Swati Avasthi, the MN author of Split, has just embarked on a unique blog tour. During the month of October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Swati is going to be traveling around the Internet talking about how she wrote her novel, sharing scenes that didn’t make the book, and offering writing tips. Follow the blog tour here.

But more than a blog tour promoting a book, this is also a fundraising effort. Swati has vowed to offer $1 for every comment people leave on the posts throughout her blog tour. Plus she has set up an amazing auction that should delight writers and readers alike. You can bid on critiques from authors, editors, and agents as well as signed copies of a bunch of young adult books. I’ve got my eye on this Alison McGhee and Kate DiCamillo number.

You can find all the details about commenting and the auction on Swati’s blog. As a someone who survived growing up in a violent household, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to support the prevention of domestic violence. If you can’t afford to buy anything in the auction at least leave a comment. Consider it your good deed for the day (oh, and we’ll be reminding you every day, with a nice banner at the bottom of all MN Read posts for the month of October).