It’s our first anniversary.
Thanks to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting us today!
Don’t forget to comment here, on our Facebook posts, and our Tweets. We will be giving books away each day to commenters.
You will also be added to the drawing for a FREE year of books.
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I have been muddling this over for quite some time, and today I thought I’d take the time to put it into words.
This year has had so many things to celebrate, and so many others to mourn.
We opened our doors on November 23, 2015, by releasing our first two books. At the time, I was an editor for NineStar, but I had dreams of making it my home. I wanted to see more books by unknown authors, about subjects I hadn’t seen before with characters I felt strongly about.
So, we released books, and things were looking pretty good. In the first part of 2016, the owner asked me to step in for her because she was under the weather. Then in May, she decided to sell the company, which is how I became the owner. A time to celebrate and a time to mourn! I was getting my dream, but it came at the cost of someone losing theirs.
I worked to make NineStar something I could be proud of. I listened to the community and saw the upheavals and anger over bi-erasure and casual racism and so many other offensive things. It was a time to mourn the loss of the togetherness I once felt.
We have to stop and listen to the hurt some books cause. Take it to heart. People are saying they are hurt, and if we ever want to fight what’s coming, we have to stand up for others in our community and celebrate the similarities and differences in the LGBTQIA+ community.
We have a lot to mourn right now. We have a lot to fear. The things taking place in the US government are scary as hell. I still mourn every day. I still panic over it. But I also see more people talking about how to make a difference. How to fight back. So while it may be a while before we can celebrate our wins, we can fight.
But we need to listen to others and become a better community. When someone says they are hurt, listen to their hurt. Please don’t tell them to be nicer about expressing their anger and hurt and frustration. These are real people with real hurt. Ask questions, research, understand why they are hurt. Do something about it. Stand together, even if it means losing a trope or having to change some opinions. I have seen this community do some amazing things, but what’s coming will be our biggest challenge yet. And I may be misguided, but I believe we can better fight this if we do it as a community rather than fractured pieces.
The lives of the people we celebrate in books may be changed forever, and it’s time to stand for those lives in the real world.
Raevyn ❤
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Happy Anniversary!! Well said. Hope the next year is good to you.
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Thank you for sharing your thought, Rae; this post somewhat gives glimpse into NineStar which this reader appreciate very much. I congratulate and wish you the best on your new role.
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Happy anniversary! Here’s to many more.
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Thank you for the post. I, like you, mourn and panic a bit every day about what is going in the US (where I live). But, people do accomplish more together.
Congrats on your anniversary!
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Happy Anniversary x
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Reblogged this on slholland22.
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Congratulations on your 1st anniversary and here’s to many more.
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Happy Anniversary, guys! And thanks for the giveaways, I’ve read some amazing stories thanks to it.
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Happy 1st Anniversary and thank you for your insightful post #love wins ❤ thank you also for the many chances to win books from your publishing house.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Happy anniversary and here’s to many more years!
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Happy Anniversary! Thank you for the insightful post. I wish you many more years to come =)
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Telling people from LGBT community that you support them helps more than you could ever imagine. We really need to stand on our rights and not let others take us down.
Thanks for creating this message, Rae. This means to LGBT community a lot. Happy anniversary! And I wish that the previous owner of NSP is doing well or would be doing well soon.
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Telling people from LGBT community that you support them helps more than you could ever imagine. We really should stand for our rights & not let others take us down.
Thanks for this meaningful post, Rae. This means a lot to everyone. Again, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! And I wish that the previous owner of NSP is doing well now or would be doing well soon. =)
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