by Ian Fallis

I hope you’re enjoying the journey, because we’re already feeding families.

Thanks to all of you who have helped by purchasing books this month. Every book sold is generating $1 so Rice & Beans Foundation can buy rice and beans for needy families in Nicaragua.

And your response has me wondering (in a good way) … how many families can we feed?

Lots – if we help our friends take the journey too.

In fact, that’s the key.

See, I can’t imagine many people buying more than a couple of books this month, for themselves or as gifts. That’s great, but it could be just a start.

You have friends. And if you’re enjoying the journey, you’ll want to take your friends along. I’d like to think that Karia’s world is so compelling that you’ll want to share it with your friends.

Think of it this way:

Want to feed a family for a week? You can, if you and six of your friends each buy a book.

And maybe if enough of us do this, we can feed 100 families for a week.

Want to feed a family for a month? You can, if you and nine of your friends each buy a set of the books.

And maybe if enough of us do this, we could feed 100 families for a month.

There’s a limit to how much each one of us can do. But, if we take the journey together, there are no limits. With a little work, and a little encouragement to your friends, together we can make a huge difference in the lives of needy people in Nicaragua.

So share the journey, and feed lots of families!

Tags: Karia's Path, The Hall of the Prophetess, The House in the Old Wood

What can I give you for Christmas that’s better than a free book?

An opportunity to make a difference.

In December, when you journey into Karia’s world and her quest by purchasing one of my books, you’ll be feeding a family.

Here’s how it works:

For each book in the series The Day Magic Died that is sold in December, I will give $1 to Rice & Beans Foundation of Phoenix, Arizona.

Rice & Beans Foundation will use the money to buy – what else? – rice and beans for needy families in Nicaragua, where $1 will provide enough food for a family for a day.

Why rice and beans?

Well, besides being a nutritious, filling meal, and a staple in Latin America, it’s also a staple for Karia and her family. Remember this from the first book, The House in the Old Wood?

Oh, and there in the back she found jiki, tiny red beans, and kariki, the larger dark red beans her dad liked. …

She remembered all the times he would push back from the table when times were tough and they were eating their tenth or eleventh or even twentieth meal in a row of boiled hinarka and kariki. He’d smile and say, “Failean, if all I have for the rest of my life is hinarka and kariki and you and Karia, I’ll be a happy man.”

And her mom would always reply, “Well, Reva, one day Karia is going to have a family of her own, and you’re going to eat up all the hinarka and kariki, so I hope you’ll be OK with just me!”

She laughed out loud at the memory of them smiling and kissing, then drawing her into their embrace. She wished it was all so simple again.

I think that to Karia, rice and beans – or hinarka and kariki, if you prefer – sort of means family. And the whole concept of making a difference is a big deal to the entire series. That’s why Karia chose to fight back, instead of just giving in to magic. What a great fit.

So this month, buy a book and feed a family:

Tags: Karia's Path, The Hall of the Prophetess, The House in the Old Wood