Authors for Palestine
Business as UNusual Ep 24 - Season 3 Transcript
Edited s3e24 Authors for Palestine
[00:00:00] Aicila: Welcome to Business as Unusual. Today I've been able to be joined at the last minute by some of the wonderful folks behind the fundraiser called Authors for Palestine. Welcome to the show, everybody.
[00:00:12] Katy: Hello.
[00:00:13] River Kai: Thanks
[00:00:13] River Kai: for having us.
[00:00:14] Claudie: Hi, I'm Claudia
[00:00:16] Aicila: Before we get into the talking more about what that is and a little bit how it arose and what your goals are, would you be willing to each say a little bit, maybe your name and something about your, what you've authored?
[00:00:29] Katy: Hello, I'm Katie Hay. I write young adult fantasy and queer adult fantasy.
[00:00:37] Claudie: write queer fantasy that focuses on platonic relationship.
[00:00:41] River Kai: Hi, I'm River Kai. I write LGBTQ plus and romance novels, and they're usually about survivors who are finding true love for the first time.
[00:00:52] Merlina: Hi, I'm Melina and I write queer romances. I have several books out and I'm offering two of them [00:01:00] for the giveaway, with Authors for Palestine.
[00:01:04] Aicila: . I'm really excited to look at all of the different offerings that you have.
[00:01:09] Aicila: Authors for Palestine, I actually saw it because an author that I'm connected with was promoting it. And then I saw Rivers video about it. And I thought, this was a place that I could talk on the show about some of the things that I think so many of us are grappling with right now and bring forward What you're up to and perhaps get some more people to participate in this endeavor that you've taken on. , do one of you or all of you want to talk a little bit about what the purpose of Authorship Palestine is?
[00:01:44] Katy: I'll start off. I just want to say credit where it's due. Shah Khan, the writer, Kind of put this all together, it really is her she's the powerhouse behind it all.
[00:01:54] Aicila: Mm hmm.
[00:01:55] Katy: So just kind of jumped in don't know about anyone else, but I feel like I'm going a bit [00:02:00] insane watching the pictures. So the chance to actually be able to do something practical, I actually, you know, just straight away jumped at it.
[00:02:09] River Kai: , I think as an author, it's really nice to be able to give back to people who are also extending their care, especially in a time where we're seeing a lot of people who are suffering because of a lack of care and a lack of valuing other people for their humanity. So I feel like even if I can't continue to donate monetarily, it's nice to be able to give away my books as well. I'm excited about that, like, exchange.
[00:02:41] Aicila: It is, it takes a lot of details, especially to pull a lot of folks together and to create a pathway for people to participate. , it's not a small endeavor. and And I feel you on that, that feeling of, I never in my life thought that it would be a radical statement to say, [00:03:00] I oppose genocide, or I don't think we should bomb hospitals.
[00:03:05] Aicila: It's meaningful to me to see because it shouldn't be a risk to do a fundraiser to care for people to help them get out of the line of fire. This shouldn't be risky. And yet I'm aware that every time you choose to speak publicly on this issue, you're taking a risk.
[00:03:21] Claudie: To some extent to the more of us that take that risk, the rest risky it becomes. there, is a huge strength in numbers, both , for donations, but also just for spreading the word, just standing with others. It makes a difference that there's 50 of us here.
[00:03:37] Claudie: It didn't feel risky for me to be doing this along with others at all. And it's not that it's not, it's just that I felt confident that I would have other people with me. That would have my back if anything went wrong.
[00:03:51] Aicila: And the biggest risk is silence. It's one of those false comforts. And at the same time, and I appreciate you speaking up [00:04:00] about the importance of solidarity and community the more that we come together and work together. The more that I see us being able , to move things in a better direction.
[00:04:09] Aicila: And that's one of the reasons I also was really delighted to see what you're up to and hopeful that we can get more people to participate and to donate to this cause.
[00:04:18] Katy: Yeah, collective action is very important.
[00:04:22] River Kai: I'm also a strong believer in, , sharing stories of other people that, , if it's calling out to you, then talk about it. And even if it's, just to one other person, it doesn't stop at just that one person. That person is like whether or not they change their viewpoints knowingly, your conversation will help spread some of the change and everybody that they're talking to will also be impacted from that conversation. It doesn't stop with just the one person that we reach out to, or however many people we reach out to. It's an infinite number that [00:05:00] we will never know. it might seem like, Oh, like, I can't donate a lot, or I can't donate at all. All I can do is listen or learn or study. It's like, every little bit matters right now when it's such a dire and, , survival based situation.
