Lost Children: An Anthology to Benefit PROTECT and Children 1st

Lost Children: A Charity Anthology collects thirty short stories from emerging hardboiled, transgressive, literary and noir writers to support PROTECT and Children 1st. PROTECT lobbies for stronger and smarter child protection laws in the U.S., and Children 1st deliver services to help children and families, and speak out for children's rights in Scotland.

Authors include Paul D. Brazill, Chad Rohrbacher, David Barber, Fiona "McDroll" Johnson, Ron Earl Phillips, Lynn Beighley, Susan Tepper, Thomas Pluck, Nicolette Wong, Benoit Lelievre, Seamus Bellamy, J.F. Juzwik, Nancy Hansen, JP Reese, Luca Veste, Sam Rasnake, Sif Dal, Veronica Lewis-Marie Shaw, David Ackley, James Lloyd Davis, Roberto C. Garcia, MaryAnne Kolton, Vinod Narayan,  Paula Pahnke, Susan Gibb, Ingrid K.V. Hardy, Gil Hoffs and Erin Zulkoski.

The book is available for as an e-book at Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, the Apple iBookstore for the iPad, the Sony e-Bookstore, the Kobo Bookstore, and Barnes & Noble for Nook for $2.99

It is also available in trade paperback at Amazon and Createspace for $9.99
The trade paperback is available with free international shipping at The Book Depository.

You may also buy the e-book directly! We will mail it to you in PDF, Kindle mobi, and Nook epub formats. You can read it on your computer, or transfer it to your e-reader with software such as Calibre E-Book Management. This generates the largest donation. $2.99

a little about... Thomas Pluck

I am one of the editors of this project, along with Fiona Johnson and Ron Earl Phillips. I worked on the e-book design and the writer-wrangling work of getting permissions and contracts taken care of. My story "Little Sister" was written for the challenge, and appears in the anthology. 

What inspired you to write this story?


I read an article about Living Water for Girls, an Atlanta charity which rescues young women trapped in sex trafficking and exploitation. The stories were heartbreaking, and so many the same: a girl is kicked out of her home during the arguments of early adolescence, left to fend for herself on the street; a young man tells her she's beautiful, she can stay with him, and she thinks his bed is better than the cold street, and she wakes up in a nightmare. Beaten and trapped, raped, and emotionally abused until she thinks all she is good for is turning tricks for her pimp. It enraged me, and the stories of women who clawed their way out of it gave me hope that someday we'd never use the words "child prostitute," but instead realize this is the face of modern slavery.

What makes this cause important to you?
The gorilla in the room that we choose to ignore is that our prisons are full of abused children who've grown to learn that their own pain is the only pain that matters. 25% of women are sexually abused. And those are the ones who admit it. The abuse of power is the common thread throughout human history, and nothing defines evil more than an adult abusing a child, physically, sexually or emotionally. We've become a society where bullying is said to build character. Would you spit on a newborn child to get him ready for the trials of life? The strong will always have an advantage over the weak. Civilization is meant to impose fairer laws over the brutality of nature. If we look away and ignore it, we cannot call ourselves civilized.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where we can find more of your writing.
I write what I call "unflinching fiction with heart." Sometimes that's crime fiction, sometimes it's noir, other times it's just character-driven stories where we see what fuels someone's intensity. On occasion I write humor. I'm a computer administrator by day, and I practice mixed martial arts and strongman weightlifting in my spare time. I've endured punches to the crotch to assist in teaching women self-defense. When I support something, I go all the way.

My writing can be found at www.pluckyoutoo.com and has been published in Pulp Modern, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Beat to a Pulp, The Utne Reader, Crimespree Magazine, Shotgun Honey, and The Flash Fiction Offensive, among others. I have work upcoming in Plots With Guns, Needle Magazine, Crimefactory, and two anthologies, Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled and Luca Veste's Off the Record.

I also like the odd cheeseburger and the craftiest beer I can find.

a little bit about... James Lloyd Davis

James Lloyd Davis gave us a powerful tale from the Vietnam War, that could be any war, entitled "Butterfly Fingers."

