Image
Credit: Mari1Photo
Making the world better, one small act at a time
Once
upon a time, a child went to Arambol Beach after a typhoon had passed, leaving
the beach littered with debris. Scattered upon the sand lay millions of tiny
starfish. As the sun beat down, warming up the sand, the seagulls gorged
themselves on the unexpected feast. The child picked up one of the starfish and
studied its five equal arms. She touched its tentacles. Yes. It was still
alive. She ran to the water and threw it into the waves.
She
ran, laughing, from starfish to starfish, picking them up and throwing them
back into the ocean. She whirled with joy, careful where she stepped.
"Asharika?"
Papa frowned. "What are you doing?"
"I
am saving them."
Papa
was a tall man, sensible and reliable. He gestured to the beach, the millions
of starfish, and the debris left by the storm.
"Look
at how many there are?" He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Even
if we were to stay here all day, it would not make a difference."
Asharika
picked up the next starfish and examined it in the deadly sun. Every minute,
the tide receded, leaving the starfish further and further from the water. She
touched its tentacles. The starfish curled one of its tiny arms around her
finger.
"It
makes a difference to this one."
She
threw it into the water.
"Help
me, Papa! Let's see how many we can save?"
*****
People
often ask me 'where do you get your stories?' Like Ashakira, I am drawn to
people and creatures who, through no fault of their own, have suffered a
misfortune. Many of my characters are orphans or abused, reared in environments
which were toxic and difficult to escape.
Image credit: phb.cz
Sometimes
it's a person who helps them, other times its divine intervention. At some
point, however, the tide always comes back in. The starfish must learn how to swim
and not get cast back up onto the rocks a second time.
When
you are an artist, it doesn't matter if you are a writer, a blogger, a visual
artist, or a painter, or perhaps just a socially conscious person who speaks to
others, you have the power to pick up those unfortunate starfish and draw
attention to their fate. You have the ability to inspire others to help them
find their way back into the water.
It
was like that when I wrote my book 'The
Auction.' When an Australian friend rescued a horse destined for a
slaughterhouse, she brought my attention to the plight of horses. Oh! How
terribly we treat them. The people who benefit most from equine labor think
nothing of thanking their loyal friend by sending them to the knacker! I wanted to do something to raise awareness
of their plight. But what could -I- do? A single person against a multi-billion
rupee global horsemeat industry that slaughters 500,000 horses each year?
Image Credit: php.cz
I
like to write stories, but nobody wants
to read a book about horse slaughter! Ick! So I asked myself, 'What if this was a person who was cast off
and didn't have a home?' Hence Rosamond Xalbadora was born (her name means
horse rescuer), a homeless half-gypsy / half-Australian girl who takes a job as
a governess in the Australian outback after her fiancé dumps her at the altar. Thanks
to some helpful neighbors, two ghost riders who visit her each night in her
dreams, and a wee bit of Australian Aboriginal myth, Rosie ends up rescuing,
not just a small white pony named Luna, but also a traumatized little girl who's
been caught in the middle of her parent's bitter divorce.
Will
Rosie, Pippa, and Luna-the-pony have a happy ending? Or will all three of them get
left on the sand to slowly wither and die?
I
hope other people will raise their voices and speak up for animal welfare.
Therefore, if you ride the Rafflecopter in the Giveaway and sign
up for my monthly email NEWSLETTER, every person who confirms their
subscription will receive a *FREE* electronic edition of 'The Auction' in the format of their choice (.epub, Kindle-.mobi or
.pdf).
I will also, when this promotion ends, select one (1) winner to receive
a paperback edition of the book.
Please
join me to pick up a starfish and throw it back.
Be
epic!
Anna
Erishkigal
Note:
All images licensed to Anna Erishkigal from DepositPhotos
*
About the Auction
Dumped
at the altar and left without a home, Rosie Xalbadora takes a job as a
governess at the edge of the Australian outback. There she meets Pippa Bristow,
a sensitive child who copes with her parent's bitter divorce by escaping into a
magical world of fairy queens and unicorns. Pippa's enigmatic father, Adam Bristow,
is willing to endure whatever he must to keep his daughter safe from his oil
heiress ex-wife.
Struggling to
shield Pippa from her mother's games, Rosie must face the ghosts of her own
painful past while fighting a growing attraction to her handsome, emotionally
unavailable employer. But help comes in the form of a helpful town and two
ghost-riders who visit Rosie each night in her dreams. When Rosie and Pippa
save a small, white pony from slaughter, their ill-timed compassion puts Adam's
custody dispute, Pippa's fantasies, and Rosie's worst fears all up for bid in
an epic showdown.
The
Auction is a sweet, contemporary romance styled with the heart-wrenching,
Gothic undertones of Jane Eyre and just a hint of the supernatural.
*
If
you would like to support my writing, you can purchase The Auction for only 49 rupees at Amazon India and GooglePlay
India,
$3.99 USD everywhere else (Kobo, iTunes, Smashwords, Amazon USA, Overdrive and e-Sentral), or 1395
rupees for the paperback edition at Amazon India or Book Depositry.
Wonderful to read the thought....if helping becomes the predominant human thought....which ofcourse is kind of inherent deep inside every person and has an infectious quality to it....this world would move towards a kinder humanity and better living place for all....very well written Anna as everything else u write.....x
ReplyDeleteThank you Kannu!
ReplyDelete