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   AUCTION BEGINS MAY 2 – 9:30 PM EST – ENDS MAY 11!Give the Greatest Mother’s Day Gift Ever! Bid on a once-in-a-lifetime Mother’s Day Celebration Luncheon with bestselling mother-daughter authors Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. Carol & Mary invite the winning bidder and three guests to an elegant luncheon at the famous Four Seasons Hotel in New York City on a mutually agreeable date. The luncheon will be held at the popular 57 restaurant at the The Fours Seasons Hotel in New York City. Set on the east side of the grandly inspiring I.M. Pei-designed lobby on West 57th Street, 57 presents a very special dining experience. The stylish American menu features culinary specialties from the U.S. Northeast and other regions. This is a perfect Mother’s Day gift! Present your gift to Mother on Mother’s Day, and schedule the luncheon later without taking Mom away from the family on that special day. You donation will help enhance literacy for families in Florida through the Florida Family Literacy Initiative. For more information on this initiative, click here.  About the Authors MARY HIGGINS CLARK Mary Higgins Clark’s books are worldwide bestsellers. In the U.S. alone, her books have sold over 85 million copies. Her next suspense novel, I Heard That Song Before, will be released by Simon & Schuster on April 3, along with her first children’s book, Ghost Ship, illustrated by Wendell Minor, a Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Mary Higgins Clark’s fame as a writer was achieved against heavy odds. Born and raised in the Bronx, her father died when she was 11 and her mother struggled to raise her and her two brothers. On graduating from high school, she went to secretarial school so she could get a job and help the family. After three years of working in an advertising agency, travel fever seized her. For the year 1949, she was a stewardess on Pan American Airlines’ international flights. “My run was Europe, Africa and Asia,” she recalls. “I was in a revolution in Syria and on the last flight into Czechoslovakia before the Iron Curtain went down.” After flying for a year, she married a neighbor, Warren Clark, nine years her senior, whom she had known since she was 16. Soon after her marriage, she started writing short stories, finally selling her first to Extension Magazine in 1956 for $100. Left a young widow by the death of her husband from a heart attack in 1964, Mary Higgins Clark went to work writing radio scripts and, in addition, decided to try her hand at writing books. Every morning, she got up at 5 AM and wrote until 7 AM, when she had to get her five children ready for school. Her very first book was a biographical novel about George Washington, inspired by a radio series she was writing, “Portrait of a Patriot.” Originally published in 1969 by Meredith Press with the title Aspire to the Heavens, it was discovered years later by a Washington family member and re-issued in 2002 with the title, Mount Vernon Love Story. Mary Higgins Clark’s first suspense novel, Where Are the Children? was published by Simon & Schuster in 1975 and became a best seller. In 1996, Mary Higgins Clark married John Conheeney, the retired Chairman and CEO of Merrill-Lynch Futures. They live in Saddle River, New Jersey. Between them, they have seventeen grandchildren – Mary’s six and John’s eleven. She is the author of 25 suspense novels, including No Place Like Home (2005) and Two Little Girls in Blue (2006). She also is the author of three collections of short stories, The Anastasia Syndrome & Other Stories (1989), The Lottery Winner: Alvirah & Willy Stories (1994) and My Gal Sunday: Henry and Sunday Stories (1996). She is co-author, with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, of four holiday suspense novels Deck the Halls (2000), He Sees You When You're Sleeping (2001), The Christmas Thief (2004) and Santa Cruise (2006). Two of her novels were made into feature films, Where Are the Children? and A Stranger Is Watching. Many of her other works, novels and short stories, were made into television films. CAROL HIGGINS CLARK Carol Higgins Clark’s next suspense novel, Laced: A Regan Reilly Mystery, will be published by Scribner on April 17. She is the author of nine previous bestselling Regan Reilly mysteries, Decked, nominated as Best First Novel for both the Agatha and Anthony Awards, Snagged, Iced and Twanged, published by Warner Books and Fleeced, Jinxed, Popped, Burned and Hitched, published by Scribner. She is the daughter of America's # 1 bestselling suspense writer, Mary Higgins Clark. They have co-authored four bestselling holiday suspense novels. Carol Higgins Clark, jointly with Mary Higgins Clark, received the University of Scranton's Distinguished Author Award in September 2000. She has recorded several works by Mary Higgins Clark, including the novels, The Cradle Will Fall, A Cry in the Night, All Through the Night and the stories, Death on the Cape, That's the Ticket, Voices in the Coal Bin and The Body in the Closet. She has also recorded her own novels, Snagged, Iced, Twanged, Fleeced, Jinxed, Popped, Burned, Hitched and Laced. She received AudioFile’s Earphones Award of Excellence for her reading of Jinxed. She has also recorded the four holiday suspense novels co-authored with Mary Higgins Clark. Born in New York, Carol Higgins Clark obtained her B.A. from Mt. Holyoke College. She then studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. She starred in Who Killed Amy Lang?, a mini-mystery aired on "Good Morning, America" and performed in New York's Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) in Wendy Wasserstein's play, Uncommon Women and Others, produced as part of the 21st Century Playwrights Festival. She was the lead in the film, A Cry in the Night, based on the novel by Mary Higgins Clark. The film was shown at the Cannes TV