Gail’s Comments (group member since Mar 18, 2014)

Gail’s comments from the Monkeying Around for a Good Cause group.

CJ mostly does cons along the east cost, since he's based in Brooklyn. I remember him telling me he did about 40+ cons a year! I felt tired with 14, and here he is doing 40, and in the vendor room, which is a lot more energy and effort than doing panels! So you can see why not being able to get out and do cons because of his chemo is really a hardship--that's CJ's whole income.

Content, content, content. If the anthology doesn't appeal to readers, it doesn't matter how great your cause is. Give people a reason to buy beyond doing good. (In other words, appealing to self-interest is more of a sure thing than appealing to our better natures alone!) Make it a win-win--great content for a good cause!

CJ has been a good friend to me since I started going to cons as a pro. He's always been there with a bear hug and a cheerily cynical take on life. He's one of the hardest working guys I know, and I know some very hard working writers! Cancer can hit anyone, and those of us who are self-employed and in the creative fields have a thin safety net. I'm proud to call CJ a friend, and I'm happy to help him out!

So what's the story about? Here's the scoop: Set in modern-day Charleston, Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly, an antiques and curios shop with a dangerous secret and an immortal silent partner. A hungry ghost haunts a dead man’s journals, and Cassidy and Sorren must destroy the spirit before it exacts its price in blood.

Buttons So why did I pick this short story to include in Monkeying Around for a Good Cause? Well, it's one of my favorites, and it was the inspiration for my upcoming Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy novel that comes out this summer. It was also originally published in Magic: The Esoteric and Arcane anthology by Solaris Books which won a British Fantasy Society award for Best Anthology and was nominated for a World Fantasy Society award in the same category. So I guess you could say it's been good luck for me, and I hope that luck carries over for CJ!

Indiegogo will, Kickstarter won't. What goes into creating a successful benefit anthology, and what should you know before you get started?

Why have more than 60 authors (core authors plus stretch goal authors, with more being added) come together to help CJ Henderson pay the medical bills from his struggle with cancer? We'll let the authors tell you how they know CJ and what brought them into the project.