We're delighted to have Jack L. Pyke with us as we get closer to closing off our anniversary shenanigans! Jack brought fellow author Susan Mac Nicol along to chat about what today's visit is all about. Both authors are part of the Being Me Campaign and shared stories for the charity anthology, Being Me (more info below). It's a very important cause and there are different links below to see where you can help or check out!
Plus, Jack's hosting an awesome giveaway: US $5/ UK £5 Amazon gift card AND winner's choice from Jack L. Pyke's back list!
Being… You
First off, I just want to wish BMBR a happy 4th anniversary, and say a huge thanks for having us over today!! You guys do a wicked job!
So, what’s this post all about, then? Well, in all honesty, it’s mostly about… you.
It’s about the mother who’s walked into a job and seen a younger man get paid more, even though they do the same job. It’s about the man who kisses another man and is threatened with a beating over being given a chance to wear matching wedding rings. It’s about the bi kid in school who’s bullied for being overweight as well. About you, and how you’ve probably at sometime maybe missed that meal at dinner, then tea, then probably thought “I can’t” at breakfast too, all because of the sneers you got in the office over wearing a bigger size shirt.
We’ve all faced prejudice, discrimination, and bullying at some stage, but there’s one thing we have in common: the voice… an ability to tell our story.
And my story? I have a sixteen-year-old transgender son who is also autistic. I’m a parent who’s seen her kid come home bruised and in tears. I’ve sat through meetings discussing my son’s gender with strangers who have seen transgender as just a mental disorder tied into autism.
So when the call went out for the Being Me Charity Anthology that looked at giving our struggle a voice, all in the hope of raising money for other families who are still struggling to be heard, I fell in love with the idea.
Author Susan Mac Nicol is deeply involved with the being Me Campaign, and it was her idea to bring together a collection of stories for the Being Me Charity Anthology that looked at celebrating diversity in all its colour, hurt, and strife. So I’ve hijacked her for a while to explain why.
Thanks for being here, Susan. The absolute beauty with the Being Me Campaign is that it tackles multiple levels of diversity, across all age demographics, whether that’s bullying, discrimination or prejudice. Can you give us a little on the background of the charity itself? How did it all get started?
The Being Me Campaign was founded in October 2015 by Kieran Stanbridge and Tracy Shayler who felt that enough wasn’t being done to educate, empower and inspire young people and adults to be proud of their differences and who they are as individuals. Kieran was bullied at school for being gay and overweight, and as the mother of a gay couple, Tracy encountered a lot of homophobia plus discrimination for her own health issues.
This charity is about owning and celebrating any differences a person has, and unlike other charities, we are not restricted to a specific difference. There are enough charities out there tackling certain niches of discrimination, and this charity wanted to give a voice to anyone who felt different, whether it be for their sexuality, health, mental or physical appearance or for any other reason the person thought made them different. There may well be some we aren’t even aware of!
Many young people and adults are subject to bullying, discrimination or prejudice for simply being who they are, even if they conform to society’s perception of ‘normal’. This is unacceptable, and the charity wants to change this. Through the #IAmBeingMe workshops, social media channels and the website, everyone gets to voice and share their personal story to inspire others to be proud of who they are.
And how did you become Involved with Being Me?
This is a great story. Tracy started out being a fan of my books, and we connected such that one day we had lunch together in London. Then we had another lunch date. Before long, we kept in touch. We also connected via Divine as well, when we featured Luke and Trent. Tracy also runs a group on Facebook called Trent and Luke Misfits Unite, dedicated to bringing LGBT people together to make friends, talk and support each other. I’m a member of this group and attended a couple of the Misfit meetings as well. When I saw the Being Me Campaign was looking for trustees, I wanted to be part of it. It fitted so well with my own core beliefs about live and let live and my intense dislike of persecution and discrimination of any kind. I sent along my CV and my submission as to how I believed I could be an asset, and the rest was history.
Being Me is all about the voice, or giving diversity a voice and sharing individual stories to help anyone else who might be going through the same problems. What kind of other events do they arrange to help get these voices out there?
