{"id":6277,"date":"2025-12-30T14:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/30\/write-of-passage-from-hellscape-to-angel-wings\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T14:10:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T14:10:00","slug":"write-of-passage-from-hellscape-to-angel-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/30\/write-of-passage-from-hellscape-to-angel-wings\/","title":{"rendered":"Write of Passage: From Hellscape to Angel Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6277-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/182933300\/3d1526a28f588e6f47468483679c67a8.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/182933300\/3d1526a28f588e6f47468483679c67a8.mp3\">https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/182933300\/3d1526a28f588e6f47468483679c67a8.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>The title of this essay changed from \u2018What the Hell\u2019 to \u2018Was I Really a DEI Hire?\u2019\u2014and then reality set in. 2025 was a year of whiplash: pride, disbelief, resistance. But I\u2019m still here, with a new book coming in January, while finishing my thirty-first one. I\u2019m a storyteller. And in 2026, I\u2019m coming in hot. I choose ASCENT.<\/p><div id=\"vanes-2869965135\" class=\"vanes-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 2px;margin-right: 2px;margin-bottom: 2px;margin-left: 2px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\" aria-label=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?fit=1706%2C2560&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1706&ssl=1 1706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1365%2C2048&ssl=1 1365w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"569\" height=\"853\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><strong>From Hellscape to Angel Wings \u2013 2026, Come Get Me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The title of this podcast essay changed several times before it settled into place. It moved from <em>I\u2019m So Glad We\u2019re Almost Out of 2025<\/em> to <em>What the Hell<\/em> to <em>Was I Really a DEI Hire? I want to talk to the manager<\/em>\u2014and then, reality and sense came to me.<\/p>\n<p>That confusion, the whiplash between pride, dishonor, and disbelief, pretty much sums up my experiences in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong\u2014there were extraordinary moments. This podcast and speaking to you weekly is something I enjoy. Speaking in front of a packed ballroom of over 800 people at the Jane Austen Society Conference was breathtaking. Traveling to NY for a girls\u2019 trip and to share the stage with Eloisa James was amazing. Some of these moments I never imagined would happen. When I first began writing Regency-era stories, I encountered resistance from people who insisted diversity in that time period was \u201cfantasy.\u201d As if Black people magically appeared in 1865, to be liberated from talent-sourcing camps by a war between the states. And in 2025, we still love our euphemisms. We\u2019re supposed to forget all the atrocities with no second thoughts about lineage and history.<\/p>\n<p>For the record, there are entire civilizations\u2014from African kingdoms to complex global networks\u2014that existed. Beauty and scholarship and faith existed before the transatlantic slave trade and colonization.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re encouraged not to think about any of that.<\/p>\n<p>When I first said I wanted to write about Black women pirates, I\u2019m pretty sure they thought it would be like the movie Girls\u2019 Trip, just set on the high seas. <\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think the collective thinking\u2014the industry, the world, the gatekeepers\u2014was prepared for the history I uncovered. I found depth. I chose danger. I decided to make visible a period in the 1600s where women took a stand and chose violence. They fought for what they wanted.<\/p>\n<p>And I see the conversations beginning. Folks are judging the women through modern lenses. Unfortunately, women are still critiqued the same way. They are made into third-class citizens for not choosing to have children, for not choosing to be a mammy, for choosing careers, ambition, and self-determination over settling. These are conversations we still need to have.<\/p>\n<p>And we will have them\u2014with fire, with sword, and seas of truth.<\/p>\n<p>My upcoming novel is a naked exploration of feminine power. It\u2019s leadership forged in chaos. It\u2019s truth standing upright in a collapsing world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Back to Publishing<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>The landscape for 2025 has been equally surreal. Peers have had books that weren\u2019t available on launch day. Others couldn\u2019t get their advance copies because they were held up by tariffs in Canada. I\u2019ve had porch pirates steal mine. Tracking shipments has become a chase that maybe my Lady Worthing might be able to solve. Who knew that a billion-dollar corporation couldn\u2019t get a handle on UPS? Perhaps this is only affecting a few. Perhaps, it\u2019s only an issue for certain publishers. Perhaps, only certain authors are in limbo. Oh, the DEI of it all.<\/p>\n<p>And yet.<\/p>\n<p>Here I am, a day or two before the New Year, finishing a WIP, my thirty-first book. Thirty-one. This one will be published in 2027\u2014the fourth Lady Worthing mystery, <em>Murder in St. James\u2019s Park<\/em>. I don\u2019t think I killed enough people. Severn House will have to tell me. So no matter how chaotic or frustrating the system can be, there\u2019s nothing I would rather do than sit down and write stories.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a storyteller.<\/p>\n<p>I come from a Southern mother who loved literature and a Caribbean father from who loved\u2014loved\u2014loved\u2014telling stories. Storytelling is not just what I do. It\u2019s what I am.<\/p>\n<p>So as I step into 2026, my word\u2014my declaration\u2014is <strong>ASCENT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Ascent means growth upward. Earned success. Elevation in status and income. It carries momentum. Inevitability. It is not loud, but it\u2019s unstoppable.