The Philippines may seem very distant to you. As I live in Asia, the country is more or less in my backyard. And as the horrific images and shocking news pour in about the devastation wrought by superstorm Typhoon Haiyan, I feel the need to do something, however minor, to ease the suffering of the survivors.
Not since the tsunami of 2004 has there been a disaster of this proportion. I lived through that, too. My entire adopted country wore black for a month. Haiyan "only" killed 10,000 according to current estimates, not the 100,000 or more souls wiped out by the giant wave, but even 10,000 deaths is hard to imagine.
Meanwhile, life hangs by a thread for those who escaped Haiyan's wrath. They need food, shelter, medical care. One of my favorite charities, Medécins Sans Frontières, is already on the ground, caring for the sick and the wounded.
Below you'll find a snippet from my upcoming release Rough Weather (coming in January), which features a violent storm (though nothing like Haiyan). Read. Comment. Think about the poor people half a world away from you and if you can, donate to MSF or the Red Cross. And for every comment left here on this post, I'll donate 50 cents to MSF, up to a total of $50.
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She fought the wind along every inch
of the path through the dunes. Crouching low, leaning forward to
offset its force, she battled against fierce gusts that threatened to
sweep her from her feet and dash her to the sandy ground.
The intermittent showers had become
a chill downpour. She paused to catch her breath, peering through the
grey curtain that obscured her view of the sea ahead, and sent her
mind questing for another trace of Marut. Thunder crashed around her.
Otherwise there was no answer. Dread tightened into an aching knot in
her chest as the rain beat down upon her nakedness and plastered her
hair to her head.
The rain is hers, the sweet
springs and the salty billows, all of the watery world.
Although usually she loved the rain,
now it was just another obstacle keeping her from her lover. Enough.
As soon as she issued the
silent command, the precipitation slackened to a drizzle, though the
wind continued its relentless assault. She had no time to wonder at
this. Ahead of her, massive breakers rolled onto the beach, up to the
very foot of the dunes. The rocks where she’d first seen Marut were
half-submerged in a roiling whirlpool flecked with ivory foam.
Stepping into the seething ocean,
she felt the current tug at her ankles and draw her deeper. A sheer
wall of water loomed over her, gleaming like polished black glass.
She dove into the wave before it could swallow her, kicking hard to
send herself into calmer waters closer to the bottom.
39 comments:
I have a special fondness for storms in fiction precisely because I fear them in real life and have nightmares about them in my sleep. Let's just say that in fiction, at least, you control them instead of the other way around.
I love the image of the storm as symbolic of sex, in real life they can be terrible. I love all of your work & you since we 1st me. LA Bear
Thank you for your compassion regarding victims of this terrifying storm. To be inundated with water, and have no water to drink is a wretched irony.
Urb
Thank you for doing this. Lisabet! I much prefer my storms in fiction, for obvious reasons, and think the victims of Haiyan can use all the help they can get!
What a generous idea, Lisabet. Medecins Sans Frontieres is also one of my favourite charities. And it was a powerful extract.
Thank you for doing this, Lisabet. And your book sounds intriguing.
Love the cover -
This is incredibly generous of you. Canada is trying to do their part. We've sent aid and our government is matching donations. Sending prayers to the people
Heather G
Rich description, Lisabet. Thank you for donating--since Doctors Without Borders is one of my favorite charities as well, I'll make a separate donation. Bless you, M. S.
You are a kind, generous, creative woman, Lisabet. Great excerpt! I was just editing a storm scene myself and love the emotions that arise during fierce weather. Don't love Mother Nature so much when she wreaks such havoc and don't know why innocent people have to suffer.
No matter where disaster hits, the look of devastation and loss is the same. My heart aches for all those lost and affected. Thank you for doing this.
Sending prayers also. I can't even imagine what they are going through.
Thanks for this! I was also thinking about Coming Together: In Vein. My thoughts are with all affected.
We have friends that have family over there... one was actually vacationing there when it happened... hoping she and her husband and their family are alright... have not heard anything yet... keeping our thoughts positive!
Wonderful cover and blurb, Lisabet. Love this idea of sending to Doctors Without Borders. We have some doctors in our church who participate with the organization. I'll be contributing through Red Cross and the church, too. Hard to comprehend the devastation. The human spirit is strong, and we are generous to those in distress.
It's so heartrending! Thank you so much for helping...
--Trix
Powerful words about the forces of nature. Thanks for caring. My brother lives in the Philippines, and I am so very grateful he is safe, but so many were not as fortunate as he is.
Storms have an elemental intensity that can be thrilling. However, I've never experienced a killer storm.
thanks for commenting!
Thanks, Bear!
In fact this story features a real world storm - but there's sexual turbulence as well.
This is so true, Brenda.
Thanks for commenting.
I hope I can stimulate some of the people who read this to donate on their own.
From what I gather, there has been a worldwide outpouring of help, actually. But there are terrible logistical problems getting the relief to those who need it.
Thank you, Helena. What I like about MSF is that they are totally apolitical. They help everyone, on all sides of a conflict. This moral courage causes them problems at times.
Thank YOU, Heather. Help me to spread the word.
I can do only a bit. But I imagine if we all did a little, that would help a lot.
Wonderful news, M.S.!
I don't know if you've heard, but Coming Together is compiling an anthology to support victims of Haiyan.
You're right, Peaches. Disasters know no nationality, race or religion. They should encourage people to make peace with one another - because ultimately any of us could become victims.
Hard to know where to begin, praying for 400,000 people apparently affected in the main city of Leyte.
Oh, right! How silly of me not to have mentioned CTIV.
Friends, you can do more to help MSF if you buy a copy of the vampire anthology I edited last year, Coming Together: In Vein. Every cent goes to MSF if you buy from All Romance Ebooks!
That's scary, Colleen. I hope they're not affected.
The human spirit IS strong, Marsha. At times like these, one can really appreciate that fact.
Thank you, Trix!
Oh Amy! Thank God your brother is safe. For many readers, the Philippines is just a name, but for you this must be desperately real.
How generous of you, Lisabet. Hope I'm not too late to comment. Weather like this upsets me greatly. All those human and animal lives lost. It's terrible.
I enjoyed the snippet from RW. Have a nice weekend.
This is a great thing for you to do Lisabet. When hearing about the news I also wanted to do something for all those injured and displaced, but didn't know what to do. We had a natural disaster her in New York about a year ago, hurricane sandy, it wasn't anywhere near as devastating but I now know in a new way exactly how long it takes to rebuild after something like this. My heart goes out to everyone affected.
Kudos to you for spurring awareness of this horrible storm and its devastating power with this blog post. The photos and videos on the news look like they are from a fictional book or end of the world movie. But I know they are real. Doctors without Borders is a respected organization. Keeping all the folks affected by the storm in my thoughts and prayers for aid to reach them soon so they can begin re building their lives.
Hello, Mel!
No, it's not too late at all. I plan to continue collecting comments until next Thursday, a week from the date of this post. So tell your friends!
Thanks for dropping by, Willa. Actually, there is something you can do. There's a charity anthology being put together to help the victims. For details, go
http://www.eroticanthology.com/throughthestorm.htm
Hello, J.Q.,
Thanks so much for your comment and your caring.
Thanks to everyone who commented. I got 19 comments. I'll round that up and donate $20 to Doctors Without Borders.
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