ZIGGY's MILLION DOLLAR LIVESTRONG CHALLENGE

Cleveland, OH - (January 1, 2010) - Tom Wilson, author of Zig-Zagging, has teamed up with Lance Armstrong's foundation, LIVESTRONG, to help in the fight against cancer.

It is HCI Books’ pleasure to have assisted Tom in such a noble and inspirational cause. Please help rid the world of this disease that has torn apart so many families by participating in Ziggy's Million Dollar LIVESTRONG Challenge and ask your friends and family to join you.

Dear Friends,
My wife, Susan Shephard Wilson, died in my arms on November 18, 2000. She was forty-four years old. From the moment she was diagnosed with Stage 3b invasive breast cancer, Susan, who had always been my strength, began to teach me what it truly means to LIVESTRONG.

"From the first day we discovered this arch villain called cancer had struck at the very heart of our life together, I witnessed the one constant in my life, my beautiful, sweet, gentle "Tweety Bird" become a hawk so fierce that General Patton himself would have saluted her. Susan went into battle with more strength and courage than any fictional superhero could possibly muster..."

Zig-Zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly...How Ziggy Saved My Life, came from the journaling I did in an effort to make sense for myself of the seven years my family battled the consuming, insidious disease that is cancer. The decision to publish the raw, emotional, and painful story of our personal war against cancer and my personal struggle against the crippling grief, was in the hope that telling it might bring comfort to someone else struggling along a similar path of cancer diagnosis.

When I recently had the opportunity to meet with the staff at the LIVESTRONG Headquarters in Austin, Texas, I saw an extraordinary chance to allow this terrible tragedy in my family's life to do something truly positive for fellow survivors and co-survivors.

ZIGGY's MILLION DOLLAR LIVESTRONG CHALLENGE is OUR opportunity to come together to make a real difference!  Through this campaign starting November 18, the anniversary of Susan's death, to January 19, her birthday, I am donating 100% of my personal royalties to LIVESTRONG, and coupled with the HCI affiliate program, that averages out to roughly $4.50 from every purchase of Zig-Zagging to the LIVESTRONG organization when ordered from this link. My HOPE is that together we will raise a MILLION dollars (or more!)for LIVESTRONG over the next two months!

With love,
Tom Wilson
...and Ziggy

“I often say cancer touches everyone, but knowing that even Ziggy is a foot soldier in this fight really puts it in perspective.  I highly recommend Zig-Zagging for anyone dealing with the devastating loss of a loved one or in need of inspiration from an unlikely source.” – Doug Ulman, LIVESTRONG President & CEO

About the Author:
Tom Wilson is the author of the phenomenally popular cartoon Ziggy, which is syndicated internationally in more than 600 newspapers. As President of Ziggy and Friends, Inc., and founder of Character Matters (www.charactermatters.net),Wilson has worked extensively with national organizations, non-profits, and corporations. A frequent speaker, branding consultant, artist, and father of two, Tom continues to write.