Festival and the Montreal Film Festival and nationally on U.S. television. Carol Higgins Clark lives in New York City. Auction Rules & Payment Terms The GreatestGiftAuction benefits the Volunteer Florida Foundation which manages the Family Literacy Initiative helping Florida’s families read together. All of the bidding takes place on ebay, eBay terms and conditions govern this auction. Bidding is open to U.S. residents over the age of 18. Winning bidders must agree to the following GreatestGiftAuction online auction terms as follows: TERMS OF SALE All of the authors featured in the auction have generously donated an hour of their time and an experience for the winning bidder. Each author has agreed to provide an opportunity for a photograph and autograph, but the winning bidder must provide his or her own camera and/or materials to be autographed. The winning bidder may not bring guests to the experience unless otherwise specified. Authors may elect to be accompanied by an employee or other representative. PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS All Sales Final - Refunds will not be granted for any reason, other than those contained within the Volunteer Florida Foundation auction rules. Winning bidders must pay by PayPal or cashier's check made out to Volunteer Florida Foundation within three (3) business days of the close of the auction. Cashier's checks must be sent to: Volunteer Florida Foundation 401 South Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 Attn: Tracey Van Hook If payment in full is not received within three (3) days of the close of the auction, the winning bidder forfeits the item and Volunteer Florida Foundation reserves the right to make the item available to under-bidders. IMPORTANT: All of our auction items have been successfully purchased by the winning bidder so far. However, if this auction item is made available to under-bidders, an e-mail will be sent to you ONLY from tracey.vanhook@vfffund.org. Be aware of fraudulent e-mails pretending to offer this item. If you receive an e-mail and are unsure - please call Tracey Van Hook at 850-410-0696. Payment questions? Contact Tracey Van Hook at tracey.vanhook@vfffund.org or call 850-410-0696. BACKGROUND CHECK The delivery of an experience package is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check of the winning bidder (or the person for whom the winner purchased the package) to the author’s satisfaction and at the author's sole discretion. This background check consists of a social security number verification and a criminal records search on the county, state and federal levels. The winning bidder agrees to provide any information requested to perform the background check, and to sign a release form authorizing the background check. Once a release form has been received by the Volunteer Florida Foundation, the gift package is NOT transferable to another person. If your background check is not approved by the Author, you will receive a refund. This refund will consist of the total transaction cost minus the cost of the background check, and minus any bank processing fees associated with your payment method. SCHEDULING Unless otherwise stated in the item description, the redemption period for each experience is nine months. Authors will provide as many date options as possible and winning bidders must be available for one of those dates. Authors may reschedule for any or no reason, including, without limitation, for illness, injury, emergencies, scheduling conflicts, or other obligations or commitments. The winning bidder agrees to adjust his or her schedule accordingly. In the event that the Author does not provide any dates by the close of the fifth month following the auction, the winning bidder must notify the Volunteer Florida Foundation. The winning bidder is not entitled to a refund if the experience cannot be redeemed within the nine month redemption period. SUBSTITUTION The participating author may substitute any part of their commitment, including themselves, for any or no reason, provided the substitution is comparable and of equal or greater value. For example, if an experience was to be dinner for four in Sarasota, FL another, similar venue may be substituted. GIFTS If the experience package is purchased as a gift for someone else, the Volunteer Florida Foundation must be provided with pertinent information about the recipient so that the background check can be performed. If the experience was purchased for a minor, an adult must chaperone the recipient and agree to be responsible for proper conduct during the experience. The adult must also agree to submit to a background check. Any additional costs that are incurred (additional background check, other costs associated with an additional person during the experience, etc.) are the responsibility of the adult who purchased the experience. CODE OF CONDUCT The winning bidder is expected to conduct himself or herself with proper decorum during the experience. TRAVEL Unless otherwise stated in the item description, travel to and from the experience is not included. RESALE The GreatestGiftAuction is a fundraiser, and participating Authors have agreed to donate their time for the benefit of the programs within the Volunteer Florida Foundation. In this spirit of philanthropy, winning bidders may not resell or remarket their experience - whether or not for profit. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, THE VOLUNTEER FLORIDA FOUNDATION AND THE AUTHOR DO NOT MAKE, AND HEREBY SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM, ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. Auction Alumni
Volunteer Florida Foundation Headquarters
401 S. Monroe St. * Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Tel: 850-410-0696 * www.volunteerfloridafoundation.org eBay and the eBaylogo are registered trademarks of eBay Inc. |
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