CODA comes out in TWO MONTHS! I’m a mix of excited and terrified, but mostly excited. This isn’t really a post about that. I mentioned on Facebook a while ago that I’d be running two big contests to celebrate the CODA launch and this is one of them, and while it’s not quite as contest-y as the other, I am doing it for reasons.
Some of you know that CODA’s main character, Anthem, is bisexual, and some of the other characters are gay. If you know this, you’ll know it’s not what the book is about, though obviously it is part of who those characters are and helps to shape them. I do a lot of pretty mean things to my characters in CODA, things it was hard for me to write, but one thing I gave this otherwise largely cruel, unforgiving world in which I put them was tolerance, at least in this one respect. It would be nice to live in a world where all kinds of sexuality weren’t even just tolerated, but embraced, and this one thing I gave Anthem and his friends.
But we don’t live in that world. Every day, teenagers and kids Anthem’s age–and younger–struggle against intolerance, injustice, and cruelty just because of who they are. This is what their daily lives are about.
So here’s what we’re going to do. Between now and May 7th, CODA’s publication date, all you have to do is leave a comment here. You don’t have to tweet or Facebook (though both those things are appreciated) and you don’t have to buy anything. Just leave a comment that proves to me you’re not a robot or crazy spammer. 10 of you will get signed, finished copies of CODA. ONE of you will get every single cool CODA-related item I can make, buy, beg from my publishers, or otherwise put my hands on. I don’t know everything you’ll get, yet, but it will definitely include of of my last remaining ARCs, a finished copy of the book, a one-of-a-kind annotated manuscript (the only one I’ll ever give away for CODA), and various kinds of fun, silly swag including stuff that flashes, glows, or would otherwise help you get ready for your neighborhood rave if this were 1998 or 2198.
And here’s what I’m going to do: for every comment this post gets, I will donate $1 to The Trevor Project, an organization that provides support and resources to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youths, up to a maximum of $1000. Maybe one day we can live in a world that accepts everyone for who they are–though not, I hope, one that controls our minds with MP3 files.
Why are you doing this publicly? Because I’d be doing it privately anyway. This way I get to give away some swag and maybe give an amazing organization a tiny bit of extra exposure.
Are you sure you don’t need to buy anything? Yes.
Can I win if I live on the moon? Yep. Wherever you are, I’ll send you a BIG BOX OF STUFF if your name gets picked out of the digital hat.
I have a question, should I ask in the comments? No, please don’t. I’ll start another post to cover questions if need be. In the meantime, please email any and all questions to emma [at] emmatrevayne [dot] com.
My comment isn’t showing up! I have comment moderation turned on so that spammers don’t jam things up. I’ll approve comments several times a day. If yours still hasn’t appeared after a day or two, let me know.
This has been an incredible year for me, and I need to pay it forward. Help me?
Em
Nailing Shadows to the Wall 