Authors Supporting Our Troops 2015 Puts Books into the Hands of OurTroops Serving in Remote Areas

Last year I wrote about ASOT2014, but it’s such a worthy cause and effort I want  to give it a little more ink as it enters its second year.

Authors Supporting Our Troops is a small but dynamic operation to put author donated/author signed print books into the hands of our troops (all military branches) serving in remote areas (Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait) where days can be long and diversions difficult to find. Books are in such short supply that one single copy can make the rounds throughout the entire base, some soldiers reading it two or three times. ASOT sends boxes of books to individual soldiers to share with his or her comrades, offering a variety of genres and hours of entertainment.

Launched January 1st and continuing through May 1^st, ASOT2015 hopes to exceed the accomplishments of ASOT2014, when authors and publishers donated 2,900 books, all of

which made it to our troops.

“Our goal this time is to put 3,500+ print books into the hands of soldiers in remote areas of the world like Kuwait and Afghanistan,” says event organizer Armand Rosamilia. “If a soldier is stationed in Germany or San Diego, they can easily buy a book or have access to TV, games, e-readers, etc. This event is for the men and women of the military who don’t have easy access to read. It’s something for their downtime between hostile situations.”

What types of books are accepted?

 “Everything but blatant porn,” says Rosamilia. “Nothing taboo or racist, nothing pushing the

envelope. Antimilitary books might not be so popular. Last year many authors didn’t think their romance books would fit, but they did. Soldiers will read anything if it’s the only book around. They like to read a good paranormal romance, you know.”

How do you get the soldier’s addresses?

“From you,” Rosamilia says. “We don’t work with a company or the military. We rely on family and friends of soldiers overseas to get in touch with them to make sure they’re interested in handing out the books. Then we need their COMPLETE address (including their name and APO/FPO) to ship to them. That’s it. The goal is 35 soldiers in 2015 or more.” Right now, the project is short on names, so anyone who knows a soldier serving in these areas is encouraged to contact him at armandrosamilia@gmail.com.

How are the books shipped?

 ASOT2015 relies on the good old United States Postal Service. “No other carrier is as cheap or easy as the USPS,” says Rosamilia. “It costs about 25 dollars to ship a box of books (about 50 books per box.)”

How  can I help?

Authors and small publishers interested in donating books can reach out to Rosamilia via email at armandrosamilia@gmail.com.

Many people have come forward to help with shipping costs, donating money directly to the cause. Email Rosamilia to make a donation, any amount helps.

ASOT2015 also has T-shirts and hoodies available in a variety of colors and styles for purchase via TeeSpring to help defray costs. They’re simple, inexpensive, and available to anyone, author or not.

Also, Rosamilia asks authors to spread the word about this event. “Even though we hit so many authors the last time around (about 325 or so), that is such a small blip of the writers and publishers out there. If you belong to an author’s organization, let them know about it. Ask your publisher to get in touch. Many of them sent us boxes of books last year, which was great.”

For more information please visit and LIKE the ASOT2015 Facebook page.

About event organizer Armand Rosamilia

Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he's not sleeping. He's written over 100 stories that are currently available, including a few different series: "Dying Days," extreme zombie series; "Keyport Cthulhu," horror series; "Flagler Beach Fiction Series," contemporary fiction; "Metal Queens," non-fiction music series. He also loves to talk in third person... because he's really that cool. He's a proud Active member of HWA (Horror Writers of America) as well. Visit his website where you can find not only his latest releases but interviews and guest posts with other authors he likes. E-mail him to talk about zombies, baseball and Metal at armandrosamilia@gmail.com

Follow Armand Rosamilia on Facebook, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter

Book links:

Rymfire eBooks

Amazon 

SmashWords
 

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