Greetings and salutations. I’m R.L. Merrill—you can call me Ro (she/her)—and I’m here to bring you some hope. That’s right. Times have been increasingly dark in our world and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by life around us and lose direction. That’s why it’s so important to hold onto the things that give us hope. Some folks cling to their faith in times of trouble. Sometimes folks will emotionally check out in order to maintain some semblance of normalcy in their lives. I never want to criticize how anyone chooses to handle the overwhelming amount of stress our society has experienced recently. We’ve witnessed terrible tragedies, unchecked racism and hostility, and senseless violence. At the same time, our kids have persevered during a scary time and embraced their new normal, ordinary citizens have stepped up to support each other and protested injustice, and authors have used their voices to bring forth some of the most brilliant fiction I’ve read in years. I would like to offer some light in the form of regular blog posts focusing on the things we have in our lives to give us hope and I’d love for you to join me on this endeavor.
This will be a new blog feature on Queeromance Ink, and hopefully one that will have you all walking away with a smile. Romance is definitely one of the main ways that I keep hope alive in my own life, and so I will feature interviews with some of my favorite folks in the romance biz to talk about how they include hope in their work. I’ll also share stories from my interactions and experiences that have kept me going all these years. In my other life, I’m a teacher and school counselor. As a result, I’ve seen a lot of harrowing things and heard stories that will break your heart, but I’ve always managed to see the resilient side of people and that, my friends, gives me hope. And lastly, I will share my thoughts on positive steps I see others taking to make this world a better place.
I’m also a parent of two teenagers, a wife, a daughter, and a queer woman who has recently figured out that this term applies to me. It really explains a whole lot about the adventures I’ve had in my life. I’m an historian, a music enthusiast, a horror addict (you can read my music reviews and recommendations on HorrorAddicts.net), a tattoo collector, and a lover of all things haunted. And most of all, I’m a purveyor of hope, or at least I hope to be. I’d love to hear from you the things that give you hope and, with your permission, I’d be happy to feature some of your stories on this blog. You can send me your thoughts, ideas, and stories at rlmerrillauthor@gmail.com or hit me up on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook all @rlmerrillauthor.
See? I’ve used a version of the word “hope” twelve times in this post…Thirteen if you count the title, and that’s my lucky number. I look forward to taking this positive journey with you and wish you all a little light in your life! Thank you to J. Scott Coatsworth for inviting me to take on this new challenge. Stay Tuned…And Stay Hopeful!
R.L. Merrill writes inclusive romance with quirky, relatable characters full of love, hope, and rock ‘n’ roll. You can find her at https://www.rlmerrillauthor.com and on the socials as @rlmerrillauthor. You can also find her horror-infused music reviews at https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/author/rowritesrocknromance/
Good morning Ro! I’ll look forward to your posts. 🙂
Oh this excites me! I’m looking forward to your posts. Woohoo! Like my granny used to always say, “as long as there is breath, there is hope.” So, we just keep breathing and pushing the positive forward, even when it’s painful, or we stumble. We will reach the goal in the end.
Thank you! Yes, our elders often have wisdom when it comes to hope!
All About Romance is discussing politics in fiction, and that flipped me back to what happened with RWA (a good Vox article on that here: https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2020/6/17/21178881/racism-books-romance-writers-of-america-scandal-novels-publishing); not sure if others here would be interested, but I’d like to see Ro’s take on it. 🙂
Interesting topic. One that had me in despair for a while. But there is hope. I’ll be sure to talk about this in the future. FYI I am still a member of RWA national and my local chapter, San Francisco Area RWA. There have been major changes from the top down and for now, I feel that they are attempting to address the issues. I have a good relationship with many members of the new leadership and I want to support them. But there’s a long way to go and I will remain as long as I think they are truly making strides toward diversity and inclusion. In the meantime, to put my money where my mouth is, I decided to also join the Inclusive Romance Project where I am a mentor. So many people helped me build my writing career and I want to help others the way I was mentored. Everyone deserves to be supported as they reach for their dreams.