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Anna DeStefano launches book-donating program

Joyce Lamb
Special for USA TODAY
Best-selling author Anna DeStefano.

It's the season for giving, and today best-selling author Anna DeStefano is launching an initiative, appropriately called Hearts for Hearts, that encourages readers to donate new and gently used books to homeless shelters, Medicaid nursing facilities and similar centers across the USA.

"So many of us have books sitting around our homes, stories we've enjoyed that others would love to experience—only they can't afford the luxury," Anna says in a statement.

Anna answers some questions about the genesis of Hearts for Hearts ... and the massive outpouring of support she and the program have gotten. (Questions provided by the team at Nancy Berland Public Relations in Oklahoma City.)

Q: How are you feeling now that the Hearts for Hearts launch is here?

Anna: To be told that your stories inspire something as amazingly generous as Hearts for Hearts is a humbling and magical moment. I wanted to find a tangible way to show people the heart of my stories, so I partnered with some professionals who have experience conceiving and launching special interest programs. The result: my Hearts for Hearts book-donation program.

I love what I do — writing happily-ever-after-ending family stories that touch on some very real and difficult challenges communities face. I love the hope they bring to readers. I love to hear that someone's been inspired to reach out to their family or neighborhood or town, to help or to understand or to encourage another person to keep fighting and find their way through and up and out, until another happy ending is a reality.

And now there's a service program doing the same thing, Hearts for Hearts, and I'm lucky to be the driving force behind it. What could be better than that? It's an amazing feeling.

Q: How does Hearts for Hearts tie into the stories you write?

Anna: So far in my Seasons of the Heart trilogy, I've written about homelessness, foster care, addiction, a child's loss of a parent, divorce — and it's all set in the picturesque, small town of Mimosa Lane, which you could imagine would be the perfect place to live, not unlike my own community. With each new story I write, readers tell me they cherish the touching but uplifting honesty of these journeys. I was looking for a way to explain my passion for this type of writing and reading experience. So I asked experienced publicist Nancy Berland if she could think of a way to do that, besides the blogging and social media networks I'd already built.

Hearts for Hearts began there, as Nancy's brainchild after she'd read and was moved by my Mimosa Lane-set trilogy. I'd told her my goal was to build up communities — one story at a time — and just look at how, working together, we've hit that dream out of the park. ;o)

Q: What's been the response so far, from people you've approached about participating in Hearts for Hearts?

Anna: From the first person we've spoken with about what I describe as a "challenge to open your heart to your community," we've been met with overwhelming enthusiasm and endless ideas of how and where books could be given, so that stories could be shared and people's lives could be brightened and lightened and encouraged.

Anna DeStefano's Hearts for Hearts program.

So many of us don't have the time or the money to give these days. But so many of us have stories, books, and novels that we've enjoyed, books that are sitting around our houses. What a gift those could be, to those without the means to buy their own, particularly in this day and age when libraries are shrinking and going digital, bookstores are becoming harder to find, and the big-box and department stores are racking fewer and fewer titles at their discount prices.

Q: Can you tell us a little about who's participated so far? How did they get involved?

Anna: So far, everyone who's signed up to donate has found us through word-of-mouth, and they've all donated books they've had on hand. I'm proud to say that not a single book purchase has been required to fulfill any of these donation opportunities. People are giving so generously from their hearts and their own collections!

I asked author friends of mine if they had any extra books lying around — adult fiction or Young Adult titles they'd written or stories they'd enjoyed reading, anything they had to share. In just a few weeks, I have received HUNDREDS of books, from wonderful friends who loved the idea of their gently read books finding their way into others' homes and hearts this holiday. Many, many thanks to Maureen Hardegree, Debbie Kaufman, Sandy Elizie, and Jillian Summers for rushing so quickly and generously to participate — and to Richardson, Texas, attorney Lisa Canterberry for the huge stack of books she's donating to the Denton County Jail library.

I asked my son if he'd be willing to cull through the cases and cases of his baby and Young Adult books that we've never been able to part with, looking for those he most wanted to keep and letting go of the rest. Another huge stash of books emerged, seeding the growing collection of books for kids suitable for two upcoming donation opportunities.

I asked my husband, "Would you mind?" To which he said, "I'll donate my entire library, if you can find someone who'll take it all." And let me just say, this man reads a book a day. I was short on adult fiction for the thriller/mystery/suspense audience. Could I find someone to take it all? You bet!

Nancy Berland's team also contacted their author clients, asking if they, too, would like to contribute. Before I knew it, Nancy had connected with and donated four boxes of books from her office to a new drop-in center for the homeless and mentally ill in Oklahoma City, much to the delight of the coordinator there, who said those she served would be thrilled.

I told a good friend and hair stylist, Jennifer Sewel of Bella Fiora Salon, about Hearts for Hearts. She quickly put me in touch with a local service group in our community here in Georgia that operates in a lower-income area, donating free haircuts for those who can't afford to pay for them. She asked if I would like to bring books along that night. "You bet, and I'll bake cookies for the kids, too," I said. Seeing firsthand the excitement and enjoyment of everyone who benefited from that evening was a blessing. And Jennifer was also collecting toys for the holiday for a local group that works with foster children. Did I have anything that might work for them? Of course! Two of the authors I mentioned above write killer YA stories, and I still needed to place all the books my son had donated. It was as if this half-hour, on-and-off conversation while Jennifer was working with my hair was destined to be!

"Christmas on Mimosa Lane" by Anna DeStefano.

I contacted the wonderful Southern ladies who began the fabulously successful small press Belle Books. The novels they publish are amazing and heart-filled. Would they be willing to participate in Hearts for Hearts' launch? Absolutely, both Deb Dixon and Deb Smith said. How can we help? Did I mention both of these ladies are literary mentors of mine, the authors of books that I read and reread and reread, not to mention two of the savviest business women I know? Do they have a great deal of time to give? No. Did they for a second hesitate to find a way to give back to their community in a new way? No.

Another independent publishing house, Roadrunner Press, in Oklahoma City, has committed to donating their authors' books in their community.

And then there's the conversation I casually struck up with the director of my local YMCA one day after my workout. I just happened to mention Hearts for Hearts in passing. Fast-forward two weeks, and we're planning to launch a seniors reading center as well as racking donated books for after-school programs, so kids and retired members can read and share stories — a service this not-for-profit organization has wanted to provide for quite a while but couldn't afford to fund. And if the response is strong enough, this might just turn out to be a pilot program other branches in our county could emulate.

There's no limit to how far this program can go. Look at what's happened so far, just because I've talked about it to a few people. Wait and see what happens when those friends and families talk about Hearts for Hearts with others and then those individuals get on the donation bandwagon. I'm so excited about the possibilities, I'm grinning ear-to-ear as I type this.

Q: Has the Hearts for Hearts response been everything you'd hoped for this early in the program?

Anna: Have I mentioned how humbling this experience has already been for me? And we haven't officially launched!

The stories keep coming in, from everyone we reach out to about Hearts for Hearts. I just heard from my agent, Michelle Grajkowski, that she wants to set up donations in her area after the first of the year, so the books can be handed out by Valentine's Day. I LOVE that idea.

My goal is that we'll see the need around us more clearly. My hope is that our minds will be opened to the simple things we can do for our neighbors (both friends and strangers), making their world just a little better. My greatest wish for this program and my novels is for people to feel empowered to connect, to heal and overcome, and to triumph over the differences that separate us — by sharing our hearts and building up our communities, one story at a time.

Readers can find out more about Heart for Hearts, including tips on how, when and where to make a donation, on Anna's website, www.Annawrites.com, and her Facebook author page.

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