Alternative Truths, a science fiction and fantasy anthology of political satire, was published April 26, just a few days before Donald Trump’s 100th day in office.  It shot to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list for science fiction anthologies in days.  Recently B Cubed Press, the publisher of Alternative Truths, paid their first royalty check.  One check, larger than the rest, went to the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU).

On July 6, 2017 three representatives of B Cubed Press, Karen Anderson, Blaze Ward, and Janka Hobbs presented the first of many checks to the American Civil Liberty Union of Washington.

The money is part of a commitment to set aside a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Alternative Truths, an anthology that looks at the America that might be if the current political path continues unabated. On hand to receive the check was Caitlin Lombardi, Community Relations Director at the ACLU of Washington.

The following text accompanied the donation.

In 1953, a nation was reeling from the unapologetic assault on free speech from the likes of Joseph McCarthy.  In answer came the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  It is in this dystopian future where books are outlawed and firemen burn what books are reported, that we saw reflections of evil.

It was this world that we, who grew up in an America where freedom of the Press was sacred and the idea of burning books brought visions of storm troopers, could fear, but never imagine.

But oh, what changes a lifetime brings.  Ray Bradbury has left us and we live now in a world never envisioned as possible, where the President and his supporters regularly assault free speech and seek to limit the constitutionally mandated freedom of the press.  Where he stands at the podium and denounces the freedoms many of us served at home and abroad to protect.

Editor/Publisher Bob Brown, showing off copies of “Alternative Truths.” [Photo by Cheyenne Brown Ockerman]

We said NO!We did what we could do in opposition to tyranny.

We wrote in the spirit of Thomas Paine.  In the spirit of free speech, we wrote.  And so was born Alternative Truths.

When we collectively decided to set aside a generous portion of the proceeds to the ACLU, we had no idea of the symbolic nature of the amount.  But today we presented the representatives of this staunch defender of our freedoms with the first installment of $451 – a symbolic number if ever there was one.

We made this decision jointly and freely because without the ACLU, it could be books like ours piled in the public square awaiting the match.

Without the ACLU, we could find that the freedom to express our views suppressed and denied.

So in the memory of Ray Bradbury, we stand against the stigma of the modern versions of McCarthy and those that would silence.  And we will continue to stand.

Thanks goes out to each and every writer, editor, and artist involved in B Cubed and Alternative Truths as we stand united in the name of Freedom.  True freedom that comes from making your ideas known, of speaking truth to power, and the ability to do so openly. And as the ACLU has been in the forefront of the fight for, among other things, freedom of expression for nearly a century, we who are listed below support them as we freely express ourselves in fiction to the current crisis in American life.

Adam-Troy Castro Alexander James Adams Blaze Ward Vonda McIntyre Bob Brown Bruno Lombardi Cheyenne Summer Brown Daniel M. Kimmel David Steele Diana Hauer Vonda McIntyre Gregg Chamberlain Irene Radford Janka Hobbs Jim Wright Joel Ewy

Karen G. Anderson Ken Staley Larry Hodges Liam Hogan Louse Marley Marleen S. Barr Paula Hammond Rebecca McFarland Kyle Rick Dunham Sara Codair Susan Murrie Macdonald Victor D Phillips Wondra Vanian Bobby Lee Featherston Susan Omberg-Carro

(Caitlin Lombardi of the ACLU is no relation to Canadian author Bruno Lombardi.)

Should you have any questions or desire a review copy of the book, please contact Bob Brown, owner of B Cubed Press, at Kionadad@aol.com.