The Roof Is On the House - Raising the Stakes

In one of my previous posts, I discussed our exciting roof situation with our house. As of June 17, there were over 300 votes. Now, I’m hoping that most of those are for my wife, Amber, but I can’t rely on hope alone. That’s why I’ve decided to (cue some fanfare horns)..

Raise the Stakes

July is a celebrated month in our household. It marks my birthday as well as Amber’s. It’s during the summer, so it’s warm. We also have Independence Day, so there’s a holiday in the mix as well.

If we are selected for the new roof from C&C Roofing, it will also give us another reason to celebrate: The Roof Is On the House!

So, I’ll try to give you guys a reason to celebrate July too.

Since I don’t have a lot of financial capital, I’ll have to make do with what I have.

If Amber Silvia gets the most votes, I will do the following things during July:

1. My NaNoWriMo? Yours!

To kick off the celebration, I will dedicate every single NaNoWriMo book I have written to the Public Domain. That means that their respective Creative Commons licenses will all be replaced with CC0.

To raise the stakes, I will also dedicate all future NaNoWriMo books I write to the public domain AS I WRITE THEM.

And as an act of good faith, come July I will dedicate my first NaNoWriMo book, Cabbages and Kings to the Public Domain, no matter what.

Here’s a list of all the books you, the public, could own:

• Cabbages and Kings (2005)
• These Aren’t the Druids You’re Looking For (2006)
• Three Counts of Copyright Infringement (2007)
• The Aether Cowboy (2008)
• Qhoenix (2009)
• In a Cabin, In the Woods (2010)
• Island (2011)
• It’s Just a Game! (2012)

Wow! Links to their full texts may be found here.

2. On Spec Assignations

I am a writer as a pastime (in case you didn’t realize it by the previous item). So, I can provide another great prize. If Amber Silvia gets the most votes, I will write, on-spec, one short work of fiction (2,000 to 10,000 words), for a lucky recipient. Not only that, but once I’ve written it, I will assign the copyright to that person. I will do this for every 10 percentage points of the total votes Amber gets (I will round up, so 51% => 6). If I don’t have the result data available to me, I will just assume 50%, unless you want to try to convince me that a higher number is more reasonable.

As an act of good faith, no matter what, I'll do one.

The only stipulations on this are:

1. I won’t write “adult-themed” fiction
2. No fan fiction, please
3. Local laws and regulations apply

3. Audiobook Giveaway

If Amber gets the most votes, I will hold a series sweepstakes to give away some audiobooks I have in my collection.

These books will be:

• Torn by David Massey, read by Saskia Maarleveld (MSRP $77.75)
• Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George, read by Suzy Jackson (MSRP $66.75)

These are physical audiobooks on CD. Local sweepstakes rules/laws will apply, but I’ll cover shipping costs. There may be a third book in the mix, but that is to be determined.

How You Can Help

First, if you haven’t yet voted, vote (for Amber Silvia). Second, if you have friends, family, and loved ones who can vote too, tell them. Please hurry, as the deadline is June 30, 2014.

If you use social media, let’s use the hashtags #helpamberout and #roofingitforward.

And if you have any other amazing July “The Roof Is On the House” pledges for things you’ll do if we get the new roof. Please feel free to post them here or e-mail me.

Every little vote counts. Thank you for your support.