Writers Helping Writers: Merry Monteleone

I don’t know writer Merry Monteleone well, other than to say that she’s a smart, strong woman and we share some loyal friends. Her home in Illinois was recently flooded, and suffered a great deal of damage.

Merry and her family — including three children in middle school and younger — are working tirelessly to rebuild.

Politically, Merry and I couldn’t be much more different. But we both believe in community, the value of family, and that many hands can make light work. And I know that together we can be mighty.

My friend, Erica Orloff, explains how we can help, if you’re so inclined:

In this little corner of the blogworld, most of us are book lovers. Book lovers and writers, people who say, “I’ve been writing stories since I could hold a pen,” or “I was the kid holding the flashlight under the covers and reading past bedtime.” In this little corner of the blogworld, we’ve also watched out for our own.

Merry Monteleone (Mom and More) and her family were in the midst of raging flood waters in Westchester when heavy rains hit Chicago. The contents of the downstairs of her house were lost, and though it’s just “stuff” (lives were lost in the flooding), most of us can imagine how it would feel to watch photo albums and meaningful memories wrapped up in the “stuff” of our families . . . be carried off.

While big “stuff” can be replaced with insurance, Merry lost all her books, and a group of us decided to replace them–with Amazon gift cards, with books, with signed copies of books, with ARCs. We want to see the blogosphere flood her mailbox with good wishes and replace her library. If you love books and your TBR pile is as tall as you are, you know what they mean to her.

What can you do? Send books! Send Amazon cards! Reach out to your favorite authors and ask them to send her a signed copy! For her address or more information, contact Erica Orloff.

Namaste!