[00:05:19] Aicila: Many hands make light work and take, and we have to really come together to make these changes. So I appreciate that. I'd love to hear a little bit more about, Operation Olive Branch. I've seen some of their work, but did one of you or many of you want to speak a little bit about that organization that is supporting this?
[00:05:37] Claudie: Operation Olive Branch self describes as a grassroots movement to support and amplify aid requests of palestinian families. And it's entirely volunteer run, And what they do is basically they receive submissions from various families that have GoFundMes going.
[00:05:52] Claudie: they, organize them on a big sheet.
[00:05:55] Claudie: So there's a few that have like print at all, medical needs that they, they go [00:06:00] on a separate tabs and there's, so they organize them and vet the person that
[00:06:05] Claudie: will be in charge of transferring the
[00:06:06] Claudie: money and vet the people like on the ground to make sure that they're in contact with someone
[00:06:12] Claudie: real, that these aren't scams.
[00:06:13] Claudie: Cause I don't know if you remember, but the
[00:06:15] Claudie: first few
[00:06:16] Claudie: months.
[00:06:17] Claudie: Back
[00:06:18] Claudie: Were still in
[00:06:18] Claudie: 2023, there were quite a few scams just popping
[00:06:21] Claudie: up or people taking advantage of
[00:06:24] Claudie: families needs. So vetting to make sure that every single family on their spreadsheet is
[00:06:30] Claudie: real and needs help right now.
[00:06:33] Claudie: And,
[00:06:35] Claudie: After that, they just amplify their voices. They amplify any videos they make about their conditions. They amplify anyone that's trying to help them directly. They do not handle any transfer of funds. That's something I've seen said every now and then, that they were basically a scam of their own and taking like skimming money off the top, but they don't do that.
[00:06:53] Claudie: They just make sure that the person, the contact that the Palestinian has outside of Gaza is handling the [00:07:00] funds. \ that's basically how they work. So they're, really a point of information that you can trust.
[00:07:07] Aicila: That sounds really helpful because it does get chaotic. I mean, , and so they're basically, so that information trust and they're doing that part for this Authors for Palestine
[00:07:18] Claudie: Yes.
[00:07:19] Aicila: they're doing it for these specific families.
[00:07:21] Claudie: They're doing them there's like hundreds of families in their spreadsheets there are plenty of families that never got onto the spreadsheet because at some point they had to close it down because they were overwhelmed with it. This is not to say that anyone not on the spreadsheet is scamming, it's just they didn't have the resources to, keep doing it.
[00:07:38] Claudie: Adding people. So I think they wait until some of them are funded and then add in. But I would have to verify that.
[00:07:47] Aicila: Well, if we then can be successful on this, maybe they can add more people to help as a start. Do one
[00:07:56] Katy: And then Authors for Palestine just basically picked three [00:08:00] families from the list just to really amplify three voices and focus the money on three families, , rather than just spreading it over everyone. so it's really just a bit of focus. for those individuals and those
[00:08:16] Aicila: to share a little bit about the families that are
[00:08:18] Aicila: on the list?
[00:08:19] River Kai: ,
[00:08:19] River Kai: , I think that would be really nice. One of the families that we selected was Muhammad and his family. Muhammad is a 24 year old dentist and he just finished his internship one week before October 7th. There's a video that he posted on May 18th where he talked about how much his life was upended. It's pretty good. pretty heartbreaking because he was describing it as how everything felt okay. And he was quoted my life was beautiful until that day came. And so, that he's currently with right now includes his parents, brothers, and younger nephew. [00:09:00] And all of their Surroundings have been destroyed. So the university he just graduated from to become a dentist was destroyed. He talked a lot in that video about how Even they were just struggling for water all the time and living in tents and having to be displaced multiple times, which is a story occurring through each of these three families. It's a very common experience for people in Palestine right now, which is very harrowing experience to have to be constantly displaced and not feel like anywhere is safe.
[00:09:36] Katy: Ibrahim, who is a 28 year old father. His baby was born in December, 2023. So that was fairly horrific in itself. Once again, same as The previous family, they've been displaced all over Gaza multiple times trying to escape the violence.
