Diane Duane, one of our favorite YA science fiction authors, is having a pretty horrible start to her new year; her entire bank account was sucked dry by some nasty, nasty jerkweed, and she’s been left with nothing. While her bank is actively helping her and her husband to regain their funds, there are still bills that need to be paid before the mess is completely sorted out and their balance is restored. So, what can we do to help? Buy her e-books. She’s even offering a 20 percent discount on her titles. Think of this way: every Diane Duane e-book bought is like “spitting in the face” of the person who screwed her over. Details on where to direct that spit are right after the jump.
The author — best known for her Young Wizards fantasy series and her work in the Star Trek universe, among many, many other excellent things — posted on Google+ about what if felt like to view her account online and find absolutely no money in it at all:
Uhh… No, not really possible. Something a little over 0.00, something a little under 0.00, sure. But this? No. Possibly a system hiccup of some kind. So I call the helpline and ask what’s going on.
And surprise! What do they find, but, between Tuesday and today, a number of transactions that aren’t mine. Road toll payments (when we don’t have a car: amusing). Movie tickets from a Dublin-area omniplex (when we haven’t left the house since last Friday: I’m still fighting with this sinus infection and haven’t been out a lot.) And then a transaction at a point-of-sale somewhere in Ireland that emptied out the account. (There wasn’t a vast amount in there right then… but it’s all gone now.)
W. T. F. My bank card has been skimmed.
It’s toast now (thrown in the fire a few minutes ago, a new one ordered over the phone). But so much for the bills that needed to be paid this week. 2012 had better start getting its act together, as this is not an auspicious beginning.
The bank will cover this expense when its fraud department has digested all the details. But meanwhile, the household is skint. So: if you feel inclined to spit in the eye of the nameless rogue(s) who’ve briefly ruined the domestic tranquility around here, I invite you you to go over to the Ebooks Direct store and buy something using the discount code DDGOTSKIMMED, which will give you 20% off whatever you buy.
If you feel inclined to share this around, it’d be appreciated.
(mutter) Miscreants.
So, not only would you be getting your hands on some of Diane Duane’s books at a great discount, but you will be helping her and her husband, fellow author Peter Morwood, out of a really big jam. Spread some good karma, everyone! Here is that link again, and remember to use this code for the 20% discount: DDGOTSKIMMED
Ebooks Direct at DianeDuane.com
(via Boing Boing)
Published: Jan 13, 2012 10:58 am