MESMER HOSTS J.C. for STORIES FOR SENDAI

Mesmer, the only cat in the French Quarter to own a restaurant, was sitting next to me at my usual corner table.

I whispered, “Mesmer, you be on your best behavior with J.C. Martin.”

Mesmer slowly raised one eyebrow. She was the daughter of Bast, proud and mysterious. I whispered again, “This is about helping the hurting in Japan.”

Mesmer heaved her “Oh, all right” sigh. Just in time. The lovely J.C. sat down opposite us. She oohed, “What a lovely cat” and won Mesmer right over.

“Let’s answer a question I bet a lot of folks are asking. J.C. :

What is STORIES FOR SENDAI?”

“Stories for Sendai is a collection of nineteen short stories (including one by you, Roland)

{Mesmer covered her phony yawn with a paw – she likes to keep me humble}

and one poem. Some are inspired by the events of the earthquake in Sendai; others are simply stories of hope and inspiration.

All are themed around the strength of the human spirit. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards aid efforts to rebuild earthquake and tsunami hit regions in Japan.”

Mesmer whispered a question in my ear {Unlike all other cats who have two sets of vocal chords – one for purring and one for meowing, Mesmer has a third set – one for speaking},

and I repeated the whispered question.

“What was the birth of STORIES FOR SENDAI?”

"One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded hit the city of Sendai in the Tohoku region of Japan on Friday March 11. The magnitude 9.0 quake unleashed a deadly tsunami that slammed into Japan’s east coast,

leaving a swathe of devastation in its wake. Thousands of people lost their lives, and many are still missing or injured. Thousands more have been left homeless and destitute.

As a testament to the generosity of the world’s citizens, emergency appeals have been swiftly set up in the aftermath of the quake,

but I’m sure many of you, as we did, had the same thought: our donations seem so puny. There must be some other way we could make a difference!

With that in mind, Stories for Sendai was born!”

“What are your hopes for the project?,” I asked.

Aside from raising funds to support aid efforts, we also hope that our combined messages of strength in the face of adversity, of silver linings in storm clouds, will shine a light in these dark times, providing a brief respite in a time of crisis.”

Mesmer nodded her regal head in approval, and J.C. hurried to say,

“I didn’t do this monumental task alone. I would like to thank my co-editor Michelle Davidson Argyle for all her help and advice. Without her experience and know-how, I would probably still be bumbling through everything now!

Also big thanks to our talented book cover designer, the wonderful Fena Lee. She is open to commissions, and her prices are very reasonable, from free!

I am also super-grateful to all our contributing authors. Whether their work was included in the anthology or not, they all submitted wonderful pieces that they no doubt worked so hard on, all without expecting anything in return! Without their generosity, this anthology would not have been possible!

Thanks to all the bloggers, Tweeters, readers and fellow writers who have supported us so far. This project is only possible by word of mouth, and I thank you all for helping spread the word!

And finally, a big thank you in advance to anyone who purchases a copy of the book! You’ll not only have a lovely little gem of a book, you’ll also have contributed to a very worthy cause!”

“Where can I get my copy of Stories for Sendai?”

Stories for Sendai will be available in both print and digital format.”

J. C looked shocked, for Mesmer was pawing through her own copy of STORIES FOR SENDAI. She noticed J.C.’s surprise and purred smugly.

“Ah, Mesmer, has her own sources, J.C. Anything else your readers should know?”

“Yes! We are trying to get as many people as possible to purchase a copy of Stories for Sendai tomorrow, the 30th! The more people who buy a copy, the higher up the charts we’ll climb, the more exposure we’ll get!

Also, we’re running a prize drawing until July 15th. All you have to do is to buy a copy of Stories for Sendai, and to email a copy of your receipt to storiesforsendai (at) ymail (dot) com. You’ll be in the running for all sorts of cool prizes, including Amazon gift vouchers, books, and critiques! You get one entry per purchase, so why not buy a few extra copies for friends and family?”

J.C. noticed Mesmer was gone, and that a black rose was in a vase by her iced tea.

I smiled, “Mesmer likes you.”

“Where did she go?”

“If I know Mesmer – off to persuade some Shadowlanders to buy STORIES FOR SENDAI.”

“Uh, thank her for me. And thank you for this ... experience.”
***