Dreams & Desires

Dreams. Desires. We all have them. What are yours? Ever think what you’d wish for if someone handed you a magic lantern and a genie popped out? I have.

Wish No. 1 -- To Rule the World.
If I ruled the world, there would be no hate, no wars, no poverty, no violence or crime of any kind. But the chances of me getting elected Queen of the Universe are pretty slim.

Wish No. 2 -- To Have Lots of Money.
Bill Gates or Warren Buffet type money. Not because I want a yacht or lots of bling or a penthouse in Manhattan (okay, being a diehard city girl, I’d really like a penthouse in Manhattan but there’s no way that’s ever going to happen given the price of NY real estate!) No, I want lots of money so I can give it away to people in need. Unfortunately, very few of us authors make enough money to quit our day jobs, let alone have discretionary income to donate anything substantial to worthy causes.

Wish No. 3 -- To Make a Difference.
Which brings me to the reason for this blog. When I come across something I can do that doesn’t involve writing a check so small my contribution seems meaningless, I jump at the chance. Such was the case when I was asked to contribute to Dreams & Desires.

Dreams & Desires is a compilation of nineteen stories by nineteen authors. The stories range from sweet to spicy to sizzling and cover a variety of romance sub-genres. Not only did all the authors contribute their stories to this anthology but all the editing and cover art were also donated. All of the net proceeds -- that’s 100% of the profit -- from the sales of the anthology will go directly to a battered woman’s shelter in Florida.

Did you know that 95% of abuse victims are women? Every year four million women are assaulted by their spouses or partners. When Freya’s Bower, the publisher of Dreams & Desires invited me to participate in this anthology, I jumped at the chance to add my voice to a cause that will help break the cycle of abuse. By doing something I do all the time -- writing -- I can MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Wish No. 3 can come true. I know it’s a small step, but no goal is reached without taking that first step. Maybe the money raised will only help one person break the cycle of abuse, but that will be one less abused person, and that’s a huge achievement.

Wouldn’t you like to make a difference, too? You can by purchasing a copy of Dreams & Desires. And as an added bonus to contributing to such a worthy cause, you’ll be rewarded with 19 great short stories by some of today’s rising authors. Freya’s Bower has made it easy with a price to fit all pocketbooks, whether yours comes from Wal-Mart or Fendi. Dreams & Desires is available as an eBook for $7.99 (ISBN: 1-934069-36-1), a paperback (ISBN: 1-934069-22-1) for $19.95, and a hard cover (ISBN: 1-934069- 23-X) for $29.95. The paperback and hardcover are available from Barnes & Noble at http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=lois+winston&z=y. . The eBook is available through Freya’s Bower at www.freyasbower.com . Or you can go to my website at www.loiswinston.com where I have links.

My contribution to the anthology is The Reluctant Bridesmaid, a humorous contemporary story set in New Jersey. Here’s a short blurb:

It was bad enough when Paige’s cousin Tara stole her boyfriend. Now Tara and the creep are getting married, and Paige is stuck wearing a bridesmaid’s gown that makes her look like a jaundiced Holstein -- make that a jaundiced, dateless Holstein.

I hope the story makes you laugh out loud.

Thanks for stopping by and may you all have your own dreams and desires fulfilled in 2007.