A tisket a tasket some ACN raffle baskets!!!

Like I said!

It's that time, my friends. My semi-annual begging marathon for ACN (Animal Compassion Network and their affiliate store Pet Harmony) donations. This is a very worthy cause, an animal rescue group local to me that is run by hardworking people with hard to achieve dreams of giving all animals a second chance to find decent, loving homes. Pet Harmony is the store created by ACN where all the profit from the healthy foods and pet-safe toys they sell goes straight back to ACN . Pet Harmony also has a huge cat room full of adorable babies waiting for new homes (I go to play with them and socialize them for humans all the time) and kennels for the dogs waiting to play with you and be your best buddy!

Most of the animals ACN manages are strays left abandoned by those who didn't approach finding their pets new homes with intelligence and responsibility. You and I may not think much of how easy it is to post fliers or to use the resources in your community to find a home for an unwanted pet, but apparently for others out there it is just easier to dump these defenseless domesticated creatures. I am a foster home for cats through ACN and in just my short stint with them you wouldn't believe the evil, infuriating callousness I have seen in my fellow human beings. I've seen cats abandoned in cages in Petsmart, cats abandoned in boxes on a hot doorstep, and worse...much worse. There are those out there who treat these animals like just so much garbage, leaving them to fend for themselves even after declawing and even if the animal never once spent a day out of doors in its life before.

I guess they think "It's an animal. It was born to fend for itself." But the truth is that once an animal knows a life of domestication, it is very rare for it to retain the instincts it needs to survive. WE bred it out of them, WE took their defenses away, WE are the ones they depend on for utterly every sip of water and every nibble of food. We made it impossible for them to thrive on their own, and we are the ones who have to care for them and pick up the slack for those idiots out there who don't. We need to find homes and shelter before a single abandoned pet falls victim to FLV (Feline Leukemia) or FIV (Feline AIDS) or heart worm or kennel cough or distemper...the list of dangers and epidemics is endless.

But don't feel too overwhelmed. Don't feel like there's nothing to be done. The organizations we need, organizations like ACN , are out there. ACN cares. We love. We work our asses off to compensate for the inconsiderate and the uneducated. And you can help just like I do. I know not everyone can become a foster home like I have done, so the best way to compensate if you really want to be a part of the solution is with money. Yep. The big, crispy green. And I am going to reward you for it.

Last year we just took donations and raised 750 dollars by selling limited 'tickets' to a drawing for my next book's Advance Release Copy. Well, I want to double that amount this time. I also want to sweeten the pot with a gift to go with it. The field will be limited again, giving you a very fair shot at winning!! But I won't be happy unless I reach 1500 dollars in donations so I am going to tempt you until you squeak!

Here's the deal:

I am giving away five separate items. There will be individual drawings for each item. The tickets for each item are limited in amount to one hundred tickets per prize and every ticket is going to cost you a three dollar donation to enter. Do the math. If I sell every last ticket, BINGO!! 1500 dollars goes straight to ACN and Pet Harmony!

I am going to make this uber easy for you too. All you have to do is donate through PAYPAL using my Jacquelyn's Boutique account which is attached to the email you all know and love very well jacquelynfrank@hotmail.com. Once you decide what you want to send, send the amount and tell me how many tickets you want to go toward which prize in the 'notes' section of the invoice. It's first come first serve and the winning drawings are going to be held during the live Chat Party I am holding on the 28th of June. That gives you just a week and a day to enter!!

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for...the PREZZIES!!!

1. The Fire Demon Barbecue Basket!
2. The Sinful Shadowdweller Basket!!
3. The Jacki Frank Freakin' Fantastic Basket!!!
4. The Lycanthrope Queen's Necklace.
5. The Lycanthrope/Vampire Princess' Necklace.

Great names, eh? Let us commence with #1.

1. The Fire Demon Barbecue Basket:

This sizzling summer classic is perfect for the weekend griller or barbecue enthusiast. A durable barbecue apron, oven mitt, shish kebab basket, wooden skewers, corn holders to hold four corn on the cob and four sturdy bamboo paper plate holders are welcome additions for both the griller and their guest. Barbecue basting brushes, barbecue sauce and wine-aged grilling chips, will turn a casual barbecue into a gourmet feast. Chili citrus flats, mozzarella cheese swirls and more round out this assortment, packed in a large jute basket.

But if you are the one who likes to watch someone else do the grillin', this basket is STILL for you! You can curl up in a big old lounge chair in a sun hat and read your very own ARC of NOAH! This is one of the last ones I have. All of my contests are over. You can only get this here!! Also, I feel frisky so I am going to throw in an assortment of four books from other Kensington/Brava authors. Those puppies go for 12 bux a pop. Just two makes it worth your while to donate to this great cause!

2. The Sinful Shadowdweller Basket!!

This luxurious gift basket is filled with Godiva dark chocolate almonds and pretzels, milk chocolate cashews, sesame crackers, cabernet black pepper cheese spread, Mariani dried fruit mix, white chocolate amaretto cookies, olives, Mrs. May's cranberry almond crunch, assorted Lindt hazelnut, peanut butter and dark chocolate truffles, fresh baked thank you cookie, toffee wafers, serving dish and more. A great way to recognize those who have helped.


But you will also be the VERY VERY first to be promised an ARC of the first book in my new series! The first Shadowdwellers book ECSTASY arrives in January of '09, but three months before then I will be getting ARCs and you will be the first to get one! Oh and, a couple other random books as well. :)

3. The Jacki Frank Freakin' Fantastic Basket!!!

This cordial assortment of Godiva milk chocolate coca, sesame crackers, Portlock smoked salmon, Ghirardelli coffee, Mrs. May's strawberry cashew crunch, herb cheese mix, Sorrento candies, Ahmad tea, sour cherry drops, pickled green asparagus, whole olives, caramel cookies, Brown and Haley almond roca, Mamma Mellace's cinnamon roasted cashews and matching serving dish fill this embossed burgundy tin. The variety in this basket guarantees there will be something for everyone.

But for a special bonus I am also adding the ENTIRE Nightwalkers series, beginning to end and signed by me personally to you! That includes a NOAH ARC. Not to mention random Brava books as well.

4. The Lycanthrope Queen's Necklace.
Siena's Collar. 'Nuff said.

These are real moonstones in this beautifully fashioned replica of the Lycanthrope Queen's collar. I have been waiting for a way to give this to a die hard fan, and this is it. It's a truly gorgeous choker...you won't regret owning this one of a kind piece!

Oh...did I mention you get a promissory note entitling you to any one ARC of any of my upcoming releases in the future? It's a coupon you can cash in only once...for any Jacquelyn Frank book about to be released...three months in advance! (Give or take)





5. The Lycanthrope/Vampire Princess' Necklace.
Syreena's Collar. Again, 'Nuff said.

Made of real moonstones and more beautiful than you can imagine, this is also a one of a kind design commissioned by me.

Oh...did I mention you get a promissory note entitling you to any one ARC of any of my upcoming releases in the future? It's a coupon you can cash in only once...for any Jacquelyn Frank book about to be released...three months in advance! (Give or take)



Well, there you have it. Buy your 1 in 100 ticket chance to any of these above items at 3 dollars each and help me hand over a nice fat check to ACN. Make me proud, guys.

I will be showcasing a prize a day the next five days so you will get even more in depth detail than I already gave. Keep watching this blog. I am going to tempt you til you weep. That's a promise.

Hugs and Kitties
Jacki