Amanda Salisbury

“…a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” - Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, 1929

The room of my own sits at the front of my house. It was once a formal dining / sitting room for some other owners, and one wall still has a wallpaper mural that I can't quite let go (see my cover photo). The carpet torn out, its concrete floor reveals the secrets of builders from forty-some-odd years ago: circles of stain and paint, splatters, scars. A big, oval-ish desk, an unwanted cast-off from an office where it was handed down among hand-me-downs, dominates my half of the space, with a matching credenza flanking one side. Behind me, another older desk sits facing metal shelves stacked with supplies and books. That desk holds art supplies and lots of stories of its own.

At the other end of the room, my husband sits at a makeshift desk he uses when working from home. Past that, a music space awaits my boys and their band instruments for daily practice.

I'm in Oklahoma. Space is a thing we have.

Money...that's a different story altogether. Depression, anxiety, and conversion disorder have isolated me from a career I once had, and I constantly fight my way back. But my computer is a mid-2011 iMac, which is, thankfully, running but about to be an un-updateable relic. I have two blogs, the expenses for which circle around annually. Professional memberships, not to mention writing conferences and retreats, inch out of reach. And my student loans will come out of forbearance later this year.

I am grateful and fortunate to have my husband's income and health insurance. Still, I would like to build back, to take some of the weight from my husband's shoulders, and to discover some independence again.

At $2000 a month, I can continue my blogs, update my computer, and begin to help with life expenses for myself, my husband, and our three boys. Diminishing stress from lack of income, I plan to continue writing short fiction, polish and query longer fiction and another picture book, and begin crafting people's life stories with them.

I am the author-illustrator of Moon Mail and Star Kisses, a picture book for anyone who's ever missed anyone. I hope you can help me be the writer of many more books for children through adults.

For as little as $1, you can begin receiving original flash fiction, available to patrons before anyone else. At $2, you will also receive an original short story every month. Thank you for reading this far! I am encouraged by your presence here.