Dear friends,
Firstly, I want to mention how much your messages have meant to me over the years. Especially in the last week, people have been speaking up about what The Heir to the House of Prince means to them. When you tell me that words or phrases or characters have impacted your lives and seen you through difficult times, I have the sense that together, we built something important. That hopefully, this story will always be a place you can return to when you need a community that understands.
The world has changed vastly in the time I have been writing this story. It feels much less safe than it did five years ago. Book bans and censorship are very real part of my existence which is partly why I have loved my Ao3 journey. It is a safe way for me to write these stories about these types of characters, and to reach the readers who might be out there, searching for characters who live and love in the way they do. I’m glad of any of the ways this story may have provided safety for its readers.
As for me, I will continue to write. I am about to publish my 4th novel. It is a fantasy novel for young adults called Nightcurse, and is an undead teenage love story. Some people love books for themes, some love books for the way that they are written. I think if you loved some of the themes of The Heir to the House of Prince and/or if you loved the way the story is written, you will love Nightcurse. Or maybe you know someone who will love it. All to say, that one way you could support me is by pre-ordering this book.
The publishing industry more and more relies on these numbers when re-commissioning writers for new books and as I have said, the global publishing climate has changed. If you’re not in a position to pre-order books but you’d still like to support my work, you could:
* Follow me on Instagram and Tumblr and give me a little signal boost. (It seems like nothing but by god does it matter to those publishing gods with the spreadsheets)
* Add my books to your lists on social reading sites, like Good Reads and Story Graph or NetGalley
* Order my books at your local lending library
* Join my newsletter
* Share about my work with your friends and bookclub
* Come to my events and invite me to come to your events! Do you have a bookclub or a reading group where you’d like a virtual visit from an author?
* Stand against book bans in your communities, online and local and physical. Read widely and share books and tell your friends what books you love. Be the amazing reader you are, unashamed.
Ultimately, writing gives me life. I hope that the people who read my fanfic worlds can also be part of my original worlds, but I am so glad to have met you, either way.
I will probably continue to write fanfic for fun, so please subscribe to me on Ao3. There is a google form where you can slide me prompts here, or through Tumblr dms. I make no promises, and after such a long fic I am definitely most interested in one-shots and short fics right now, but I’m excited to see where the future takes me.
Lastly, wherever your journey takes you, remember to keep the edges soft. Talk about them. We make like the house of Prince. We Survive.
Go well, dear friends,
Elphie
Emma Hinds 
Leave a comment