[00:09:56] Katy: The family is now living in a small nylon tent. There are 10 of them. [00:10:00] That's him, his brother's family and his two sisters and their children. The men sleep outside so the children can sleep inside. As safely as is possible. The statement we had from him in the fundraiser, no place feels safe in Gaza.
[00:10:15] Katy: Even as we seek shelter, the conflict follows us. The experience is particularly distressing for my wife, especially during her pregnancy and now with our newborn daughter. Every moment is shadowed by fear for our family's future.
[00:10:28] Merlina: Third family is Rula's family.
[00:10:31] Merlina: , she is a 24 year old graduate of English translation. And her family includes her three brothers and three sisters and their children. , everything in their life was destroyed, including the university where she graduated. Her brothers suffer from infectious diseases, , because of the pollution, the water which is not drinkable, and the contaminated food. They've been displaced several times and are all struggling to find [00:11:00] drinkable water, food, and access to health.
[00:11:04] Merlina: Their father was injured and is in urgent need of treatment, but it's very difficult to transport him and very costly as well because of all the destroyed roads and access to anything is very difficult.
[00:11:21] Merlina: Okay, this is the quote from Rula. Rula says, With the outbreak of the recent war in Gaza, my life changed completely. We lost everything, our businesses and our home as the result of the bombing. We left and no longer had a house or shelter. We left without anything, only the clothes we were wearing.
[00:11:43] Aicila: We're all seeing these images. We're all getting the news to one degree or another. And yet there is something in you that saw this and said, I have to do something like, and it's not because you're an author, there's lots of authors.
[00:11:55] Aicila: It's not because you're seeing these things. What is that moment that you can [00:12:00] identify that said, actually. I have to do something. I can't let this go past. What is it in your experience or your life that brought that to being an action a feeling?
[00:12:15] Katy: I can go first on that one. I actually gave up my day job in handed my notice in, in November last year. I've been a supporter of medical aid for Palestinians for several years. And my view is that that's an incredibly white, middle class, comfortable thing to do. So, you know, you, you people are living a horrendous life.
[00:12:37] Katy: Here's a bit of charity. Your leg got blown off. We'll get a prosthetic for you, but it was something to do. I did after October the 7th, I did some fundraising at work and one of the people at work, I used to work for the police. And they turned around and said, we must remember the police's requirement to be neutral, to be [00:13:00] impartial about this.
[00:13:01] Katy: And my soul just rose up and said, there is nothing impartial about a genocide. This is not a partiality thing. This is basic, basic humanity. You know, I, I cannot and will not watch people, civilians being killed. You're asking too much. So that's, that's my story. And it kind of hasn't stopped.
[00:13:22] Katy: I feel absolutely crazy watching the images because I feel on a, on a very, on a very basic human level, we are not built to see things like this and do nothing. You should see, if you see something horrific, You should reach out and help. You know, if someone got hit by a car in the street, you would rush to help you.
[00:13:43] Katy: You know, you'd either help the individual or you would call the emergency services. And we're kind of seeing that written so large, but there are no emergency services to call. We can't physically reach these people to help them. Everyone we call is saying, [00:14:00] Oh, that's fine. These people deserve to die. So we just have to take steps ourselves as individuals to do the little bit that we're able to do.
[00:14:10] Katy: And it's actually, it's very cheering to see that so many people are willing to step up. Our leaders might be completely useless, but as individuals, human beings. are really stepping forward and showing that we can tell right from wrong and we really want to help.
[00:14:28] Aicila: Yeah.
[00:14:29] Claudie: I think for a lot of people it's less, I have to help, but how do I even go about it? And one of the big like moment for me was just when the author Sim Kern did their first giveaway of their book for a specific family. I was like, wait, that's something I can do. I have books. I may not have a lot of money right now, but I have a ton of books. I didn't have a big platform, so I was kind of just looking into, like, how do you contact these people what are the logistics behind this, and then something like [00:15:00] Authors for Palestine comes up, and you have help in figuring it all out, and it becomes so much more easier. This is not the first thing I'm doing, it's just the, like, most public one, and It's a bigger one for sure. , it feels more active, it does feel good. I do think we're all wired to help however we can. Sometimes we just don't know where to start and it feels easier to just kinda, just put it back and not do it right now. And then another day comes and you're like I have to do something about it, but what? This is just one way. And we've already talked about a few different things you can do. Definitely Don't wait. Stop waiting. Just do it.
