Today, I had scheduled to post my selection for Dead End Follies Book Club for Fall 2012, but this is more important. I'm sure you've noticed the widget on the right side of the page, so here is more information about that. Author extraordinaire Tom Piccirilli checked himself in the hospital a few weeks ago, because of furious headaches and vision troubles. After giving him and MRI, the doctors found a baseball-sized tumor in his brain. He underwent surgery last Monday to remove it, but it will be a long and difficult battle back to health and Tom needs our help.
My long time readers know he's a front-runner for multiple Dead End Follies Awards this year (nominations coming in November) and for those who don't know the gospel yet, here are my reviews of EVERY SHALLOW CUT, THE LAST KIND WORDS and CLOWN IN THE MOONLIGHT. They all left a deep impression on me. Even more important, when I emailed Tom to share my feelings about his book, he treated me like a friend and accepted my interview offer in a heartbeat. Not only he's extraordinarily talented, but he's also a prince.
As you may have noticed, the writing community has already done a tremendous effort to help him. The IndieGoGo fundraiser is already a success and two of his publishers, Crossroad Press and ChiZine have waived most of their royalties to help him. But you know like me that it's not enough. There is zero medical coverage for writers in the U.S and hospital bills for something so serious are astronomical. The fantastic thing is that you can help. You, the casual reader who stumbled on my site and know nothing about Tom Piccirilli. You can help and get something out of it.
I know how it is for readers. So many books, so little time. But next time you hit the bookstore, pick up a Piccirilli book. You will thank me a hundred times for it. He wrote award-winning horror such as THE NIGHT CLASS and A CHOIR OF ILL-CHILDREN. He also wrote tremendous crime fiction like THE COLD SPOT and SHADOW SEASON. If you want to help, but you're not sure about these two genres in particular, pick up THE LAST KIND WORDS, which transcends genre and is riveting family saga. I am aware there are many great writers who never had the recognition they deserve, but Tom has deserved a breakout for many years now and there would be no better time to make it happen.
Go to your bookstore and buy a Tom Piccirilli novel you will be moved, entertained and you'll have the satisfaction of having done something good. You can also hit the Kindle Store where he made available shorter, cheaper and exclusive stories. If we can help him back to his feet, he will wrote more books and they make the world a better place.
