Why I Wanted To Edit A Charity Anthology

By Lucy Felthouse (Guest Blogger)

Firstly, many thanks to Lisabet for letting me loose on her site today :D

Why did I want to edit a charity anthology? I’d been aware of Coming Together and their awesome works for a while, but hadn’t gotten around to submitting a story to any of their anthologies for various reasons, but I really wanted to support the cause. So I came up with the idea of editing an anthology as well as contributing a story. I knew immediately I wanted my fellow Northern Bird and partner in crime, Victoria Blisse, on board, so I contacted her. Two heads are better than one, it’s said, and I believe it’s true. Thankfully, Victoria said yes!

So we set about figuring out themes, titles, and, of course, charities. We agreed on Parkinson’s UK pretty quickly as we both have relatives suffering with the disease. And so Coming Together With Curves was born.

I’m extremely proud of this anthology for several reasons. One, because everyone involved has worked so hard and the result is an excellent book. The cover is excellent, the stories are excellent, the cause is more than excellent! I’m also delighted that it’s doing so well – gaining a silver star on All Romance eBooks just days after its release, yay! It’s always exciting for your books to get that coveted silver star, but when you know all the proceeds are going to benefit charity, somehow the excitement is even more intense.

I was recently reminded just how important the work of Parkinson’s UK is. My aunty, who suffers with the disease and has done for over ten years, came to my house. She’s in her sixties and has always been a larger-than-life and very active person. But Parkinson’s is an overwhelming affliction and has rendered my aunty barely able to walk much of the time, which is heartbreaking to see, and I can’t even imagine how much it must frustrate and upset her. In her mind she wants to rush around and do what everyone else does, but in reality she has to walk with a stick, as well as aided by someone.

However, her visit wasn’t all downcast. She’d recently been to see a physiotherapist who had a suggestion... try listening to music in headphones, preferably upbeat, marching-type music. She demonstrated by shuffling to the end of our drive with our help, then put in her headphones and pressed play. She then walked up and down the street probably faster than I could have done, getting back to us with a huge grin on her face. I had to fight to hold back tears. We’re not exactly sure why the music helps, something to do with tricking the brain, but we don’t really care—it was absolutely brilliant to see her go from hobbling to striding with the press of a button. And this is why I want this book to do even better than it is already, to fund research into the condition and to come up with solutions to help sufferers, however bizarre those solutions may seem.
What happened with my aunty felt like a miracle, and although I know a cure isn’t, unfortunately, close to emerging, any relief for those with Parkinson’s is a damn good thing, in my opinion. They deserve it.

Want to win a copy of this excellent anthology. Head over to Goodreads and enter, but be quick, the giveaway ends on the 11^th June: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/52971?utm_medium=api&utm_source=giveaway_widget

Coming Together: With Curves Blurb

Curvy girls and the men (and women!) that love them is the theme of this charity anthology, edited by Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse.

From Zumba classes to Burlesque dancers, all kinds of big and beautiful women are portrayed between the pages of this book. Read about birthday surprises, smut at the gym, horse riders, lusty couples, naughty neighbours, skilled bakers, rope bondage and misunderstandings from some of erotica’s best authors.

Sales proceeds benefit Parkinson’s UK.

Contents: Six Lengths of Red Hemp (Tilly Hunter), Cross Trainer Number Four (Lily Harlem), Bella Buxom, Just Squeeze Me (JoAnne Kenrick), Captivated (Elizabeth Lapthorne), Red Rag to a Bull (Victoria Blisse), Girl Next Door (Bella Blake), Lush Buns (Sommer Marsden), The Big Reveal (Giselle Renarde), The Wrong End of the Stick (Lucy Felthouse), Riding School (Bella Blake), Flesh For Fantasy (Lexie Bay).

More info, excerpt and buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/coming-together-with-curves/

About Lucy

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over seventy publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include Best Bondage Erotica 2012 and 2013, and Best Women's Erotica 2013. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9