Prevailing Against Long Odds: A Word on Our Plans
History is a potent and sometimes difficult teacher. As we forward our press’s operations in this historical moment, I find myself looking to history for lessons, and inspiration. And it seems, strangely, that I’ve found that inspiration closer to home than I’d have imagined.
Leslie Davis (1876-1960) was an American lawyer and diplomat of the early 20th century. In his role as US Consul in Harput– modern day Elazig, Turkey– he documented the Armenian Genocide as it happened, and helped shelter and save as many people as possible for as long as possible.
Assisting him in that work, as clerk and chief interpreter, was my great-grandfather, Harootune Pekmezian: a professor, lay preacher, and a college-educated person in an era when that was rare in the US, let alone in the late Ottoman Empire.
In reading Davis’ report on their work– published in 1989 as The Slaughterhouse Province– I’ve found that something about my great-grandfather’s work stands out to me in particular. While his world collapsed around him, he continued to teach, as seen in the excerpt below.
It was not simply a way of passing the time. Even while everything seemed to fall to pieces, my great-grandfather and the consul for whom he worked, understood that the seeds of another world needed planting and tending.
And here I am, 3 generations on, living proof that their work bore fruit.
A century after Mr. Davis and my great-grandfather saved lives and helped build futures, I am watching as my country, in one state after another, enacts genocidal laws against trans people, their right to healthcare, work, and in general to existence itself. Regrettably, Texas– where our press is currently based– is one such jurisdiction, which between laws that are already enacted, on the eve of being enacted, or are being put forth by the party in power, threaten our ability to continue to do business there.
But I feel that there is a measure of courage I draw from my great-grandfather’s example, when I consider that life, storytelling, education, all of it must go on, even in the face of genocidal rhetoric and policies. All of this is, in its own way, one form of taking a stand against this terrible tide.
To this end, Balance of Seven will soon move from being a Texas-based LLC to a Vermont-based LLC. In so doing we will continue to ensure our press’s ability to work, to advocate, to advertise, in a jurisdiction where local and state level laws protect our LGBTQ authors and staff. Our press began in Texas, and our solidarity remains with our LGBTQ colleagues and comrades there. This move is no fault of theirs, but is rather the work of one petty tyrant in the governor’s mansion, his legislative enablers, and the means through which they gerrymander electoral districts and suppress dissent.
As we handle the paperwork of this move behind the scenes, we will continue on our editorial schedule and in our book sales and convention appearances in the meantime. And our greater work will also continue, as we prioritize our authors and lift their voices.
While madmen destroy the world, we will plant the seeds of a kinder one to come– work I am proud to spearhead as this press’s managing director, and as Harootune Pekmezian’s great-granddaughter.
Meanwhile, there’s a battle to win, and we can prevail against long odds if we stand together. Come, let’s march on together.
In Solidarity,
Nyri A. Bakkalian, Ph.D.
Managing Director
A Word on AI
In light of recent developments in the publishing world,
With concern for our authors’ livelihoods and in the name of publishing ethics and protecting our authors’ means of self-expression, and
In the name of clarifying our stance as an organization amidst a growing situation that demands a statement:
We at Balance of Seven Press wish to state for the record that we will not publish anything using AI-generated material. While we understand that AI-assisted technology is a part of modern writing apps, there is a difference between the app catching spelling errors and the app writing your book or story for you.
Further, as AI-generated material necessarily relies on existing content– be it writing or art– and uses source material regardless of copyright status, we also wish to avoid plagiarism issues.
Our priority is our authors. We wish to lift their voices in a world that between its cruelty and now its flood of automatically generated prose, threatens to drown those voices out.
This, too, is how we keep the magic in publishing.
Help Us Forge a New Path
Hello, Readers– here’s a bit of an update and an appeal.
Balance of Seven is, as you know, realigning and preparing operations and plans now that our staff has grown. We will be launching a crowdfunding campaign soon for the costs of our upcoming books, but we have an extant campaign over on Patreon, by way of which Word Splurge runs. But the Patreon also funds our expenses and operations, and we’re coming up to a really important landmark. With another $3 a month, we will have the cost of all our subscriptions– URLs, SSL certificates, Canva, other such tools– covered. Then $50 more beyond that, and we’ll be in a position to start to pay our staff for their work.
