R.L. Carpentier, writer

I announced via my weekly email newsletter and in social media posts that I will donate 100% of the revenue of my pre-sales from October 13th through October 29th to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton relief efforts. For transparency purposes, this will mean that $13.30 from each print copy and $4.19 from each E-book will go directly to Greatergood.org.

So, an altruistic endeavor? I’ll admit that not totally, but it’s a good call to action to have people feel a part of something. They get a book, people in North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida get help, and I get readers.

But what’s the real reason? Well, in my adult life I have been flooded twice. The first time was annoying as a couple inches of water came into my basement condo, ruined our floors and turned our lives upside for a few weeks. The second time we got six feet of water, had to be evacuated from our neighborhood, and it completely affected the way we looked at our home.

Hurricane Irene devastated upstate New York. My beloved Catskill Mountain communities were washed away from floods. The six feet of water that invaded our Rockland County home destroyed many of my personal items and put our whole community out. There were people that lost their homes as well. It made us gun shy the next year when Sandy came a-knockin. In the aftermath, much of that old community is gone as the Federal government began buying up the properties and taking the houses down. Our old house, the one we had when our daughter was born, is gone.

So, I can at least begin to understand the folks in North Carolina who lost homes and communities. I say begin, because I will never know the tragedy of a life lost to a flood. I say begin, because they are still on the outset of so much rebuilding, and I am more than a decade past my experience. But I also know that there will be help and there are organizations that will be there. The American Red Cross came out big for us, volunteer firefighters travelled hundreds of miles to help with pump outs, local businesses donated food, water and supplies. I know that these things cost time and money.

I will not delve into conspiracy theories, politics, or my personal opinions. I just want to help. So, if you can pick up a print copy through my website http://www.rlcarpentierwriter.com or pre-order an Ebook through Amazon, I appreciate your support of the people of North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida and your support of my creative outlets.