[00:15:38] Merlina: Of my biggest motivations to keep going is, my partner is not a white person and is someone who has a very foreign sounding name. And with the current climate, if we don't fight back racism, Especially with the current, , events in [00:16:00] France as well, which is where we live. , it's going to get real very soon for us as well, so I, I do feel that personal concern, and that added empathy to, like, all the other brown people around the world, because I live with one, and I can see.
[00:16:17] Merlina: That it's not going to go well very soon. And as far as recharging, reading is, reading is great. , even reading stories that have that bit of sadness in them, but reading stories that have a happy ending is the way to go for me because I live to see characters pain and flaws have like the life they deserve which is all that we hope for especially right now.
[00:16:48] River Kai: I think that, for me, witnessing these things as a disabled person, I can also understand, like, the [00:17:00] extra amount of suffering because this is very much like a mass disabling event on top of all of the horrors that they're experiencing. And Like watching that happen from afar and feeling like I don't know what to do also because I can't be protesting physically and I can't be doing all the same things that maybe people who don't have disabilities can do in that way to participate. I try to Like I learned this especially like very concretely during the Black Lives Matter movement, how much it matters to listen to the communities who are being targeted. And right now people in Palestine are asking for help in helping them evacuate. Just because of how much their infrastructure and everything is just completely destroyed. I've been trying to listen to their needs and see. What would be the best way to help from their perspective as well [00:18:00] as like, because pestering our government hasn't been working in the U. S. so far, like even though I'm still doing that every day. I wanted to make sure to hear these people out and I felt like this Authors for Palestine fundraiser was an amazing way to do that and also to be able to share my books with people who are reaching out to help.
[00:18:28] Aicila: Yeah. I think that empathy is really key in that the, if once you really connect to the reality that It's mostly luck and happenstance that it's not you. It, changes how you connect to the suffering and the oppression of others. And to speak to that, I don't know, wheel spinning that gets called activism to what you were talking about, At the beginning , in terms of the medical [00:19:00] nonprofit that you're connected to. And, I don't know, I go back and forth.
[00:19:03] Aicila: Cause I'm just like, yeah, I get it. Like, it's great that you're doing what you can. That's awesome. And
[00:19:09] Aicila: if you're not affected on some level and we, I guess we go back and forth. In terms of our own ability to function, because we get too affected, we just, as you said Marlene, we can shut down, but also recognizing that getting comfortable in our discomfort can mean that we don't actually keep going, we get into that place of slacktivism, we get into that place of making noise, but not actually making a difference. I don't know if that speaks to any of you I appreciate that you're all taking this on in different ways. And I really appreciate you sharing your motivations like that. How do people participate if they're like listening to this? And now we know where ends June 20th.
[00:19:49] Aicila: So folks, you gotta get on it right now.
[00:19:53] Merlina: So the way to enter the event is to make a donation to one of the three families who are listed on the [00:20:00] website. Your donation has to be at least five dollars and then you can also make ten dollars, fifteen dollars or above. The amount of your donation will determine which tier you can, be drafted into to win one of the bundles of books.
[00:20:15] Merlina: Once you've made your donation you need to take a screenshot of it and on the website you'll have access to a google form. That, where you can submit, your donation and pick the bundle you want to be drafted for., The donation of 5 at least will get you 16 free ebooks that are a participation reward for everybody even if you don't win one of the prizes, you still get 16 books. and some store discounts for bookish stuff five dollars donation is for tier three which is only available to U. S. residents because of shipping costs for the authors and people who have donated items. Ten dollars will get you into tier two and fifteen [00:21:00] dollars into tier three which has paperback copies and signed copies.
[00:21:07] Katy: What we're calling participation rewards, so everyone who makes a donation can get, these are all downloads, so people have got ebooks or similar so every single person who makes a donation can get access to them, there's something for everyone as part of this.
[00:21:25] River Kai: Yeah, I think we wanted to make it so even if someone wasn't selected for a bundle to receive an extra gift, they were still getting like a huge, it's like 16 ebooks. I think that's pretty cool. Like just for participating, everybody can have that for 5 or more.
