Happy Insecure Writer’s Day! Prepare to bask in the support and let your insecurities go, at least for a little while. To join in the hop yourself, head to their website here.
The awesome co-hosts for the June 3 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre! Don’t forget to go thank them as you’re hopping today.
June 3 question – Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?
I’m going far off topic today because I’m an intensely private person and especially fierce about guarding my privacy online. I like to keep the illusion that my secrets will stay mine. True, it feels a bit futile in the Time of Alexa and Google Location Services but I find I can’t shake my Luddite tendencies when it comes to this topic, so here we are.
Instead I’d like to bring the focus to the #muted movement on social media. Basically, what this means is taking a back seat and letting marginalized voices step forward in my place, using my inherent privilege to amplify their stories. People of color are literally being murdered in my country and it’s not okay. It will never be okay. It is not a society I want to live in. If you’d like to help this change, here are some options for you:
- If you’re interested in some tactics to take practicable action right now, may I suggest this list from Racial Equity Tools.org
- If you’d like to support authors who write romances featuring non white characters, try this list from Book Riot (Alyssa Cole, Courtney Milan, and Jeannie Lin are particular favorites of mine!)
- Maybe fantasy and SciFi are more your style? Check out this list of upcoming books from Den of Geek
- YA is doing an especially wonderful job of attracting and promoting fantastic POC authors. Check out this list of books from Epic Reads and put some money towards these writers. Their list unaccountably left out my favorite author, Mark Oshiro, so I’ve fixed that lack.
- Addressing systemic racism can start early, at home, with this list of children’s books from Embrace Race.org
- And last but not least there are a lot of vetted organizations you can donate to in support of the movement happening right now, here’s a good starter list. Always do your due diligence before donating, of course.
Years ago a close friend created a place online for women of colour. Let me explain that I don’t look native, but turns out there are a lot of us. One parent was white, the other wasn’t. I’m the darkest in my family. My mum used to deny that she was native. People thought she was just French, hence the dark skin and eyes. I embraced my heritage when I turned 40, 26 years ago, and I’m very proud of where I came from. I’m still sad that my mum chose to hide hers. I’m from Canada. A little secret: there are racists in Canada too. Oh, my friend, a talented Y/A author, committed suicide in 2005. Her name was Joanne Yolanda Hernandez.
Thank you for letting me know about Joanne. Someday I picture a future where heritage doesn’t have to be hidden, or a source of pain. Someday is coming soon, because of the courage of people willing to demonstrate, and share the stories of people like Joanne.