Hi, my name is Allison, and I am an American.

This is normally inconsequential.  The second home to my heart is Quebec; I’d move to Paris in a heartbeat, and have friends on every continent, at a quick estimation.

I don’t mean to brag, I mean to say I love my planet, and its people, but it’s just easier as a matter of my birth to be American, and also I have a greater magnitude of people I love on this continent, so I would be sad to see it suffer.

Most of my readers are American. If you’re not American, you’ve probably asked “WTF” several times at our politics lately.  Hell, probably if you’re American, too.  It’s the most WTF-ish election season since…since…maybe since our second election, if the musical Hamilton can be trusted.  Actually, you don’t need to listen to my post anymore, you can just go listen to Hamilton star Daveed Diggs break it down for us.

YES.  We’ve managed to pit a woman with an unfaithful husband and a frustrating-seeming email thing happening against a man accused of election fraud, child rape, and fraudulent business practices who is himself an unfaithful husband, as well as a racist, a misogynist and a xenophobe.  And he has a chance of winning.  I’ve stuck my hand in an electrical socket, and been less shocked.

He said what?!

I am extremely privileged.  If this election ends up in Dante’s Inferno, I’ll personally probably be safe enough.  Except I won’t, because in my family and friend group, white, wealthy, straight, natural citizens are a vast minority.  Most of my people are not-straight, trans, non-binary, people of color, or immigrants.  And I freaking love them with all my heart.  So, when they are threatened, it is like my own person is threatened and I am compelled to respond.  You don’t come to my house and tell me some people aren’t people enough to deserve freedom.

So, this particular election is really fucking important.

In real problems, Hillary is hawkish, and has managed to hurt a lot of brown people in other countries and here with her warlike ways.  But she’s also pretty honest? And has said she’s kinda sick of war–with Syria and in South America.  In fake problems, get over it.  Yes, she’s a super qualified woman who could kick the shit out of her man-baby opponent but instead laughs in his face, unperturbed by his looming mass, and subtly pulling his every string, like the political master she is.  And she’s gonna be our president.

I get why man-babies are scared.  When a group you’ve stomped on for a very long time gets into a position of power over you, it’s natural to assume they’ll do to you what you did to them.  But she ain’t petty.  She ain’t never been petty.  So just say sorry if you can or ignore it if you can’t, and let’s not start the apocalypse, shall we?

God DAMMIT, Sammy!

“Why are you talking about this on your book blog, Allison? I trusted you!”

Yeah, I’m sorry.  This is just a big deal.  See, if I have to go to fight for the freedoms of my gender and my friends again, I won’t have very much time to write.  And, in the context of my writing, Lia, Nisha, Joon, James, RJ, and many more would be heartbroken and either removed, incarcerated, or functionally executed under Clinton’s opponent.  I know you haven’t met them all yet, but I have, and it’s hard to look at them and say this world is safe for them, or the people I love who have inspired them.

Names have power. We shall not invoke the radiant orange darkness here.

My books are about monsters, yes, but ultimately the things that wreak the most havoc are this fragile thing called humanity.  The Summoner Sisters is about saving humans from humans and this is a key example.

If you’re American, I hope you do the right thing.  If you’re not, please know that most of us tried really hard.

See you on the other side.