On the right hand side of this blog post, you’ll see the cover and the GoodReads link to the charity anthology, FINDING LOVE! The five of us got together early on in December to make this happen– and all the proceeds go to The Trevor Project, which makes it an even better investment as each book sold helps out our LGBTQ youth. (As if five stories by five amazing writers wasn’t enough? Hahaha! 🙂 Seriously, publishing alongside these lovely ladies is ENOUGH for this author!!!)
As the author of one of these stories, I feel an immense amount of pride– one of the central themes of the stories– to be involved in such a wonderful cause. My story deals with loss of identity, a history of love deemed inappropriate rewritten. Yet even in this day and time, people are being, if you will, rewritten to fit in to society’s ideals. Ever-present in the media, our LGBT culture is being called unnatural, unhealthy, un-whatever they decide today, up to and including evil. For children and adults alike, this is damaging. I’m a gay woman and it took me travelling to the other side of the country to be able to be me and be me freely. Texas and my family’s Southern Baptist beliefs don’t allow for a lesbian to be left in peace. Hell, I remember a comment my uncle made a couple of years ago about one of my male cousins wearing a purple shirt. Apparently, purple is a “homo color” to him.
Yeah. That’s just one of the things I’d like for our youth to not have to face, and daily, organizations like The Trevor Project, It Gets Better, To Write Love On Her Arms, and many more; they fight to keep our youth alive. They fight to keep them filled with hope and dreams of a better tomorrow. Please… even if you don’t buy a book, donate. Donate what you can– your time, your money, your love and support… and help the youth of today FIND LOVE!
M. LeAnne Phoenix 