Quick Thoughts - Thankful

It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S. Or it will have been by the time that this appears on the blog. As I write this it's still a day away. I was going to write up something on the "morally complex YA" thing going on right now but there are better minds doing that and so I thought I would step back and concentrate instead on things I am thankful for. Because while a lot about the holiday is pretty side-eye, I do think that it's important to reflect every now and then on what's good.

First off, I am thankful to my partner, for putting up with me. In about two weeks it will have been nine years since our first date, and when I think about how much we have changed in that time I am filled with hope and joy. It is my greatest pleasure and honor to be able to share my life with someone so amazing, and though I don't often talk about nem in this space (for a variety of reasons), ne is first in my mind and in my heart. And without nem I would not be doing what I am doing. 

I am also thankful for great stories, which should come as no surprise. To both the writers writing and the publications publishing them, many thanks! I have said it often enough but this is an amazing time to be a reader. A scary time, because there is a feeling that it is fragile, that things might at any moment be taken away, but it is also invigorating, challenging, and rewarding. My thanks as well go out to other readers and reviewers, who provide something equally vital, which is engagement. It's sort of my core mission with Quick Sip Reviews to engage with short SFF fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, but without others I'd just be shouting into an abyss. And while it can feel at times like that's all I'm doing, seeing other people out there reviewing is heartening. It's what gave me courage to stop reviewing for a place I couldn't feel comfortable at and make a space of my own. So for everyone out there, from Goodreads reviewers to the biggest names in SFF reviews, thanks! 

Of course I am thankful to my readers! This blog started pretty small and has picked up steam pretty much every month it's been around. Which is a great feeling personally as I hope it means people out there are reading and liking what I'm doing. So thank you, everyone who checks in and everyone who spreads the word. My sincerest thanks for finding my thoughts on stories and such worthy of your time (I know how precious that can be, often). An especial thanks to any and all who have offered up words of encouragement as I struggle onward, to everyone who said what I am doing is worth something. It means an awful lot to hear that every now and then. Sorry that I seem to whine an awful lot. 

I am thankful for craft breweries, good bookstores, and the internet. I am thankful that there's a place for me to be me even if it's only within the walls of my home and in the boundless reaches of digital space. I'm thankful to all the people who have bought my stories, and for all those who read them and enjoyed them (not quite so thankful if you read them and hated them, but thankful at least you didn't feel the need to tell me about it). I'm thankful for my pets, who are adorable and furry and make life interesting. For all this and much more, I am thankful. Thanks for reading! 

All the best, 

Charles Payseur