<\/p>\n<p>My ascent into 2026 will be the manifestation of faithfulness. When you are faithful to your craft, faithful to your words, the seeds you planted return as harvest. The earth becomes gentle because you have cared for it. So no matter how crazy\u2014and I mean <em>crazy<\/em>\u2014this world becomes, no matter how many disappointments or kicks in the teeth you endure, do not give up.<\/p>\n<p>Because if you give up, they win.If you give up, every lie they told gets declared as truth.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t care that you\u2019re tired.They never cared that you\u2019re human.They do not care if you\u2019re sane.<\/p>\n<p>They will rejoice when you are defeated. That side partied too much in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m sorry. I have my dancing boots on right now. I\u2019m too stubborn to give up. I\u2019ve come too far from where I started from. And I have too many stories to tell.<\/p>\n<p>So my question to you, in this moment of crazy:Are you a leader?Are you a Moses?A Harriet Tubman?Or are you the woman who wrote <em>Kindred<\/em>? An Octavia Butler, gifted with foresight, who\u2019ll break stereotypes and venture into the unknown.<\/p>\n<p>I suspect some of you are. I know that your<em> <\/em><strong><em>ascent<\/em><\/strong><em> is not accidental; it\u2019s strategic. You\u2019ve swung for the fences, and it\u2019s your time.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So in 2026, choose <strong>ASCENT<\/strong> and leap into this new year with expectations. Let no one\u2014and I mean no one\u2014stop your rise.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s book list is a mixed bag of identity, womanhood, and manifest:<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/9266\/9780807083697\"><strong><em>Kindred<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> by Octavia E. Butler \u2013 <\/strong>This is a foundational work on power, survival, and historical memory. It\u2019s a classic. Let it be your entry to her storytelling.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/9266\/9781580911863\"><strong>Sister Outsider<\/strong><\/a> by <strong>Audre Lorde \u2013 <\/strong>This collection of essays examines womanhood as a site of power, insisting that Black women\u2019s differences, their anger, and lived experience are sources of knowledge, survival, and transformation.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/9266\/9781780370361\"><strong>Lara<\/strong><\/a><strong> by Bernardine Evaristo <\/strong>\u2013 This novel traces lineage, migration, and identity across centuries, reflecting inheritance and storytelling.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This week, I\u2019m highlighting <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mjudsonbooks.com\/https:\/www.mahoganybooks.com\"><strong>Mahogany Booksellers<\/strong><\/a><strong> through their website and <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/shop\/mahogany\"><strong>Bookshop.org<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We are fifteen+ days away from the release of <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mahoganybooks.com\/9780063271043\"><strong>Fire Sword and Sea<\/strong><\/a><strong>. She comes out on January 13<\/strong><strong>th<\/strong><strong>, 2026. Caribbean women pirates\u2014That\u2019s Black women pirates who sail the seas for adventure, a better life, or because they darn well felt like it. Imagine what their truth is. Help me get folks talking about this book.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Consider purchasing Fire Sword and Sea from <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/9266\/9780063271043\"><strong>Mahogany Booksellers<\/strong><\/a><strong> or one of my partners in the fight<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\"><strong>, bookstores<\/strong><\/a><strong> large and small who are in this fight with me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Come on my readers, my beautiful listeners. Let\u2019s get everyone excited for Fire Sword and Sea and 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Show notes include a list of the books mentioned in this broadcast.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanessariley.com\/\"><strong>VanessaRiley.com<\/strong><\/a><strong>, under the podcast link in the About tab.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Enjoying the vibe? Go ahead and like this episode, share, and subscribe to <\/strong><strong><em>Write of Passage<\/em><\/strong><strong> so you never miss a moment.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for listening. Hopefully, you\u2019ll come again. This is Vanessa Riley.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>This is a public episode. If you&#8217;d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_2\">vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"vanes-4037049682\" class=\"vanes-after-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 3px;margin-right: 3px;margin-bottom: 3px;margin-left: 3px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?fit=1080%2C1350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Listen to the Write of Passage Weekly Podcast\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"540\" height=\"675\"   \/><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The title of this essay changed from \u2018What the Hell\u2019 to \u2018Was I Really a DEI Hire?\u2019\u2014and then reality set in. 2025 was a year of whiplash: pride, disbelief, resistance. But I\u2019m still here, with a new book coming in January, while finishing my thirty-first one. I\u2019m a storyteller. And in 2026, I\u2019m coming in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,793,9,620,756,694],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-stories","category-politics","category-recommended-reading","category-syndication","category-technology","category-tv-and-film"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/b7094b300e0cb0917b7bfdfe577086fb.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}