I dedicated all June online sales of Trans-Continental: Girl in the Gears to the Trans Lifeline, a crisis hotline staffed by transgender people for transgender people, since we (and I do mean me) are one of the highest risk groups for suicide. I struggle with my own depression and anxiety, and while I haven’t had to use the Trans Lifeline, it means more than I can express that it is there for me and others like me. THANK YOU!

So, I rounded it to $100 and sent off a donation just a few minutes ago.

Even though my sales promotion is done, I urge you to give to the charity directly:

http://www.translifeline.org/donate/

My book was inspired by several things that came together at the same time. Trans Day of Remembrance, my own public coming out last year, Leelah Alcorn’s death, and a dream I had. That, and the comments in the trans community that even though shows like Transparent or Orange is the New Black are wonderful, positive exposure for trans people in the more mainstream — a definite order of magnitude better than being “represented” by Jerry Springer-like talk shows and Ru Paul’s Drag Race — trans stories, OUR stories, weren’t being told much by US. And much of what’s out there shows us as villains, tricksters, or victims, prostitutes and punchlines.

So this book has a trans main character who has her own adventures, and it’s NOT a transition story, it’s NOT about being abused, beat up, or killed for being trans. It’s a fun story with fun characters, and while Ida does face some specifically trans issues in the course of the story, she’s got a lot else going for her. Ida lives life WHILE trans, not DESPITE being trans, if that makes any sense.

Oh, and even though my charity promotion is over, you can still get the book, and the Kindle ebook is still free if you get the paperback on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Gears-Trans-Continental-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00Y3BBV6O

And if you have Prime or Kindle Unlimited, you can borrow the Kindle ebook and I’ll get paid by the pages you read. If you don’t have a Kindle reader, there’s an app for that on all tablets and smartphones, and even for PC and Mac.