[00:21:42] Claudie: There's maybe something I want to add that's less how you participate. But if you've never opened one of these GoFundMes, you might be surprised by how much money they're actually asking for. And I really encourage everyone to take the time to see where that money goes, because, that was my first [00:22:00] kind of shocking surprise that they actually needed that much.
[00:22:03] Claudie: But once you start looking at the breakdown of what they need, you realize why the GoFundMe are so high. First of all of the foods cost a lot more than it should. A single tent can cost up to a thousand dollars easily. And you have to remember that some of them have had their tents destroyed repeatedly.
[00:22:21] Claudie: Also, , all the families that are evacuating through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, they need 5, 000, 7, 000 for every person. So when you see GoFundMe's that have brothers, sisters, uncles, nephews, that heads up if you have 10 people then suddenly you're at 50, 000 minimum.
It goes really fast, and you would be surprised how much every 5 helps them. It doesn't feel a lot, 5, when the, the GoFundMe is like 50, 000. Every time you give, you help them survive longer.
[00:22:54] Aicila: What is the do you have a cumulative goal? Or like, do you want to fully fund all three [00:23:00] families or
[00:23:00] River Kai: I feel like that would be an incredible goal. Yeah, that'd be like a, Yeah. that would be the dream. I think that's part of why I think we wanted to select three because While sorting through Operation Olive Branch, you can see which ones are making progress. And I know that Char Khan, who had originally organized this, had mentioned that, , we wanted to select families who weren't getting as much traction. And the reason why it's important to just hone in on a couple or a few families, or maybe even one is because Since these are evacuation funds, they need the full amount. And so if we're all spread out too thin, then no one will be able to evacuate. By identifying people who urgently need it, and who, we feel called to help, then we'll be able to help them be able to reach a safer location.
[00:23:57] Merlina: By the way, I don't think we mentioned [00:24:00] the amount that has been collected so far, but it's the third day today and we got 40 donations amounting to a little over 800.
[00:24:10] Merlina: So hopefully the more we communicate, the faster we can increase that amount.
[00:24:16] Aicila: Would any of you or all of you be willing to share like a small snippet of something that you wrote that's been donated. I think it might be interesting for people to have a connection to the art. And I personally think also that art helps us to connect to our own humanity and to one another.
[00:24:36] Aicila: I would love for people to have a chance to connect to what, the soul of the, some of this is, if you're open to it
[00:24:44] Claudie: I wasn't ready for that.
[00:24:46] Aicila: and no pressure. Okay.
[00:24:48] Claudie: That just needs to be. But, I mean, I can, I can, I can. I'm just looking for the thing now.
[00:24:55] River Kai: could just give a summary.
[00:24:59] Claudie: I have one that [00:25:00] involves kittens, like, humanoid kittens playing, and I think since we're, like, fundraising for families, I kind of feel like that's good.
[00:25:09] Aicila: Well, supposedly play is the antidote to trauma. Neurologically,
[00:25:15] Claudie: They're gonna need a lot of it.
[00:25:17] Aicila: yes. And my cat videos continue to be the ones everybody watches.
[00:25:22] Katy: Lovebug Bundle 2 you can win a signed copy of Assassin. . This is a male male interracial romance.
[00:25:31] Katy: This has lots of Palestinian names in it, because I was thinking it's a kind of interracial, it's fantasy, but it's very loosely based on either side of the Mediterranean Sea. So, we've got white, people who think they know best interfering with The south of the meds business.
[00:25:46] Katy: Assassin is male male soulmates. I'm going to read a little bit from when my soulmates get together. Kit had barely finished the recitation of his prayers when a movement in the moonlight outside caught his [00:26:00] attention. He peered out, a gray shape moved at the corner of his eye, a cat prowling across the path, each paw carefully set in place as it ventured through the undergrowth.
[00:26:10] Katy: Kit watched until the creature slunk out of sight. He should find his bed, but he was wide awake. He had a sudden urge to see where the animal had got to. Cats belonged in the kitchen, but the beasts roamed where they chose, beholden to no one. Tugging a robe over his sleep tunic, Kit swung over the windowsill and took a deep breath of cool night air.
[00:26:30] Katy: He followed the path the cat had taken between a pair of leafy bushes. Breaking into a small clearing, he started back. A man knelt with his back to Kit, the emir. His heart pounded. For the briefest moment, he was sure the emir had sprung from the cat, and a dread of sorcery pounded through his veins. Then he saw the cat was also there, the emir extending a hand to stroke the arched back.
