spread the word!

Okay boys and girls, ladies and gentleman, I really need your help in spreading the word about this book, and the cause that it supports.
Share this blog with people.... share the Luke's Wings page, and our facebook page - please! We can use all of the pre-release promotion that we can get!

This is something that is very important to our country, and those that serve it. It's something that is so much bigger then I am, but it is so close to my heart for many reasons...


www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22171122273

http://www.lukeswings.org/

As always, thank you for your support, and help in getting the word out about Andy's Dad and Luke's Wings.

cover art for Andy's Dad

back cover



front cover



the whole cover (front cover and back cover) -- it's almost like a panoramic, so if you can imagine the spine being the middle of the art work and the scene wraps around the book to be the front and back cover...

okay, so -- what do y'all think? It doesn't really matter actually, since I love it!
I'm too damn excited, I couldn't keep it secret any longer, and had to share. I think the art work is perfect. It's exactly what I was looking for!! Thanks so much to Nam for taking this project on.

the more promo the better!

a little more promo. for Andy's Dad and Luke's Wings, check it out (click on the link above the Marines in their dress blues to get there)...


thanks Chandler!

more about Luke's Wings

okay, so I've totally just grabbed this off my girlfriend Chandler's blog (www.anotsocapitolidea.com) -- but, she knows all about "Andy's Dad", and how important this cause is to me, and I don't think that she'll mind! Thanks for the steal Chandler!! Anyhow, another little tid bit about Luke's Wings, the non-profit that will be receiving donations from the proceeds of "Andy's Dad", my children's book.




Luke’s Wings helps soldiers’ families take flight

By Alexander Hart

July 17, 2008


The ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to produce thousands of wounded and maimed casualties among the personnel deployed in those countries.
Advances in medical technology increasingly make it possible for soldiers to survive injuries that would have been fatal decades ago, but many of the wounded lose limbs or are otherwise disfigured by roadside explosives and suicide-bomb attacks. Many also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
When these soldiers return to the United States, they often receive treatment or rehabilitation at Bethesda Naval Hospital or Walter Reed Army Medical Center. For these men and women, combat in the usual sense becomes a struggle against physical deformity and disability. For some wounded warriors, it can be a lonely process; their families may live thousands of miles away and be unable to afford to visit.
Luke’s Wings, a new non-profit founded in December 2007 by Fletcher Gill and Sarah Wingfield, hopes to change that. Luke’s Wings raises money to fly soldiers’ families to the hospitals where their loved ones are receiving treatment.
“I know what it’s like to be separated from your family,” said Army appellate lawyer Theresa Phelps, a Luke’s Wings volunteer who lives in Old Town and has been stationed abroad in the past. “Recovery time is critical, and seeing your family really lifts your spirits.”
The idea for Luke’s Wings came when Wingfield, a former Redskins cheerleader, went to Walter Reed with other Redskins ambassadors to sign autographs and meet veterans receiving treatment. There, she met a soldier who she refers to as Luke, a triple amputee who was struggling to accept what had happened to him. Wingfield spoke with him for much of the afternoon and saw the positive impact her visit had. When it came time to leave, she decided that she wanted to continue helping veterans.
She met with Gill, her long-time friend, and over that lunch, the two began getting Luke’s Wings off the ground. “I have a profound respect for our soldiers,” said Gill, vice president of tenant representation at Montview Realty Advisors. “This is my way of paying them back.”
The organization is entirely volunteer-based — everyone who helps out has a full-time job. Gill devotes about 20 hours a week, but most of the other 50 volunteers, spread out around the metropolitan D.C. area, generally give a few hours a week, he said.
Luke’s Wings helped its first soldier – Army Specialist Patrick Madison – about a month ago. Madison was driving a tank through Baghdad when it caught fire. The other four soldiers got out within seconds, but Madison was stuck for three minutes before he could escape. He inhaled large amounts of smoke, suffered damage to his eyes and was burned. Patrick also continued to suffer lingering effects from a concussion he sustained last August when his tank encountered an improvised explosive device.
In late May, Patrick arrived at Walter Reed for treatment and rehabilitation. The 20 year-old came from a family of 12, and though his father Larry was already visiting, he needed to leave on a business trip. His mother Diane wanted to come, but for the large family, money is tight, and she could not leave the youngest five children behind.
That is when Luke’s Wings stepped in – they bought three plane tickets, and the Red Cross bought three more. Soon Patrick’s mother and his siblings were on the way, just in time to celebrate his 20th birthday with him while he received outpatient care at Walter Reed.
“He didn’t know [more of his family was coming] until the day they were coming there,” Larry said. “He was obviously excited… he hadn’t seen them in a long time.”
Patrick told his mom that he spent more time going to medical appointments than he would have spent working a full-time job. “When we were there, I think he really needed us,” she said. “He’s doing a lot better now – it just took a while to get everything going.”
Diane and Patrick’s siblings took him to see the new Indiana Jones movie, and they all celebrated his birthday by going out to dinner with a gift card donated by the Red Cross. They also toured the National Mall. Diane said, “For our kids, it’ll be something they’ll never, ever forget – seeing the Mall with a veteran, with him on crutches. It’s all very much appreciated.”
Patrick is now at home in a suburb of Chicago, where he received a hero’s welcome from the local fire and police departments, as well as many area residents. Larry says that he is expected to make a full recovery, but it may take up to a year.
Toward its goal of helping more soldiers like Patrick, Luke’s Wings has raised about $18,000, Gill said. Much of that money went to start-up costs such as filing required paperwork and creating a Web site, but in addition to buying tickets for Patrick’s family, the organization now has enough money for another family to fly.
The group’s administrative costs are low because they have no physical offices. “All the money we raise for the rest of the year goes directly to buying plane tickets,” Gill said.
“Luckily, we haven’t had to [turn anyone away] yet,” Gill added. “But I think demand is going to end up exceeding supply.” For that reason, Luke’s Wings hopes to raise at least $30,000 more this year.
For a relatively new organization, Luke’s Wings has already attracted a lot of publicity. America Supports You, a government-sponsored organization that encourages Americans to help soldiers, named Luke’s Wings its “homefront organization of the week” on June 25. And popular entertainment blogger Perez Hilton put a link up to the Web site, http://www.lukeswings.org/, and encouraged his readers to donate. Gill said that they raised about $700 within 48 hours.
Moving forward, Luke’s Wings’ goal is to keep raising money, develop more consistent donations and help more soldiers. ”It’s difficult to feel like you do enough when you’re being pulled in other directions by jobs and families,” Gill said. “But we’re going to be happy with what we do.”


