I’m coming to you out of complete desperation and fear and a whole lot of embarrassment and shame. I’m going to be evicted if I don’t pay my landlord a decent amount of what I owe. I’m desperate and scared that I’m going to be homeless. If you can find it in your heart to help me by donating literally any amount of money to help me keep this roof over my head I will be eternally grateful. A couple months back some truly horrible hardships fell on me and in-between sickness and job loss, I fell behind on my rent and now I’m facing an eviction. I desperately need your help. Please give what you can. I really appreciate each and every one of you. The city Marshall will be knocking at my door any day from today. An eviction has been filed but my landlord has been understanding thus far and agreed to stop it if I pay the current balance. I am desperately asking for your help.
If you love Sapphic books and want even more of an excuse to read stories about all sort of women-loving-women, there is a fun crossword puzzle going on this year.
FF author Jae is hosting a year-long F/F Fiction Crossword Challenge. Every month, there is a different crossword with a theme, and you fill in clues about different wlw books. (You don’t have to buy or even read all of the books–most of them, the authors chose hints that you can get from book previews or excerpts on their websites or on Amazon). And you can win prizes (hint: the prizes are lots and lots of wlw books!!)
And it looks queer-inclusive, too. There are puzzles dedicated to trans, non-binary, ace, demi, bi, and pan wlw.
It looks really fun and it would be even more fun if more people joined in!
I made this blog in hopes of support in helping to promote an Irish woman’s story as I try to make her dream come true for Christmas.
My Mother, Angela, suffers from illnesses such as diverticulitis, diabetes and arthritis. She is retiring soon to a council house she has looked after for the past 40 years.
The house has issues from, maggots, mold to crumbling walls and the ceilings cracking and falling down. As you can imagine, this has led to many health issues for my family but most importantly my mother. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough to buy our home and with my grandmother, now in the early stages dementia, it means my Mother will soon have to give up work and look after her fully.
The council will not allow my grandmother to move in with us as she is an old age pensioner and the house would need work to accommodate her needs. A Councillor, off the cuff, remarked the council would look at the fact she would not be able to contribute much towards rent and they wouldn’t waste the money on adapting the house on the possibility of her longevity.
When they find out that she has this illness, they may possibly kick her out of her own home and we will have no choice but to put her into a home which is the furthest thing that we want to do. We love her and want to care for her as she done for us.
My Mother is the most amazing and has the kindest soul of anyone you will ever meet and I am blessed to have her. She went to work right after my dad passed so that she could give myself and my brother the best life she could. She went to college at night trying to educate herself to get a good job for us. She’s worked long nights and traveled through desperate weather conditions to get to work, all to put a hot meal on the table for my brother and me.
She also works as a carer in a nursing home because she wanted a job that allowed her to give back. It’s a very tough job on her and she has sat by the bedside of many people comforting them as they passed away but it is a job she loves and is perfect for her as she has a heart of gold.
I have done an interview with a local newspaper and radio station but unfortunately have not got much support.
The council won’t sell us our home because our income isn’t sufficient. My Mother has been trying to fix all the repairs over the years and has spent everything she has on them. She now has nothing for her retirement. Not even the house she worked so hard for.
We need to fix it up and adapt it so can care for my grandmother here but I desperately need help.
I have set up a fundraiser to buy the house and pay for all the repairs and make it accessible so that my Mother can move in my grandmother and care for her as she deteriorates further, found here:
UPDATE: My grandmother was taken to hospital after suffering seizures in front of my mother and I so I apologize for being late getting back to everyone and thanking you for your support. They are going to keep her in observation for a few days and test her but think it’s coming from her heart as her heart rate and blood pressure were very low when she was brought in.
Update: Nan is doing better! Heart rate is still slightly irregular but thankfully no more seizures so far.
The 2020 Open Enrollment Period runs from Friday, November 1, 2019, to Sunday, December 15, 2019. If you don’t act by December 15, you can’t get 2020 coverage unless you qualify for a special enrollment period. Plans sold during Open Enrollment start January 1, 2020.
A quick reminder for folks in the US: if you haven’t seen anything about ACA open enrollment this year, that is by design. Secretary Azar wants to lower enrollment numbers to justify pulling funds from medicare/medicaid. Here are your dates:
Silk & Steel: An Adventure Anthology of Queer Ladies Edited by Janine A. Southard Submissions due: February 22, 2020.
Princess and swordswoman. Scholar and mecha pilot. Warrior women… and the courtly ladies who love them.
The Silk and Steel anthology was initially inspired by
artwork from Al Norton (see below). She’s put so much tension into these
characters! Yet, among all that edginess and conflict, there are also
romantic feelings… and a definite sense that both women have the upper
hand.
We’re looking for stories of high adventure that feature one
weapon-wielding woman and one woman whose strengths lie in softer
skills, but who is just as powerful in her own right. You’re free to
choose any setting – from historical to modern to wildly futuristic.
You can expect to share a Table of Contents with distinguished
authors such as: Ellen Kushner, Aliette de Bodard, Amal El-Mohtar,
Arkady Martine, Claire Bartlett, Django Wexler, Freya Marske, Jennifer
Mace, JY Yang, K.A. Doore, Kelly Robson, Nibedita Sen, and Yoon Ha Lee.
Editor’s Note: I’m looking for all speculative genres except
straight-up erotica or hard-core horror. (We’re aiming this anthology
at general audiences, after all. Erotic and horror elements within your
story’s context are definitely okay! But if they’re the thrust of the
story, then you’ve gone off genre.) I think the idea lends itself well
to swashbuckling romance and operatic comedy, but it’s really up to you.
Other Inclusions: Yes! I would love to see trans women, bi, pan, and ace characters.
How to submit: Send your story in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format to Janine A. Southard at silky.subs@cantinapublishing.com
Note about conflict: Yes, this is an f/f anthology, but that doesn’t mean your women need
to be fighting against homophobia! While this is one option, it’s not
the only one. Consider also having them fight for their countries, their
loves, or their right to wash their cars on Wednesdays in flagrant
disregard of their HOA’s rules. Silk and Steel is about romance and optimism, so moving on to the next big fight after homophobia will be a much easier sell.
Rights and compensation: Originals only, no
reprints. We will purchase first publishing rights for inclusion in this
anthology (ebook and print) and one year of exclusivity for 8
cents/word. Authors retain the rights to the individual stories; Cantina
Publishing exercises rights to the anthology as a whole.
General Guidelines for Submissions: We are currently only considering submissions for active calls.
Do send: Your story with your contact details, name (and
pseudonym, if applicable), and word count on the first page of a .doc,
.docx, or .rtf document. Please use italics instead of underlining.
Cantina Publishing recommends using a really common workhorse font like
Times New Roman or Calibri at whatever the default setting is for your
word processor. (Font selections are subject to change before
publication. Still, the submissions reader will remember you as “the
jerk who sent something all in wingdings.” So we don’t recommend that particular level of creativity.) 3,000-7,000 words recommended.
Don’t send: Fanfic of any kind. (Unless specified by the
call for submissions.) Grotesque horror. Anything over 10,000 words
without querying first.
Riders and slayers, THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE has made it to the Final Round of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2019.
Thank you. I’m bursting with joy and gratitude. The fact that my queer orange brick has come this far already means the world, but if you’d like to vote for it just once more, I’d be immensely grateful.
