The First Amendment Project is an organization that, among other things, provides funds for the legal representation for individuals litigating over First Amendment issues, people such as reporters. As writers, the First Amendment should be important to all of us, because it prevents censorship, keeps books from being pulled out of public libraries and public schools, and keeps the media on its toes to report the truth without fear of being sued or incarcerated.

As part of a fundraising effort, the FAP is hosting an auction on Ebay where writers are selling the naming of a character in an upcoming book. Books include novels, graphic novels, and there is even an auction to name a character in the Showtime series, "Weeds." All proceeds benefit the FAP, and the writers do not receive any compensation.

I am auctioning off the naming of a character in Jambalaya Justice, which will be released in 2011 by Oak Tree Press. I am also including a signed copy of the book, and either a phone call, or free drinks at my bar in the metro New Orleans area with me and a real-life character from the first book, Gumbo Justice, who also appears in Jambalaya Justice, Big Who. The Big Who in the books owns a pawnshop and a strip club, the real life guy used to work in a pawn shop and owns part of the bar with me, but other than that he is the character.

Bids start at $100.00, and the auction runs until December 20, 2010. While I know the price is steep, the cause is good, and if you have any plans to be in the N.O. area in the next year, you can certainly balance out what you spent with the free drinks you'll get. Not to mention you get to pick between six characters to name, three women and three men, depending upon what type of character you want to be.

For those of you less inclined to want to name a character in a published mystery novel, there is also a childrens' book author who is auctioning off the naming of a character, which is a sweet idea if your child wants to be a character in a book.

The link for all the auctions is First Amendment Character Name Auction Some of the author's auctions end in a day, the rest last until the 20th. Phillip Margolin is arguably the best known author in the auction, but you may recognize others.