The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology – review and Q&A with Thomas Pluck

I wanted to take a chance to alert you all to something that I think is both an interesting collection of stories and a cause that is worth your time and interest. Thomas Pluck, Fiona “McDroll” Johnson and Ron Earl Phillips have put together an anthology of stories about lost children. The proceeds from this anthology will go to charity.

I had a brief chat with one of the editors of the anthology to get some additional detail on the cause it supports and the path to creation of this groups of tales.

R Thomas Brown: This came out of a Flash Fiction Friday prompt. At what point did you get the idea of doing the charitable donation? How did the idea of the anthology come about?

Thomas Pluck: Ron Earl Phillips made me a moderator for Flash Fiction Friday earlier this year, and we have a rotating guest spot. I chose Fiona “McDroll” Johnson because she writes strong stories with a rock solid emotional foundation, and her choice of writing cue did not disappoint. When she included a photo donated by artist Danielle Tunstall that had such raw power, we knew we had something. Fiona and I decided to donate to our favorite charities for every story submitted. She chose Children 1st, and I chose PROTECT. We received 44 entries and donated over $600 to the respective charities. The response from the writers and support from readers was so great, we knew we could raise a lot more if we channeled our energies toward something bigger.

How has the process of editing these stories into an anthology been? Anything that surprised you or was more difficult that you expected?

I had a deep and abiding respect for editors before we embarked on this project, which has only been magnified exponentially. Fiona, Ron and I chose 30 stories to strengthen the impact. They are all 700 words or less, much like Shotgun Honey, where Ron is an editor. But at some point readers give up on big collections. After choosing the most effective entries, I had to write up a contract because I wanted a legally binding document assuring writers and readers that all proceeds would go to charity. Not profits, proceeds. Anything the vendors don’t take will be donated, and donations to PROTECT are not tax deductible, because they are a lobbying organization. If this explodes and sells thousands of copies, I’ll be covering the taxes as one portion of my part to this project. Also, covers are important, so Fiona received permission from Ms. Tunstall, and I asked my wife Sarah Bennett Pluck to design the one you see here.

Also, for anyone who thinks formatting e-books is a walk in the park, the learning curve is steep when you receive thirty manuscripts from around the world. It’s something I wanted to learn, so I took the reins on that portion and I have a new respect for e-book publishers and self-published authors who make a good-looking e-book.

Can you tell us about the charities that will be supported by this effort?

I will let Children 1st speak for themselves:

“At CHILDREN 1ST we listen, we support and we take action by delivering services in homes and communities across Scotland. We work to safeguard children and young people, to support them within their families and to help them to recover from abuse, neglect and violence. We speak out for children’s rights and we campaign to change attitudes.”

PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children was co-founded by author Andrew Vachss to give exploited, neglected and abused children a voice in U.S. politics. I found them through Mr. Vachss and I have supported them for years. He likens them to the NRA for children. The NRA, whether you agree with them or not, is incredibly effective because they have one cause, the 2nd Amendment. Children’s causes are often lumped with others, but PROTECT leaves saving the whales to Greenpeace. They only care about kids.

The e-book will be listed at $2.99 for 30 stories, and about $2 of that, depending on the retailer, will go to charity. I don’t want to get into the 99 cent e-book argument, but this way more than 35 cents of your dough goes to the charities we’re supporting. They each get a buck, and the stories are a dime apiece. The contributors include Paul D. Brazill, David Barber of The Flash Fiction Offensive, Chad Rohrbacher, Benoit Lelievre, J.F. Juzwik, Nancy Hansen of Pulp Machine, and many others from the crime fiction, Fictionaut and Flash Fiction Friday communities.

Ron, thanks to you and Spinetingler for spreading the word about this collection. A full list of contributors, and a record of the donations will be available at the blog for the anthology.

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In addition to a good cause, this is a wonderful collection of flash fiction. With the wealth of stories from some of the best flash crime fiction authors around, there’s enough here to recommend, even without the cause.

Luca Veste tugs at the heart in his story, “Waiting”. He’s done a great job of capturing the voice and mix of hope of fear of a little boy trying to live a normal life and find comfort when those who provide it are not to be found.

In The “Return Of The Grievous Angel”, Paul D Brazill gives us a glimpse at a survivor. Grown and alive, the permanent damage is obvious and the revenge bittersweet as a result.

Chad Rohrbacher gives us a glimpse at one who was lost trying to keep someone else off a bad path in “Outside the Dream”. There’s hope in the words, worry that the hope will be dashed and dread about what has to come.

There are many other excellent stories

R Thomas Brown

R. Thomas Brown is the Flash Fiction Editor at Spinetingler and writes the Short Thoughts on Short Fiction series. His writing appears around the web and links can be found at his website. "Hill Country" will be coming out in 2012 from Snubnose Press. When not writing or reading, he is a clueless husband and father of three inspiring and exhausting children.

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