China is a country that can be welcoming one minute and elitist the next. I had to deal with people trying to parent me only to try to befriend me when I prove that I won’t be bullied. It’s been an ongoing cycle for a good while now, but I’m not here to talk about that today. But, right now, I want to talk about something that made me smile today.
I don’t have anything to talk about in regard to my life. However, I do have a good amount to say about what I’m planning to do with myself for the rest of this year. I’m pretty excited about it all.
I’m happy to say that I will be releasing the second installment of the Sexy Entertainer Sitdown series. Who will be the subject of the interview? I’ll give you three hints:
Take a guess and you will see if you’re right this Friday when it’s out.
Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 21. I should probably start reviewing these books.
“I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.”
―
What if you had the power to bring your loved ones from the brink of death?
What I’ll Do For Family is something special to me for many reasons, namely three. The first reason is that it was the first fantasy idea that I had for this project which led me to spread my wings and try out different genres. Secondly, it was the first short story that I wrote about that had a Latin character. Interestingly enough, I opted to release it last because of a funny little story. Finally, and more importantly, it led me to the life-changing decision of going back to school for my MFA.
“All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair.”
― The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The duality of neglect and parenting
I’m always told that children don’t care about what you’re doing for them. They don’t care about what you bought them or how much money you spend on them. Sure, they notice but it’s not something they are quick to remember unless, of course, they were taught to notice it. However, more often than not, they usually take notice of something else entirely. And, it was that one thing that became the basis for A Child’s Wish.
“There are times when the adoption process is exhausting and painful and makes you want to scream. But, I am told, so does childbirth.”
– Scott Simon
The various ways/side of adoption
So, prior to writing Baby 4 Us, I’ve already made the conscious decision that I’m going to adopt. I don’t know when but I do know that it’s going to be after I leave China and settle in a new country. Now, this conversation started with me among my group of friends as we were talking about our future plans. We knew that she didn’t want to stay in China but most of us didn’t have a clear idea of what to do next. But, as the conversation developed, it pivoted to the topic of children and childbirth and well…
“No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.”
―
The duality of abortion
People can tell you that I’m not an argumentative person. It’s not what you think. Well, it is but not really. See, I try to avoid having discussions on controversial topics because there’s no real way to have an intelligent conversation about them. If you’ve noticed, people always seem to attach emotions to the conversation. Moreover, people seem to have a habit of “ignoring” facts that counter their chosen reality. Hence why I opted to write the short story, Our Future, Your Choice; it was my way to talk about abortion.
“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”
― The Giver
The duality of memories
I always love when memories are used as a plot device. Memories are powerful because they are unapologetic in their reality. They don’t lie and, no matter how you resist, they won’t let you fabricate the reality of it all. They will find a way to force you to live it. In every story, memories have played a key role that resulted in an ending that can be satisfying to the audience. Now, can I say that for the characters? Not really. But for Alone With The Memories, definitely.
“When I was with my mother, I sometimes thought of myself of a trophy—something to be flaunted before friends. When out of public view, I sat on the shelf ignored and forgotten.”
― The Flock: The Autobiography of a Multiple Personality
The duality of narcissistic mothers
This post will talk about two short stories that actually take place right after each other. It was a decision I made only after I got done writing the first one. See, I wrote My Perfect Son after listening to the nonsense of a, particularly toxic parenting style. You know what I’m talking about. The type of parenting where a child is forced to do activities that the parents want so they can brag about it to other people. Worse yet, if the child fights back, they are disciplined for “not respecting them”. So, I wanted to explore that.
“Like my grandmother always said, “Your opinions are valid and important. Unless it’s some stupid bullshit you’re being shitty about, in which case you can just go fuck yourself.”
― Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
The duality of the grandmother’s role
Now, I’ve already done a story where I used my grandma for inspiration. The first story was The Family That Preys (click here to see) and my grandma loved it. She thought it was a nice story about the lengths grandmothers will go to maintain harmony in the family. However, she thought it was a bit over the top and I had to remind her that my writing is always dialed up to an eleven. Now! That particular conversation gave me a spark of inspiration and the motivation to write another “grandma” story: Child of Lovebirds.