Help Share the <3 with author Kristie Cook and Tristan!

*Please welcome the fabulous author, Kristie Cook to the blog! She has a very special message to share with all of you and I’m thrilled to help her spread the word.

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Did Tuesday’s tease have you wondering what “Share the <3″ is? Have you seen the #TristanK3 hashtag on Twitter and buzz on Facebook and wondering what’s going on? The scoop is finally here!

Let’s take a step back for a minute. You may or may not remember last January when I made a pledge to donate $500 to The National Domestic Violence Hotline if any of my books made it (again) to the Top 100 All Kindle Paid titles list. You more likely do remember that just a couple weeks ago I announced that I was getting close to selling my 100,000th book and I’d be celebrating in some way or another. And if you’ve read Promise, you surely remember that Tristan wanted to teach a certain wife-beater a lesson.

Well, I’m rolling it all into one for something super-cool that I hope you’ll help with. Rather than waiting to hit the Top 100 list again, I’m going to donate that $500 to The Hotline when I’ve sold my 100,000th book. Sometime this month I’ll be clicking that donation button. But I’d love to make it more than $500 and this is where you can help. For every 1,000 books sold past the 100,000 mark, up until July 30, 2012, I’ll donate another $100.*

Having direct experience with domestic violence in my family, this cause is near and dear to my heart. I’ve heard the stories from my grandmother who left an abuser in a day when women did not leave their husbands, regardless of the reason. I’ve seen the bruises and injuries on loved ones whose hearts fell for the wrong person. Fortunately, most were able to pull themselves out. But not all. In fact, one person close to me died before she could get out.

Not everyone can escape these situations easily. Not everyone knows howto leave with children and lives intact. Not everyone has family or friends close enough to run to. But with The Hotline, they do have a support network. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated, not just by me, but by those whose only hope is this one phone number that could save their lives.

So what can you do? Share the <3! How? Well, you can…

• Buy a book, of course, if you haven’t read the Soul Savers Series. Remember, Promise and Genesis are only 99c but these purchases are going to a great cause. (And be sure to keep your receipt – see below for why.)
• Gift any of the Soul Savers books to someone you think would enjoy the series (again, keep your receipt – see below). All the retailers offer an ebook gifting program.
• Encourage friends to buy any of the Soul Savers books between now and July 30, 2012 (again, see below for a bonus if they do).
• Tweet, blog, Facebook and otherwise spread the word about the Soul Savers Series, the Share the <3 campaign and/or The Hotline (use #TristanK3 hashtag – I’ll be checking these out and jumping in as often as possible, maybe even with goodies).

To add to the fun, I have presents!

• Email me** a receipt for any of my books with the purchase date between today and July 30, 2012, and you’ll be entered to win weekly giveaways of signed books by me and various author-friends who have so generously donated, as well as to win a grand prize at the end (specific prizes TBD). Gift receipts count!
• For everyone who makes a donation to The Hotline for $5 or more and emails me** a receipt and their shipping address, I’ll send you a 4-pack of Soul Savers bookmarks. For the first 25, I’ll also throw in a Soul Savers can-coozie.

I’d love to see this campaign go viral to help raise awareness and funds to support The Hotline so more women and children can feel safe, something most of us take for granted. Will you please help?

*Up to a total of $2,000. Examples: If, by July 30th, I’ve sold 105,000 books, I’ll donate an extra $500 for a total of $1,000. If I’m at 110,000 books sold, that’s another $500 I’ll donate, for a total of $1,500. If I’m at 115,000+ books by July 30, I’ll donate $2,000!!!

**Email me at kristie (at) kristiecook (dot) com