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Writing. Life.
Nov. 22nd, 2022 11:02 amLife continues with its peaks and ravines. My grandmother has been put in a longterm care facility. She's somehow still alive despite declining from what was already precarious health. She's been dying since the 1980s, and is no longer physically or mentally capable of caring for herself. She has dementia, and is certain she was put into a home in order for Mom to steal the house and car and such. Poor Mom. That's a lot to deal with. My grandmother has never been kind to my mother. Well, maybe she was nice to her when she was a baby, but probably not for very long. My grandmother has always been mean.
I sent her a card when she was first put into a home, but then she was moved to another facility and I don't know if the card will get forwarded. I'm a writer, and what I wrote on the card was short, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever penned. I don't want to cast recriminations on a scared, dying elder, even if she is cruel. How could I point fingers to someone on their deathbed? Even awful people need some kindness.
On the good news side, I recently found out I won a writing scholarship. I just can't announce which one until the other applicants have been contacted. Since I apply for a lot of scholarships, I don't think I'm giving too much away here by saying this little bit. I honestly didn't think I'd get it, but I applied for it anyway just to practice doing applications. I write genre fiction, and these sorts of awards typically go to writers of literary fiction. Apparently, my manuscript won out over an international pool of authors. Let this be a lesson to all y'all and to me, too. Even if we don't think we qualify, give it a shot.
Have I even told you what I'm even working on? Here's a snippet from a practice query letter:
Of course, I'm not actually 100,000 words in yet. But I am over 40,000 words in, and I'm still going strong. My alpha readers are loving it, and I even have an ending I'm working towards. I'm improvising my way there as a discovery writer/pantser.
Here's the funny thing: my book is basically a literary dick joke. Enki is a fertility god who works his magic with an oversized tallywhacker.
Last week, I also had two poems (which are not literary dick jokes) accepted by Green Linden Press. They will be appearing in Under a Warm Green Linden Issue 14: Indigenous Ecopoetry. I believe it will be launching online on December 21.
Here's my performance of my recently-written personal essay "Monsters". Many thanks to MT Space's Arts Exchange program for the support and videography. Content Warning: contains mention of child abuse and elder abuse.
I am still avoiding my Instagram account because of being falsely accused of being a pretendian. I locked the account down and blocked the person who was harassing me. Maybe I'll reclaim it in the new year. I hate that I have been driven away from my social media by the effects of colonization. I need to have some sort of social media presence as a professional artist and writer, but I don't want to deal with being targeted in yet another witch hunt just yet. This isn't my first witch hunt, but it is my first witch hunt of the millennium.
I sent her a card when she was first put into a home, but then she was moved to another facility and I don't know if the card will get forwarded. I'm a writer, and what I wrote on the card was short, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever penned. I don't want to cast recriminations on a scared, dying elder, even if she is cruel. How could I point fingers to someone on their deathbed? Even awful people need some kindness.
On the good news side, I recently found out I won a writing scholarship. I just can't announce which one until the other applicants have been contacted. Since I apply for a lot of scholarships, I don't think I'm giving too much away here by saying this little bit. I honestly didn't think I'd get it, but I applied for it anyway just to practice doing applications. I write genre fiction, and these sorts of awards typically go to writers of literary fiction. Apparently, my manuscript won out over an international pool of authors. Let this be a lesson to all y'all and to me, too. Even if we don't think we qualify, give it a shot.
Have I even told you what I'm even working on? Here's a snippet from a practice query letter:
Sales Handle: Enki, the god of water, has it pretty good until he finds out God expects him to bring about the Great Flood and end all life on earth. Good thing he has a workaround.
THE EVERWHEN is a 100,000-word epic Slipstream fantasy with the sacrilicious irreverence of GOOD OMENS and the syncretic world-building of SANDMAN.
When the Garden of Eden is put up on blocks and a newborn earth is placed under the control of men, God calls it a day. While He sleeps, the world follows His orders by going forth and multiplying. This results in a burgeoning population of strange and noisy creatures, including the Nephilim. Racing toward a preordained ecological disaster, Nephilim, angels, mortals, and the planet itself must find a way to outwit God and survive the inevitable Great Flood.
THE EVERWHEN is a timeless cli-fi story with a foundation in Bible stories, mythology, pop culture, occultism, and western science.
I am a multidisciplinary artist, playwright, poet, and swamp hag who was raised in an apocalyptic cult while living on the land and off the grid. I grew up to major in mythology, manage a comic shop, and get really, really good at climbing ropes. When I’m not writing, I’m chilling with my chinchillas or getting filthy in the woods. A recent graduate of the Writers’ Studio at Simon Fraser University and the LET(s) Lead Academy at Yale University, my writing is in AUGUR, FEMINIST STUDIES JOURNAL, PRAIRIE FIRE, and YELLOW MEDICINE REVIEW.
THE EVERWHEN is my debut novel and has series potential.
Of course, I'm not actually 100,000 words in yet. But I am over 40,000 words in, and I'm still going strong. My alpha readers are loving it, and I even have an ending I'm working towards. I'm improvising my way there as a discovery writer/pantser.
Here's the funny thing: my book is basically a literary dick joke. Enki is a fertility god who works his magic with an oversized tallywhacker.
Last week, I also had two poems (which are not literary dick jokes) accepted by Green Linden Press. They will be appearing in Under a Warm Green Linden Issue 14: Indigenous Ecopoetry. I believe it will be launching online on December 21.
Here's my performance of my recently-written personal essay "Monsters". Many thanks to MT Space's Arts Exchange program for the support and videography. Content Warning: contains mention of child abuse and elder abuse.
I am still avoiding my Instagram account because of being falsely accused of being a pretendian. I locked the account down and blocked the person who was harassing me. Maybe I'll reclaim it in the new year. I hate that I have been driven away from my social media by the effects of colonization. I need to have some sort of social media presence as a professional artist and writer, but I don't want to deal with being targeted in yet another witch hunt just yet. This isn't my first witch hunt, but it is my first witch hunt of the millennium.
