Check Out This Auction Opportunity

We now have our son home with us. And we are still raising funds. Ahead are post-placement visits from our home study agency as well as the cost of adoption finalization. While we are not familiar or sure about the total cost, we know that we need nearly $1000 more rather quickly for the post-placement visits.

So, here is a proposal: I have listed two items on eBay to help raise some of the needed funds, and if you are interested you can view and bid on these items. Both of the items have a special significance which I will describe here with a link to each auction.

A couple of years ago, I gave my dear friend, Dave, a copy of What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert. I was able to get the author to sign the book (the inscription reads: 

“To Dave—

May God make His Gospel precious to you!

Blessings,

Greg”

Since then, my friend passed away, and the book found its way back into my hands. Knowing how supportive of our adoption efforts Dave had been, his wife has graciously given her permission for us to use this item as part of our fund-raising efforts. In this way we can make Dave a bigger part of our process. (Read my thoughts on the book here.) The book lists with a 99 cent starting bid, and we would love to see the bidding go through the roof, so bid early, bid high, and bid often.

Also from Dave’s collection is a set of “Operation Desert Shield” trading cards (vintage 1991 from Pacific Trading Cards). While these are not boxed, the set includes all the cards numbered 1-110, and are in excellent condition. Again the starting bid is 99 cents, but we would love to honor our dear friend’s memory by saying that his items helped finalize our adoption process.

Thanks for reading; thanks for clicking the links; and thanks for bidding.

Christmas Is Coming . . .and Have I Got a Deal for You

We are still awaiting word on our adoption process (We're THAT close!). We also know that there are still more costs (travel, adoption services fees, court fees, etc.) And so we wanted to take this time to thank all of you who have been generous to help with this process so far.

That being said, we are still raising funds--the more we raise, the less we have to borrow. And I have an excellent idea if you would like to help. Two of my stories are Christmas related: "Something Special at Leonard's Inn" and "Just a Simple Carpenter". I still have plenty of copies of both of these stories ("Leonard" sells for $7 and "Carpenter" for $10) Either or both would make super Christmas gifts. If you would like to purchase one or more copies of my books, send me an email at LoomandWheel(at)pobox(dot)com and reference this post. Tell me how many of which book you would like to order, you buy the books, I'll pick up the postage (in the continental USA), and all the payment will be applied to our adoption costs.

If you have both of these stories, but would like to participate, let me direct you to my Lulu Store. I will dedicate the proceeds from any purchases of my books listed there during the month of December to the adoption costs (I have no control over shipping costs from Lulu). Please note that my daughter has a book listed there, and I cannot dedicate her royalties (they go to her), and also note that books bought through Lulu net me somewhere between 25 cents and 2 dollars a book (the more you buy, the closer we get to our total cost goal).

A Worthy Cause

Many of you know that the Blushing Bride and I have entered into the arduous process called International Adoption. Each step brings us closer to bringing home a terrific special needs child who wants and needs a forever family to love him. One of the things we are discovering while we wade through the mountains of paperwork involved, is that money flows out of the pockets with every turn. So we're asking for support. Here's how you can help:

1. Put our family (including the new one we will be able to introduce later) at the top of your prayer list--pray for patience, sanity, and wisdom as we continue down this road.
2. Check out (and follow) our journey blog--posting is intermittent at best, but will take you through the steps with us.
3. Jump over to our GoFundMe page and click the "Donate" button--it's easy and painless.
4. Join us for garage sales if your in the Mulberry Grove area.
5. Buy some of my books that are up for sale. Many of the books will be collectors' items which I've accumulated over the years. Some are signed by the author. Most will be from the mystery/suspense section of your favorite bookstore. I'm listing the first installment below. If you like mysteries, or know someone who does, contact me, we can work out almost any deal--just remember this is a fundraising effort, not a give-away.

First up is the eclectic but effervescent Kinky Friedman:

Greenwich Killing Time (1986, 1st) - $20.00
A Case of Lone Star (1987, signed 1st) - $50.00
When the Cat's Away (1988, signed 1st) - $50.00
Frequent Flyer (1989, signed 1st) - $50.00
Musical Chairs (1991, 1st) - $40.00
Elvis, Jesus, & Coca-Cola (1993, 1st) - $20.00
Armadillos & Old Lace (1994, 1st) - $20.00
God Bless John Wayne (1995, 1st) - $15.00
The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover (1996, signed 1st - remainder mark on foot) - $25.00
Road Kill (1997, signed and inscribed) - $20.00
Blast from the Past (1998, signed and inscribed, 1st) - $25.00
Spanking Watson (1999, signed 1st) - $30.00

(I will pay shipping for you if you wish to take advantage of this fundraising effort, just leave a comment so we can get details worked out.)

Books Sale

Okay, so here's the deal. I have several shelves of books that I have accumulated over the years (many before I ever met the Blushing Bride). Some are even near and dear to my heart. At the same time our family is in need of some funds in a rather immediate fashion. A host of these books have been gathering dust on the shelves for more years than I care to admit. A mountain of them were even languishing in storage while we lived and worked overseas.

To make the two ends work together, I will be offering a great many titles for sale, but since it is a fundraising effort I can't let the books go for a song and dance. My pricing should be fair (but probably won't be competitive, again, the point is to get raise funds for our family need). My first blush out of the gate will be to list several of the authors whose work I have and will be parting with (some reluctantly). As time permits, I list individual titles--unless people are into just buying the author's work. Most titles will be first or second editions (book club editions will be priced considerably less), and many are signed (and/or inscribed) by the author.

To answer the main question--why not use e-bay or Amazon.com? Well, I am using those outlets for some general sales, but most of the titles I'm offering in this fashion would be more suited for personal contact from collectors and bibliophiles.

So, now to the authors included:

Steve Brewer (many early Bubba Mabry mysteries)
Bill Brooks (several western titles--these will go pretty cheap as most are paperback)
Sigmund Brouwer (I have many of his fiction titles for older readers, not too many children's titles)
Susan Rogers Cooper (many Milt Kolvak titles, several E.J. Pugh titles, and all of the Kimmie Kruse novels)
Bill Crider (I have almost all of his mystery titles, including Dan Rhodes, Carl Burns, Truman Smith, and Sally Goode)
Kinky Friedman (all but the last few of his mysteries)
James Grippando
John Grisham
Stewart Kaminsky (many of the Toby Peters titles--several of these are book club editions, but in excellent condition)
Lisa Scottoline
David J. Walker

I also have a number of short story collections to sell. Tune in often for more detail on the books that must go. If you like some of these authors ask for a particular title of theirs and I'll let you know if I have it.