Brenda Novak is the national bestselling author of 35 books with 3.5 million in print. Her latest releases THE PERFECT COUPLE, THE PERFECT LIAR, and THE PERFECT MURDER were published last summer. A new trilogy will start in August 2010.

A busy wife and mother of five, Novak, who lives in Sacramento, California, calls herself the typical "soccer mom". She juggles her writing career with daily car pools, helping her kids do homework and driving them to sports practice. She is the creator of the Online Auction for Diabetes Research which runs for the month of May.

I attended a silent auction put on by our elementary school. It was very well done, but there wasn't a great deal of support. I thought there had to be a better way than trying to get so many people under one roof all at the same time--and having to come up with a way to feed them. That's when the light bulb went on and I realized I could utilize the traffic I'd already established at my web site to build an online auction sort of like eBay.

The first year (6 years ago) was just a test market--but I ended up raising $34,000, and it was enough to tell me the idea had merit. I kept working and building it and raised $64,000 the second year. That figure went up to $120,000 the third year and $240,000 the fourth. Last year we set a record at nearly $280,000. If we have as good a year this year we'll break the $1 million mark!

The auction offers amazing one-of-a-kind opportunities for both readers and writers--and tons for everyone else, too! Readers will have the chance to bid on lunch with several huge, mega-talented authors including Catherine Coulter, Diana Gabaldon, Barry Eisler, and Emmy Award Winning News Correspondent Don Teague. They'll also be able to bid on having their name in one of my books, one of Christine Feehan's books (#1 New York Times Bestseller!), John Lescroart's next book, etc. Beyond these unique opportunities, which make really fun gifts, there will be autographed books from SO many authors, including Stephanie Meyer, Sue Monk Kidd, Patricia Cornwell, Elizabeth Gilbert (of EAT, LOVE, PRAY fame), Michael Connelly and more. In addition, there will be a plethora of gift baskets from so many fabulous authors, an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii from the one and only Jane Porter, a weekend stay in the mountains courtesy of Susan Andersen, a champagne reception donated by Sherrill Bodine, a Nook donated by K.M. Daughters, a whole category of Coach purses thanks to Anna DeStefano, a whole category of antique jewelry from Dianne Drake, a whole category of really great items from Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love and Mary Buckham--and too much more to list!

For authors, there are mentoring packages with big name authors, detailed critiques, conferences (including RT, RomCon, Write at Sea with Margie Lawson and Julia Hunter, and Heather Graham's Writers for New Orleans). There's also Lunch with Sue Grimshaw (National Romance Buyer for Borders) and over 100 reads by some of the most influential agents and editors in publishing. These agents and editors buy or represent everything from non-fiction to children to young adult to science fiction, and every major house is represented. In honor of the late Kate Duffy, we have a whole category from Kensington this year, including a Day at Kensington.

There are items for published authors, as well--publicity opportunities like MJ Rose's Authorbuzz donation and the services of many talented web designers. Although we're only in preview mode until the auction starts May 1st, there are over 1,000 items listed with more going up every day. To view these items, simply visit brendanovak.auctionanything.com

Jane Porter's items always go for a lot--because she donates really cool vacation packages and stuff. Other consistent money-makers are the agent and editor reads, lunches, phone calls. Depending on whether or not two people are fighting over the same agent or editor, some can be a bargain. But others can get pricey. Still, it's a business investment and many people see it that way. My mentoring package usually brings in quite a bit, too. But I'm changing that up this year. Instead of offering a year's mentorship package, open for bids, I'm sponsoring a contest for aspiring writers that will be judged by a panel of New York Times Bestselling Authors. After the preliminary round, I'll select the grand prize winner, who will receive six months of mentoring from me and a guaranteed read from my agent and my editor. I thought this would make it possible for those who don't have a lot of money to participate and still have a chance.

A lot of people are generous, like you are. I believe public virtue is a lot of what drives the auction's success, but self interest plays a part, too. These items are truly great opportunities. We've had one person sell her manuscript through an auction read (which turned into a contract for more than one book). We've had others connect with the ideal agent. And those who donate get great promotion value. Last year we had 20,000 unique visitors and over 450,000 page hits. We're expecting those numbers to go up again!

My son was diagnosed with Type 1 when he was 5 years old. He's been pricking his fingers and toes to test his blood 5 - 8 times a day for eight years, and changing out his pump site every three days for the past three years. This doesn't count all the insulin injections he's taken on top of the rest of his regimen. But if that was all diabetes entailed, I probably wouldn't complain. It's the fact that it's so hard to control his blood sugar even after everything he goes through that is so worrisome. Diabetes is the fifth deadliest killer. It destroys every organ in the body.

No one else in our family has diabetes. My father and my grandfather had Type 2, but only my grandfather ended up requiring shots.

Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! A lot of my experience went into that story. It was a way to cope with the constant stress I was under, having a child who was recently diagnosed. There is never any break from diabetes. Blood sugar levels can change so rapidly that you have to be constantly vigilant--or you could end up in a life-threatening situation. It's a ball and chain you have to drag around for the rest of your life (and that's if it doesn't cause worse problems).

My writing has started demanding so much of my day I have the opposite problem--preserving time for my family. It's very difficult to quit at 5:00 p.m. with constant deadlines looming. My kids are getting a bit older now, which makes them more capable of doing things for themselves, but I definitely don't want to miss out on these years so we make sure we spend lots of quality time together. My family means everything to me.

My advice is very simple: Believe!

Help Brenda make a difference in the lives of her son and millions of others like him who live with diabetes by shopping at her Sixth Annual Online Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research in May 2010. How does it work? Just like eBay—except the proceeds help accelerate progress in diabetes research.