WordSplurge is a fun time, and a good space in which I’ve gotten to meet wonderful folks writing a variety of projects and receive and offer support for bringing these stories to light. So please consider joining WordSplurge for $10/month at https://www.patreon.com/BalanceofSeven and help us continue to grow at the same time.
We appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for your support, and for your friendship as we embark upon this next chapter!
-N.A.B.
Available for Preorder: “The Mountains Under Her Feet”
It’s nearly the end of January, and we at Balance of Seven have been hard at work in getting our new team organized, and getting all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed in growing from a two person to 6 person operation while continuing to move forward on the books you can expect from us this year.
But you know us: we charge into challenges and drive hard as we bring new books to light despite everything.
It’s who we are.
And so it is my distinct privilege to announce that Catherine Vance’s amazing novel The Mountains Under her Feet is available for preorder! This is an incredible story that I had the honor of working on as a historical consultant.
Mountains Under her Feet is a story of women facing incredible challenges, the travails of a rural community, the effects of intergenerational trauma, the impact of world-historical events on everyday people, and so much more. I am excited to see this book reach you all.
In the meantime, please join me in preordering your copy– US paperback preorder here, or ebook version via Itchio here. International paperback preorders, and ebook editions on other platforms, will be coming soon.
And while you’re at it– drop Catherine a follow at https://www.instagram.com/bluemtns2sea/ and let her know you’re looking forward to this book!
More from us soon.
-N.A.B.
Bearing the Most, Bowing the Lowest
It has, in the fullness of time, come to me to be the new face of Balance of Seven Press, as its managing director, so I’d like to say a few words by way of introduction.
この度、バランス•オブ•セブン社の新代表取締役社長就任によって挨拶の言葉を一言申し上げたいと思います。
Once, in what increasingly feels like a lifetime ago, my first grownup job was as a font coder and messenger at a press in Beirut, Lebanon. My career has taken me through academe and libraries, but has brought me back, in a real sense, to where I began.
Transitions of any sort are a challenge, and involve some measure of uncertainty. But they are also an opportunity for new beginnings and still greater heights, if only we embrace that measure of uncertainty. We can rise to that challenge today.
I am Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian, and I’m the new Managing Director of Balance of Seven. Some of you already know me as one of the press’s authors– I’ve participated in 3 of its anthologies; the press has also published two of my novels. To say I have a stake here is an understatement: I am living proof of how this press changes lives and trains up professionals.
When I began with Balance of Seven as an author, I was a new PhD graduate who suddenly had to reinvent herself in the face of a callous world and being overqualified or too risky for every job she applied for. All I had from which to build a new career was my writing, and I was worried about being the archetypal Starving Artist. Founder and outgoing CEO Ynes Freeman taught me how to think like a businesswoman even as I grew as a creative. In the years since then, I’ve become a successful freelance author, scholar, streamer, and podcaster, able to make this work my full time focus. I have also learned to constantly hone my understanding of project management, social media marketing, and bridge-building with individuals and organizations in and around the publishing and book selling industry. I am eager to bring that to bear in this new role.
It is gratifying that I am not alone. Tod Tinker will continue in being a central figure in the press’s operations. Several others from among our authors will be stepping up as well in a staff role. We come from a variety of backgrounds and bring a variety of skillsets, all of which will be instrumental in where we hope to take the press next. I will be better positioned to be my best as director with their help, and am humbled to work alongside them, for their presence will keep me honest in turn. There is a Japanese expression: minoru hodo atama o sagaru inaho kana 実るほど頭が下がる稲穂哉. The rice-stalk that bears the most, bows the lowest.
We have some fantastic new titles and projects coming your way this year, which you’ll be hearing about soon. We will also be improving how we get our books farther and into more hands, and further sharpening the ways in which we help our authors hone their skill at advocating for their own and each other’s works.
In short, we will all rise and be raised together.
So. Are you ready?
