Save the Dragons...

[seawasp]

Baen author Dave Freer has a problem. For various reasons he has decided to emigrate from South Africa to Australia (Tasmania, to be precise). He planned ahead and saved money for this trip. However...

Exchange rates have shifted drastically in the interim, and what would have been adequate for his entire household will now cover only the HUMAN members of his family. He only has about half the money needed to bring his pets with him (which is a necessity and an obligation for any good pet owner) because of rather extreme import issues for bringing animals into Australia (customs, quarantine, etc.).

He's asking for money -- but not for completely nothing. He's posting a story a chapter at a time -- as he gets money, more chapters go up.

So if you want to help in this worthy cause, go here and give whatever you can.

Thanks. This has been a public service message!

Comments

[masgramondou.livejournal.com]

By the way there's a livejournal community where we can discuss the story as it is posted -- http://community.livejournal.com/save_the_dragon/ and a facebook group too for those on FB -- http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123049549635&ref=nf

[denelian.livejournal.com]

i just had surgery. i have *exactly* enough money to pay for all my meds until i get money again, on approximately the 20th of september. so i am *not* going there (the "GO HERE"), because i HEART Dave Freer with an unholy passion and i need my zanaflex (and every thing else, thank you sigh) and if i go over there i *will* give money and there goes the halcion, the oxycotin, the phenigrin and probably my lunch (being that the phenigrin is what lets me *keep* my lunch, ya know?)


so, i must ask you: how long? will this still be there on the 20th, or do i need to beg friends to loan me money to donate to Dave Freer? (the Pyramid books! *swoon* yes, there's an awful lot of Eric Flint, too, but since Mr. Flint is currently tied for first place in my heart with Robert Heinlein, this is a Good Thing) because i may be able to borrow money, but i *KNOW* i will have money on the 20th. it may not be a *LOT*, but i happen to know that my $7.50 bought one of my favorite web comic writers a *very* nifty pair of socks after her apartment building burned, and my $15 was *incredibly* useful in obtaining the new security system for the women's shelter i used to be able to volunteer at (and, incidentally, so was a really good friend of mine who is a security systems specialst in the Air Force who was on leave and really appreciates the brownies i send along, occasionally, when i can afford chocolate) - so i am guessing that the $15-$20 i can find will be really helpful in helping one of the dogs (i'm sorry, cats love me because i dislike cats. i'm a horrible, horrible person, but i'm a person who doesn't need to avoid wearing dark colors because the cat can't resist them) get thru the... quarintine? that's what it is, right? they have to be in quarantine for X amount of time since they are immigrating? (i've seen this on multiple LJs, since i got on tonight. i should have been on when i got home from the hospital, but...)

so, what i am saying is if it is something that is taking time, i can donate probably $20 around the 20th, if it's a *right now!* sort o' job, i can probably find $10, but i can't! go look for myself because if i *DO* right now, i will not in fact be donating money but pain. and possibly another bout of MRSA, and after the last time i would not even go and see a Resurrected Robert Heinlein who is giving away free, signed, first edition copies of Starship Troopers AND The Number of the Beast, next door, if there is a chance of more MRSA.

also, please understand that i have been on a pretty damned strict regimine of duladid every 4 hours whether i wanted it or not for a week, and that makes my brain kind of... verbose? chattery? loquasious, even, if i could spell it or even make my spell check work in this state... sorry, um... sorry for inflicting you with LizOnDuladid(tm), but it really does seem to be the safest way at the moment...

incidentally, a friend of mine (ok, a guy i play D&D with, i think when he came to visit me at the hospital was the first time i had seen him *not* gaming. except i barely remember anything, except he was there, he wheelchaired me outside for a smoke, and he gave me the book and card, which was actually really shocking. i mean, PETE only got me a book! the card was... on the other hand, he's an English teacher, so that probably explains it.) somehow heard, i suspect from my boyfriend, that i have been wanting a new, not-stolen copy of Digital Knight and found me one. woo-hoo! when i can read more than a page at a time and remember it all, i am reading it again! and since it is sort-of short stories, sort-of not, it'll be extra brilliant when i can do that. i am really hoping i will be able to read it by Sunday... saturday i am allowed to stop taking the duladid, so there's a *good* chance... *I* am cheering, anyway.

(and if nothing else, i hope you laughed at something that i wrote here. gods know everyone else has been laughing at me lately... but that's just because i am the SOBER person all the time, so it's extra funny when i seem drunk. or drugged. or both.)

[seawasp]

I really don't know how long it will be up. Practically speaking, I hope it WON'T still be up on the 20th because that would mean he still hasn't got the money even after what is -- online -- a pretty long time.