[00:26:54] Katy: Lass, have you come to say your prayers? Or just to distract me from mine?[00:27:00]
[00:27:03] Katy: This was the perfect opportunity. If only he had a knife, he could slip it between the man's ribs and be done. He didn't have a blade. Everything of that nature had been surrendered on their arrival at the palace. He could, perhaps, hack the man's head from his shoulders with his eating knife, but he didn't even have that to hand, and the emir was unlikely to stay patiently still for long enough for that tactic to bear fruit.
[00:27:28] Katy: Saint knew the situation wasn't funny. But Kit perhaps made some sound of mirth. The emir glanced around. His eyes lit up when he saw Kit. The gesture like a punch to his chest. Ah, welcome. Forgive me, Blessed Highness. He waved a hand. I followed the cat. He bowed. I'll leave you to your prayers. He spoke the words but made no move to retreat.
[00:27:50] Katy: He was trying to find a way to fulfil his duty, he told himself, because it would be absurd to suggest the slight smile playing around the emir's lips was holding him in place. The [00:28:00] emir turned to the cat. It seems I must thank you for bringing me company, lass. I didn't mean to disturb you. He could throttle the man, a voice pointed out deep in Kit's mind.
[00:28:10] Katy: hands flexed, but still he made no move, and I'll leave it there.
[00:28:18] Aicila: Who's next? It's reading hour.
[00:28:23] Claudie: I can go. Hopefully, I'm not used to, I've never read from these yet. So I have, And they, let me see if I can make it work. They actually have a like cover that flows one into the other and it's true for the third one. All three of them are in the cozy bundle on tier one has signed.
[00:28:42] Claudie: The reason I don't have the third, it's that. It's not out already, it's only out September 9th, so whoever wins is going to get an early copy that no one else has seen. And my only copy right now is getting proofed by a friend, so I don't have it at home. I'm gonna Read from the second one, actually. [00:29:00] This world is fantasy and there are, like the humanoid, like, animal races.
[00:29:04] Claudie: And there's a few, like, cat people, basically. And this is, this is Keza she's in the scene. She's actually the mom of nine tiny little kitten and it's a scene where they get to play with the actual main character which is Horace and Horace is here. So I'm just going to read from that directly straight to the play and it's, it should be, it should be, Fairly short all of these are, by the way, kind of a mix of epic fantasy and cozy fantasy.
[00:29:35] Claudie: Though there's a lot of, this is like games with children, but there's a lot of board games card games, dice games. That's sort of I give a lot of room for for these things in the stories and then mix with the bigger fantasy mysteries. So, let's go. Oh, but Oras would love to play with all of you.
[00:29:56] Claudie: I don't think I know Stardust Branch. Tallest? [00:30:00] Aras never got to finish her question. 9 year old Phelnexi leaped and pounced and sprinted, trampling over one another to get to hemp first. Then, as they raised a feeble arm in protest, they sprang to it, clouds out, and started climbing. Arras winced at the prickles of pain and threw a confused look at Kesa, who only extended her two arms out and imitated a tree? It followed suit as more and more of the little ones buried them under their onslaught, scaling her legs and chest and arm and head, pushing and pulling each other to be the one on top. It was in many ways a horribly painful experience, but the constant stream of laughs and victorious screams helped ease the discomfort. So did Keza's relaxed, half lidded gaze as she watched, perched once more on a high ledge, and the subtle purr is sometimes caught amidst the chaos. It got into the game, playing her part as the tree. First, it leaned to one side, creating a new highest point [00:31:00] with a raised hand, and enjoyed the panic scramble across her shoulders as the children tried to reach it. Later, it declared loudly, Oh no, there's a lot of wind today! and shook first their arms, then their whole body, forcing them to cling or fall. They loved every minute of it, and so did Horace. And I'm just gonna stop there.
[00:31:21] Aicila: Thank you.
[00:31:22] River Kai: Yeah, so I'm donating a signed copy of my first book of my Steamy Shifter Romance series, so I can't read a lot of it because it is a steamy romance but it's called My shy Alpha. Yeah. Yeah, , and it follows the main character who is a survivor of a traumatic relationship and she's relearning what it means to be loved. And so in book one oh, also let me just show this really quickly. One fun thing about it is that I am a comic artist, so I also illustrated my books. [00:32:00]
[00:32:00] Aicila: Nice.
