Promo Post: Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens

Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens

Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens is a group of people raising money for organizations working directly with gay men and other persecuted LGBT people from Chechnya and the northern Caucasus. We do this through direct donations, donating royalties to these charitable organizations, and an online auction to be held May 5–13.

The group started out with a Facebook conversation between authors Dale Cameron Lowry and Olivia Helling in mid-April, after news of the targeted imprisonment, torture and executions of gay men started coming out of Chechnya. Other authors quickly got involved, and the effort snowballed from there.

Laura Baumbach, MM erotic romance author and owner of ManLove Romance Press, joined the project early on. MLR Press is donating 25 ebooks of the bidder’s choice to the charity auction. Here, she talks about why she decided to get involved:

“I've always been a fan of mystery novels and bring that interest into my romantic suspense stories. I hate being put in a single box, so I write everything including contemporary, historical, sci-fi, paranormal, ghosts, vampire and werewolves. All of it m/m erotic romance.

“Despite being a straight female, m/m is the category of romance I am most inspired to write. I look for my work to bring a little more acceptance and tolerance for the many and varied faces of love in the world. If I can do that, I have accomplished a lot.

“I got involved in Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens because that acceptance and respect extends to the world not just my little corner of it. Love is too precious to be destroyed by hatred and intolerance.”

Ways to Get Involved

Authors, Publishers and Artists

If you're an author or artist who would like help out, please sign up at Authors & Publishers for LGBT Chechens. There, you can also find answers to frequently asked questions about the auction, royalty donations, the charitable organizations that are helping out LGBT Chechens, and more.

Readers          

If you are a reader who would like to learn more about the situation in Chechnya — including news updates and how to make a direct donation to a designated charity, buy a book from a participating author, or support the auction — please visit Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens.

Facebook

Please RSVP to our Facebook event and invite friends. It’s a great way to keep up-to-date. https://www.facebook.com/events/286004325144634/

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Proclaimed by Rolling Stone Magazine as 'a pioneer of the M/M romance genre', Laura Baumbach is the best-selling author of short stories, novellas, novels and screenplays. She is the founder of Rainbow Romance, the only Romance Writers of America chapter for GLBT romance authors, and the owner of ManLoveRomance Press (Twitter: @MLRPress), a small publishing house that specializes in m/m erotic romance, mystery and fiction.