Romance authors and readers are coming together to help Stacey Abrams get out the vote in Georgia, Entertainment Weekly reports, and got some assistance from the writer herself.
A fundraiser called Romancing the Runoff, inspired by Democratic Georgia politician and romance author Abrams, raised almost $400,000 in the last several days. The proceeds are going to three Abrams-approved voting rights organizations.
The fundraiser was organized by four romance authors: Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole, Donna Herren, and Bree Bridges. (The latter two novelists are a team who write under the pen name Kit Rocha.)
Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and author of novels like The Art of Desire and Hidden Sins (written under the pseudonym Selena Montgomery), is widely credited with being an integral part of Georgia’s swing from a solid red state to one that President-elect Joe Biden won in November.
Georgia is holding two U.S. Senate runoffs in January, in which Democratic hopefuls Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are hoping to unseat the state’s two Republican incumbents.
On Twitter, Abrams thanked the fundraiser’s organizers, writing, “I’m privileged to be one of you. For the cause, I’d like to throw in an autographed copy of my first novel, Rules of Engagement, in the rare hardback version. Both Selena Stacey will sign.”
Thank you @RomancingRunoff for your amazing efforts. I’m privileged to be one of you. For the cause, I’d like to throw in an autographed copy of my first novel, Rules of Engagement, in the rare hardback version. Both Selena Stacey will sign. 😉https://t.co/32aiezmJmW
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 25, 2020
The book is up for auction, and as of Friday morning, had drawn a high bid of $2,775.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
