Authors Give Back
I've skirted around talking about COVID-19 a few times, because there isn't much that I can say about it which hasn't been said better elsewhere, and in the grand scheme of things, I've been pretty fortunate about how little it's impacted me. I've still got my regular employment, I haven't had anyone I know personally get sick yet (to the best of my knowledge), and I'm not someone who was going out to socialize much in the first place anyway. I've had some depression about the whole situation (which is why I'm a few days behind on enrolling in this promotion), but other than that, I've been very lucky about it so far.
But I digress. Smashwords is having a special "Authors Give Back" event, with significant discounts (up to and including 100%) on much of their selection. Both of my ebooks are enrolled for 100% discounts, and they will stay that way for the duration of the event, because I wouldn't be able to abide making money by exploiting the misfortunes of those looking for a little relief in these difficult days. Here are the links:
The notice on the authors' side said to consider why my books would help people who're having a rough time right now, and honestly, there's no specific reason why they would. They're enjoyable reads, though, at least in my opinion and according to most of the feedback I've gotten. If a bit of irreverent fantasy that I made somehow helps a person cope with what's going on in the world right now, I think that's good enough reason to participate.
As a general PSA, please pass on this Twitter link to anyone you know who isn't keeping themselves contained as much as possible (no judgment from me to those who have to go out to work, as I was in the same situation until just a few days ago). That video is a good, non-sensational explanation of how you can help protect others and save lives by just staying home. A non-exhaustive list of things you can do to fill any extra time from not going out with little-to-no extra expense (as someone who has Internet access in order to read this): read books, watch movies/videos/streams, have phone or video calls, masturbate (mind that you're hygienic about it), do some calisthenics, take some online courses (many service providers are offering free or discounted services right now), play video games, or play tabletop games online.
To any visitors who've been affected directly or indirectly by the pandemic, stay safe, stay strong, hope for some luck, try to avoid focusing on the negative side of what's going on, and do your best to get though. My best wishes to all of you, for whatever that's worth.
To any visitors living in the US who want to let the government know exactly what you think of how they've handled the situation, I refer you to this post from -C: On America In Crisis. I reached out to him briefly in response to that, and all I'll say is it's a sad state of affairs that he was proven right in not having allowed comments for it.
