Natural Disaster

Since we moved up to the woods of New Hampshire I've had this nagging fear that a fire in the woods would knock out our house and garage, including my office/library, before the local fire department even knew there was a fire. Short of digging a moat or deforesting the hillside, I'll just have to learn to deal. Writers James and Livia Reasoner weren't so lucky. They lost everything in a fire a few weeks ago.

I've never read James' books, and I need to rectify that (Texas Wind is supposed to be some kind of modern classic) but I do read his blog. He's posted a few pictures of the fire's aftermath; they show a devastating loss. Here's a link to an article describing the fire.

Livia Reasoner's agent is apparently accepting donations of books for the day when the couple can begin rebuilding their library. I sent a box today that contains some second hand Gold Medals that I have duplicates of, and some excellent new Stark House books that I hope they find interesting. It's not much, but a small drop in a big bucket should be better than nothing. Or a cinder.

Anyway, it's a gesture, and I hope that they, and anyone in similar circumstances, get well from this. There but for the grace of...

Books can be sent to:
James and Livia Reasoner
c/o Kim Lionetti, BookEnds, Inc.
136 Long Hill Road
Gillette, NJ 07933

Checks for the James Reasoner Emergency Fund can be sent to:
WWA
MSC06 3770
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001