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Good morning all! Happy November. It's a beautiful day for Radio Free Monday!

cleversimon brought to my attention that Apple recently endorsed an incredibly transphobic app in iTunes. You can read more about it here. The App has been pulled (due to massive customer complaints) but it's something that people should be aware is going on, especially the politics of a controlled app store.

A sketchy, shady group called Citizens Against Government Waste recently put out an incredibly offensive, fear-mongering political ad entitled Chinese Professor. Angry Asian Man is running a parody contest to resubtitle the ad (which you can view there) and I encourage vidders and mischief-makers to engage. If nothing else you should see this ad and the discussion going on about it because holy balls, for real, not okay.

jadey on Dreamwidth linked me to Sofia's Fund, a donation drive to get a young woman the support she needs to battle an eating disorder. Her insurance refuses to cover the appropriate treatment, and she's currently in a legal battle to obtain treatment coverage. The fundraiser closes on November 15th, and she's currently at about 20% of her goal.

megaleena linked me to Lisa Clift, who is raising money for the charity Women For Women in memory of her daughter. She is about a thousand pounds short of her goal, and you can read more about both her efforts and Women For Women's work at the link above.

paxpinnae on Dreamwidth linked me to Art For The World, a gorgeous art book containing original works from some of Deviant Art's big names. The proceeds go to one of three great charities, and the books are selling for $25 each. If you do purchase a book and are looking at which charity to designate, bear in mind that there is a cholera epidemic threatening in Haiti at the moment.

celticangel76, a longtime cafe member, is separating from her husband and trying to get back into the workforce while parenting two nine-year-olds; she's made a post about her situation and some of the things she's doing to make ends meet, including a Scentsy sales website you can check out.

msilverstar on Dreamwidth notified me of this two weeks ago and I forgot to put it into last week's RFM: the Riverkids Project in Cambodia, which provides aid with everything from child trafficking to food and education. You can support them at the site but be sure to check out the awesome River Kids Shop.

I was pointed recently at the Expanded Horizons e-zine and wanted to mention it here. The goal of Expanded Horizons is to increase diversity in speculative fiction, and I think it's a good place not only for leisure reading but also a good cause to support.

Just a reminder, you can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how best to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help.

Also a reminder, in a little under an hour I'll be posting the CG sales page. :)

This has been Radio Free Monday. Thanks for your time, everyone!

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Charitable Getting is now available for purchase!

Charity in the twenty-first century is a game. The players are artists, salesmen, and idealists, all working together to get something for nothing. The goal is to raise the money; the trick is to keep it coming. At the center of the game stands Bo Sparks, charismatic CEO of SparkVISION Consulting, which runs campaigns and offers support for the charities under its care. Surrounded by the wealthy and the desperate, Sparks just wants to do a little good in the world.

Journalist Tanya Montray has a different goal. She's certain that SparkVISION employs Non Prophet, a popular and controversial blogger. She's determined to uncover him, but if he's an employee of SparkVISION there could be trouble ahead.

And then there's Trent Byron, head of the oldest charity in Chicago, who has some issues with the way Bo Sparks does business and isn't afraid to play hardball.

Sex scandals, embezzlement, gossip, clandestine love affairs, and one misplaced cake: it's all in a day's work for SparkVISION.

This book was the product of an intense editing process conducted entirely online.

I am selling Charitable Getting through Lulu. I had originally intended to offer it through CompletelyNovel as well, but certain factors have combined to indicate that I should perhaps not trust them enough to ask you to pay them.

So you can Buy Charitable Getting Here from Lulu.com; if you want a signed copy, please scroll down before you buy.

I am reminded that there is a coupon deal going on today only -- enter TRICK305 at checkout and get 20% off! Enter TURKEY at checkout now through Nov. 30th and get 10% off.

Charitable Getting is available currently for $15, and the price will rise to $16 in February. It is also available for free as a PDF download at the link above. The ebook edition isn't out yet, but it should be within a month or two; when it does go live it will be $3.

If you would like a copy of the book from Lulu but are overseas and finding postage prohibitive, please leave a comment on this post so people can contact you about workarounds. Likewise, if you are willing to combine postage to lend a friend a hand, please check the comments -- we have one person at least who is willing to consolidate a shipment to the UK.

If you are interested in a signed copy, please do not purchase a book! Peep behind the cut for instructions.

( Signed Copies )

Publicity and Reviews:

I am more than happy for you to publicise this book on your own journal if you want! You are of course welcome to do your own writeup, with your own opinion; I don't go after people for having opinions. If you'd like to copy and paste a promo, you can use the text ( behind the cut: )

A Final Note

As ever, thanks go to you guys for helping me edit the book, putting up with my ceaseless nattering about it for the past two weeks, and supporting your local independent author. It has become my catchphrase, just a little bit, that this process is about readers and writers, not buyers and sellers; I'm never quite comfortable telling you OHAY BUY MY STUFF, but as the above proves I'm at least getting better at it.

That being said, bear in mind that Lulu bundles postage! :) If you're picking up a copy of CG and don't yet have a copy of Nameless, now's the perfect time to save on shipping. And if you're looking for holiday gifts for high school seniors, you could do worse than Other People Can Smell You, my guide to surviving a university education. I also have a photobook out, The Secret Of Chicago.

You can find all of my books for sale at my Lulu Storefront.

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Couple of corrections/additions to the earlier post because nothing can ever go smoothly --

Today only, there's a coupon deal still going on, use code TRICK305 at the checkout for 20% off. Also, apparently Lulu lied to me all those months ago when I put The Secret Of Chicago up for sale, and the price is for one copy, not three. Um, so if you bought expecting three copies...I'm really really sorry, and you probably have time to cancel your order...

Other than that things seem to be swinging right along. And BossBoss brought me an Affy Tapple which should be interesting. I'm not terribly good at eating caramel apples, but at least they know to use small ones...

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So remember when the shoe repair place killed my boots?

I went boot shopping and found two pairs of boots I did not hate. I bought them in different sizes, because sizes vary between brands and I'm never quite sure what size I am. Anyway, I thought I'd try them on and keep whatever pair fit.

TURNS OUT THEY BOTH FIT.

But BossBoss, most of the admins, and one delivery guy who came in while I was trying them on all said go for the pair that didn't look hideous, despite them being slightly less warm than the hideous boots (the photo really doesn't do their ugliness justice, these are some ugly shoes).

That's what my knitted silk socks are for, after all, though they don't need to know that.