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The Generosity of Fans

September 13, 2012 By Brandon 2 Comments

There are quite a few days when I wake up and wonder what the hell I’m doing putting my books out. I have no inspiration to be an “author,” for me it’s just scribbling words on paper and crafting a story that reflects on some of the harshness, and the beauty, of life.

And then there are days when you wake up, open your email, and find that your expectations of humanity are, once again, reaffirmed because of the generosity of strangers. This morning was one of those mornings and here’s why:

Fans started a Goodreads Fan Group about my books.

Afflicted jumped up to #18 on the Amazon Gay & Lesbian Romance Bestsellers list

Someone from my new Fan Group made a donation on my behalf to one of the charities I work with.

I want to thank all those anonymous people out there who are reading the books, and I especially want to thank the person(s) that took the time, and the money from their pocket, to make a difference. Your actions have moved me greatly.

Vote for LGBT Youth – They need your help!

September 11, 2012 By Brandon Leave a Comment

GLBTAYS is one of the organizations that I help raise funds and awareness for. We need your vote to help them secure a grant from Chase Bank. This is one of the only organizations in the Northern Alabama area serving LGBT youth and is right smack in the middle of hostile central as far as anything LGBT goes.

All it takes is one click to change the lives of many LGBT Youth. Vote by Sept 19th.

Cast your vote for GLBTAYS and one other charity using your Facebook profile.

See the video message from founder James L Robinson below.

Selfish Giving by author Anne Tenino

February 17, 2012 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Guest Post by Anne Tenino

By nature, I’m a very giving person. Just this morning, someone cut me off in traffic and I gave him the finger. I don’t really think that’s the kind of giving Brandon wanted me to opine about, though. Let me start over. I’m a very giving person, although clearly I’m equal-opportunity about it; I’ll give you a hand if you need it, or the finger if you deserve it.

I’m a disorganized giver. I used to be an organized giver, but getting a long-term illness changed all of that. I’ll explain the difference in a bit, but first let me tell you something about my philosophy of giving.

I believe the giver always gets something out of a charitable act. In nearly every case, the giver gets the satisfaction of knowing they gave; of feeling like a “good person” for a while, or just knowing they are responsible for making someone’s life a bit better. In other cases, people and corporations get tax write-offs, or are assured that the cause they care about on a deep and personal level won’t die, or they get to have an experience they couldn’t have any other way. There are many more benefits of giving, I’m not going to go into them all here. These benefits are true (except the tax write-off) in both organized and disorganized giving. [Read more…] about Selfish Giving by author Anne Tenino