When Hansen House started last spring, it was just me (Elizabeth), working tirelessly behind a computer. I was hoping to make my, and someone else’s, dreams come true. I was running a one woman show, wearing a nice collection of hats, and I didn’t have much to go on but faith, trust and pixie dust that everything would work out.
And then we opened to submissions right before SFF pitch wars, and along came Shawna!
She put her whole faith in me and my little dream that first month as I stumbled through the process. I don’t know if I ever told her how much her patience meant to me. But she wasn’t just patient. She was confident. Her faith in me never waivered, and her faith brought Cate into our lives.
If I thought Shawna was confident? Cate is a powerhouse of ideas as big as mine with gumption to boot. With the two of them in my ear, I started to believe that I didn’t need pixie dust. I was capable of doing this. All I needed was to believe (and grow a little).
The three of us together was a whole new dynamic, and it just made sense. It wasn’t long before we were talking about more than just the books. We started sharing more of our own stories, more of our lives with each other, and connecting more like friends than colleagues.
Now? They’re more like family.
It’s unbelievable to me how quickly the right people will come into your life, become part of your life, like they were meant to be there from the beginning.
These two amazing women challenge me, not just in writing or publishing, but rather, they challenge me to be a better version of myself. I strive to do the same for them. In the last five months, they have helped me through so many emotional struggles, and I can feel myself yearning for the side of me that they can see.
I actively strive to be the person they believe I am because I think maybe they see me for me, and not for the mask I’ve hidden behind for so long. I’ve grown this year; with them, along side them, because of them.
Growth is what we do. Healing is what we do. Hope is the biggest part of our world now.
So, it is with great pleasure that I announce submissions for the first ever Hansen House anthology are now open until Apr 9. HH will be publishing a collection of LGBTQ+ SFF stories titled “Elixir”. The theme is Hope and Healing – something we’ve held dear in our house, and now we invite you to join us.