[00:32:01] River Kai: yeah, so that is the first wolf sighting in this werewolf book and I can just read a small excerpt from it when the main character, she doesn't know that, well, actually, you know what?
[00:32:17] River Kai: I don't think I should read it. I'm not sure if it's a good idea. I'll just try. Let me go back to the first page. I'm not what you're expecting, am I? You don't want me? Before Noah can respond, a glint of eyes appears behind him. I scream as the same massive brown wolf lunges for us, sinking its teeth into Noah's back. My eyes squint as Noah crashes towards me, but the impact I braced for never arrives. When I open my eyes, shock zaps my system. Noah pins the hulking wolf to the ground by the neck with one bare [00:33:00] hand. His clothes burst, the fabric streaking over his expanding body and rippling ribbons until they shred under pressure with a loud snap. But beneath his clothes isn't the skin I expect. His body morphs into a new, inhuman form. Fur, claws, a dark snout as long as my entire body. An enormous black wolf emerges from Noah, snarling at the cowering wolf beneath him. Reality bends, and I'm reeling with it. But I don't have time to. The brown wolf snaps their jaws, ready to tear into Noah the second his black, towering form meets it face to face. And I have an opening to run. But no matter how terrified and confused I am, everything in me screams to protect Noah. As the wolves tumble, I scramble across the forest floor, searching for a large enough rock. When Noah pins the strange wolf to the ground again, I throw with all my might. The rock hits the brown wolf's squirting head, and Noah's ears shoot up right in surprise. [00:34:00] Then he looks at me. Golden, piercing eyes spike my heart down to my knees.
[00:34:08] Aicila: Hopefully. My first spicy podcast. Did you find something Merlina?
[00:34:24] Merlina: I'm just going to show the two books, but I'm not going to read from both of them. I'm donating two, and the first one is called The Flourishing. , it's the first in a trilogy of romances that are set in Leicester in the UK. And you can read them all as standalones because they each follow a different couple, but The people know each other, so you'll find little, connections in between the books if you read all three.
[00:34:50] Merlina: And the one I'm gonna read from is called Dandelion, and it's actually getting released in two days. , . I just [00:35:00] realized I wasn't, I'm not ready. , And it's a historical romance. , it's a second chance romance, and it's Dual timelines. So it's mainly set in the 70s in the US and it's about two men who meet again by chance in their 50s and they met initially when they were teenagers and they used to be friends and lovers and then they fell out.
[00:35:28] Merlina: This is about them reconnecting. And the bit I'm going to read is actually one of the flashbacks from their youth time. No, no, keep your shoes on, Bobby instructed, laughing at Bill's confused frown. He went to crouch in front of his bed and pulled at the shoebox he kept hidden underneath, pulling a few dust bunnies with it when it slid into view.
[00:35:51] Merlina: He removed the lid and placed it on the bed, feeling Bill step closer behind him, peering over his shoulder. The radio had been a gift from his father, [00:36:00] something to listen to the news and maybe, a few channels from England as well. Remember where your family comes from. Couldn't a about England. His dad had never bothered him be before.
[00:36:12] Merlina: He decided to off on his own, but he still grinned. As he unroll the, and went to plug it in. He looked for a good station and when he found one plane and D and relaxing, smooth jazz, cut his feet and extended his arm against my good sir. He didn't misspell sl glance backwards towards the door checking it was closed, but soon enough there was a warm hand in his and Bobby's heart skipped a beat.
[00:36:41] Merlina: He pulled Bill closer and slowly brought a palm to rest over his waist, giving him time to move back just in case. Instead, Bill looped his arms around Bobby's neck and smiled as they began to swing to the rhythm. It could barely have been called a dance, really. More a lot of uncoordinated swaying about, [00:37:00] grinning at each other and forgetting all about waltz and other nonsense.
[00:37:04] Merlina: Who needed practiced steps when you could have the warmth of your friend's waist under your fingers, or bump into his shoes with yours? He would never have more, so that night Bobby stole all of Bill's laughs and smiles to put them back in the shoebox later and hoped that they would keep safely in there, secretly stored under his bed for him to think about at night.
[00:37:24] Aicila: I'll just have two other questions. Like either, , how you stay motivated or recharged in this, effort, this work and, or advice that you, that you go back to.
