I don’t need to get into the details of the ways politics have played a role in the stress of 2017; we’ve all suffered from it. I’m black and queer and hella broke, so you know the score. On top of that, as I wrote over the summer, my father passed. And then another close family member passed. And then ANOTHER got sick. So on a personal level, the fight was to not drown in it all. Misery and anger kind of seeps in for me and turns me into molasses. Slow and sticky and not going anywhere.
But when I look back at the year I’m blown away by how much I’ve actually accomplished. On a writing level, I’d definitely wager I’ve done more this year than I ever have.
I wrote “The Last Exorcist” and FIYAH published it. That’s the biggest of my achievements. It’s the first story that anyone’s paid me for, and it’s one of the stories I’m proudest of. I’ll write more about it soon, but I approached that story different than I have in the past. I was more political. I was strident about the kind of narrator that I wanted to create. Most importantly, I wrote my blackness onto the page in a way I hope continues to resonant with people.
“The Last Exorcist” managed to end up on the Nebula Reading List. I screamed when I found out. I still wibble about it, realizing that more than one person has read it. That when people have talked to me about the parts that stayed with them, it’s the parts I’m proudest of.
I’m editing more and more, both comics and prose. In the upcoming year, I’ve got three projects that I’m editing, and two possible projects. One of my goals in 2018 is to seek out more avenues to learn and grow as an editor.
I’ve got shorties in the works! (Yes, I’m calling my short stories “shorties,” and you should be glad I’m not calling them shawties.) Three, at last count, and my goal is to submit at least TWO of them to a few markets.
And Hood Magic…boy, I’ve been bad about my schedule for editing, and that’s gotta change. I’m hoping to get a lot of work done before the end of the year, and then work on polish. Pray for me, y’all.
There’s another project that’s on the horizon, but I don’t want to chat too much about that yet. Can’t jinx it. I’ll tell you more when I know more 😀
Anyway, the final goal is that you will hear from me more in the new year! I’ll have a lot more to say and share.
Hope you’re as excited as I am!