At the Deskside

I've been mulling over whether to tackle this. After all, folks far more intelligent and well-read have done so. But a recent Bluesky post by fellow indie Adam Bassett got a few of us talking about it – about when and where we, as creatives, choose to (or must) be silent on current events, especially when they coincide with personal moments of joy. While this has personal relevance for me as a writer on the cusp of a debut, I think it's also something we all face as human beings. 

Thank you to everyone who reached out about Molly, whom you'll recall required surgery. She went in yesterday and everything went well! She's now home recovering, and the biggest challenge is getting her to stay still. But Mark and I aren't the only nurses -- she has two siblings to keep her company, especially as our weather down here gets colder (relatively-speaking). I've mentioned them in my 'About Me', but I thought I'd take a little time to introduce them while we're on the subject of pets.

In this entry, at the base camp of the climb toward the summit of the holidays, I want to expound on my "Indie Manifesto". I'll be talking about the dilemma of ethical consumption under capitalism, giving an insight into my personal printing costs, and offering some compromises we can all keep in mind over spend-heavy months. I hope it'll give you some food for thought.

One of my oldest guiding principles through my life has been "It may work, but does it suit?", and recently I've had reason to remember it. My newsletter subscribers already know this, but in case the news didn't reach you yet, not long after I announced the pre-launch page for my Kickstarter campaign was live, it became clear that something wasn't adding up – both practically and spiritually.

On my to-do list for a couple of weeks has been to revisit my answer to perhaps the most traditional of authorly FAQ questions: “What was the inspiration behind The Fruit of War?” It isn’t to say that the original answer isn’t accurate, but I wrote it with both brevity and levity in mind. Not everyone is interested in a longform answer, and that’s okay. If you are, however, read on!

Inaugural posts – hell, inaugural anything – is always nerve-wracking. This is for certain not my first time journaling, so to speak, nor is it my first time running a blog related to a profession. I'll be upfront and say I've not been so good with them in the past. But, I think they were victims of two key things: first, too broad or narrow of scope; and second, a self-imposed pressure to fit into a certain mold and moreover, a strict posting schedule.

This time I want to do things differently, and honestly. Here's why.