Dear friends,
I am incredibly grateful for the authors, editors, illustrators, and other contributors whose combined efforts made 2017 a successful year for Nom de Plume Publications. I am also incredibly grateful for our readers who make all of the hard work worthwhile. With your support in 2017, the authors of NDP Publications sold over 50,000 books worldwide, had a combined 7,000,000+ pages read on Kindle Unlimited, and donated over $10,000 to charities that included the Trevor Project. Without our readers, that couldn’t have happened, and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.
Normally that would be where I signed off – probably with a cute picture of a kitten in a party hat – but this year I think that there is more that needs to be said.
For many, many people – myself included – this has been a year of significant hurt, anger, and frustration resulting from the current social and political environment in the country that I love.
In 2017, 2002 people were wounded and 588 were killed in mass shootings. After fifty-seven years of moving forward to obtain equal rights for all, our friends and loved ones in the LGBTQ community have seen their basic rights again threatened by the government. Hate crimes against Jews, gays, and Muslims increased for the second year in a row. The transgender murder rate hit a five-year high. A man who bragged about sexually assaulting women was seated in the Oval Office. No, I am not sorry to see 2017 end.
Despite all of this, I look toward 2018 with renewed energy, determination, and optimism. As painful as the last twelve months have been, there have been bright spots as well. Shining moments that reminded us that the majority of Americans – the true majority, the kind of majority that is determined by math and not through volume of noise and bluster – do not support the hate and violence.
The American Civil Liberties Union collected a record $24 million in donations in one weekend after the Trump administration enacted their first Muslim travel ban. 2.6 million women marched against misogyny and hate. And our LGBTQ community? Did they shrink back into closets and hide in the shadows when Trump’s administration began their attempts to marginalize them? No. They protested the Trump administration’s anti-gay positions. They demonstrated against the abuse of gays and lesbians in Russia and Chechnya. They marched in parades and hosted fundraiser social events. The 2017 Pride Days in New York, Chicago, and, Washington, D.C. drew record crowds. Our LGBTQ people and their allies didn’t knuckle under, they stepped forward and reminded us again that they’re here, they’re queer, and damn it, they’re fabulous!
This – all of it – is the reason I am optimistic about 2018. We are a nation that knows the meaning of the word quit, we simply refuse to use it as a verb. We will regroup and move forward with purpose born of having the courage of our convictions. We will continue the fight for our collective rights because we know that failure is simply not an option. We will resist and we will succeed. From the ashes, our nation will rise stronger than ever.
I wish each and every one of you a 2018 filled with love, peace, and freedom.
Sincerely,
Brandie Chesser
Nom de Plume Publications, LLC
Nom de Plume Publications, LLC 