[00:37:38] Aicila: And then any final things that you have to say that you want people to know.
[00:37:44] Katy: For recharging I would say I always turn to nature, so I'm very fortunate I have a very pretty beautiful garden that I can just sit in and Enjoy a bit of peace. So that's very important for me. I call it refilling my well [00:38:00] when I've kind of done a load of creative stuff and there's nothing left. Getting out in nature refills the well.
[00:38:05] Katy: I think it does help as well at the moment, so I'll spend some time on Twitter and I cannot spend very long on Twitter these days because my stream is just horror stories. So again, you know, 10 minutes on that and then going out and spending 10 minutes in the garden, admiring the flowers. And it kind of gives me a nice, a bigger picture.
[00:38:27] Katy: So human beings are doing bizarre things. But if you look up, you know, the sky is still there. The sun is still shining. This will pass. Please let it be quick, but this will pass.
[00:38:42] Aicila: It's a good reminder.
[00:38:45] Claudie: I think it's important to remember too that when we say there's strength in numbers, it's not just like, the more of you work, the farther you would go. It would also mean that if you need to take a break because it's become too much, there are other people that are there to take up the slacks. And the more [00:39:00] of us there are, the easier it will be to rotate. And you don't have to always be, Like at the top of your game and doing the big things, do what you can with the energy you have. And then yes, if you have to step back and recharge and just like go back to just sharing instead of being more actively, that's okay too. You are more useful recharging than you are burning out. That's true for activism, it's true for writing, it's always, like, at some point you need to take a break, because if you keep going, you're going to hit a wall, and then you're no use to anyone.
[00:39:33] Aicila: That's important. Thank you.
[00:39:36] River Kai: I always like to encourage people around me to stand up no matter how small their circle may feel, or if they feel like they don't have the perfect thing to say if something matters to them. I. I feel like they also matter, their voice matters, and that we can all make it more of a difference than we may ever know, . That is one advice I like to stick to [00:40:00] encourage people to keep going And that it can make a collective difference over time Even if there's a lot of things right now that are discouraging We can't lose all of our hope. I do feel like it is important like everyone else is saying to recharge that hope somehow and Recharge to be able to continue to lift others up and I also like to watch charity live streams or instances of people giving back also in these times because it does show just the amazing collective power of even the smallest donations or contributions can add up and our collective force is what matters.
[00:40:47] Aicila: I am excited to get a word out about this. I really appreciate you all making time at the last minute so that we can amplify what you're doing. I've talked about it before on the podcast, but for me, the recharge and the [00:41:00] hope comes from the fact that there are so many people doing their part silently on their own out in the world, and it's Being able to talk to folks helps me to realize that while I may not work with everybody in all of these different areas, we are all together in this.
[00:41:17] Aicila: And I truly do believe there are more of us that care and want to build community connection and change than there are of the people that are causing these problems. And it is the silence that allows it to flourish. Every moment that we can share and speak out, whether it is to a friend or a family member on a podcast, on a show, in a book, every place that we do that sparks the awareness that we're not alone and that there is a different way to do this and that we can find others who want to work with us in this way.
[00:41:47] Aicila: So thank you for the part that you're doing. And I honor that. And I am so grateful to have gotten to See this effort and shout out, obviously, to your main organizers. Shark on [00:42:00] CM. Rosen's Katie Hayes here today. I'll be Shamira and Mika J. Anthony. It takes a lot to put together even you know, this fundraiser that is 50 people as opposed to several thousand.
[00:42:13] Aicila: And it's still a huge effort and focus. And I honor that as well. So thank you all.
[00:42:19] Katy: The website? Do you need us to give the website verbally?
[00:42:25] Katy: Information is at the Authors for Palestine website, which is https colon slash slash afp ju
[00:42:33] Katy: mp.
[00:42:38] River Kai: Yeah. Thank you so much as well for taking the time to chat with us and being for your interest and wanting to also reach out and help. I so appreciate it.
[00:42:49] Claudie: Yeah, thank you.
[00:42:50] Katy: Yeah, so thank you
[00:42:51] Aicila: everybody
[00:42:51] Katy: me.
[00:42:52] Aicila: listening. Please donate to the cause and get involved when and where you can together we can make a difference. you next [00:43:00] week. so much. Good to see you.
