Edith Layton Memorial Auction, Giveaway, and Fundraiser

In memory of Edith Layton, Sarah and I are hosting a fundraiser/auction/giveaway to benefit the North Shore Animal League. Layton’s daughter Susie Felber told me that while her mother was very quiet about her battle with ovarian cancer, she was not at all shy about “her insane love of animals,” and so the family decided any memorial contributions should be directed to the NSAL.  

With some help from friends and authors, we’re putting together a three part effort.  

First: if you’d like to make a contribution in memory of Edith Layton, you can do so online  , or to any animal rescue charity of your choosing.

To support Layton’s love of animal rescue and to honor her career as a romance novelist, Smart Bitches and Dear Author are hosting a giveaway, a raffle, and an auction.  

The Giveaway

To any commenter here, or at Dear Author, we’ve each got a set of 3 copies of the new anthology Tails of Love featuring    Lori Foster,  Stella Cameron,  Sue-Ellen Welfonder,  Kate Angell,  Sarah McCarty,  Donna MacMeans,  Dianne Castell,  Patricia Sargeant,  Ann Christopher, and  Marcia James  . Proceeds from the sale of this book go to the  Animal Adoption Foundation  (AAF), a no-kill animal shelter in Hamilton, Ohio.   Special thanks to Berkley  for donating these copies to us.  

The Raffle

Send us your receipt for charitable donation at sbj.contests at gmail dot com and you’re entered in our raffle to win the following set of pet-central books from Berkley, courtesy of the fine editors over there, who all dress marvelously and have excellent taste, particularly Cindy Hwang who awesomely offered up additional copies of books to benefit charity for animals:

• An arc of LOVE IS A FOUR LEGGED WORD by Kandy Shepard
• ONE MORE TIME and ALL OR NOTHING by Claire Cross
• CASTING SPELLS by Barbara Bretton
• THE CAT by Jean Johnson
• The Cat Who Brought Down The House by Lillian Jackson Braun;
• Never Say Sty by Linda O. Johnston

The Auction

But wait, there’s more! We’re hosting a charity auction over at eBay where the winning bidder will receive a bound galley of the upcoming anthology MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS by mega bestselling author, Charlaine Harris, whose anthology contribution is the next installment in the Sookie Stackhouse series (the basis for HBO’s True Blood). Also in the anthology are Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, and Nalini Singh.

Don’t want to wait for Nora Robert’s next standalone novel? A bound galley of Black Hills is part of the raffle. And the animal related goodness does not stop there.    

Christine Feehan’s Dark Slayer will be included (the heroine lives with a wolf pack) along with an awesome gift basket donated by Ms. Feehan herself. The basket is too cool to be believed, and the full details are at the eBay listing.

*****

Thanks to Charlaine Harris, Nora Roberts, Christine Feehan, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook and Nalini Singh for graciously agreeing to have us auction off their ARCs for charity, and to Ms. Feehan for the basket. Thanks also to Berkley, especially Cindy Hwang, for the donated books. You’ll notice the auction is hosted by the business name of Smart Bitches. All proceeds from the auction, including all auction-related fees, will be donated by Smart Bitches Trashy Books LLC to the North Shore Animal League in memory of Edith Layton.  

The Giveaway will end in 24 hours, the raffle on Friday 12 June, and the auction will end in 7 days, on 15 June 2009.  

Bid early, bid often, or, give your nearest animal friend a rub on the head in memory of Lady Edith Layton, Duchess of Rescue. Most of all, thanks to all the people who volunteer their time and energy for animal rescue. Paws up to you.