I'm so excited to number one, be a part of something that is so close to my heart, and my beliefs, and everything that my family stands for... and number two, to be a part of the beginning stages of a non-profit that does such good work. If we can get the word out about "Andy's Dad" and just promote our little asses off then we can really raise some money for this cause! Tell people about the blog, tell people about the book, tell people about Luke's Wings! Please, every little bit helps!! and, Thank You!

progress...

I saw the cover art for the first time today, and it's GORGEOUS. It's more then I could have ever hoped for! I want to share the art work sooooo badly, but I don't think that I will until we have handed everything over to the publisher for the final cut. Where's the surprise then?! :)

Hope that everyone had a fabulous weekend, and enjoyed the GORGEOUS weather.

coming along...

Not too much new going on in the world of "Andy's Dad". The illustrations are coming along, but it will still be awhile before we are handing over the final, edited product to the publisher. They are hoping for a late November release date.

I am hoping that we will be able to organize some sort of dinner/book signing function to raise some fundage for Luke's Wings, and get the word out about the book around Christmas or in early January.

It's all very surreal, and exciting. I am so happy to be contributing to something so important to this country, and families around this country. Those that support and love our soliders are just as important as the soilders themselves.

I promise to keep you all updated as often as possible... and don't forget to spread the word!

www.lukeswings.org

in the beginning

Let's get this thing started...

please check these sites out to see what this project 'o mine is all about!

www.lukeswings.org

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22171122273

and there will be much more to come....

I'll keep everyone updated with events/fundraising/promotion/and of course, progress of the book via. this blog, facebook, and any other place I find to shove it down every one's throats on the WWW :)

as always - thanks for the support, and remember... spread the word, this is an amazing cause!