Happy Thanksgiving! And how can you be jaded if your a published author?

This is actually a post I wrote months ago and re-wrote it. And re-wrote it again. I kept wondering if I should post it, because these questions came from friends who I don’t want to embarrass. Today I decided too, because it fits with the ideas of Thanksgiving so well.  Also it answers a question about Other Systems that I got just on Tuesday. Talk about a blog post!

How can you be jaded, you’re a published author? 

Short answer: Being an author has nothing to do with how I feel towards the political machine in the United States. I am jaded due to the fact it seems American society cannot see beyond someone’s personal wealth and US based corporation’s can’t see beyond their profit margins.

But you cannot jaded, not only do you give your heart/time/cookies away so freely and besides you’re an author!

Once again this has nothing to do with being an author. This has nothing to do with giving my heart to my friends generally in the form of cookies and helping people. 

The reason I refer to myself as jaded is

• I don’t believe you can change anyone’s mind with logical discourse and arguments.
• People are constantly finding new ways to be cruel to each other.

Idealist believe they can change the world.  And I want you idealists to be right. I really do. I want to change the world for the better. However until we decide all humans are equal and worthy of respect, I don’t see it changing.

In the US, we can’t decide if it would be a good idea to feed poor people, to give everyone access to medical care. But those are big issues, maybe that seems like they are too big to solve. 

All right so let’s look at a small issue.  Revenge porn.  I just heard about that. The abuser stop seeing the victim as another human being and goes after them by putting scandalous pictures on the internet. Does anyone see that this solves any problem? Does anyone think its right? Hint: if you ever think it would be fun to destroy another person’s life or livelihood, because they may or may not have wronged you–you are the problem.  

To me, whether we feed the poor and give everyone medical care or stop finding new ways to be cruel  can only be solved one way: we must stop looking at other people as “the enemy” or “the other” ; we need to treat everyone with respect and kindness.  

On Tuesday, someone asked me Why in 1000 years did humans not evolve to solve the world’s problems?

Since this was another author the first part of my explanations had to do with writing and mirroring societies problems. Then he began to challenge me by asking questions such as What about Norway?  I admit I got frustrated because I find these types of discussions pointless. One of my low points was when I asked him, Do we live on the same planet? I was not going to change his mind, and he was not going to change mine. More to the point, the book is written and published. Nothing he says, is going to change that.

Here is what I wish I said: The reason Other Systems is based in a cruel universe is because the true antagonists of the series is ignorance, fear and poverty. I needed to show the effects of such an antagonist.  

On Earth, we slide backwards in regards to  the distribution of wealth, healthcare, and technology. On Kipos, they moved forward in technology, but slid backwards in regards to personal freedoms. As I have said the series will not have direct sequels, but companion novels. The upcoming The Light Side of the Moon will explain the past and show what happened on Earth after the Kiposi left with the colonists following the point of view of an impoverished girl named Ellie Sethdottier.

Book 3 (still untitled) will explain the past and show what happen on Kipos following Orchid and Jin’s point of view and will hint at the future for both Abby and Rover.

In my mind, there is hope in all the books. There are pockets of goodness.

Maybe, I wrote it dystopic because in my heart, I am jaded. I don’t know. Faminelands is also dark, but Out for Souls&Cookies is a comedy piece. I write what I think is interesting. I find ways to make it more interesting.

HOWEVER, there are two aspects of my life that I am not jaded.

1) my marriage. Anyone who is my friend or my reader knows about that, so I won’t go into it here. 

2) my work.

Do you know how thankful I am that I was able to write such a book and not be arrested or harmed in any way. So far the book hasn’t even been banned though it has cursing, forced sterilization programs, forced breeding and tons of questionable content.   

I am thankful for every person that gave me a chance and read my book, I am thankful for every review. I am so thankful that I can work fulltime as an author and artist. I love the work. 

I’m thankful for the authors that came before me who wrote feminist/humanist science fiction with a dystopian bent. For example: Margret Atwood’s The Handmaiden’s Tale,  Joe Halderman’s Forever War  and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World are huge inspirations. I am thankful for my author buddies who try to support me whether they liked the book or not.

I love every review, but I really loved it when someone said they were challenged to learn something. Just in case, I was not clear about Tuesday’s commentary: I got frustrated, but I’m glad my author buddy challenged my preconceived notions of what this book is about.  Feedback, even negative feedback, is important for authors to hear. I wrote Other Systems, but the moment I gave it to the world, it is now yours. Some will love, some will hate it, some will say “meh,” but its yours now.

I hope that makes sense and answers people’s questions.

Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving if you are in the US and have a safe and wonderful November 28th if you somewhere else!