Fight for Your Write - #UTOPiAcon 2016 - Why You Should Attend

Happy Thursday, everyone! This is my official blog post for Utopia for the month of September. I get the honor of posting about the GoFundMe campaign organized by Amy Evans and Heather Hildenbrand. SO EXCITING! Ready? Grab a cup of coffee and let's get going!

I know you all saw the blog hop I posted yesterday with the amazing prizes. If you happened to miss it, you can check it out here. But let me tell you a little more about this fundraiser and why it means so very much to the people who organized it.

I had an interview with Amy on Tuesday (listen here). She talked about visiting Utopia for the first time, and she had a few inspiring things to say about it. Here's one quote that struck a serious chord with me:

"I wanted to be on the side of the fence with people who were psyched and passionate—not ones who were afraid to make mistakes."

And that's what Utopia gives each and every attendee. It's not a place; it's a mindset. That's why so many folks throw themselves into the conference headlong.

Another one of the attendees said:

"I always wondered why I didn't fit in with the other horses in the world. Then, I went to Utopia and realized I'm not a horse; I'm a unicorn, and this is my herd."

That resonates with me, too, because I felt the exact same way when I attended the first year.

Here were these people who understood me and my quirks. There was no judgment. I was embraced from day one because of my differences, not in spite of them.

There are three words to describe the con:

Education - Inspiration - Collaboration

Everyone who visits absorbs that drive and knowledge to make a change, do more, be more, and jump off the cliff with their eyes closed, trusting the others to give them wings.

It's because of everything you see above that Amy and Heather created the GoFundMe campaign. You can help someone change their stars by showing support for the conference.

Plus, there are prizes! Here's what you get with a $10-$49 donation (copied from the site):

"For a $10-$49 donation you will get five free ebooks. Authors include Tammy Blackwell,Stacie Marie Brown, SM Boyce,M. Clark/Mary Ting,  Amy Evans, Lila Felix, Heather Hildenbrand, Nikki Jefford, Katie M. John, Elizabeth Kirke, Patti Larson, Carlyle Labuschagne, Jo Michaels, Casey Peeler, Bella Roccaforte, Kallie Ross. MORE DONATIONS ARE COMING EACH DAY."

Yes, that says FIVE free e-books! What are you waiting for? $10 for five books? Go already!

In addition to the GoFundMe campaign, there are limited edition tees on sale. This is an effort by Indie-Visible and Whit & Ware. See the post about why they were created here. All proceeds go directly to the conference so it can be the most epic ever. These shirts are only available for a limited time, so you need to get your hands each one as they're released. The one right now has just SEVEN days left!

Here's the link to the current one "Lift as You Climb."

If you don't have tickets to the conference yet, you should get yours today. It will change your life.

Get tickets here!

Be sure and visit the other official bloggers this month to find out more about the tees, campaign, and see how the founder of Utopia, Janet Wallace, reacted to the news of this campaign creation.

Here's the schedule:
Week 1: Jo Michaels and Maria Pease
Week 2: Shana Benedict and Delphina Miyares
Week 3: Toni Lesatz and Ren Reidy
Week 4: Ashley Bodette and Kathryn Grimes
Somewhere during the month, we have our amazing book tuber, Christina Marie, who'll be hosting an AWESOME giveaway! Keep an eye on her channel for that!

What do you think? Are you coming to hang out with the rest of the unicorns, or do you prefer to be a horse?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Utopia Go Fund Me Blog Hop - Without Utopia, I Never Would Have

As we jump into the FIFTH year of the amazing UtopiaCon, we want to giveback to the organizers who have given so much inspiration and support to us. A conference of this magnitude­­of this level of MAGIC­­is not cheap. Over the past few months, we’ve learned that organizers, friends, and even family have come forward and given from their own personal funds in order to help move Utopia forward another year and we want to pay them back. We want to FIGHT FOR OUR WRITE and do our part to help.

This year especially, we'd like to make sure they  go into planning sessions with an extra boost to it's bottom line. So if you've ever been touched by Utopia, or if you love any of the authors, bloggers, or readers who have, please take a moment to give a few dollars.

This will insure the inspiration continues.

We hope you'll be led to give from the heart, but to sweeten the deal we have some MAJORLY EPIC incentives! In addition to what you’ll get from the Go Fund Me organizers (see the donation page to read about those), you’ll also get entered to win any one of these amazing raffle prizes listed in the rafflecopter below!

Prizes like this one:

And in order to help convey the magical sense of community Utopia has instilled in its attendees, I want everyone to know that...

WITHOUT UTOPIA I NEVER WOULD HAVE....

There is no purchase or donation necessary to enter to enter the drawing, but we encourage you to give even just $10 in order to help move us toward our big goal. And don’t forget, every donation of at least $10 earns you free books!

How to enter:

1. Go visit #UtopiaLove’s Go Fund Me page and make a small donation (this isn’t necessary, but we would be so jazzed if you did this first! AND this earns you an automatic prize based on your donation level. Check your email to collect.)
2. Click through any one of the rafflecopter entry methods. Complete the necessary item and get entered for all of the raffle prizes listed below.
3. Click through to the list of other participating authors & bloggers to read how Utopia has changed them!

That’s it! Thanks!

Participating Blogs:
Karen Hooper
Kallie Ross   
Susan Burdorf
Jo Michaels 
Carlyle Labuschagne 
Shantella Benson
Shelley Custer
S.M. Boyce 
Komali da Silva
PK Hrezo
Elisabeth Kauffman
Patti Larsen
Michaela Mills
Ginny Gallagher
Liz Long
Raine Thomas
Stacey Marie Brown
Heather Hildenbrand
Amy Evans

Here's an amazing giveaway for you all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway