Hey everyone! I’m J. Jacob Marion and, unlike a certain someone *cough Alex Aster *cough cough*, I actually have been trying to get published for ten years now and still haven’t managed to get my six-figure deal yet. Being a writer and having people all around the world reading my work is my dream and my life’s work, and, at this point, it’s really my only option. I’m tired of waiting for the gatekeepers in the industry to decide to give me a chance, I’m tired of making myself sick from stress and work trying to do this all on my own, and I’m tired of feeling like a fail and a burden on my parents who are as of this year both retired. So, you all might be my last hope.
I’m an LGBT, disabled writer and this is all I can do, I’ve tried getting other jobs, but have gotten nothing. I’ve been querying for a decade and not one agent has showed a shred of interest in my work. My books are LGBT, diverse, challenge the status quo, and subvert genre expectations. I don’t just want to write trivial, cash-ins, I don’t want to write work that’s only just passable, I want to write work that is legitimately GOOD! I want people all around the world to read my books and love them! Maybe even see themselves in a story for the very first time!
And, at this point, I think the only way I can still achieve my dream is for you all to help me, to get loud about my work, to show how interested you all are about it, and to help me make the industry listen to people like me and like us. Being a LGBT, disabled, and on the autism spectrum, dreams are something that we often don’t get to have, but my dream is the only thing that’s kept me going all this time. I can’t lose it. I refuse to give up on it.
Witch Hazel is the Anti-Harry Potter, it’s a story about marginalized people trying to find the magic and power that once belonged to them and which they need to fight against a world that slows grinds them all down. It’s a story about oppression, colonialism, the harm marginalized groups do to each other, and what we need to do to overturn the status quo.
I can’t promise that I or my books will be perfect or will deal with every topic or representation completely perfectly, I can’t promise you doomed, toxic romances, or all the spicy scenes between teenagers that BookTok seems to love (though my books can be quite horny when they want to be!), but I can promise that I will do everything I can to give you the books that you deserve! Books that are actually GOOD! Books that don’t disappoint you once they come out! Books that push the boundaries and make room for other people like me and like us! Books that are powerful, resonant, and have something to say! Books that maybe could even change the world, if only in some small way.
Together, I have to believe that we can do this. That we can make my dream a reality. I’d give anything to be a successful writer, to be able to be independent, to be able to look after my parents as they get older, to be able to finally live my life! I have to believe it’s possible. I don’t think I have any other options than just sitting, waiting, praying, and slowly getting sicker and sicker from stress and rejection.
So, help me! Get loud! Share this trailer around! Tell all your friends and your audiences about it! Do what you all do best! Do whatever it is you’ve done for authors in the past! Please! Help me!
And, if you also want to help support me financially, I do have a Patreon which is my only source of income. For as little as $1 USD/month, you get to read all my work before anyone else, get to follow along as I edit, and get exclusive previews, drafts, and additions that might not make it into the final book.
So, will you all help an LGBT, disabled writer? Have I finally found my audience? Have I finally found some people who are willing to fight for my dreams alongside me?
Music is Wrecked by Pendaison
