Creation as an act of defiance

Or, I Picked a Hell of a Year to Start Writing Queer Romance

I’ve caved to “doom scrolling” on social media a couple of times today, and so far I’ve seen two posts by author friends announcing that they will be taking an indefinite hiatus from writing. One is a romance author living in a red state who must now dedicate their energy to protecting their safety. One is a horror author who no longer feels their fiction can ever be scarier than the real world. I respect and support both of these decisions, and I wonder how many similar posts from other authors I missed.

In one of my favorite films of all time, Independence Day, a crop-duster pilot jokes that he picked a hell of a day to quit drinking as he volunteers, for the sake of his loved ones, to fly a military fighter aircraft against a terrifying and seemingly impossible foe.

I feel similarly about 2024 and my decision to start self-publishing queer romance novels. By this time next year, there’s now a significant chance that queer content, romance or otherwise, will be banned on the various platforms that I use to produce and advertise my books. My identity as an author, which I’ve had since my first book was released in 2015, has never felt more tenuous.

I’m also an author who is a woman. One who is queer-ish, Jew-ish, and neurodivergent. Today’s election results have only reinforced that these other facets of my identity mean I am a second-class citizen in my own country.

However, I am also a white-presenting cisgender woman in a heterosexual relationship, living in a blue state. My spouse and I took steps years ago to ensure our long-term control over my reproductive health. Our finances do not rely on my writing income.

Thanks to these levels of privilege, and in honor of the authors in my community who are unable to, I can only vow to keep writing. Keep creating. Keep telling and sharing stories of love and hope in a world that has not only often turned a blind eye to those who inspire my stories, but now also actively threatens rights, safety, and very existence.

When existence is resistance, creation is an act of defiance.