HUMOR WRITER LAUNCHES BOOK CAMPAIGN FOR SOLDIERS
Sharie Derrickson, award-winning humor writer and author of No Bad Deed Goes Unpublished, is determined to bring laughter to U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division Soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“The idea is a simple one, but one I hope will show the troops how much we care about them,” Derrickson said. She is selling her book at a discounted rate to those who wish to give it to a soldier. “Once a book is purchased, the buyer has his or her personal inscription written in the book, and I will see that a soldier gets it.”
"Soldiers serving in areas of conflict are lacking reading material – especially something meant to boost morale," Derrickson said. “I picked the 10th Mountain Division because they are home-based at Ft. Drum near my hometown, and these soldiers will understand many of the nuances I write about in the book – from the nightmare of a snow blower gone mad to why the only line that doesn’t freeze in my house is the one to the ice cube maker."
Derrickson’s folksy and quirky writing style, critics have said, has appeal to readers of all ages and backgrounds. “I simply write about stuff that happens to us all,” she said. Her column, "North Country Quirk," appears weekly in the Thousand Islands Sun, and is featured at North County Public Radio.
The book can be ordered through Derrickson's Web site. There, you can push a button to order a book for a soldier through PayPal, a secure and easy payment method that accepts credit cards. There is a box when you order on PayPal that gives you a place to write your message to a soldier with your name. A label is placed inside the book that says, ‘This book is a gift from a grateful American,’ plus room for your inscription. If your inscription is longer than the box provided, it can be e-mailed to sharie@shariederrickson.com and she'll add whatever you want to say, such as your own address so the soldier can write you back.
“It gives the public ways to pass a personal message on to a soldier and show appreciation," Derrickson said. "I remember being in the military and being deployed away from home. It was things like this that kept my morale up during the hard times or when I suffered from the military’s hurry up and wait syndrome.”
Derrickson, a former newspaper reporter for Pacific Stars and Stripes and a Combat Photojournalist in the U.S. Navy, said she spent time serving in the first Gulf War and in war-torn Somalia. “When you feel like you are in danger, it is always nice to have a mental reprieve from the stress – something to take your mind off it. My family used to send me funny books to get me through when I was feeling down. I am a huge Dave Barry, Calvin and Hobbs, and Bloom County fan, so I had quite a collection that I passed around to others.”
“For those who don’t feel net savvy, you can also order a book by writing:
CSS Promotions
P.O. Box 42
Clayton, New York 13624,
or by calling (315) 686-2030.
The book, which retails for $11, will be sold to those interested in the program for $7.00, tax already included, with a shipping and handling charge of $1.50 per book that will be used to get your book to a soldier.
“We are all part of a family and a community and this is a way for us to help them remember that they are in hour hearts and prayers, plus, it hopefully will give them a much-needed chuckle,” Derrickson said. “For me, it is the least I can do to honor them for what they do for me every day, and to give others who feel the way I do an opportunity to join in.”
Besides selling the book at a discounted rate for the “Smiles for a Soldier” campaign, 20 percent of all the net profits of the book goes to local charities and not-for-profit organizations.
For more information, contact CSS Director of Promotions, Augusta Withington
