Read a Book - Save a Kid

Close your eyes and imagine yourself on the streets of Chicago. It’s late October, the leaves have turned, and you can feel snow in the air. It’s an exciting time on the mile—Halloween is in a few days, then around the corner comes Thanksgiving with turkey and stuffing, and Christmas with happiness and family and light. But that isn’t for you. See, your family doesn’t want to see you. They made that incredibly clear when they threw you out in the almost snow. Eighteen years old and you have no place to sleep, no food, and no warmth in your soul. All because you let it slip that you were gay.

Take a moment and think about what that means.

You can’t get a job because you have no fixed address. Filthy, you clean up in public restrooms, but you never really feel clean. Under constant threat of being beaten, raped, or killed for what little you have, you are forced to beg for food or shelter along with thousands of others fighting for the same scraps. Discarded by society, you are chased from what little shelter you can find on trains, under bridges, or in doorways. You should be studying for the SATs, going to prom, being a kid, but instead, you’re fighting for your life.

So, where do you turn? What do you do?

Fortunately, there are shelters across the country to help homeless LGBT kids find safe shelter. One such place is Lost-N-Found Youth in Atlanta. They have a 24/7 hotline for kids who need help, provide STD testing and connect them with medical attention, and help them obtain lost or stolen ID documents. Shelters like Lost-N-Found youth help these kids get their GED and give them a fighting chance at life. But it takes money to run shelters such as these which is why every penny of royalties from the Jamie Mayfield line of books is donated directly to charities to help our homeless LGBT kids.

In the Waiting for Forever series, you will see some of the more horrifying aspects of what happens to kids who are thrown away by their parents. Not because it’s entertaining, but because it’s real. Children are tossed onto the streets every day for something they cannot and should not have to change.

How you can help:

• Find a local LGBT Youth shelter and donate your talents such as general repair, IT, moving, medical, or mental health services.
• Find a local LGBT Youth shelter and donate goods such as cars, food, household items, and gift cards.
• Set up a recurring donation so that the shelter has funds they can count on.
• Buy goods and services (like the Jamie Mayfield books or the Lost-N-Found anthology from Featherweight Press) which donate to LGBT Youth shelters.
• Watch out for the LGBT kids in your life and help to keep them safe. My hope is that the line takes off well and a great deal of money and awareness can be raised to help our kids be safe and healthy and happy.

Jamie Mayfield Releases:
Choices – June 6, 2013
Destiny – July, 2013
Determination – August, 2013
A Broken Kind of Life – Sept, 2013

Waiting for Forever: Choices
A Harmony Ink Press Young Adult Title
Waiting for Forever: Book I

Part One: The Throwaway Boy

As the country’s religious and secular leaders battle over equality in the abstract, Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield live in the crossfire. In their little town of Crayford, Alabama, loving another boy is the worst kind of sin. Best friends since childhood, they explore their love and each other in Jamie’s backyard tree house as they hide from the world. They happily plan for the future together—until their lives are rocked when their secret is exposed and Jamie’s family intervenes.

When hatred turns to violence in their sleepy little town, Brian tries to cope with the loss of his best friend, who is stolen in the night. In desperation, he turns to Adam, a new friend with a shared pain. Can Adam fill the hole left by Jamie’s absence? The answer will change everything.

Adapted from the award-winning Little Boy Lost series by J. P. Barnaby.

100% of the author's royalties are being donated to help homeless LGBT kids find safe shelter.

Pre-order from Dreamspinner Press

About Jamie Mayfield:
A survivor of the ex-gay residential institution The Sunshine Center, fictional author Jamie Mayfield went on to find his voice in novels. Always a great lover of books, Jamie found his passion as he began to pursue a liberal arts degree in creative writing. An avid reader, he’s a fan of gay romance, suspense, and horror—though not all in the same novel.

Jamie lives in San Diego with his fictional husband, Brian. He writes YA fiction as a way to let kids know that they have an entire LGBT family all around them. Above all, he wants them to know that they are not alone. It does get better.

Jamie Mayfield is a fictional character from the acclaimed Little Boy Lost series by female author J. P. Barnaby.

Website: http://www.JamieMayfield.com
Tumblr: http://JamieMayfieldYA.tumblr.com
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JamieMayfieldYA
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/JamieMayfieldYA




Jamie is celebrating the release of Waiting for Forever: Choices with a 12-week blog tour and giveaway. View the full tour schedule HERE. Comment on any blog tour post or tweet using hashtag #WaitingForForever to enter to win a Kindle! Drawing will be held on 8/15/2013. You must be 18 to enter and have a valid US mailing address. No purchase necessary.