About Me
For me, life is all about stories: telling them, living them, sharing them. This site is my way of doing all three, which is a journey I’ve been on for far longer than any of my web platforms have been around. I’m growing: as a writer, an artist, a person.
So, what will you find here?
All sorts of ways my heart imagines, hopes, and dreams.
I know it’s vague, but that’s the short answer. My stories explore the hope and process of connecting with oneself and with others. My descriptions won’t say much in the way of genre, and I’m fine with that.
In-between worlds sensed on long highway drives, whispers from clouds high overhead in the wide open blue sky, deep shadows in late summer evenings–the world is full of mysterious, ordinary, extravagant, beautiful, weary places.
Stories happen anywhere,
to everyone.
The critical importance of acknowledging and expressing facets of my reality not readily apparent at face value is not lost on me. (Note: I did not say explaining these aspects.) I learn best with my imagination: letting my characters lead me through settings, conflicts, losses, connections, dreams. In my drafts, revisions, and practice, I am always learning.
I started this blog with the reminder, to myself and whoever happens to join me on this journey, that perfection is not my goal. Honesty is. My art, my stories, are imperfect–and they are worth sharing.
I am in process, living out my dreams.
What I’m All About
All my work is justice work.
Why? Because I don’t limit justice work or activism to a small range of actions. Justice is an approach to work; it is an underlying philosophy that guides what I do, how I do it, and why I do it.
Stories are my lifeline.
Writing teaches me how to live, and then tests me on the life lessons (I think) I’ve learned. In many ways, writing is learning the same thing over and over and over again.
Every part of my art and writing
is an act of resistance.
These are acts of deep grief and great joy. This is work born of holding on to hard-fought hope, living in a Black, queer, disabled body. Mourning is mandatory. Hope is defiance. Celebration is revolutionary.
To create is to honor that I myself am created–and I am created worthy of respect, dignity, compassion, and care. To put time and effort and care into my characters’ stories is to remember the time, effort, and love that have been poured into me by so many. In remembering, I am compelled to pour this back out to any it may reach.
This is a dream realized: to connect
with others through story.
Not just a finished product, but a conversation between the pages. A chance to journey with you, and for you to journey with me. This is a way to speak what must be spoken, to feel what cannot be said, and to wonder at the breadth and depth of human experience.
I don’t ask for comments so people can tell whether or not I’m a good writer. I want to know how someone connected to characters and conflicts, anxieties and desires, reflected in the writing. I want to know which line of dialogue, which bit of exposition, resonated with someone else’s lived experience.
I am one of many.
As a Black creative, I join a legacy of powerful voices. Past, present, and future. Part-time and full-time. Critically acclaimed and completely overlooked.
We are here.
We will remain.
Our existence is sacred.
This work is mine, this work matters—and so do I.
I have been told for most of my life that I could do great things. A few people have heard of my stories. They are certain I can (or will) be a best-selling author, capable of Netflix series and movie deals. Those are their dreams.
I might not be doing this perfectly, but I’m committed to sharing my art and writing in a way that is honest to my experiences. From my social media posts to the ways I ask for support, from my commissioned gifts and hope to publish my work, I go about all these in ways that align with my values.
I refuse to make myself into an enterprise.
Why I’m Here:
I’m here to share stories and learn from the people around me. I center voices you might not find in your everyday life. I honor experiences outside the stereotype. I explore the nuance and complexity of what it means to be a human in what so often feels like an inhumane world.
This is my prayer, that I may:
Feel with each bone in my body;
Love with every beat of my heart;
Take risks with a helping of faith;
and Never ever give up hope.
V. H. King's Ink 