My Third Anthology Publication – UnCensored Ink by Wild Ink Publishing

Today, I received a Halloween treat. My copy of UnCensored Ink: A Banned Book Inspired Anthology came from Amazon. This is my third anthology publication and second with Wild Ink Publishing.

The anthology is available everywhere books are sold, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 50 percent of all proceeds will be donated to the American Library Association.

I’m so excited to tell you about this anthology and my story.

My Invitation to Write for UnCensored Ink

Earlier this year, my good friend and the lead anthologist for UnCensored Ink, Amy Nielsen, invited me to contribute a story. Since the anthology draws awareness to the issues of book banning and censorship in the United States, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be part of this project. I fully believe in intellectual freedom, so I’m honored I was able to join the other authors in a combined fight against censorship.

A Peek Into “Age of the Vocaprompter”

UnCensored Ink is divided into sections that reflect the Dewey Decimal Classification System, which is super unique and fitting, if you ask me. I wrote a middle grade dystopian story for the Technology section (600) called “Age of the Vocaprompter.”

My story takes place in the United States in the year 5012. Books have been burned, writing utensils have been banned, and verbal communication is censored by a bluetooth technology system called the Vocaprompter. At age six, Americans are injected with speech serum that carries a liquid transmitter through their veins, which is paired to their Vocaprompter. Words appear on the tablet, and if someone doesn’t speak exactly what’s on the screen, the speech serum in their bloodstream electrocutes them. Once someone hits one hundred zaps, they die.

Lotus, my protagonist, wants to bring down the bluetooth technology system before her little sister, Alexa, turns six years old and loses control of her voice. Ever since her father died by the hands of the government’s wicked invention, Lotus has been sneaking into her mother’s room at night to steal her copy of the only book in the United States, which is about the Vocaprompter, and a folder of classified documents, since her mother works for the Department of Communication. Lotus has found a document with the technology’s self-destruct procedure, but the sequence’s last number is replaced by a question mark and Lotus can’t figure out what it is. She’s out of time, though, because Alexa turns six the next day. Left with no choice, Lotus takes her mother’s key to the government building that houses the pool of speech serum. The number pad that controls the technology is at the bottom of the pool, so Lotus must crack the sequence’s code fast and swim through the poison to reach the number pad. Little does she know her intrusion will get her locked inside the chamber with death mist, and once she enters the sequence at the bottom of the pool, she’ll have only a minute to escape the building before it explodes.

“Age of the Vocaprompter” is my first middle grade dystopian story, and I truly loved writing it. I stepped out of my comfort zone in many ways while crafting this one. I’m so glad it found its forever home in UnCensored Ink.

Receiving My Copy of UnCensored Ink

The anthology was published on October 29, and I woke up feeling beyond excited that my third short story was out in the world.

I had to be patient, though. My copy came two days later. It was definitely worth the wait. Enjoy my unboxing video.

I was all smiles holding the book while wearing my Wild Ink hoodie.

Thank you so much to Amy for inviting me to contribute a story, Ian for being a fabulous editor and interviewing me for Wild Ink’s blog ahead of publication, and Abby and the rest of the team for working so hard to bring this book to life. I’m honored to be included in UnCensored Ink and hope this book plays a role in spreading awareness and making a difference. Like Lotus in my story, we must fight for our intellectual freedom.