#payment processing bullshit

[artphobos]

[madi-konrad]

This morning, I heard more news about the itch.io / Steam censorship situation. Controversy. Stripping of rights from marginalized creators. Whatever you want to call it.

And then I realized… I sell books on itch. Two books; one novel, one 14k word novelette. Nothing explicit, nothing "objectionable," just unapologetically sapphic.

And yeah. I checked. They're both delisted from itch.io's search all the same.

I don't want to cast this as a case of "I was one of the good ones," or anything like that. My decision to not write pornography is just a case of, well, my lack of interest in that particular genre. Porn deserves to exist just as much as "safe for work" creative outlets. But we knew that the war on porn was really a cardboard disguise for a war on all queerness, whether or not it "qualifies" as being "safe for work". You can't separate the one from the other.

Anyway. This isn't an essay, I'm not a theorist, just a creative writer who really shouldn't be surprised that her work was caught in the latest fascist wave of censorship.

I don't support myself with my writing; I'm a high school substitute teacher, and my partner also works full time to support us. But I'd be lying if I said money hasn't been tight these last few months; subs don't get paid during summer vacation, and also aren't eligible for unemployment since they're just "on break" for those months. I still have a job come September. But this censorship has shone a spotlight on how precarious art really is. I made a deliberate choice to pursue a day job that would allow me to continue my creative writing. And now that writing is, in a small way, being excluded by virtue of its queerness.

And that sucks. Full stop. It just sucks.

Go support your favorite queer artist right now; even if they don't sell through itch (or Steam), I'm betting that they need the support now more than ever.

If you wanted to support me, I'll pull together a list below of links to my work available online below the cut. Thankfully the itch.io links still work; these titles are just not listed through the search, limiting their discoverability, their reach. And thankfully other storefronts still list them, for the moment.

My latest release, a sapphic fantasy novelette (14k words), The Sea:

itch.io (ebook): https://thepinkhydra.itch.io/the-sea

Books2Read aggregate link (paperback and ebook, all major storefronts): https://books2read.com/thesea

For thousands of years, the stars have been fixed in place, separating the sea above from the sea below. Sister Elegy remembers when the star, Ailta, fell to earth decades ago. Back then, things appeared so simple. It was Elegy's duty as Ailta's chosen guardian to ward her path to the tomb of the Queen. For it was foretold that a star would bring the Queen back to life, and usher in the glory of Her renewed reign. But along the journey, both Ailta and Elegy learned things are not so plain as they appear. Together, they faced the dangers of the road, the weight of Sister Elegy's regrets, the all too real shadows of her past, all while silently grappling with the uncertain purpose of their destination… Madeline Konrad's magical novelette, set in her fantasy world of Melodia, is a haunting, bittersweet sapphic romance about a star and the woman who loved her.

My sapphic fantasy novel, A Demon's Name Upon Your Lips:

itch.io (ebook): https://madikonrad.itch.io/a-demons-name

Books2Read aggregate link: (ebook, all major storefronts except Amazon): https://books2read.com/u/3nGjgK

Amazon link (ebook): https://www.amazon.com/Demons-Name-Upon-Your-Melodia-ebook/dp/B0CRNTHC1Y

Lucia is a succubus, a demon with the power to shape the emotions and passions of mortals. Summoned often into the world of Melodia, she takes pride in upholding her demonic contracts to the best of her abilities. She likes to think she does her job well… though a string of recent failures say otherwise. Talia, the recently elevated Duke of Fallmire, summons Lucia for a simple reason: to pose as her wife and fulfill marital obligations to the satisfaction of Parliament. All to say, just a few weeks of walking around the estate and playing nice with the neighbors before a conveniently tragic death. Quick and easy. Immediately, Lucia smells blood in the water. Behind closed doors, the Duke plots vengeance upon those who killed her father—and the demon wants in. Revenge, after all, is much more fun… and more lucrative, to boot. But can Lucia predict how hard she'd fall for the Duke? (Not a chance). And can the Duke find it in her vengeful heart to love?