Friday, February 14, 2014

Today's Special - - Hope Tarr and the Scribbling Women


I'm so delighted to welcome the wonderful Hope Tarr to The Romance Dish today.  Hope is much more than an award-winning author of more than twenty-five published novels.  She holds a Master's degree in psychology, a Ph.D in Education and spent several years as a research consultant for the federal government.  Many of you have probably heard of Lady Jane's Salon®, a monthly reading series devoted to romance fiction. What you may not know is that Hope Tarr co-created the original Lady Jane's Salon® in New York City and the concept of using the salons to "give back" to organizations that benefit women.  Each Lady Jane's Salon® (there are now six satellite salons across the U.S.) donates its proceeds to a 501(c)3 charity with the hope of bringing about more happily ever afters in their communities.  

For more information about Hope, visit her website.  Find out more about the anthology at: 
www.Scribbling-Women.com
www.Facebook.com/ScribblingWomen  
www.Twitter.com/ScribblingWomen


 Please give Hope a warm welcome!





Scribbling Women & the Real-Life Romance Heroes Who Love Them:
Romance Authors Celebrate Valentine’s by Sharing the Hope of Happily Ever with 
Homeless Women and Children
By Hope Tarr




The romance fiction community includes some of the most generous and socially conscious people I’ve ever had the privilege to meet—and that’s just a fact. Brenda Novak’s annual auction on behalf of The Diabetes Research Institute, Lori Foster’s Animal Attraction on behalf of shelter pets, and The Nora Roberts Foundation in support of literacy are but a sprinkling of the many instances of writers sharing the hope of Happily Ever After not only between the covers of their wonderful novels but also in real life.

            And now a group of us, twenty-eight to be precise, are carrying on that proud legacy by launching SCRIBBLING WOMEN & THE REAL-LIFE ROMANCE HEROES WHO LOVE THEM, a Valentine’s anthology to benefit Win (formerly Women in Need).

Styled along the lines of  the bestselling “Chocolate for a Woman’s Soul” anthology series, SCRIBBLING WOMEN & THE REAL-LIFE ROMANCE HEROES WHO LOVE THEM is a collection of twenty-eight nonfiction essays by popular romance authors, one for each day of February 2014, on how they met, wed, and love their real-life spouses and significant others. Contributors include Lisa Renee Jones, Deanna Raybourn, Jacquie D’Alessandro, Julie Kenner, and Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick (w/a May McGoldrick and Jan Coffey) as well as fresh voices such as Suzan Colón, Kat Simons, and Cindy Nord.

As the anthology’s editor, by now I’ve read the collection straight through—and line by line—easily a half dozen times, and yet each of the twenty-eight true love stories never fails to make me smile, laugh out loud—and sometimes tear up—every time. Some authors’ journeys to True Love involved overseas travel and sometimes relocation (  Mary B. Rodgers, Sonali Dev, Kat Simons) or military service (Carlene Love Flores, Carole Bellacera); others such as Jen McLaughlin’s took place in writers’ own backyards. Some couples met as college sweethearts (Katana Collins, Delilah Marvelle), others as seasoned second-chance lovers (Leslie Carroll, Suzan Colón). Some of the essays are tongue in cheek, even laugh-out-loud funny (Patience Bloom), while others are poignant, even bittersweet (Katharine Ashe, Elf Ahearn). All affirm that Happily Ever After isn’t only the stuff of fairy tales and romance novels.

It is every woman’s birthright.

In that spirit, all twenty-eight authors contributed their essays pro bono, waiving any royalties or advance so that we could raise the maximum monies for charity. Because of their generosity, we are able to donate ALL net proceeds from sales of the anthology to Win (formerly Women in Need).

Since its February 14, 1983 launch—yes, Valentine’s Day!—Win has worked tirelessly to bring the hope of Happily Ever After to disadvantaged women and their children in New York City. Win has been the official charity of NYC’s Lady Jane’s Salon® since our 2009 founding for good reason—the work they do empowering families to build positive, independent lives and forge forward into brighter futures is beyond “good.” It’s transformative.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, now through 12 midnight EST we are dropping our digital anthology price to just 99 cents. That’s less than one dollar to give a homeless woman and her child access to clean, safe housing, critical services—and a serious shot at Happily Ever After.

SCRIBBLING WOMEN is available as both a digital and print release on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Happy Valentine’s Day—and Happily Ever After.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Thank you for visiting with us today, Hope and for bringing this wonderful anthology and organization to our attention.

Readers, we have some giveaways today!  Tell us about the heroes in your life (spouse, boyfriend, relative, friend, someone in your town, etc.).  What makes them special?  Or tell us how you make a difference in someone's life.  Do you volunteer?  Support a cause?  Help a friend?  Let's dish! 

Hope is offering one randomly chosen person who leaves a comment on today's blog a digital copy of her Kindle Top 100 Victorian-set historical romance, TEMPTING.

The Dishes are adding their support to this initiative by offering three randomly chosen people who leave a comment a digital copy (Kindle or Nook) of Scribbling Women & the Real-Life Romance Heroes Who Love Them.  

23 comments:

  1. What a fantastic anthology.

    My Mother is my hero. She has just had her 7th 29th birthday - as she likes to say - and yet she is the one knitting & baking for the "old" folks up at the home.

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    1. Mary, it sounds like your mother has a very giving spirit. Hope she has many more 29th birthdays ahead!