Neither Mr. Freer nor anyone else would expect you to be donating things you can't afford, so don't push it. Sounds like you're in need of what you've got. If you want to think of it as a fan, we authors want our fans to keep themselves healthy and solvent so that they can keep buying our books for YEARS. :)

Yes, I have noticed that you're a bit loquacious! :)

Congratulations on not only getting a new copy of DK, but on having someone else who had the willingness to go out and find one; they're actually getting somewhat hard to find, since only 10k were made and of those I think only 7,000 or less still exist. You can get them online but only from resellers and specialty stores.

Thanks for reading and get well!

[denelian.livejournal.com]

loquacious! that's it. thanks.

what i am going to do is kick the friends i know who also heart Dave Freer, and make *them* go donate. probably won't be as much (i know so many gamers, so few of whom read. sigh) but it's something. you are right - it's probably going to be a good think if it is over by the 20th. i will send GoodThoughts.

my friend, who found the book - i asked him last night. he has known about the surgery for a few months, and he started looking for DK at the end of July. he swears he only paid $15 for it, from a specialty story in Washington, and the shipping was book rate. so he got it *cheap*, and he says he got a discount because he's a teacher.

sorry for babbling - last night was my last night on duladid :)

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

Scuse me butting in, Ryk. Denelian - I really DON'T want anyone chipping in when they're short themselves!!! Please don't. Great if you can spread the word, that's much appreciated. We're running a Schezerade story-bowl system and that means people who really enjoyed Pyramid Scheme and need some cheering up after surgery can read the chapters that are up so far (um. Maybe let the stitches heal a bit first. It's supposed to make you laugh.)It's a sell the chapters e-read and pre-order for the hardcovers way of raising money for the beasties.
bests for for a good recovery
Dave

[seawasp]

Hey, who do you think you are, butting in on this as though it's about....

Oh, wait, it IS about you. :)

Yeah, as I told her, we'd rather she save her money, recover, and THEN blow all her money on our stuff. For years.:)

[denelian.livejournal.com]

did i just get a comment from Dave Freer?!!?!? directed at me!!!!? *swoon!*


ok. i promise i shall not personally donate any of my money until i get paid again, on the 20th. and that i will have my friends do it instead, and have of them get those chapters - because i *am* healed enough to laugh now (i read about 10 Discworld books, so i'm 99.99% sure!) so, now that i have been Firmly Spoken Too, by the man himself, i shall mosey over to the site (because when i said "ALEX! Dave Freer, writing for donations, go now!" he said "yes! NOW! where?" and i was like "um... go to my LJ, look thru my friends list, find seawasp, go thru his posts, and it's there within the last week. going myself, so i can bookmark and then share, all around better. i just have zero willpower when it comes to good stories - but you Spoke, so i shall listen :) and make Alex, and several others, pay!)

*dude, Ryk - did you see how DAVE FREER talked to me? i mean, yeah, he talks to you, YOU are a novelist - i'm just a sentencer. maybe a paragrapher on a good day...*

[denelian.livejournal.com]

and i *DO* spend all my money on you guys.

since very little came out in January, i bought my first new pair of jeans in over 8 years - because, given the choice between a pair of jeans or a book, the books wins, every time :)

and i do mostly leave you guys alone, so that you can like, write, and everything... because if i bug you too much, i eat up your writing time...

andway, night meds kicking in... thanx again Ryk :) you also rick!

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

pre-zaximousily! otherwise we would fail sell bookses! And that would deprive Eric of my gifted spelling and erRattic capitalization. He needs apoplexy. I only do it because I love him, really ;-)

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

pthttt. I shall get a bigger head. And then I will no longer be able to get in to the house even through the double doors and B will be forced to cover me with a tarpaulin when it rains to stop the rust. Stick to a paragrapher... I live in trepidation of sentencers as the Australians were really worried about criminal records. How times change. Take care and enjoy the read. If you can cope with pTerry (I bow in deep respect) you can cope with me easily.

[denelian.livejournal.com]

*laughing*

i wrote a "Tall Tale" for a class once, about a man who had a "swelled head, because he was so swell". so, yeah :) isn't that why editors are there? to prick you so you un-swell? lol puns are always fun. thank you!

[ldsman.livejournal.com]

Australia? (pout) How am I expected to get a book signed if you are all the way over there?

[seawasp]

Send the book to him (with a SASE, of course). I've had quite a few people mail me copies of Digital Knight for a signature. It is a bit odd in some ways, of course, since that can mean you're spending more on postage than you did on the book.