Here at Smart Bitches, we’ve examined a slew of material since last Monday, from novels to anthropology texts to poems, and we’ve discussed authors, editors, publishers, writers, scientists, ethnographers, Native Americans, and of course, Bitches.
But as Paul Tolmé pointed out in his article in Newsweek, there’s one party that hasn’t gotten enough attention.
The ferrets.
Tolmé‘s article about the black footed ferret focuses on the loss of their habitat, the prairie, and the programs working to bring them back from near extinction.
The black footed ferret is officially classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as extinct in the wild, though breeding and repopulation programs have been successful. Defenders of Wildlife classifies the ferrets as an imperiled species.
And then came this morning’s email: Nora Roberts has volunteered to match up to $5,000.00 USD any donations made by Smart Bitches readers to Defenders of Wildlife, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to preserve not just ferrets but endangered wildlife across the US, most particularly that species much loved by paranormal romance writers: the wolf.
Are you outside the US, but want to increase Nora’s gift? Please feel free to make a donation to the local wildlife charity of your choice.
To qualify your donation for Nora’s matching gift, please email me at sarah@smartbitchestrashybooks.com with a screen cap or PDF of your donation receipt. You can block out your personal deets if like. I’ll total up the collective donations and keep y’all appraised of the totals.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books LLC, will kick off the donations with a $100 pledge. Nora’s offer to match expires 31 January 2008, so please get your donations in by then.
Updated to add: We have cleared
$1000 $1500 $2200 $4900
in total Smart Bitch Reader donations. Way to go!
Updated 18 January 2008, 6:00 pm EST: WE have REACHED $5,000.00 – and then some. Way to go Bitches!
I didn’t find his attitude toward the romance genre to be any worse than most coming from somebody who knows little or nothing about it. If I let it bother me everytime somebody made remarks like that, my head would explode and I wouldn’t be able to write anymore.
Excellent point, Shannon. I hadn’t considered that.
All right, you little ferrets, prepare to be saved.
“We know Edwards copied from Paul Tolme’s piece on the endangered black footed ferret. And I read his romance genre insulting letter in response. So why are we contributing to the ferrets? It looks like an apology from romance writers/readers for what happened. It’s a shame he’s been victimized by Edwards, but the apology he’s due shouldn’t come from us or Nora Roberts.
There are plenty of other endangered animals out there. So I ask again, why are we contributing to the ferrets?”
Oh fer chris’sakes, I’m starting to get annoyed with us
! Donating to the ferrets is not Romance Genre Apologia; you like bald eagles, give ‘em some cash. You wanna maybe help out large-mouthed bass, send dough. The guy who had his stuff stolen by Cassie Edwards is being damn swell about it, IMO. Like Nora said yesterday, let’s give the guy a pass, use this opportunity to redefine, in the publics’ eyes, what the best of the best can do in this genre, both in the quality of writing and the quality of being a part of a world that is bigger and less fortunate than ours. We can inspire with happy-ever-after endings in our books and writings, but only cash and awareness can save the endangered species. Honestly, don’t mean to be curt, I’m just a bit frustrated because here we have the perfect chance to open some eyes, and all we have to do is open our minds and open our wallets…or purses.
Where do I get my “ferrets against plagiarism†t-shirt?
LOL! Oh, someone, please make one up for sale!!! I would totally wear this.
Good Laura! I hadn’t seen your response when I wrote mine. Like all of us, I’ve been following this situation very closely…if anything we can do for ferrets might also bring attention to the very nasty problem of plagiarism, I’m all for it, although each deserves our attention independent of the other, too. Ferrets and Ethics are both endangered.
Why are ferrets so funny? Beats me. They certainly never seemed amusing in person : ) Furry and cute, for sure, and because they’re furry and cute humans are drawn to them. There are many species—too many—that are threatened or endangered and need attention. If it takes cute ferrets to alert people to the plight of others then that’s worth the hullabaloo right there.
This is a great gesture, Ms. Roberts. As a former biology grunt who had too often heard that lack of funds killed important projects, I can’t say thank you enough. My Defenders donation will be on its way shortly.
Where do I get my “ferrets against plagiarism†t-shirt?
I’d totally buy one of those! Several, even.
All parties involved are made of win and awesome.
It took me a while to sort through the red tape but I sent a matching gift from my employer as well.
Nora, you are just a DAMN good human being.
Can’t wait to visit the site and donate.
How great to feel good about SOMETHING regarding this whole debacle.
On a serious note: Thanks to Paul Tolme for bringing our attention to the ferrets. The issue is larger than their extinction—it also addresses habitat loss, poaching of the environment, poisoning of the land.
Thanks to Nora for the wonderful gesture. This is a lady that constantly and consistently puts her money where her mouth is.
And thank you to the Bitches (and the Bitchery) for their collective outrage. Deeds such as those committed by Cassie Edwards should not go unpunished.
And on a less serious note: Has anyone gone to Mr. Tolme’s site yet and noticed how damned hawt he is? Seriously ladies, romance-hero hawt-worthy.
Just sayin.
I *heart* Nora.
I just want to say that I’ve loved your (Nora) work for years, but seeing you do something so wonderful as this is icing on the cake. I think you set a higher standard for us all to strive to.
Lord knows I want to be you when I grow up! LOL.
You’re a very classy lady.
