The Mathematics of Kindness by Barbara Ann Wright |

At I Heart Lesfic, we believe the world could use a bit more kindness after one of the hardest and longest of years. Many authors have signed up to help IHL spread kindness in the world.

Today, the wonderful Barbara Ann Wright is here to share a story. Also, Barbara is giving away 1 ecopy of The Noble and the Nightingale. Below the guest post, you’ll find more details about the giveaway.

Take it away, Barbara.

The Mathematics of Kindness

I’m lucky enough to have been on the receiving end of a lot of kindness in my life. Some has been in the form of deeds. Other times, I’ve blushed through kind words. Some could be seen as favors, and still others have been granted in return for something I did. And while it’s true that the large acts of kindness stand out in my memory, I’d like to talk about the small ones that add up to truly epic friendships.

If you read the acknowledgments in my books, you’ll see that I always thank my writing groups and fellow writers. I usually reference the ways in which they’ve made my work better—so many ways—but we’re also very good friends, and there isn’t enough space on one page to list all the ways they’ve helped me. They’ve carried boxes through moves, tidied my house when my rheumatoid arthritis kept me from functioning, taken out my garbage, cat-sat for me, driven me to and from surgery, done car maintenance, put me up for the night, changed lightbulbs, bought my books, and lifted me up when I’ve been down.

And that’s just off the top of my head.

All of this and more adds up to a group of beautiful souls whom I will go to whenever they call. I would say that I could never hope to repay their many kindnesses, but they’d never ask for payment. We’ve shown through words and deeds that we love one another and would do something foolhardy like fight bears for each other if necessary. (Please, universe, don’t ever make that necessary.) My friends are my people, so maybe family would be the sum if you made kindness into a mathematical equation.

So here’s to those who think of others every day, who are always ready with a kind word or who are more than willing to do a kind deed. You are part of something larger than yourself, part of a family. Someone has seen your kindness and appreciated it and adopted you as one of their people. They’d fight a freakin’ bear for you, and they know you’d do the same for them.

Little kindnesses add up.

GIVEAWAY

THE NOBLE AND THE NIGHTINGALE

The Sisters of Sarras: Book 1

by Barbara Ann Wright

Adella del Amanecer is from a noble family whose pride comes from dedication to the kingdom of Sarras. She works long hours as a diplomat and barely has time for her sisters, let alone romance, a fact that makes her nights feel longer than her days, especially when she thinks about the lovely bard on the corner.

As an ex-spy for the Firellian Empire, Bridget Leir has fled from crises and corruption until settling in Sarras, where she can hide as a bard. When a chance meeting with a beautiful diplomat leads to romance, Bridget’s new life feels filled with promise, until Sarras investigates Firellian rumblings of war. If the truth comes out, the Sarrasians—and Adella—will never believe Bridget’s spying days are done, and worse—Adella will be accused of sleeping with the enemy. It’ll be the gallows for them both.