The news is filled with one bleak story after another, but sometimes it hits closer to home.

Vera Nazarian, the woman behind Norilana Books (which publishes, among other things, Clockwork Phoenix), is on the verge of losing her house. The story behind this crisis makes it abundantly clear that she has not ended up in this situation through foolishness or mismanagement, but rather from a streak of appalling luck, any one component of which would be bad enough on its own. Taken all together, they’re devastating.

Fortunately, sf/f fandom turns out to be really really good at mobilizing its social networks for a good cause. The community is taking donations, and also organizing an auction along the lines of . If you can’t spare the money for straight charity, look through the auctions and see if there’s something that can double as a holiday gift for someone else, or offer some item or service of your own for auction.

Vera needs a little over $11K by the 20th to keep her home; as of last night, the comm has already raised nearly $3800. The goal is too much for one person, but for fandom as a whole, it’s very much within reach. Every little bit helps.

My connection, of course, is through Clockwork Phoenix; Mike Allen, the editor, has posted about Vera here, speaking in praise of her as a wonderfully professional publisher. It’s worth keeping people like that on their feet. If you can spare even a little, head on over to the community and pitch in.