#70: voting time - and did she love him?

What the archives have to say about Wallis Simpson.

Howdy, my darlings -

As I write this, I’m staring at two unfinished art projects I’ve been itching to get my hands on, I haven’t packed for my trip to Belfast to participate at EasterCon¹, and rabbit hay is strewn all over my house before a last-minute clean for very lovely friends coming to take care of our bunnies while Rhody and I are gone.

Sometimes, life piles up on you. But the joy of it is that it’s filled with things I love: writing community, traveling to new countries, bunnies, art projects. When I went to my first writing convention last August, I emerged with a new idea for a novel. Now, I’m over 70,000 words into its first draft and am determined to finish it in May!

Who knows where my creative heart will take me by the time I come back next Tuesday.

Today’s voting time, folks, so we’re keeping it short and sweet. First…

     💌 I'll remind you how this whole voting thing works,
     💌 dish about Wallis Simpson's secret discontent,
     💌 and y'all will vote, baby, vote for May's topic!

Did you know I have an Etsy for postcard prints? Get your snail mail needs met!

🗳 Here’s how voting works

For all my new friends, welcome! Every month, y’all vote on three things:

1. The required word for this month’s microfiction

2. The required action for this month’s microfiction

3. Next month’s topic

✍️ Microfiction?

Once voting closes on the 28th, I’ll have only 48 hours to write you a story short enough to fit on a postcard and based on the month’s research, using the prompts you picked. I’ll also reveal the following month’s theme.

This month’s short story will be all about the abdication of Edward VIII:

Once my short story’s out in the world for you, it’s your turn. Write your own microfiction that follows the prompts, then post it in the comments, email it to me, or send it in a telegram intercepted by secret police.

This month, you’re choosing between four rad topics:

1. Fifty Lady Sharpshooters Await: Annie Oakley's brave pitch to President McKinley

2. Let's get inspired: Octavia Butler's letter to herself

3. Dissenter, hero, poet: queer WWI hero Siegfried Sassoon's private letters

4. Cher Monsieur Caubet: the bundle of WWI letters I bought from a Toulouse flea market

Got a strong opinion? Voting is fun! Easy! And signing up gives you artwork to hang in your home or on your fridge:

You can also join my Patreon for as low as $2 a month to vote:

If you’re feeling ~vote curious~, dip your toes in and unlock your free post below.

But first…

We know Edward VIII was gaga for Wallis Simpson but…

Did she love him?

For years, it seemed cut and dry: Wallis and Edward were fated lovers, destined to be together no matter the cost. But when we see the actual proof in the pudding, there might have been another man Wallis loved: her second husband, Ernest Simpson.

In a letter to him not long before they got married, she wrote to her soon-to-be ex-husband and said…