We made a big leap for mankind in April toward the goal of giving 25 people access to safe and clean water for life through donations to Water.org. Led by a surge in sales of CLIFF DIVER, the first novel in my Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco, in April we donated nearly enough from our book sales sales to give 8 more people clean water!
This means that after only 4 months, the Writing for Water campaign has given 18 people clean water for life!
I’m amazed, in all honesty. I though that 25 would be a stretch and I’d be thrilled to even get close. But if things keep going as they are–and another few authors join me–maybe we can zoom right past 25 and break the sound barrier.
There is a sound barrier of sorts:
- Noise surrounding books and authors: it’s hard to capture readers’ attention. Lots of books and lots of marketing going on. Just because $1 from the Kindle sale of my books goes to Water.org doesn’t make them any more discoverable or enticing to read if you don’t like mysteries. But having Writing for Water buddies promote each other helps.
- Noise surrounding charitable organizations: I read somewhere that many of us have become inured to tragedy. We see too much on television and online. So we forget that our contributions, when spent wisely, really help individuals. I believe that Water.org spends my contributions wisely with the Water Credit program and working with local communities. Help enough individuals and it’s called global impact.
Long before I even published my first book, I knew I wanted to use my books to make a difference. Now it is actually happening!
If you are an author and would like to help out any month in 2014, drop me a line at carmen@carmenamato.net.
Thanks to all our readers. You are the ones who are truly turning books into water. All the best, Carmen
P.S. My partner in the Writing for Water team in April was Jerry Last, who has just come out with his latest Roger and Suzanne Bowman mystery, THE ORIGIN OF MURDER. The book takes place in Quito, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, and Mexico, and uses quotes from Charles Darwin’s the ORIGIN OF SPECIES to foreshadow the action in a very clever way. Think two parts travelogue to one part murder mystery, with a cast that includes a California private detective, a former Seal-turned-nanny, a Mossad spy, and an endangered animal species. Jerry is willing to offer a free review copies to Writing for Water fans in exchange for an Amazon review. If you’d like a copy, please fill out the form below:
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