Guest Blogger Laura Childs

As we're smack in the middle of the holiday season, which I hope everyone is enjoying, let's stop and give a warm welcome to today's guest blogger. Laura Childs is one of the hardest working authors in the mystery genre, with three New York Times and USA Today best-selling traditional series: teashop, scrapbook, and Cackleberry Club. I was delighted that Laura agreed to guest blog—and absolutely dumbfounded when she sent her copy in early!

Please join me in welcoming Laura Childs!

A funny thing happened a couple weeks ago when Eggs Benedict Arnold, my new Cackleberry Club Mystery, was released. I decided to do a promotion.

Because Eggs Benedict Arnold is a fun cozy mystery about three forty-plus women who run The Cackleberry Club, a café that specializes in egg dishes, I immediately thought of chickens. Wouldn’t it be great, I wondered, if I could run a flock of chickens right down the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis?

Then I thought – hold everything – I could get arrested! Me and the poor chicks could end up cooling our heels (if chickens even have heels) in jail.

That led to a far saner and safer idea. I decided to donate one chick for every copy of Eggs Benedict Arnold sold during the two weeks of my book launch. I immediately contacted Once Upon a Crime mystery book store and they hopped on board.

So it worked just like this: For each book copy sold, I donated a baby chick through Heifer International, a non-profit organization that delivers farm animals to poor families across the globe. Just think about it. A small flock of chickens to a family in Nicaragua or Tanzania guarantees a protein-rich food source, as well as income from selling eggs and chicks. Pretty cool, huh?

At Heifer International’s website you can read about their other projects, too. Like providing a pair of goats to a poor family so they can start up a small herd. Or sending sheep to a group of women so they can launch a knitting business and turn it into a cottage industry that employs more women. It’s amazing how just a small donation can purchase these farm animals and send them around the globe to families and villages in need. What a great concept – a hand up instead of a hand out.

So, did I enjoy a traditional book signing with cookies and tea and holiday cheer? Absolutely. But it was also a joint celebration with caring, wonderful book lovers (like you!) who acknowledged a need and helped someone less fortunate during the holiday season.

What a bunch of wonderful readers. What a lucky author I am!

Happy New Year all, and have a great 2010!

Laura Childs