- First off, fuck Columbus! Happy Indigenous People’s Day!
Good. That’s out of the way. Now…
- After years of struggle, worsening health, and homelessness, I’m happy to say me and the kiddos finally have a stable home on the East Coast! And even better, my family also has a home now on the West Coast. We are all okay!!!!!
- Even though I haven’t been writing on here much lately, you already know I’m never idle. The Cuil Press fundraiser completes in just a few days and our first book, The Bargain, will have a release date set soon. Huzzah!
- I also was the Keynote Speaker at the Embracing Sexualities event in Colorado last month, delivering a combined presentation of The Forgotten Queers and The Expanded Sexual Spectrum. It was awesome and completely worth the long recovery period (which I’m still going through).
- I have actually managed to write more in Faces in the Mirror, In the Time of Toba: Lilith, and Static in the Dryer, as well as complete the first draft manuscript for Aro Eros Arrows, the first of many to come in the Integrated (formerly Intersectional) Non-Monogamy nonfic book series. You can see advance copies and sneak peeks of those and other presentations and upcoming cuilverse books on my Patreon here or here.
- Speaking of the cuilverse, though, I do have tragic news: Around 20 – 40 of my original manuscripts that were in storage in Ohio are presumed sold, destroyed, or lost at this point. The moving company charged with delivering my sister’s children’s keepsakes, my niece’s artwork, my manuscripts and diaries – basically our very literal life’s work and memories – turned out to be a scam. At this point it’s been over a month now since they picked up our things, and I doubt we’ll ever see any of it again. If you’d like to pay reparations, help us settle into our new homes, or help us try to sue these assholes, please send funds here or here.
- But all is not lost. An extended excerpt from Static in the Dryer will be appearing in the first ever Cyber Punk Funk anthology by artist and activist Malikali Shabazz; a work that will feature comics and stories by and about marginalized queer and trans folk and POC!
- Due to changes in US law around online privacy and our Keynote Speaker, Rhizome, being abused by some Becky, Jessica and I will have to postpone the Accessible Multi-linking and Polyamory Virtual Conference by at least six months and possibly an entire year.
- Plenty other things are going on, but these are the most impactful. So, onwards to that aro vamp I never got around to properly introducing:
Character and Song #73: Jeanne
So, a while back I mentioned the hilariously awkward idea of an aromantic scaroth vampire and who should waltz through my head but Marie Delan and Riel Shancus’ lovely middle-aged daughter, Jeanne Delan? See, if you’ve forgotten, all scaroth have a built in romosexual pull. And every 150 years since the race was first created a new Sex God is selected. And a huge part of the scaroth Promise involves addressing romantic and sexual deficits in knowledge, holding people and Others accountable for maintaining balanced intimacies, and being fantastic fucking lovers.
And then you get Jeanne, whose romance-repulsed and must finally come to terms with her romantic pull and attend Riel’s Scaroth Romance Academy, where a fumble lands her into service for the Host Club. But since this isn’t Ouran High School and these aren’t teenagers, it’s one hell of a different ball game! Along with her deaf best friend, her famous parents, and some surprise cameos from other Other’s in the cuilverse, Jeanne finds out if it’s possible to uphold her Promise as a scaroth while maintaining her integrity. She may or may not find help from another aromantic scaroth, but this particular person might just crack the universe for unrelated reasons. Sounds like fun!
Jeanne’s about to delve into the possibilities beyond mere romance, and this catchy ass song, “Shattered” by The Trucks is the one she told me represents her well. I can’t wait to get to know her better and hope you can’t, either!
