It’s Giftmas Time Again! 2022

Giftmas 2022 with greenery and candle background

If you’ve been around with me before, you know Giftmas is an annual charity fundraiser, and if you’re in a big hurry today, no worries — here’s the link to do good. If you’ve got some time, you can read my musings on light in darkness, too. Thanks!


Solstice. Festivals of Lights. The Christ Mass. Holiday lights. Winterlights.

Even with so many traditions among our eight billion global citizens, light in the darkness is a universal thread in mid-winter observances. There’s a reason we drape LEDs over anything that holds still (and some things that don’t) and spread glitter and sequins to reflect every photon from every facet. In the dark of winter, we celebrate the light.

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Marathon livestream for charity! Please join me.

hands with vote pins
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

November 3 is a particularly significant day in the United States, laying out a path for the future.

But in fact, we can re-write the future every day, with thousands of choices. And you can make me give you an early glimpse of Kin & Kind.

If you’ve been online with me for a while, you know that slavery and trafficking is something I am against — and something we can fight with tiny daily decisions, from the brand of chocolate bar we eat to the clothing we purchase, as well as the more obvious issues like the porn industry.

So on November 3 I will be live-streaming all day to raise money for IJM to fight slavery and exploitation.

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It’s Giftmas Time Again! 2019

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that Giftmas is when we raise funds for the Edmonton Food Bank. (No, I don’t live in Edmonton. No, I don’t even live in Canada. But look, Canada would help me out, too.) Giftmas is organized each year by Rhonda Parrish, my editor of many anthologies, and each year it’s a fun way to tour some writers’ sites, do good by putting food on the table, and win cool stuff.

There are three parts to this post: What’s in it for charity, what’s in it for you, and a tease for a Christmas gift from me.

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Shard & Shield is A Go!

It’s happened! It’s out in the world. Shard & Shield is loose and in readers’ hands.

Early reviews have started to appear. Sales ranks have started to climb. And all in all, this has been a successful launch, so thank you all very much!

Preorder Bonuses

If you forwarded your proof of purchase or library request as instructed, you should have gotten your goodies within 24 hours.

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Charity Update for Preorders

Serious post today, guys. This is a very important update for legal reasons.

Shard & Shield cover
I chose a charity relevant to the story, that I’d learned more about during research. Oops.

Sometimes you have good intentions, and yet it just doesn’t work out like you intended.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I do the occasional charity benefit. Cupcake the Dinosaur likes to appear at community events and raise money for, say, the local animal shelter or Needy Family Fund. I have sold books for charity fundraising before and participated in the Giftmas campaign each year for the Edmonton Food Bank. And most recently, I pledged to donate two dollars for every preorder sale of Shard & Shield to a specific charity organization.

Well, it turns out that was illegal.

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Shard & Shield: Preorders & Loot & Charity

Today is the official start of Shard & Shield‘s preorder countdown, and I’ve got goodies to share!

Got a minute? Let me tell you about what’s available if you order your copy in advance. Bonus: You get the sadistic glee of watching me try to be all professional as cold rain intensifies. (It’s winter in New Zealand, where I recorded this just a couple weeks ago.)

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Giftmas 2018: The Thrilling Conclusion!

In case you missed my previous post, this month a lot of authors are participating in the Giftmas 2018 blog tour to raise money for the Edmonton Food Bank. Our readers have been great; you can check our final stats over here.

Each day of the tour, an author has posted a free story to support the effort. But it’s possible that you didn’t get to them all, or that you hate reading on a blog instead of in your favorite ereader or on traditional wood pulp.

Well, Merry Christmas! Because today we have an anthology for you.

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Charitable: Donate with Me, 2018 edition

We’ve just finished Thanksgiving here, complete with turkey and Beef Wellington and dinosaurs.

dinosaurs and Beef Wellington
dinosaurs and Beef Wellington

Thanksgiving is fundamentally about both gratitude and sharing. Frequently at the end of the year, I list some of my charities and invite readers to donate with me. We don’t talk amounts, there are no special prizes, it’s just me sharing some causes and the organizations I trust to do something about them. None of these links are connected to me, I get no kickback or prize for referrals or anything. This is just part of me thanking all of you for helping me to support these groups, who offer help to all in need regardless of identity, creed or worldview, etc.

So, in no particular order:

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