Do You Know Bridget Zinn?

All of my books stem from a question. For JEMMA HARTMAN, the question was, "What happens when you find out BFF doesn't always mean forever?" And although that's a good question, and I should probably be thinking all about JEMMA because it is brand-spanking new, today I'm thinking about the question that sparked JULIA'S KITCHEN. That question was, "Why does God let bad things happen?"

And the reason I'm thinking of that is because I just found out about Bridget Zinn. Have you heard about Bridget?

She is a non-drinking, non-smoking, carcinogen-avoiding, young vegetarian who wears sunscreen every day. In the month of February, three things happened to Bridget:
1. She landed a fantastic agent for her young adult novel.
2. She got married.
3. She found out she had Stage Four colon cancer.

Can you imagine?

In JULIA'S KITCHEN, Cara decides that sometimes bad things just happen, and that God is crying right alongside us. I have no idea if that's what Bridget thinks, but I kind of hope so. I hope she is surrounded by friends and family who are lending their support and humor and love. I hope she finds strength and courage to battle her illness. And I hope she doesn't go broke in the meantime.

Like many Americans, Bridget has insurance, but it doesn't cover everything. So a group of authors who were impressed with Bridget's friendliness and radiant joy (even now) got together and organized an online auction to help Bridget cover some of her out-of-pocket medical costs. Now you can help. You can bid on signed books, manuscript critiques, original artwork, etc. Check out some of the great items. I think you'll be impressed. Please bid if you can. It's a simple way to make a difference in someone's life.