UPDATE #5: Houston’s Mayor Rocks! The Astrodome has been filled to capacity. He’s opened the Reliant Center saying:
“We want this exhibition hall open right now,” the mayor said. “If it entails someone suing us, then OK.,” the mayor said. “Then (they can) explain to the American public why.”
Also: Anyone who thinks they may have a friend or loved one sheltered at the Astrodome should address letters by name, with the address General Delivery, Houston, TX 77230.
UPDATE #4: Thank you all for your overwhelming response to the call for items for the upcoming auction to benefit Larissa! As of Thursday night, we’ve closed the donations. You can view the lists of authors /editors /agents /web designers /readers who are donating critiques, books, and other items here. A more detailed list will follow once the auction goes live. Anticipated date is Friday, September 9th. We will continue to accept donations through PayPal by emailing paypaldonations AT alisonkent.com and/or cash/gift cards via the Access Romance Mailbox (Access Romance /Larissa Ione /1795 N. Fry Rd. #263 /Katy, TX 77449-3347) at this time. Again, Larissa and her family are grateful for the generous response, and send their thanks. And we’re equally grateful on their behalf for your timely and enthusiastic response and support.
UPDATE #3 : Harlequin send out a nice email today expressing concern for all it’s affected authors and to let us know they donated to the American Red Cross.
UPDATE #2: A note from Larissa!
UPDATE: Check out ROMAID for a partial list of items to be auctioned! And check out the comments on the last post at Larissa’s blog for heartfelt thank-yous from her mom and mom-in-law. Brought tears to my eyes this morning!
As many of you know, our critique partner / good friend / fellow-blogger, Larissa Ione lives in the area of Gulfport, MS. She is a former Air Force meteorologist, and she knows storms. She left with the kid, the laptop, the cat, the mice, and clothes for two days when Katrina was still a category two storm. Katrina grew, and now Larissa has no home to return to. Her hurricane insurance will not cover all of the loss because the largest part of the destruction was caused by the storm surge. Her son will be moving to Washington state to live with his grandparents so he can start grade school again. She will be handling all the repair / recovery on her own because her husband is required elsewhere. He is Coast Guard, and was stationed in Gulfport. He is now assigned to hurricane search and rescue.
Larissa’s critique partners, me, Emma and Steph, and the blogging group at WriteMinded (Sharon Long, Amy Knupp, and Jan Kenny) are organizing an auction to help out her family in their loss. We anticipate launching the auction on Friday, September 9th and we’re asking for your help.
For authors interested in donating critiques (5 page synopsis – 30 pages manuscript) and / or autographed books, please email either Sharon Long (smlong AT gt.rr.com) or Amy Knupp (aknupp AT sunflower.com) – they’re working together, so don’t worry about duplicates – to have your name listed in this fundraising auction.
If you’re interested in donating anything else for auction, please email stephanie AT stephanietyler.com. For general questions, please email: stephanie AT stephanietyler.com
Other ways to help:
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