The Being Me Campaign loves stories, people stories. So they started out inviting anyone who wanted to contribute to share their story and come along to a YouTube filming day. You can see some of these stories on the website. The charity held a huge launch at the YouTube studios on November 15th 2016, which was a great success. You can read about it here https://www.divinemagazine.biz/being-me-campaign-launch-anniversary-event/ . We had a wonderful lunch event with eight wonderful UK authors and one lucky winner and his partner in London that was part of an initiative to raise funds. Our trustees get out and about doing sponsored events, like London walks and simply carrying a bucket and doing street-fund raising. Part of what we offer is diversity training for corporate companies, so delegates from the campaign visit places like Sony to pass on experience and some wise words to their own staff members. More events are planned for 2018, so watch the social networks for more news.
Can you tell us more about the charity anthology: Being Me. What diversity does it cover?
The anthology covers myriad diversities, from being a stranger from another planet, to people with a facial disfigurement, an amputee, young people facing who they are, people with disabilities, people with scars and people discriminated against for their ethnicity. So there is a mixed bag of everyday problems people face, and which are tackled in the anthology with compassion, humour and great storytelling.
And lastly, where can we find out more about the Being Me Campaign?
At the moment, the campaign is taking a little time off, gearing itself up for 2018. You can find out more about us on the website www.beingmecampaign.com, and on the social networks below.
Twitter: @BeingMeCampaign
Facebook: /BeingMeCampaign
Instagram: @BeingMeCampaign
YouTube: /BeingMeCampaign
Thank you so much for being here with me today, Susan! And a huge thank to BMBR again too. If you’d like to support this charity and are interested in purchasing a copy of the anthology, please follow the links below.
Let the authors know what you think about charity below!
Our thanks for Jack L. Pyke and Susan Mac Nicol from dropping by the clubhouse and sharing this important charity and upcoming anthology!
PayHip: Cooldudes Website (all Formats) Link will be released on Publication Date 1 November 2017
Smashwords (All Formats) https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/753560
CoolDudes Publishing http://www.cooldudespublishing.com/being-me-the-bei…mpaign-anthology/
Blurb for Being Me:
These stories are about people who’ve embraced their differences and own it. ALL story content is suitable for a YA audience. Stories by Louisa Mae, Maggie Chatterton, Melissa Costa, Jack L. Pyke, Jo Tannah, Lynn Michaels, Susan Mac Nicol, Lane Swift, Louis J Harris, Alex Jane, Dilo Keith, Duncan Swallow, Jane Stemp, Viva Gold and Fiona Glass.
About Susan Mac Nicol:
Sue writes steamy, sexy and fun contemporary gay romance stories, some suspenseful, some gritty and dark, and others just plain ahhhh… sweet.
Lover of angst and conflict, she enjoys putting her characters through the emotional wringer and bringing them out the other side with an HEA or at the very least, a HFN.
Sue is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America and also of the Romantic Novelists Association in the UK. She’s also Editor in Chief at Divine Magazine, an online LGBTQ e-zine, and she’s a Charity Board trustee at The Being Me Campaign in London.
She’s passionate about research for her books and has stayed in a circus, taken lessons from a blind person on how it feels to be non-sighted, and travelled to a lighthouse with maintenance crew to see first-hand what it’s like inside. She’s also written a screen play with Hollywood actor and heart-throb Nicholas Downs, with a view to taking her latest release, Sight Unseen, to the big screen.
She’s a member of Queer Romance Ink, All Author and the Paranormal Romance Guild. Scroll down to find the links.
If you’d like any e-book signed by Sue, please click here to be directed to the Authorgraph site. Alternatively email her at author at susanmacnicol dot com or contact her via Facebook.
Website: https://www.authorsusanmacnicol.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susiemax77
Being Me Campaign: http://www.beingmecampaign.com/
About Jack L. Pyke:
Jack’s an author who specialises in BDSM M/M Psychological Thrillers. With a wicked love for portraying D/s relationships in particular, all added to a psychological thriller edge, kink and mind games always go hand in hand.
Jack’s also a contract editor working with Dreamspinner Press, Dreamspinner Press Publications, and indie authors, alike. With a Hons degree in linguistics, she also falls madly in love with the kinks and quirks to language.
Website: http://www.jacklpyke.com/
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Angela:
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this with us.
Thank you so much for sharing this information with us
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing the Being Me Campaign to our attention.
ReplyDeleteLaura05