Sunday, June 21, 2020

Charity Sunday: Cure SMA #CharitySunday #SMA @CureSMA

Charity Sunday banner

Welcome to the Charity Sunday blog hop for June!

Today I’ve decided to support the cause that started me doing Charity Sundays. Looking back, I was amazed to discover that was in June of 2017 – three years ago! Anyway, that first Charity Sunday was a post on behalf of my cousin Danny, who was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder that affects roughly 1 in 11,000 births. SMA is a disease that robs people of physical strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, taking away the ability to walk, eat, or breathe. It is the number one genetic cause of death for infants.

The majority of babies born with SMA die before they reach their first birthday. Danny was lucky enough to be in trial of the experimental drug Spinraza. He’s now five years old. Although he is still severely disabled, physically, he’s alive and active, going to school, supported by a loving family and an informed medical establishment.

CureSMA is an organization dedicated to fostering research on SMA, providing authoritative information for individuals and families dealing with SMA, and advocating for government policies that assist rather than disadvantage SMA sufferers.




Anyway, for today’s Charity Sunday, I will donate $2 to CureSMA for every comment I receive. And to give you something to comment on, here’s a quick excerpt from my latest release, D&S Duos Book 6. This is a snippet from the first story, “Muse”.




Will you sign my copy of your book?”

Her wrist ached from two hours of autographs and she was desperate for caffeine, but she managed a professional smile. “Of course.”

The last person in a line that had stretched out the door at the start of the event, he didn’t look like her typical reader. His shaggy black hair needed cutting and he could have used a shave. He wore beige zip-up coveralls, a Yankees jacket, and dusty boots. A bit scruffy. Forgettable. His eyes, though, were anything but. They burned in his aquiline face, fierce, passionate, almost crazed. A quiver of unease swept through her. It was a terrible cliché – who would know better than she? – but in the intensity of that stare, she really did feel totally naked.

Smiling more broadly to hide her discomfort, she accepted the paperback he offered. The cover featured a powerfully built man in a leather hood with a scantily-clad blonde kneeling at his feet.
 
She flipped to the title page: Slave to Love by Melissa Appleton.

To...?”

To my master.” He pitched his voice low. No one else could have heard, but that didn’t stop hot blood from climbing to her cheeks or sudden moisture from soaking her panties.

Excuse me, sir, but I don’t think...” She peered frantically around the bookstore, at the browsing customers and busy clerk. Nobody had noticed. Some force dragged her back to meet the brazen challenge in his eyes.

You should think, Lissa. Is this what you really want?” He made a dismissive gesture toward the volume on the table. “Knotted silk scarves and soft, sweet kisses? Velvet blindfolds and spanking games? ‘Slaves’ who surrender for a half-dozen pages, then go about their lives as though nothing has changed?”

I – my fans – the market...”

Screw the market.” His coarseness made her shudder and yet her nipples snapped into tight, hard peaks as if he’d ordered them to attention. “You want more. I know you do.”

He loomed over the table, an undeniable presence despite his no more than average height. She shrank back into her chair, her pulse loud and fast in her ears, her thighs slippery. “I know you, Lissa. I’ve read every book you’ve written. I’ve watched you, on the street, at readings, working at your computer. You don’t want timid games. You’re afraid to admit it – I understand – but you want marks. Bruises. Blood. You want to be tested, stretched to the breaking point and beyond.”

He captured her right wrist in his big, bony hand. The fountain pen fluttered in her fingers like a caged bird. “Write me your fantasies, and I’ll make them real. Show me your rawest, darkest dreams – all the filthy details. Then trust me to fulfill them.”

Clearly he was mad. Perhaps even dangerous. She should call Jeremy, the manager, or the security guard who was taking a break now that the crowd had dispersed. Somehow she couldn’t move. His grip wasn’t tight. She could have pulled her hand away. But his eyes bored into her and his voice stilled her, holding her transfixed like a pinned insect.

I can’t...” she murmured.

I say you can. If you choose.” He leaned closer, until she felt his warm breath on her face. He smelled of tobacco and wood varnish. “It’s up to you, Lissa, to take the first step.”

D&S Duos Book 6 is available at all your favorite online bookstores.







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Don’t forget to leave a comment! Every one of them helps kids like my cousin Danny.


And while I’ve got your attention – I do hope you’ll visit the other bloggers participating in today’s Charity Sunday. Each one of them is showcasing a cause dear to her heart.


15 comments:

Lisabet Sarai said...

I just found out that Cure SMA has a special challenge, this weekend only. all donations up to $2000 will be doubled by a corporate donor.

So I am going ahead and donating $30, in the hope that I get at least 15 comments.

Thank you!

Karinski said...

Happy 3rd Anniversary, to all the good you do and bringing awareness to others on important causes.

Donise C. said...

What a great idea! OMG! That is one hot book excerpt. The book itself will probably set my eReader on fire!! I hope you get 15 comments and I'm glad that I could be one of them.

Kris Bock said...

Tried to leave a comment but don't see it so I'm not sure if its in mod or failed ... good timing on your charity choice!

Nightingale said...

This excerpt was mega intriguing. I'm afraid of the guy!

Lindsey R. Loucks said...

Happy anniversary, Lisabet! What a wonderful charity and an excellent excerpt!

Tina Donahue said...

A great cause - thanks so much for doing this! :)

Colleen C. said...

Three years, where did the time go!

Dee S Knight and Anne Krist said...

Lisabet, it's wonderful that you chose a cause near and dear to your heart! As always, your excerpt is great, but it's your charity choice that touches me this month.

Bea said...

Three years? Happy anniversary! What a great cause and one that has meaning for you. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

That excerpt is hot!
It's awesome that you've done Charity Sundays for so long! Good job!

H.B. said...

Really cool charity and it's nice that a corporate donor will double things up to $2000. Thank you for the post!

Debby said...

What a great cause. Thanks so much for doing this.

Fiona McGier said...

Great cause. And has a personal connection to you--those are the ones that mean the most. And the excerpt? Low-key, but hot!

Marle said...

Great Sunday cause to support. And again thx. for snipet that intrigues the readers soul.

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