****Possible Trigger Warnings Ahead.****

I’ve debated for months on whether or not I should share this news with anyone.

Given the topic of my next standalone novel is rather controversial for some, and my viewpoints will make many angry, I wasn’t sure how to share this or what I would say to those who I may upset.

But at this point, I don’t particularly care what anyone thinks of my opinions and I’ve decided to give a bit of an update on what’s happening with the book.

While I have many projects that I am working on right now, this novel became one that required immediate attention and focus because women’s reproductive rights are being threatened.

But before I get to the details of my standalone novel outside my first series (which is on hold), let me throw some facts at you.

My apologies in advance for sounding ranty and furious.

Our Fight For Women’s Reproductive Rights

In the US, around 630,000 women got abortions in 2019.

It’s no secret that reproductive rights for female bodies are in danger. And if you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ll understand how frightening it is and how frightened and tired so many of us are.

Politico was my first source for learning about SCOTUS poising to overturn Roe.

And if that alone isn’t fucked up enough, Ohio State Rep. Jean Schmidt announced her thoughts on ‘rape’ being an opportunity (my sincerest apologies for all victims who heard a lick of that bullshit).

I can’t believe how openly non-compassionate those in power are. It’s the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen.

I’ve cried many nights trying to stomach the thoughts of what will happen if Roe V Wade is overturned and how access to reproductive health services might go away.

It’s hard to verbalize how angry it makes me and how helpless I feel. I am so glad there are so many out there on TikTok, IG, and YouTube who have found the words to express that anger and helplessness.

Forced pregnancy is a crime against humanity. It just is.

Some Stats To Help Bring You Back to Reality

So SCOTUS is working to overturn Roe, thus taking those reproductive rights away.

• At the same time, we are facing a formula shortage.
• At the same time, over 120,000 children are waiting to be adopted.
• At the same time, 400,000 children are in foster care (a number that continues to increase).
• At the same time, there are 140 million orphans throughout the world.
• At the same time, 20,000 children will “age out” of foster care systems without any real support system or normal upbringing.
• At the same time, 300 million children around the globe have suffered from violence, exploitation, and abuse.
• At the same time, 3.7 million children are living in poverty.
• At the same time, black women are three to four times more likely to face complications in their pregnancies.
• At the same time, out of 7.5 million women, around 51% are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) women who can’t use Medicaid for abortion care.

But these stats have us thinking about just how wrong of a path this is, especially with the state of human rights to any kind of life as it is.

This just convinces me that this entire effort to overturn Roe V Wade isn’t about the life of a child. SCOTUS doesn’t give a damn about children’s lives, otherwise, they would be supporting them and providing for their well-being.

Otherwise, there would be more effort to provide more homes for children.

They don’t give a damn about women’s lives either.

This is an attempt to control women’s bodies and our power as creators. Period. Full stop. 

If Rose V Wade stays in jeopardy, it will be more difficult for women in the United States to get an abortion. More costly as well.

So pro-choice women and their allies are rallying together to fight like hell to make sure this doesn’t happen, but we need all the help we can get.

Now, For My Book Details

All of those above statistics made me so angry, fuming angry, and then several months back, as I had mentioned, I learned that Texas enacted the new abortion restriction Senate Bill 8 (SB 8). This included awarding $10,000 to those who turned in women who got abortions, which I still just can’t wrap my head around.

I was so angry that I started writing this horrific piece of speculative fiction to make my goddamn point, to send a message to women, to give them some kind of fuel.

The story has been challenging, dark, and so outside of character for me as a creative writer, but I am painfully and joyously enduring it for the sake of current events.

Without giving too much information away, this book is about a woman who suffers a terrible fate under the rulings and laws that restrict women from getting access to the reproductive health services they need. Inevitably, she ends up in prison for her “crimes” where she decides how she is going to respond to this injustice. 

My mother and I have been talking through this story, the details, the complexities, the research it involves, the characters, the symbolism—all of it.

This story needed to be told, and while I can’t tell you much more about it, I can tell you that it needs to be heard and that I am working diligently to complete it during a time when women need it most.

More Than Anything…

I want to say that if you’re pro-choice, the anger you’re feeling, the helplessness, the disappointment, the exhaustion, the depression, and whatever negative feeling you associate with this topic right now—THOSE FEELINGS ARE VALID.

Use them to fuel your efforts and energy toward protecting women’s reproductive rights.

And don’t stop fighting for your human rights to whatever life YOU choose for YOURSELF.

Also, please men, get a vasectomy if it bothers you so much. And if it’s bothering women so much, have your husbands, boyfriends, or whoever get one too.