I’ve been thinking a lot about revenge.
That’s a hell of a thing to write about in a little newsletter, I know, but it’s Scorpio AND election season, so let’s go.
I don’t think I mean revenge in the John Wick sort of revenge (although some days, I do think maybe I would like to don a perfectly tailored black three-piece suit and wreak absolute havoc.) I don’t even think I mean revenge in a way that includes any sort of physical violence. I don’t think I would feel any better seeing, say, anti-abortion advocates stripped of their own bodily rights.
(Okay, fine, I would maybe feel better for a minute or two.)
I want the kind of revenge served so sweetly, wrapped in the finest of silks, festooned in the most glorious of jewels. I want revenge served like an expensive cake: drizzled with cream, laden with honeyed figs, adorned with fresh flowers.
I want revenge in the form of a world that acts less like a vice and more like a community; where love for one another always comes first, where we are free to do what we wish with our bodies and minds. I want to grow tomatoes with my neighbors and drive my friends’ children to school and hike long, wild trails through forests instead of parking lots. I want to mend your sweater with careful, tiny rows of darning. I want to read strange and lovely bedtime stories to your children. I want to make you soup when you’re ill or just sad. I want elder queers. I want to be at your grandmother’s bedside when she passes into the next place.
I want to stay alive out of joy and wonder, not spite.
I want the kind of revenge that looks like a world so sweet and soft and beautiful that even those who fought so hard against us won’t be able to stop themselves from begging for a taste.
And maybe we’ll give it to them.
Or maybe not.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
if you’re in the mood for more unhinged stuff
“BEFORE I GO” - a flash fiction piece published with Fifth Wheel Press. Doors, madness, longing.
“FOUR OFFERINGS” - a short fiction piece published with The Raven Review. Doves, sacrifices, religious trauma.
STUFF THAT HAS MADE ME FEEL SOMETHING (ANYTHING) LATELY
“BENEATH THE ALABASTER SPIRE” by ALLISON CARR WAECHTER:I know I talked about this in my last newsletter, but alas, I might chat briefly about it again since it just came out! The second book in Allison’s The Immortal Order Series was just released, and DANG. If you’re a romance fantasy fan, I don’t know how you couldn’t love this. Lush setting, hot characters, hotter sex and deep, genuine romance. Sign me up! Be sure to follow her as she’s got so much goodness up her sleeves.
"LAKESDGE" by LYNDALL CLIPSTONE: I know I’m late to the game here, but I’m old and tired. I haven’t quite finished it just yet, but I’m so enamored with Lyndall’s YA novel. In many ways, it operates like a traditional gothic, but Lyndall has set the majority of the events during the summer. Instead of poisoned apples, it’s lush pomegranates. Instead of a brambly forest, it’s an overgrown garden hiding behind gates. Most of all, I really enjoy the main character, Violeta. There’s a lot of young adult books where I feel the 16 year old main character acts more like a 28 year old, which I don’t enjoy. LAKESDGE, however, feels like a pitch-perfect depiction of a not-girl-not-yet-woman. I think we need more Violetas in YA fiction.
IN THE HOUSE OF TRANSCENDENCE by AMANDA ROSS: Okay, I haven’t cracked this one open just yet (though I absolutely moved it to the top of my TBR) but it seems like an absolute dream-come-true of a book. Necromancy! Murder! Queer Black characters! Romance! Burlesque! Drama! Sign me the fuck up.
ECCLESIA JEWELRY: I only share Jadie’s pieces constantly on my Instagram story, so anyone who follows me there is probably already well aware of my obsession. This jewelry brand is literally like if you took all the thoughts in my brain about what kind of jewelry I liked and just … made it happen?? And it’s a small, woman-owned business right here in Philly. Swoon. (If you’re a nerd about ~production~, it looks like Jadie does her own silversmithing, which is super fucking cool.)
{That’s all for now. Until the dark moon returns & the next story blooms. Yours, V.}
I want this so much!
I also second both Allison and Amanda's books. Excellent worlds and lush writing!