a symbol of unity, of being connected and utilizing are strength. Maybe it has to do with growth by trial.
I am sorry for the loss of your friend, too. It never gets easier to lose our loved ones.

Donna: Isn't that anthology a brilliant idea and wonderful, generous act by all involved? These are the things that make life better after tragedy.

Anne: Thank you so much, Anne.

VR Barkowski said...

So sorry for your loss, Tricia. My heart goes out to you.

Thank you for for bringing the forthcoming Tales for Canterbury to our attention. What an amazing project.

Yat-Yee said...

I am sorry for the loss of your friend.

Thanks for telling us about the anthology. What a wonderful and direct for writers to help.

Jules said...

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I had heard of the anthology and agree it should be good.

Have a peaceful weekend.
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Golden Eagle said...

I am so sorry for your loss, Tricia.

Thank you for spreading the worth about the anthology--it sounds like it will be an amazing book.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Viva: It's a wonderful idea, which I hope raises a good sum of money to help the victims. This sort of thing reminds me of the days of bartering, when people traded skills.

Yat-Yee: Indeed. I'm impressed with the creativity, effort and good-heartedness of all involved in the project.

Jules: Thank you so much.

Davin Malasarn said...

I'm sorry for all this bad news, Tricia. I hope you are feeling okay, and I'm glad you are in touch with the healing power of nature.

Unknown said...

Very saddened to hear of the loss of your dear friend.

Thanks for bringing to everyone's attention the earthquake in my country.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

GoldenEagle: Thanks, and I do think it will be amazing.

Domey: Hi there. Thanks so much. I try to get into nature as much as possible--when not chained to my computer, of course. ;)

Wendy: Hi and thanks. I've been so concerned about the people of Canterbury. Such a terrifying and distressing time.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I am so sorry! My thoughts and prayers with you.

Wen Baragrey said...

I'm so sorry for your loss, Tricia. I think it says all we need to know about you, that you are worried about Christchurch at a time like this. Goodness knows we appreciate it. *hugs*.

Stephanie Thornton said...

I'm so sorry for your loss, Tricia. I know the words don't always help, but I'm sending thoughts of peace your way.

Jemi Fraser said...

So sorry to hear about your friend. There has been a lot of sadness going around lately. I'm glad to hear about people trying to help. I will definitely buy it as well.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Alex: Thank you.

Wen: I can't believe what you guys have been going through there. I've decided from all I've read that the people of New Zealand have incredible strength, as well as a great attitude. *returns hugs*

Stephanie: Thanks, my dear. My blogging friends are a ray of sunshine.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Jemi: I know, it's felt like such a dark week. But like I said to Stephanie, the support of blogging friends is an uplift.
And, yay, I hope lots of people buy the book when it's released. I think it will be e-book first and then maybe print.

Barrie said...

So sorry about your friend. And, of course, KT Madigan as well. ;( I do love the title of the anthology!

kah said...

Oh my gosh. What a sad sad time. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I had no idea about LK. I knew she had cancer but...whoosh. My heart hurts hearing this news. :(

Glad o hear Neil is doing what he can. The writer world is filled with such wonderful, caring people--you being one of them.

You're in my thoughts. xo

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Barrie and Karen: Thank you both so much.

Liza said...

I am sorry about your friend Tricia. Thank you for the info about NZ. Thinking of you.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Thanks, Liza. I hope people support the anthology, if they can.

Sarah Wylie said...

So sorry for your loss, Tricia. I hadn't heard of the anthology; thanks for passing on the info. I'll definitely be picking it up when it comes out.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Thank you, Sarah. The memorial is this weekend and will be a sad time.
I'm going to post again whenever they release the anthology. It's such a wonderful thing they're doing.