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    2. Hi Mary--

      Thanks so much for dropping by and Happy Valentine's Day! It's so great that you bring up your mom. When I first conceived of the idea for the anth, it was really important to me to curate the content to G-PG13 so that readers (and authors, too) would feel 100% comfortable gifting the anth to moms and grandmoms for not only Valentine's but Mother's Day, too. :)

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  2. My late brother is one of my heroes. He was a big, strong guy with a tender, giving heart. It was only when my sister and I were shredding some of his papers after his death and found cancelled checks to dozens of charities and to family and friends who needed a helping hand to get through some crisis that we realized the extent of his generosity. We cherished the stories people from every part of his life shared the day of his funeral--the high school friend who told the story of my brother saving him from a bully's beating, a college friend who was a freshman on the football team when my brother was a senior star who credited my brother with keeping him in school by "treating him like an equal" instead of following the pattern of harassing the frosh, the recovering alcoholic who said simply, "He picked me up and never judged." Some heroes just spend their lives quietly doing the right thing.

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    1. Janga, thank you for sharing your brother with us. What a wonderful legacy of love and kindness he left behind. I know the pain of losing him is still fresh but I hope that hearing these stories of how he touched so many lives brings you some measure of comfort. (((Hugs)))

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    2. Janga,

      Your brother sounds like a true Hero indeed (cap "H" entirely intended). For me, Valentine's has never been just about celebrating romantic love. As fabulous and important as romance is, I see February 14th as a great time to stop and give thanks for all the loves in our lives--parents, siblings, other family members, friends, ourselves (go, self-love!) and last but never least, our pets!

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  3. What a lovely thing for these wonderful authors to do. Giving back is so important.

    My little heroine is the young daughter of a friend of ours who has just completed her treatment for a form of leukemia. For a child, she has been so brave through all of this and has made our whole community proud of her. Because her difficult journey was given some press, our local, state-of-the-art children's hospital has received lots of donations. I worked with a few authors and publishers asking for children's and young adult books to be donated to the hospital to help take the young patients' minds off their difficulties for awhile by reading books. I'm so thankful that she is doing well.

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    1. Such a heartening real-life story. Huzzah to you and your author friends for seeing a need and finding a way to fill it for those kids. Hugs!

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  4. Hi Hope! Thanks so much for joining us today to spread the word about Scribbling Women. What a wonderful project this is!

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    1. PJ, thanks to you and the Dishes for having me here on one of my fa days of the year to chat about this absolute project of my heart. And I just saw that you are donating THREE copies of SCRIBBLING WOMEN as giveaways today. Thanks & God Bless!

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  5. My dad is my hero-my parents are 78 and so giving. My dad would bring my mom chocolates and flowers all year long ( he has a sweet tooth too!) he would always have "smaller" versions for each of us kids. I love that he has a tender heart, thoughtful and giving. He is a wonderful mentor to all those around him. He's my HERO always and forever.

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    1. Hey Jennifer ((pausing to flag arm in air to my FB and Twitter bud)):

      Your dad sounds like he belongs in the Real-Life Hero camp for sure. Scribbling Women Volume II? ;)

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    2. Hi Jennifer! Welcome!

      Your dad sounds like a wonderful guy. My dad was my hero too. He's been gone ten years now but I still feel his presence every day.

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  6. I should have added a request to omit my name from the contest. I bought Scribbling Women earlier this month. I haven't read all the stories yet, but those I have read are wonderful.

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    1. So nice of you, Janga but if your name is drawn, how about we just plan to gift you TEMPTING instead?

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  7. Amazon Top 100 Bestseller!

    Dropping back in to share the happy news!

    We're #82 in Books! (#88 on the Kindle Store).

    THANK YOU !!!

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    1. Congratulations, Hope! Keep climbing!

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    2. Thanks, PJ! We have--we are! We were at #33 in Books/Deals when I finally went to bed. :)

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  8. So very excited about this antholgy. I love anthologies! Great concept for an exceptional cause!

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  9. Anthologies have been a favorite for years. It is wonderful that your group is supporting such a worthy cause.

    My heroes are the first responders found in every community. I am a Red Cross Disaster Volunteer and work with many of these fine people at fires, tornadoes, floods, etc. Our area like many has volunteer fire departments. These people go out in all types of weather, all hours of the day and night, and in big disasters, work tirelessly to help others even though they have suffered losses themselves.

    I have always believed in the importance of volunteerism. It is a special part of the American culture and makes itself evident when most needed. Luckily my husband feels the same. Our children have grown up volunteering and have continued to give to their communities as adults.

    Lastly, a shout out to the Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers over the world, who drop everything at a moment's notice to help first responders and those who need assistance. They also are ready to deploy anywhere in their country within 24 hours when a major disaster hits. They put in many hours of training, meetings, and helping wherever they can. For most, the knowledge that they are making someone's day a little better is all the reward they need. It is a great group of people. I encourage anyone who is interested to join. There are many different ways to help that don't necessitate sleeping in a gym with 350 of your "closest strangers." And don't forget how important it is to financially support the organization. Everything they do relies on donations of time, supplies, and money.

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    1. I think a series featuring first responders as heroes--and heroines--would be great. I know Nora Roberts did a trio of books featuring firefighters but I am not sure if anyone has tackled first responders.

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  10. I guess I would have to say my maternal grandmother was my hero. I know she certainly has been a role model for me. She was the one in her family (think there was 12 siblings - she was in the younger half) that seemed to take care of the others when they were ill - or just needed caring for. I remember her younger sister being in grandma's home as she (sister) was dying from cancer - I was not in my teens yet. Then in her later years (much later, a widow after nearly 50 yrs of marriage), she 'took care of' her oldest sister and oldest brother -- they each lived in their own mobile homes, but my grandmother would check on them daily, and often cooked meals and took to them. She was a tireless worker in the church. And *her* mother had always lived by the rule 'if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all', and grandma followed it too. I try, but certainly fall short.
    I did volunteer at the school when my children were in elementary, and I did the brownie/girl scout thing a bit, but most of my volunteering has been more in and with the church. I think volunteering is important, I just haven't made the time to do much.

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