Dear Reader,It has been a little over a year since I decided to take my writing and pursue my dream to publish. In that short amount of time, I have been enfolded by the arms of a fantastic Indie Artist community; a community that continues to overwhelm me with support, positivity, and encouragement on a daily basis. I am deeply thankful.As I near the culmination of the first book in my Realm of Meard series, and prepare for my life in publication, I must place my dream on pause for just a moment. You see I am an Oklahoman, born and raised, and this year tragedy has ripped its way through the heart of my state, my community, and my family. While my heart has grieved alongside those touched by tragedies in other communities, I could still distance it from myself. My tears were no less sad than those experiencing their loss, yet my eyes did not greet the raw destruction in person.The storms and tornadoes that came through our state this past May were less than five miles from our own home.

My husband and I were watching the local news station reporting on the path of the tornado, when we lost all cable and phone services.Nothing can describe the terror of looking around your home, before getting in your car to retrieve your children from school, knowing that you may not have a home to come back to. Fear for our neighbors and friends that we knew were in its path, magnified our own, and we like many others prepared to flee the area.Thankfully, our home and our immediate family's homes were spared.In the first 48 hours, my heart and mind reeled through a kaleidoscope of grief, relief, guilt, loss, and anger. I did not lose my home, or worse my child, but driving past the affected area, the loss my community has suffered slammed into my soul. All I can think is what can I do? We had no money or food to spare, and in the beginning, the officials kept civilians out of the area so we didn't hinder the ongoing recovery efforts.Then it occurred to me how I could make a difference, I put out a call to fellow authors online, casting a blind line into the World Wide Web not knowing what kind of response I would receive.

I asked for those that would like to put together a book of fictional short stories with proceeds to go to the relief effort in Oklahoma. The response was overwhelming and quite humbling; in a matter of days, I had interest from several authors across the world. All through the summer, we have worked to coordinate and complete our project.Authors with family, employment, and their own personal book deadlines, dedicated a piece of their original art in hopes they could assist my community.So now I am proud to present:From Realms of Fantasy spring hearts of gold, as Authors across the world bring you a sampling of short stories to raise funds for Oklahoma Storm Victims.Within these pages, you will find Vampires and their Hunters, Dragons, Elves and Mutants, Twists and Turns of Fate, as well as stories of Love, Destiny, and Childhood lost.Presented by Realm of Meard (c) Relief Charity Publishing, we invite you to share a glimpse of our worlds, in order to become the Winds of Change for our devastated community members.Authors Inside Include:Mandi Bean, Brielle C.

, Pete Clark,Tara Clark, Sarah Daltry, Lexi Delouvre,Tracey Deming, William D Dickerson, Lara Henley, William Lloyd Jenkins, Sara Marion, Sarah Menary, Michael Mounts, Simon Parker, Tania Penn,Jack Phillips, Cindy Ponds-Newell, Vivian K Smith,and Ron Stelle.Time is a small thing to give, but gestures from the heart have the most impact. Let's pull together and show the world the power of the pen.Thank you for supporting our effort to affect change.If you would like to donate further, please contact ReliefFund@RealmofMeard.com.Director of Relief Project,Tracey Deming.