If you visit the HWA Message Board, you will find information on how to access free PDF versions of Gary A. Braunbeck's books Prodigal Blues and Destinations Unknown. These electronic versions are being provided for Stoker voters.

In my wildly-biased opinion, Prodigal Blues is possibly the finest novel Gary's written so far.

10% of the royalties from the sales of each book will be donated to Protect.org.

If the HWA is indeed being destroyed, as some are proclaiming, it's because the Actives who are willing to step up to the plate and actually do something of service to the organization are loudly outnumbered by those who grudgingly pay their dues and then do nothing but bitch and moan on message boards because things aren't interesting enough, aren't moving quickly enough, or because someone got a discount and they didn't.

Seriously, folks. The Horror Writers Association isn't run by invisible magic house elves -- it's run by volunteers who spend a great deal of time they could be writing on trying to maintain and improve the organization. The current officers and trustees are doing work that practically nobody else in the organization was willing to do. They're doing their very best, working very hard for very little recognition.

For those who are convinced they could do a better job than the current officers -- please do give it a shot. Run for office next fall. The more the merrier. If even half the actives I see complaining about the HWA on the boards would simply volunteer for the mentoring program, the organization would be far better off and far more useful to its members.

And for those who think the officers are doing a good job, please bear in mind that while private emails are always appreciated, public support is best of all.

For those of you who didn't know, today Gary took over as president of the Horror Writers Association.