Today, we’re discussing St. Martin’s Press and the controversy regarding one of their employees and the company’s silence on the issue.

To recap, in late October, an employee of St. Martin’s Press made a post on Instagram the content of which held a lot of hatred towards Muslims, Palestinians, pro-Palestinian protesters, and other marginalized communities. The employee’s identity wasn’t disclosed, but this person works in marketing. The ask was that SMP make a statement condemning the statements by the employee and ensuring the safety of BIPOC and marginalized authors and influencers who work with them. As of yet, they have remained silent. In response, Muslim and BIPOC booktok members have organized a petition and a marketing boycott. The petition asks SMP to speak up about the incident. The boycott asks booktok influencers to not review books published by SMP or their imprint Wednesday books.

Today, I wanted to talk a little about my journey to becoming a writer. Specifically, when I started writing and the works that informed my style of writing. This will be several parts. There are a lot of different things I want to talk about.

Descent into Maelstrom by Edgar Allan Poe is what got me into writing. And I couldn’t tell you why. I was about 12 when I read it. I didn’t understand it. I don’t remember it too well. I’d have to read it again as an adult. Of his stories, I remember it the least. Stories like The Tell Tale Heart and Black Cat resonate with me more and are among my favorites, but after I read Descent into Maelstrom, I wrote a short story about a woman who was sleeping in a glass beach house on vacation. During the morning, she was woken up by a tidal wave that spread out over the house and seemed to encompass the sky. At the end, she was drowned when the wave landed.

Today, we’re continuing the discussion about the steps I took in building my protagonist. The ideas I added and didn’t, the inspirations that make her who she is.

One thing that always bothered me was the idea that if you kill the bad guy, then you’re just as bad as the bad guy. And I can’t help but think this whole idea has more political undertones, like, “oppressing your oppressor makes you an oppressor,” or “beating your abuser makes you just as bad as the abuser.” It’s a way to allow the bad guy to continue to do bad shit, unimpeded by things like justice. It’s not a surprising message to come from a country rife with unanswered oppression and injustice.