I wrote a book!

Last month, the micropress I co-founded with my partner released our first full-length novel.

Available on: Itch, Amazon, and more

And yes, I'm proud to say, that is my name on the cover.

One of the hobbies that I picked up with a vengeance coming out trans is returning to my love of the written word. At first, I inhaled everything I could get my hands on written by trans women. Largely, these were what is colloquially known as "eggfic". That is, fiction specifically about the early days of being trans. The journey to coming out, coming out, learning to be in the world right after coming out.

That fit me to a T. I wanted those stories because I was very much going through that part of the journey myself.

Along with the renewed interest in reading came a rebirth of my desire to write. In my 20s, I fancied myself a bit of a writer, though back then I couldn't shake that I hadn't really lived, yet. So, while I could write pretty words, they didn't have any gravity to them.

Now, as a 40-something trans woman, once the stories found they were free to roam, I quickly took up my pen (or, my keyboard) and went to work. Authors like Issy Waldrom helped me get my early legs, and with time and lots of practice, the lessons from before came back to me.

Bit by bit, I built a toolbox of ideas.

One of these ideas blossomed into the book above: Machines of Consent. Rather than being about the early days of being trans, it includes seasoned trans women living their lives. As the title hints, it's a story about consent in various forms and how we navigate it. It's also a celebration of being a trans lesbian, both in love and in lust.

The story follows two women. One, a scientist who is both celebrated as a genuine inventor of a device that can transmit the wearer's consent to the viewer. The other, a parkour expert who works as part of the underground delivering messages. The stories follows them as both are put into danger by a force outside of their control.

As tempting as it is to break the book down into the themes I cover, I think I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader. Art, after all, is a two-person endeavour. I put my heart in. And the reader sees what they see in the result. In this, we communicate -- and hopefully entertain.

I will say that the end result was a thrill to put together. A lot of hard work, to be sure. But a joy to watch the pieces fall into place. Only in software have I ever felt something similar.

For folks who pick it up, I'd love to hear from you!