What inspired your story?
Butterfly Fingers is a story about orphans in a war zone, about the soldiers who are probably the cause of their condition, but who become, as "occupiers," a source for both sustenance and survival as well as one of the few witnesses to their existence, their plight. Any veteran will recognize the concept of the 'fingers' ... both greedy and needy, the taps on your arms, the reaching, the touching, the pinching even, the gestures ... all of them are a cry for help even when offered in jest, with laughter ... laughter being a human emotional response to desperation. The reaching? It's a response to hunger. It's even a cry for love in a loveless place. Little fingers. Graceful, delicate fingers.

What makes this cause important to you?
War creates widows and orphans. It creates veterans and cripples and head cases. We don't often hear about the orphans, though, and my story attempts to give you a reminder about the fact that they are children. Little things. Innocent. Christ, they're everywhere, die by the trainload daily, from starvation, disease, neglect, and it feels like nobody really gives a damn! Sorry, it makes me angry as well as sad.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.
I'm just getting back to writing after a life-long detour where I was doing an awful lot of other things. You can read about me, my history, even read some of my work at the following web sites:
http://jameslloyddavis.com/ and http://www.fictionaut.com/users/james-lloyd-davis

a little about... Lynn Beighley

Lynn Beighley wrote the short story "Probably, Right?" that indicts our inaction in the face of crushing poverty.

What inspired your story?
I was, for a very short time, a teacher in a very poor school district. Kids would come in unfed, unwashed, and ignored. There wasn't much we could do beyond giving them a few meals, and a calm and safe environment for a few hours a day. Imagining one of them on the street corner was not a big leap of the imagination for me.


What makes this cause important to you?
Every child deserves basic human needs: food, clothing, safety. And love. It's awful enough that we don't offer such things to adults, but even more horrendous that even one child can be forgotten. I hope that this small contribution I've made can help in some way.

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

I'm a fiction writer stuck in a technical book writer’s body. My stories often involve deeply flawed characters and the unsatisfying meshing of the virtual and actual world. You can find more of my work at http://www.fictionaut.com/users/lynn-beighley and on Twitter as @lynnbeighley. And, of course, I'm working on a novel.

a little about... K.V. Hardy

K.V. Hardy wrote the story "The Fall of Buffalo Bill" which appears in the anthology, due to be released on November 1st:

What inspired your story?
My story was based on the memory I have from my primary school years, mostly on the playground. There was a young boy, in grade 5 or 6, who would wander around the playground by himself. Always, always by himself, and always looking down at the ground and looking so sad. I don't ever remember seeing him smile, and he was always dirty. In class, he never spoke, at least not that I ever remember. Many years later he turned up in a local newspaper scandal having been arrested for child molestation. It really made me think.


What makes this cause important to you?
Children are essentially defenseless, and are easy prey. Not to say they should be removed at the whim of authority (that is a crime in itself), but perhaps more questions should be asked. Having two kids of my own, It makes the subject very important to me.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.
I am an illustrator by day, and I try to spin tales in my free time. I finished a novella in July of 2011 and have put it away for awhile before editing it. I have a short story collection that I'm putting together called Pieces of Them, and another novel I'm plotting out now. I'm a proud member of Friday Flash Fiction, though I don't always have the chance to contribute these days. A few of my flash fiction pieces can be read at: www.rabidfiction.com, which will be integrated into my permanent website at www.rabidhorse.com by the end of 2011.

a little about... Sif Dal

Sif Anna Dal contributed her story "Pretty Little Girl" to the challenge:

What inspired your story?

My story was inspired by the many children I see at our local shopping centre with their parents. The parents are often young, and lead tough lives, and their children are the baggage they must carry along with them.
For these children this is the only life they know and they find joys and comforts in their life, seemingly unaware of the pitying glances of bypasses.


What Makes this cause important to you?

I have long been an advocate of children. I have studied child development and helped to run parenting forums and groups based on attachment theory. I see that there is a dualism in how children are perceived throughout
much of society; as both precious and to be protected, but also less sentient because of their inability to communicate their complex needs and emotions. I am keen for the voices of children to be heard.

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

I am a mother of four boys and a compulsive writer. I have degrees in Communications, Education and Creative Writing and am currently preparing to undertake a Doctorate (doing research in the field of folklore). I post several times a week on my blog "At the Bottom of the Garden" (http://www.wherethefairieslive.com) about life as a writer and mother of  four who also lives with low vision and ADHD - my blog is rather eclectic
but I post bits of writing most weeks.

a little about... Children 1st!