I’ll also send in my donations if the paycheck allows it. 😀
La Nora is a synonym for “classy”. It’s true! I Googled her name and came back with fifteen different articles on “awesome”. 😉
You’ve got my cash as soon as payday rolls around.
Since ferrets are getting so much love, I’ve made my donation in honor of the lynxes. (I recently sent Candy my findings on Savage Honor: multiple paragraphs ripped from a Sierra Magazine article on lynxes. Oh Cassie, why u rippin off poor endangered wildlife?)
Thank you, Nora!
Someone just mentioned to me that they noticed that their local Wal-Mart had restocked thier CE books including her backlist. It’s sad, really.
I’m so glad there is this positive way to make an economic statement.
Hmmm… how ‘bout writing to WalMart—and big bookstore chains who stock/sell Ms Edwards—about this? would that be legal?
My first reaction when I saw Defenders in Wildlife responding to CE story was GREAT, something positive can come out of this debacle. Because what do nonprofits need most – money and publicity. I truly hope that they get some kind of settlement from CE, but already the publicity is working for them. Good for them. Now what would be awesome is if this matching donation drive got picked up by the media and voila, more publicity and more little ferrets (or panda bears or foxes or…) adopted.
Have to wait til my 3-year-old wakes up from her nap to see what animal she wants to adopt for her birthday. Whittling her down from all of them to just 1 or 2 will be the tough part.
Thanks Nora – excellent idea.
how freaking cool is that? as a fellow animal lover, i heart u, Nora.
Fifteen hundred Smart Bitch Dollars!
Think of all the happy ferrets and lynxes (sp??), wolves and owls.
We’re rolling.
I just adopted Sirius the ferret. Mostly because the name Sirius made me sporfle for reasons I can’t explain. (Kind of the way ferrets in general crack me up…)
I donated – didn’t see any place to indicate that this was in conjunction with the Nora Roberts fund, however.
also, does anyone know of a charity that helps Native Americans reclaim their heritage? I’d so donate to that, in CE’s name…
-becca
Dang Y’all- give me a chance to get my check in the bank!
$2200.00 since this morning??!!!
I want a “Ferrets against plagiarism” T-shirt too.
Also, I’m waiting for news on the “Savage Ferrets and the Virgin Brides Who Loves Them” novel.
Hmm. I see Harry has been adopted. I had my eye on him. Sirius is a cutie too though…hmm.
Spamfoiler:company56. The company will be my newly adopted ferret ;>
Aw, Ocy snapped up Sirius. Those ferrets are going fast as anything.
ferrets against plagiarism
If you are interested in getting a T-shirt that says this, ping me. My BIL is an artist and professional screenprinter. He’d be more than happy to create such a T-shirt for anyone who wants one, with 10% of the proceeds to go to Wildlife Defenders. For the screenprint T-shirt, it would be a one-color, but he can also do custom airbrushing as well (price would be higher for customization).
I’m off to make my donation to donation to WD and get my cool magazine subscription.
Forgot to mention in my last post – SBs and Nora, thank you! What a great idea! It turns something unpleasant down a positive road and helps a good cause.
Just adopted Clover. My girls are thrilled to “have” a ferret.
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How about something like “Smart Bitches…ferret out plagiarism.”?
Hmm. I see Harry has been adopted. I had my eye on him. Sirius is a cutie too though…hmm.
Harry is MINE! I’m willing to bet the guys and gals over at the ferret site are going to be gobsmacked by the avalanche about to hit them (and all the people saying they found them via SmartBitches). I wonder if they have enough ferrets? LOL!
Huzzah for the Smart Bitches and Nora Roberts! I posted about this on my own site. Maybe 50 people read it on a good day, but I’m hoping one or two of them will be inspired to donate as well 🙂
Aw, I did mine wrong. I made a donation but I didn’t adopt a ferret. Blast it!
I want a shirt with this one it (hope it works):
heheehe ok tongue in cheek here.
Since everyone wants a shirt, I updated my cafepress site and put a little something up. Hope everyone likes it and I didn’t use the word ferret so I hope someone else didn’t say this (if they did I swear I didn’t know!!) So visit my cafepress site. http://www.cafepress.com/writersnook
I would have places a ferret pic in the background and will change it to show ferrets if I can find a image that is copyright free 😀 (so if someone has a pic of their pet ferret for me to use send it to me! 😀
on on not one
Donation sent.
Nora Roberts, you rock in so very many ways.
As do all the Bitches, really. I love this place!
Kalen, if I didn’t love you already, I would fall for you now.
I want one of those!!!
I was gonna donate $10 til I realized I had to donate it through your site. I’ll just send ‘em $20 directly.
Vanessa, you don’t have to donate thru this site. That’s just the link to Defenders of Wildlife. You can donate directly to Defenders, copy your receipt, then send that SB Sarah and it will go towards Nora’s matching contribution.
Vanessa,
I don’t understand your comment. The link in the post goes straight to the donation page of Defenders of Wildlife; the money anyone chooses to donate DOES go to them directly. Then, if you choose, you can send SB Sarah a copy of your receipt, and she can add your amount to the total that Nora will donate. I don’t see any way that any money goes “through” this site. Traffic to the Defender’s web site, maybe, but not actual dinero.
Or maybe this:
Nora’s offer to match expires 31 January 2008, so please get your donations in by then.
Nice to see this won’t be a problem at the pace this has been going!
Thank goodness payday has just arrived and I was able to join in too. It gives me the warm and fuzzies to know that all us bitches can do some good together. 🙂