What is racism anyway? by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on November 3, 2020:

The subject of racism is impossible to avoid today since it’s at least

mentioned in a majority of news stories and broadcasts, social media posts, and many conversations. It’s easy to assume that the definition of such a common word is common knowledge. But as we all know, assumptions can be wrong.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I have been mentoring a young lady for almost seven years. I’m not sure how much mentoring I do. Mostly we just hang out once a week and talk, but even that has been a real challenge in 2020. First there was the shutdown, and when school started back in August, no visitors were allowed – but we’ve worked it out. Once a week, with her father’s permission, I pick her up for lunch, and we eat fast food in the park or the church fellowship hall. We have to squeeze a lot of words into her thirty-minute lunch period, but it’s better than nothing. And we don’t have to hurry too much because her hospitality teacher doesn’t seem to mind if she’s a few minutes late.

Tatia’s Tattoo Crowdfunding Campaign Is Now Live! | by Linda Brendle

Human trafficking is one of the three largest illegal industries in the world  – experts disagree on whether it is second or third. Over a million children each year fall victim to traffickers.

Today I have launched a crowdfunding campaign aimed at gathering support to meet the costs of publishing Tatia’s Tattoo, a Christian novel that tells the story of sex trafficking in small-town America. Raising awareness of this issue could be the first step in solving it.

You can be involved by pledging financial support to help cover the costs of development and copy editing, typesetting, proof reading, and cover design. Proceeds will also cover the miscellaneous costs involved in setting up the ebook, acquiring the ISBN and Library of Congress numbers, and so forth, as well as the printing costs for the books supporters will receive as rewards.

There are six different levels of support, each with a minimum dollar amount and a corresponding reward. The Friends Level has a minimum of $5, and the reward is my undying gratitude and a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift certificate. The Gold Book Club Level has a minimum of $275 and the reward includes ten print copies of Tatia’s Tattoo, ten custom bookmarks, ten custom tote bags, a personal or video appearance by the author (depending on location), ten chances to win a $30 Amazon gift certificate, and an acknowledgement of your book club and members in the book. In between the two levels, there are four others that increase from the lowest to the highest. The dollar amounts shown are suggested minimums, but if you feel as strongly about this project as I do, you are free to increase any of the dollar amounts.

The campaign is set up to accept all major credit cards. All funds collected, with the exception of processing fees charged by the credit card companies, are applied to publishing costs. In the event we collect more than the initial costs, excess funds will be held and applied to the printing costs of future sales. In the unlikely event the project is cancelled, all contributions will be refunded except for the processing fees. No cash is ever released to the author.

The actual publication process will take three to four months after the end of the campaign. During the process, I am planning a cover reveal, a book video trailer, an author video/Facebook Live event, and anything else that sounds like fun. If all goes as planned, the books and other rewards will be available by late summer. I am also working on a booklet outlining other ways you can help fight human trafficking. The final product will be posted on the Internet in a PDF format, and the link will be available in the book.

I hope you will join me in this project. Simply click this link, click the “Contribute” button, and choose your level of support and reward. Together I believe we can make a difference.

Blessings,

Linda

Awakening the Socially Unconscious | Linda Brendle

It seems that movies have the effect of raising my consciousness about racism, at least enough to write about it. I watched “The Help” last night. It was a wonderful movie, funny, heart-rending, inspiring, uplifting. But it also evoked vague feelings of guilt, a familiar feeling for us codependents who feel responsible for everything, even the things we had nothing to do with. I certainly had nothing to do with any of the situations seen in “The Help.” Mom and Dad worked hard to provide the things we needed as we grew up, but our lifestyle was anything but lavish. Our home more closely resembled the homes of the maids than the mansions where they worked, and no one I knew had hired help except one family whose house I never visited. But I still felt a little guilty because I was so unaware of what was going on in a lot of the world. It makes me wonder what kind of injustice is going on now that needs my attention.