50% of the proceeds will benefit Children 1st, a charity in Scotland that helps children and vulnerable families.

In their own words:

The proceeds of this e-book will help CHILDREN 1^st build a brighter future for Scotland’s vulnerable children and families.

At CHILDREN 1^ST we listen, we support and we take action by delivering services in homes and communities across Scotland. We work to safeguard children and young people, to support them within their families and to help them to recover from abuse, neglect and violence. We speak out for children’s rights and we campaign to change attitudes.

http://www.children1st.org.uk

a little about... Gill Hoffs

Gill Hoffs contributed her story "The Premature Ending of Annie MacLeod" to the challenge:

What inspired your story?

I grew up in a small fishing village on the Scottish coast, with tales of lost travellers, witchcraft and shipwrecks. It's hard not to be inspired by a place as rugged and beautiful as that. Exploring further north where there are whole villages of ruins from the Clearances and blackened cooking pots hidden beneath the bracken, I thought about the children lost throughout history, the many names and anonymous babies detailed on surviving gravestones, and the importance of education especially to those in geographically and/or culturally isolated places. The challenge brought all of this fizzing to a head. 'Annie' and 'MacLeod' are names from my husband's side of the family, and when the story 'clicked', I could see her in my mind's eye, and the piece wrote itself from there.


What makes this cause important to you?

Before I had my son, I spent my working life with children who had a diverse range of needs, including ADHD, ASD, and emotional/behavioural problems. Despite their issues, they could be joyous and funny - and I have enormous respect for them. So many children, throughout the world, slip through the systems and struggle with themselves and society. Childhood is confusing enough with a loving, supportive family and good health. It's important to do what you can to help every child find their way through the mixed messages and rules to a happy, healthy adulthood. Charities such as the ones supported by this challenge do just that.


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

All I want to do is write. I've won three competitions and been placed in two others, have work included in six anthologies [including this one], online, and in several magazines and journals. For links, please visit my site http://gillhoffs.wordpress.com/ . I'm 32, I live in the North of England, and when I was about 15 I tried to make candles out of plastic explosive - I thought it was a lump of candle wax. Thank goodness we had a soldier over for tea!

a little about... Susan Gibb

Susan Gibb wrote the powerful story "Keisha" for the Lost Children challenge:

What inspired your story?
As with most of us, I think we looked into the eyes of this child and merely wrote down what was drawn out of us. No one can look into those eyes and not feel the depths of humanity. For me, lucky to have been born into a loving middle-class family, I try to understand the lives of others who haven't had the luxury of a stable home.


What makes this cause important to you?
Because it's been an opportunity offered to writers to be able to do something more than just write about the trauma and pure poverty that so many children suffer in this world. It's easy enough to write a story but when it's back by your generous efforts to dedicate funding to charity, it's just all the more important. It offers help. It's both personal and focused and so much more than caring without action.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.
I've always written poems and stories and knew that someday I'd make it a more serious effort than just self-satisfaction or a means to communicate. There's a writer and poet in all of us. It just takes some time to give yourself the permission to put the effort and feeling into it and let it out into the world.

a little about... Luca Veste

This is the first in a series of posts about the contributors to our collection. Luca's story "Waiting" appears in The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology.

What inspired your story?

It comes from a personal event, extrapolated to an inordinate amount. I've been that child waiting at a window for a parent, and it stays with you forever. It's possibly the most personal thing I'll ever write, but on seeing the incredible image that was used as a prompt, this story just wouldn't budge from my mind.


What makes this cause important to you?

Anything to help children and I'm there. As a father, the most important thing in my life is my children, so anything I can do to help children who possibly don't have that same support as my own children, I'll help any way I can.


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

I'm a Husband and Father of two daughters. I'm a mature student studying Criminology and Psychology. I review books on my Guilty Conscience ( http://guiltyconscienceblog.blogspot.com ) site, and turned my hand to writing a few months ago. I released a collection of short stories in October, titled 'Liverpool 5', published by Trestle Press. I've had stories at Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers and the forthcoming Paul D. Brazill Anthology 'Brit Grit 2'.