Simon Cleary guest blog for Authors For Fireys

This guest blog features Simon Cleary, an author auctioning items to raise money via #AuthorsForFireys for the fire fighting effort here in Australia. The full set of #AuthorsForFireys interviews and blog posts will be here as soon as they are published, as interviews and guest blogs for #AuthorsForWildlife will be here.

Meet Simon Cleary

I’m auctioning my third novel THE WAR ARTIST, a tale about trauma and sacrifice and overcoming challenges. Mostly it’s about love. You can’t have enough love, enough generosity. At the extremities of things you often find their essence. The fireys who’ve been busting guts for days and weeks and months now have been so generous, so selfless, and have so often worked through exhaustion to protect communities. Like so many of us, I have family members and friends who’ve lost homes, or had them threatened, who’ve tasted ash and who are incredibly grateful to the fireys who’ve been looking out for them. For me this auction is simply about saying thanks, and being part of a community that says thanks.

I’m attaching a photo and book cover.

Socials:
FB: @simonclearyauthor
Insta: @simonclearyauthor
Twitter: @ClearySimon

Simon Cleary’s offer

Simon’s book is included in Cass Moriarty’s Bundle 4 here. Listen to Cass Moriarty talk about all the book bundles she’s putting up for auction in this podcast; all her auction offers are also here.

#AuthorsForFireys Bris4OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES Signed: ENTIRE @krissykneen COLLECTION (see pic): The War Artist @ClearySimon Grace’s Table @SallyPiper BadBehaviour @RebeccaStarford @samwheelz ParisDreaming @AnitaHeiss plus more as pictured pic.twitter.com/1wmVtz8Mju

— Cass Moriarty (@MoriartyCass) January 5, 2020

#AuthorsForFireys Bris4OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES Signed: ENTIRE @krissykneen COLLECTION (see pic): The War Artist @ClearySimon Grace’s Table @SallyPiper BadBehaviour @RebeccaStarford @samwheelz ParisDreaming @AnitaHeiss plus more as pictured.

PLEASE NOTE: there are more books in this bundle. I don’t have the full list for that bundle but all the bundles are at least 8 to 10 books. — Editor

Please bid on the original tweet: you can click on the tweet above and it will take you right to twitter to bid.

Want to know if this is legit?

Yes, it is legit. The whole community — Australian and global — is rallying together to support Australian firefighters, wildlife rescue and bushfire victims. Here are some reports on this effort.

• SBS: Australian authors rally around to raise funds for bushfire relief effort
• SMH: Authors ask readers to dig deep for nation’s bushfire crisis
• Book Riot: AUTHORS SUPPORT AUSTRALIA FIRE SERVICES WITH #AUTHORSFORFIREYS
• Penguin Books: Authors For Fireys — Australian authors band together to support the Country Fire Authority
• Daily Nous: Philosophers Raising Funds for Firefighters in Australia
• ArtsHub: Six ways artists can take action on bushfires

Fundraiser information from Emily Gale

The #AuthorsForFireys auction will take place only on Twitter from Monday 6th January, ending at 11pm AEST on Saturday 11th January. Scores of authors, illustrators and book industry people will host their own individual auction under the hashtag #AuthorsForFireys and bids will take place on each tweet. At the end, the highest bidder donates the amount directly to the firefighters fund. After receiving proof of donation, the author or artist will dispatch goods/services or make arrangements for delivery.

As originally wanted by @EmilyGale and @NovaWeetman, this fundraiser is now officially for ALL fire services in Australia. The official Authors For Fireys Website will be updated accordingly. Winning bidders or auctioning authors can nominate funds to the fire service of their choice.

Items up for auction include signed books, original illustrations, one-off fan-art and craft, unique gifts and manuscript critiques for writers.

There is a supporting site, explaining how it works, at this address: https://authorsforfireys.wixsite.com/website.