I've written a LOT of horny idiocy this year.

It'll be really nice when the books start coming out next year and I can actually share it with people!

That luck played a huge part

So. Yeah

Fuck the capitalists, UBI for artists will make life so much better for everyone

Ramble over

I'm really happy with where I've gotten to and really proud of myself for how much I've learned and grown as a writer these past few years, after only writing my first romance novel in 2023. (Tho I've been writing professionally for 15+ years)

But it feels disingenuous to not acknowledge...

I know a lot of indie authors value having control over their marketing

Personally, I find marketing my own stuff soul crushing

So being able to say "that's someone else's problem" frees up so much brain space

So many trans authors NEVER find publishers simply because they're writing trans books

I was also TREMENDOUSLY lucky to find a publisher after only 65 or so rejections.

Which means it's easier to just sit down and WRITE without feeling guilty that I haven't been doing enough marketing, or meaning to write and then spending my whole time doing marketing tasks

Have we had to make sacrifices? You bet! It's been stressful! Esp. with more than $10k in out of pocket medical bills this year! (And that's in the glorious republic of soviet Canuckistan no less)

But still. Being able to write full time is the only thing that made 230k words in 11 months possible

(Sidebar: It's bananas living in a universe where being a romance writer is a better economic prospect than finding content marketing work. So much for my two fucking degrees)

So I said "fuck it, guess I'm a full time writer now"

I am very blessed to have a partner who makes enough money that we can limp along on one income

In 2024, I applied for 160 jobs and had six interviews and maybe only 3 of those jobs were real. I gave up bc I'm not going to find a marketing job until after the AI bubble bursts

BEARS BEARS BEARS BEARS

SO frustrating.

And it makes me mad because SURELY there have to be lots of other Olds with plantar fasciitis and cold feet in fucking CANADA

I just want to be able to go to a store that SHOULD sell a common sense item and BUY THAT THING without spending a month looking for something and giving up and going to Zon

I'm 43, which means arch support is now a thing I have to care about, and I live in fucking Canada. Socks are not sufficient for foot warmth this time of year.

And yet did any of the 5 stores I went to have slippers with arch support in stock? NO.

I just want these gay idiots to fuck

(props to all the folks out there who celebrate Trans Buy Me A Pizza Day. Godspeed, trans besties)

Every year since coming out I vaguely think 'I should promote some of my shit and guilt cis people into buying my trans books and games', and every year I... don't.

Mostly because how I observe TDOR is by 1) living my life 2) not engaging with or thinking about cis straight people