The Lost Children Charity Anthologies: Shotgun Honey

Monday, October 31, 2011

a little about... Ron Earl Phillips

Ron Earl Phillips runs Flash Fiction Friday, is an editor for Shotgun Honey, and may or may not be an undercover investigator. I met him and I was not quite sure. What I was sure of was that he is a fine human being and writes a good tale. His story "The Dog Catcher" was written for the challenge.

What inspired the story?

My mother worked 33 years as a case worker for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, and 10 of those 33 years she worked specifically with Child Protective Services. While she tried not to bring her home work with her, I would overhear stories growing up. Stories of abuse, both sexual and physical, and stories of abandonment and homeless. And unfortunately stories of unwanted children locked away like animals, cast off to live in their own filth. While I can only fathom the thought process of those Lost Children -- how they manage and adapt, move on with life -- I found myself wondering how it would affect those who found such horror. That moment of discovery was what I was attempting with "The Dog Catcher," to put the reader in that moment of revelation.

What makes the cause important to you?

Whatever definition you give to Lost Children, every child in the world today, no matter how sheltered, has the potential to become lost. If the horror found in my words can help prevent the reality, then what I've written is important.

A bit about myself.

Nestled in the foothills of West Virginia, Ron Earl Phillips lives with his wife, teen-aged daughter, and their three cats. When not attempting to keep a roof over their heads through the mundane and legal job as a web developer, Ron reads and writes crime fiction. He also acts as co-editor on the online flash fiction magazine, Shotgun Honey, and for the upcoming e-book charity anthology, The Lost Children. Ron also maintains the weekly writing prompt site, Flash Fiction Friday.

You can find out more about Ron Earl Phillips at his website, RonEarl.com.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

a little about... Fiona "McDroll" Johnson

Fiona issued the Lost Children flash fiction challenge for Flash Fiction Friday and donated £220 ($350 US) personally to Children 1st Scotland, £5 for each story submitted. Her story "Residual Flashbacks" appears in the collection.

What inspired your story?

Having set up the challenge for everyone else, it suddenly dawned on me that I’d need to tackle it myself.
Like everyone else, I love Danielle Tunstall’s photo and I dare anyone to look into the eyes of the child and not feel pain. It always worries me as a teacher that the children who sit in our classes everyday, year after year, will be experiencing some kind of abuse but while in school, where they feel safe, their suffering doesn’t show.

Only many years later do people realize that how they were treated was wrong. Often they have never shared their abuse with anyone but kept it locked away in a secure place in their mind. It’s one of those children that my story is about.

What makes this cause important to you?

There are so many children in society needing help. Abuse is not going away and Children 1st do such valuable work in Scotland but like other charities, they have to work so hard constantly trying to find funds for their projects. I hope through the LOST CHILDREN ANTHOLOGY, we can all help them just a little bit.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I live in Argyll, Scotland, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the world. I have two children of my own who love everything musical so I spend a lot of my time taking them from activity to activity throughout the week.

I’ve been teaching 3 – 11 year olds for the past 28 years but in the little spare time that I have I try my best to write crime / noir short stories. I’ve been fortunate enough to have stories published in Shotgun Honey and The Flash Fiction Offensive. Recently Trestle Press has published my first anthology of short stories, KICK IT. I’ve also got stories in two more wonderful anthologies that are coming out soon, OFF THE RECORD and BRIT GRIT TOO.

Thanks so much to everyone who has helped with THE LOST CHILDREN, now let’s make it a success by spreading the word.

Thank you.

What's the story behind the project?

Protectors:
The Lost Children Charity Anthology was such a success, that Thomas Pluck decided to collect stories from a variety of authors to benefit PROTECT, a lobby whose victories against child abuse include the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, the Hero to Hero program, and Alicia's Law. He collected 41 stories from all new authors. Thanks to the inspiration of goodhearted people like Fiona Johnson, and the people of PROTECT who fight the abuse and exploitation of our children every day, the book is a reality, and 100% of proceeds benefit PROTECT.

For the first anthology:
The challenge began on Flash Fiction Friday, when author Fiona Johnson was guest writer for the fiction prompt, and asked us to write about the lost children. She asked photographer Danielle Tunstall for permission to use the arresting photo shown in the right sidebar, and said:

Some children are lost before they have even started living. Some children are a throw-away commodity like a burger box that’s left to blow down the street in the wind and rain.

I offered to donate $5 for each story submitted to PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children, and Fiona would donate $5 to Children 1st, a children's charity in Scotland. Together we raised $300 for each of the charities thanks to the generous and creative writing communities of Flash Fiction Friday, Fictionaut, and the crime fiction community on Twitter.

It was such a success that we thought we could go further. Ron Earl Phillips, Fiona and I chose 30 of the best stories to put in a charity anthology, all proceeds of which will go to PROTECT and Children 1st.

100% of royalties donated to two causes:

OUR DONATION RECORD

PROTECT and The National Association to Protect Children (USA)

The National Association to Protect Children is a national, pro-child, anti-crime membership association founded on the belief that our first and most sacred obligation as parents, citizens, and members of the human species is the protection of children from harm.

PROTECT is a bipartisan pro-child, anti-crime lobby whose sole focus is making the protection of children a top political and policy priority at the national, state and local level.

You can read about PROTECT's Victories here.

100% of the proceeds of Protectors, and 50% of the proceeds of Lost Children: A Charity Anthology, are donated to PROTECT.

This is an independently organized event, not officially sponsored by [NAPC/PROTECT]

Children 1st (UK)

Children 1st has 125 years experience of working with children and families, previously as the Royal Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSSPCC). Today, they support families under stress, protect children from harm and neglect, help them to recover from abuse and promote children's rights and interests. You can read more about their work with children here.

50% of proceeds of the Lost Children Charity Anthology go to Children 1st.

This is an independently organized event, not officially sponsored by Children 1st.