Thousands support the bestselling author and the Diabetes Research Institute
Hollywood, FL (June 6, 2012) – The suspense is over! Not for fans of her novels, but for the participants of famed author Brenda Novak’s Annual Online Auction, which benefits the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI). And what a great ending it was! This year Novak and her supporters have set a new record. Held at BrendaNovak.com throughout the month of May, the auction has raised a cumulative total of $1.6 million–$306,000 just this year to support the DRI’s mission to cure everyone living with diabetes. Novak’s drive to find a cure started when her son, Thad, 15, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 5.
“To think this started with the hope of raising a few thousand dollars! I can hardly believe the progress we’ve made. It’s enormously humbling and rewarding for me. I can’t thank all of my donors and shoppers enough. It’s because of their steadfast support that I know we will find a cure for Thad and so many others,” said Novak, a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author who has penned more than 40 books. Her latest small town contemporary romance series will debut in September 2012 with WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES.
This year’s auction attracted more than 6,000 bidders from across the country and from around the world, eclipsing last year’s record-setting number of 5,000. More than 1,000 authors, including Steve Berry, Barry Eisler, Eloisa James, Nicholas Sparks, Diana Gabaldon and Janet Evonovich, contributed their time, expertise or items – another personal best for Novak who reaches out to her literary colleagues for donations each year. The top five items with the highest winning bids included a Celine Dion Meet & Greet, a literary evaluation by author Daniela Rapp of St. Martin’s Press, two African safaris and tickets to artist Ceelo Green’s Las Vegas Show.
“Each May I ask myself how Brenda is going to top her performance of the previous year, and every year she delivers for the cure. I am amazed yet not surprised, given her focus and her drive. That’s why we’re proud to be her partner,” said Robert A. Pearlman, president and CEO of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.
About Brenda Novak
It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s author career. “I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then I decided that I needed to do something from home.” Now she is a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller, and many of her books have been designated an RT Book Review Magazine “Top Pick” and have gone on to place in contests such as the Romance Writers of America Rita Award, the National Readers’ Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Write Touch Readers’ Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best. Brenda has given writing workshops at various RWA events, RT Book Review Magazine conventions, California Fiction Writer meetings, women’s groups and library events. For more about Brenda, visit www.brendanovak.com, where you can find excerpts of her work, prize drawings, book trailers, freebies and information about her annual on-line auction for diabetes research which she holds every May in honor of her son and the many others who face this terrible disease.
About the Diabetes Research Institute and Foundation
The mission of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation is to provide the Diabetes Research Institute with the funding necessary to cure diabetes now. The Diabetes Research Institute leads the world in cure-focused research. As the largest and most comprehensive research center dedicated to curing diabetes, the DRI is aggressively working to shrink the timeline toward the discovery of a biological cure for this disease. Having already shown that diabetes can be reversed through islet transplantation, the DRI is building upon these promising outcomes by bridging cell-based therapies with emerging technologies. The Diabetes Research Institute was created for one reason – to cure diabetes – which is and will continue to be its singular focus until that goal is reached. For the millions of people affected by diabetes, the DRI is the best hope for a cure. For more information, call 1-800-321-3437 or visit DiabetesResearch.org.
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