Author R.T. Kaelin has spearheaded and edited a new fantasy/sci-fi + ebook anthology called Triumph Over Tragedy to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
From his description:
I am R.T. Kaelin and I am an author.
Seeing the images of Sandy's aftermath was hard, some left me cold inside, others, left me wondering what it was I felt. So many needed so much. In past tragedies, I have donated some money to the Red Cross to help, but I’ve always felt like it was inadequate.
“Hey, you lost your home? How awful. Here’s fifty bucks. I gotta hop in my car now, get a cup of coffee and go off to work. What’s that? Your car and job are gone? Ooohh…”
So, this time, I wanted to do something more.I reached out to fellow writers (who in turn, reached out to more writers) with the idea of putting together an anthology of donated short stories, sell them via eBook, and donate 100% of the proceeds to the Red Cross for relief efforts. As this will take time to put together, I thought trying to raise money now in exchange for the anthology later might be useful. Hence, I am here.
The theme of the anthology is simple: triumph over tragedy. It will contain all sorts of stories: fantasy (traditional or urban), sci-fi, mystery, pulp, romance, action…I don’t much care what goes in it. To me, the more variety, the better as I want this to appeal to as many people as possible. The more readers, the more money to those who need it. My only guidance is that every story be appropriate for all ages.
What We Need & What You Get
We don't need anything. The people in New Jersey and the surrounding areas do. Food, water, power...the things you take for granted until they are gone. To help them, we would like a donation for them.
I’ve contributed an original short story, called “Sergeant Argent’s Moment in the Sun,” a favorite of mine, to the anthology. A quick excerpt:
The first time my best friend Mike died was on a band trip to Devil’s Cape, Louisiana.
Mr. Trevathan, the band teacher, picked Devil’s Cape because it was cheap and less than a day’s drive from Fort Dire and the camp had some kind of drum corps savant. Also, my dad said, because Mr. Trevathan thinks the slots in Devil’s Cape are looser than in Shreveport, but that’s my dad for you. Camp in Devil’s Cape was cheap for a reason, though. With its crime rate, nobody wants to send their kids there. Except Mr. Trevathan, my dad says.
Anyway, the story goes that Mike was sneaking off to see some girl he met down there and he left the camp after hours and was attacked by one of the local gangs—they’ve got names like the Concrete Executioners and the Hombres Asesinos—and stabbed to death. Except that sounded like baloney to me because Mike was scared of girls and even scareder of doing things like sneaking out of band camp. For a Star Trek convention or to see Doctor Camelot, maybe, but not for a girl. And, you know, he wasn’t exactly a ladies’ man. Mike had been pudgy since fourth grade, he had zits, and I was pretty sure his mom still laid his clothes out for him every night.
So, yeah, I knew something wasn’t right about the story even before Mike had a chance to tell me how he really died.
Other authors contributing stories include my old friend and editor Phil Athans, as well as an amazing group of other talents, including Marion Zimmer Bradley, Timothy Zahn, and Robert Silverberg. Please consider contributing to the effort, helping people who need it, and scoring a terrific ebook to boot.
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