Happy Birthday Gothic Goddess!

This long running the ELEW, Dina James and I have an ongoing complaint that when birthdays roll around, we struggle with what to say because everyone here is SO FREAKING AWESOME it starts to get repetitive. There are only so many ways you can tell people how great someone is. So this, again, might be repetitive, however it bears repeating and is entirely true.

The ELEW would not exist without Dina James. Really, it would exist without everyone--all the members, past and current, who keep blogging; the readers who stop by to see what we have to say; the writers who agree to anniversary interviews with us.

But the bulk of this past year was difficult for me as I became very ill with no diagnosis for months. You'll notice my posts all but disappeared--in fact, I disappeared for days/weeks online as well. The ELEW was the furthest thing from my mind and, had it just been me trying to keep things up? I would've backed out of the group or let it close entirely.

Dina has kept everything afloat. Dina has stayed on top of the schedule, motivated others, taken care of group emails and coordinated things. Dina has fought to keep the ELEW running, an entirely volunteer organization, devoting countless hours to see it thrive and improve. Dina took the reins when needed during the last fundraiser, as well as the first one. We're getting ready to roll out some exciting things in the new year (stay tuned!), and it's all thanks to her ideas, her devotion, and her evil ways.

I am fortunate enough to call Dina a friend. The rest of you are blessed to call her the Gothic Goddess, She Who Inspires and Terrifies Effortlessly. Please offer the warmest, evillest of birthday wishes to Dina James.

Happy Birthday, Dina.

I give you Tom Hiddleston reading Shakespeare.

Happy Birthday, Mama Bitchstress!

Today is a very special day for the Evil League of Evil Writers.

Besides our founding anniversary, the anniversary of our beloved co-founder's birth is one of the ELEW's High Holy Days.

You think I'm joking, but I'm not. We don't joke here at the ELEW. If we're laughing, you should probably be running.

I looked at last year's post to make sure I didn't repeat myself with this year's acknowledgement, and found that I could pretty much say exactly the same thing, only with a few changes to the amount of money our Bitchstress Dreamkiller has raised for charity this year.

Our anniversary month (April) this year was dedicated to one of our own. Senior Pie Coordinator and Clubhouse Keeper's husband had a serious accident involving a chainsaw fought off a grizzly bear and racked up some absolutely hellacious medical bills (and I'm not talking the fun kind of "hellacious" either). The ELEW stepped in, and, with the help of a metric shit-ton of people, made that bill GTFO.

You know who was the driving force behind that fundraiser? That's right. Skyla Dawn Cameron was the Indiegogo campaign leader. I (Gothic Goddess Dina James) was the co-pilot.

I'm not even going to count the other awesome stuff she does for charity in her total raised this year. It's over $12,000 with the Evil for Julie fundraiser alone. She also does stuff for cats (because she's a Crazy Cat Lady) and takes her beautiful dog Sophie to the hospital to visit inpatients, as Sophie is an official Trent Hill Therapy Dog. I'm pretty sure when things are totaled up, Skyla has raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000 this year, and guess what?

This year ain't over yet.

Who knows what no-goodness she'll get up to the remaining three months? She'll probably invent time travel or cure cancer or get that "world domination" thing off the ground. Oops...did I say that out loud? Whatever she does, it will be awesome. And I don't mean that in the mundane way. I mean that in the evil way.

Our Bitchstress Dreamkiller isn't just an evil writer...she's a person whose awesome you should aspire to.

Happy birthday, Skyla!

Happy Birthday Seleste!

Come, my minions! Join us for a ritual sacrifice in honor of the birth of Seleste deLaney!

An irreplaceable member of the ELEW and supporter of evil in general, our Blasphemous Dispensator of Expenditures is one of the hardest workers I know, juggling being an evil mother with being an evil writer and somehow not completely destroying the world in the process. In the time you've taken to read this post, she's probably written more words than you will in the entire year, and looked fabulous while doing it.

And so to celebrate this day, we did what all evil organizations do and kidnapped someone. Just for you, Seleste.

He's in the dungeon with a set of floggers. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Skye!

Did you bring your cupcakes? And your booze? And some hot, half-naked men? Well, gather 'round then and set your offerings down before our Lieutenant Quillstabber, for today we celebrate the birth of Skye Forbes.

A member who has been with us since the beginning, Skye has worked tirelessly behind the scenes in support of the organization. Her dedication and commitment is beyond comparison, and we at the ELEW are fortunate to have her among our ranks.

Please join me in raising a glass to her awesomeness on this blessed evil day!

Happy Birthday Dina!

Did you feel the evil chill in the air this morning? Something that raised the hairs on the back of your neck and dragged the cold, clammy hands of death down your spine?

There was a reason.

Today we celebrate the birth of the extremely evil Goth Goddess, Dina James.

Dina has done tremendously evil things this year. Besides putting in massive work with the Evil Auction in February, releasing a new novel, and running a fabulous medical-info-for-writers here called Ask Dr. Dina, she has continued inspiring other writers throughout the year in that special way she knows how: by stabbing them with knitting needles and pushing them to be their most evil selves. She has also lent me incredible support this year during various trying times, always ready with sharp wit and a shovel when something threatening draws near.

On behalf of the Evil League of Evil Writers, I wish you the evilest of birthdays, Dina.

And since I am poor and did not get you anything, I give you 1. the day off from posting, and 2...

A gif party.

Just for you.

Happy Birthday, Julie!

Gather round, both Baby Evil Writers and grown ones alike...for today we celebrate the glorious day Julie Butcher was born.

Julie is our Senior Pie Coordinator and Clubhouse Keeper. That's right, in addition to the charity work she does, raising as many children as I have cats, VAST amounts of writing, and loads of (evil, always evil) support she offers aspiring writers, SHE HAS A CLUBHOUSE. So now we bring cupcakes to the clubhouse door and bow, giving thanks to Julie and her Scary Mom Eyes for her huge contribution to the writing community.

On behalf of the Evil League of Evil Writers...Happy Birthday, Julie!

Happy Birthday, Skyla!

Today, we here at the Evil League of Evil Writers celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our dear co-founder, Skyla Dawn Cameron.

Skyla is more than our beloved Bitchstress Dreamkiller. She is an icon. (No, really, I mean it.)

She is a tireless force of evil. I would not deign to insult her eviltry by labeling her with words like "kind," "giving," or  "charitable," but I will say she's a fundraising superstar (she's closing in on $10,000 raised for various charities THIS YEAR ALONE...what are YOU doing with your life, slacker?), as well as a fantastic editor and graphic designer.

You would be beyond fortunate to know her and have her in your life - those of us who do recognize this fact and take pleasure in your jealousy. (Note: I, the Gothic Goddess, am the only existing holder of exclusive stalking rights to Skyla. If you want them, you'll have to fight me to the death for them. *points to Thunderdome*)

The Evil League of Evil Writers would not exist if not for Skyla, and several charitable organizations and people would be poorer for her absence.

Lift a glass in her honor today. (She prefers vodka.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BITCHSTRESS DREAMKILLER!