If you’re following along on any of my social media, this is old news. But it came in the midst of and on the heels of what I hope is the beginning of truly foundational change in America, where I call home. More on that later.
This may also seem like confusing news, if you remember the late March blog entry, but what was once temporary is now as permanent as the internet. I am published. The words are strange to type.
And truly, on May 31st at 1:38pm when I found out RuneBear Literary Magazine chose my 100-word drabble “Take Flight” as the winner of their Spring 2020 flash fiction contest, it felt like the wrong time to celebrate.
I’m not a voice that needs uplifting right now.
I’m white and quite privileged.
Because I feel like it’s important to say in all the places it might ever be seen: Black lives matter. Black voices matter. The world needs more Black stories, songs, dances, plays, artwork, leaders, creators, dreams. Silence on this issue is a form of violence. Racism is intolerable. It always was an injustice the majority (I) liked to pretend was sensitive and ignore with breathy nervous laughs.
Those days are over. (I hope)
Resources for petitions to sign, charities to donate to, and legislators to contact are everywhere, and I am not your best source for them. But, I will direct you to the Black Lives Matter compilation, and also a collection of Black Trans Lives matters organizations to support. As Morpheus said, I can only show you the door…
So, here I remain, in the tumult of 2020. Red pill swallowed, trying to wake up and do some good with it. And I’m published. It is a first step. The first step. There’s a whole Uniform Resource Locator (did you know that’s what URL stands for?) declaring I’m a (post) author. Weird.
If you want to read “Take Flight,” it’s linked under “Published Works.” But since you’re already here, here’s a link! There are dragons.
“What’s next?” the eager reader asks. I am still submitting short stories to literary magazines, and after participating in the Twitter pitch event #PitMad, I’m going through my finished adult fantasy manuscript one more time to polish just a little bit more. I also submitted to another writing contest, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society’s Amateur Writing Contest. That story also has dragons. But lightening can’t possibly strike twice in one year, even if that year is 2020…
I’m going to try and get this blog back onto a more weekly schedule, as time and attention allows. It’s never hard to dream up topics to write about, but if you, lovely audience, have suggestions, drop me a note in a comment, my contact form, on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Wash your hands, stay safe, educate yourself, and stand up for Black lives.
– M