🍯🌺 On choosing humanity over sides...

Hey there, book lover,

I've always worked to keep this space focused on books, on storytelling, and on the community we build around them. I've been processing the events of the last week on my personal profiles and hadn't planned to bring it here.

But after reading some of the absolute venom being directed from one human to another, even within my own creative communities, I feel I have to say something.

Staying silent now feels like a betrayal of the very values I try to explore in my writing.

🐝 TLDR: THE IMPORTANT STUFF

• DIFFICULT TOPICS: Sometimes we have to speak up about humanity
• CHORD OF WAR: Still delayed but working on it
• HUBBY UPDATE: Recovery progressing, surgery TBD
• GRATITUDE: For this community that chooses kindness

🫖 THE FULL STORY

ON CHOOSING HUMANITY

I want to start by acknowledging the fear that is so palpable right now. I truly believe that much of the anger and outrage we're seeing comes from a genuine, deep-seated fear that rights and lives are under attack.

That fear is valid, and it deserves to be seen and heard.

I also see people being condemned for speaking on one tragedy but not another. We need to be gentle with each other about this. The human heart was not designed to carry the weight of every horror in the world, all at once.

What resonates with one person and moves them to speak may be different from another's. Choosing to process one loss doesn't mean you are callous to others; it means you are a human being grappling with horrific things in the only way you know how.

As a storyteller, I am deeply committed to the belief that human beings are messy, complicated, and more than the sum of their worst opinions. My job is to find the humanity in my characters, even in their flaws.

And I simply cannot reconcile that professional and personal ethic with the idea that any person can be flattened into a caricature so completely that their murder becomes a reason to celebrate or a tragedy we should ignore.

Choosing to mourn a tragic loss of life is not a political endorsement.

It is an act of basic human decency.

Refusing to dance on someone's grave is not a betrayal of your principles; it is a defense of your own soul.

I know this position is not the popular one in many circles right now, and for some, it may even feel like a threat. But as a writer, I have to believe that ideas should be met with better ideas, not with violence.

The real danger we face as a society is the growing belief that there is no room for debate, only "sides".

When we decide that a person's words make them a monster unworthy of life, we have stopped inviting curiosity and dialogue and started writing obituaries.

BRIEF UPDATES

Chord of War: Still working on it. The delays are frustrating for both of us, but I'm committed to getting Sean and Jade's story right rather than rushed. You can still pick up the preorder here: Chord of War & Love​

Family: Hubby's recovery is progressing. Surgery is still yet to be scheduled, and we're taking things one day at a time.

Writing: Some weeks are harder than others, but I'm still here, still believing in the power of stories to help us understand each other better.

GRATITUDE

Thank you for being a community that chooses thoughtfulness over outrage, kindness over cruelty, and humanity over sides. In a world that often feels like it's forgetting how to listen to each other, you give me hope.

CELEBRATING THE LIGHT

In the midst of processing difficult things, I don't want to forget to celebrate the good stuff that's still happening around us.

My fellow indie author friend Erin Fitzgerald has a new release this week, and she's one of those lovely humans who reminds me why I love this community so much. If you love:

Definitely take some time to check out her latest, The Wages of Silence.

Supporting fellow authors who create with kindness and integrity feels especially important right now. The best response to darkness is to amplify the light.

With love and respect,