-NAB
29 December 2022
Pride Month: Your Story Matters – Dr. Bakkalian
by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian
It matters, now more than ever, to uplift trans voices and read trans stories, and for us trans authors, to write those stories.
In Grey Dawn, we learn Chloë Parker Stanton’s view of the first day at the Battle of Gettysburg. On the second day, when the 20th Maine Regiment held the far left of the Union line, its situation was dire and its soldiers exhausted and out of ammunition. Its commander, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, took advantage of the courageous stand of friendly units beside his, and chose to advance rather than retreat, giving the fateful order of “Bayonet, forward!” His unit swung into action in a charge that drove off the Rebel onslaught and saved his position from being overrun.
Now is no time to retreat. Our lives are at stake, and if we are silent and passive now, those who would silence our voices forever will win.
Balance of Seven, as a trans-owned press, is committed. So, your stories matter. Together, we can win.
Bayonet, forward.
About the Author
Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian is an Armenian American queer woman by birth and a military historian by training. She is proud to have called both the American and Japanese northeasts her home. She has produced nonfiction, fiction, and photography content for more than a dozen publications, as well as for Eisner Award-nominated author Magdalene Visaggio’s Kim & Kim. What’s her secret, you ask? Garlic and Turkish coffee (but really, mostly Turkish coffee). Come say hi to her on Twitter, Facebook, and Patreon at riversidewings.
About Grey Dawn
Grey Dawn is a tale of war, abolition, union, and women who forge ties that carry them from one life into the next. When the grey dawn breaks on a new era and a new cause, who can you trust to fight beside you?
Vermont Sci-Fi and Fantasy Expo
by Charleigh Brennan
Hi everyone!I wanted to update you all on how the Vermont Sci-Fi and Fantasy Expo went. In one word: Amazing!
In many words: I had so much fun. There were more booths than last year, I got to see some familiar faces from last year, and I made some really amazing new friends. I got to speak on a couple of panels. Both panels ran on both days, so I got to do them twice.
The “Creating a Character” panel was fun because I was on it with some of the same people I was on the panel with last year, and we got some really great questions. I mentioned the Brian Jacques Redwall series when someone asked about how to write non-human characters, which got another member of the audience really excited. She was so adorable and clearly read even more of the series than I have (it’s a fantastic series and I highly recommend it, btw.) There was another person who asked some fantastic questions, and when I talked to him later on, I was so impressed by the projects he was working on. I really hope to see him get published some day.
The second panel was “Mental Health and Gaming.” Anyone who knows me outside of my writing knows that mental health is my thing (or maybe my other thing. I have so many things.) The two other panelists were fantastic, and we had great discussions on how to utilize games to help treat things like trauma and mood disorders (both were developing therapeutic D&D style games) and we also talked about how games are a great place to practice positive cognitive and social skills in a low or no risk environment. They’re great for trying on personas and discovering sides of our identities that we don’t always get to safely explore in our day to day lives.
Someone randomly gave me a set of gaming dice with little pizzas in them (seriously cute dice!), I got to hang out with the sweetest therapy dog, I exchanged books with a fellow author, I bought some gorgeous wooden coasters, and I got to dress up, not in full cosplay, but in some fun costumey outfits.
I’m hoping to do more events, and if you know of any you’d like to see me at (and are within my budget, of course), let me know! I’m already in the process of looking at some library readings and may be looking at local renaissance faires or literary expos.
About the Author
Charleigh Brennan lives across the street from a cemetery. She’s grateful to have such quiet neighbors, as they give her plenty of time to be creative. Well, except when they get a little out of hand and knock items off her desk.
Charleigh has lived an unexpected life, veering off into odd and unexpected paths on more than one continent. She misses the temperate weather of her Northern California upbringing yet loves seeing actual seasons in her present home in New England. If only it didn’t snow for quite as long as it does. You can find Charleigh on Facebook page at charleighbrennanauthor.
About The Pizza-Pyre
Eighteen-year-old Josh Buckmilter knows what he wants: to level up his life. Go to college (+4 INT), get a steady job (+50 GOLD), and marry his dream girl, Harriet (+20 LUK). In other words, he wants a normal life, something he missed out on growing up.
But college is an epic boss battle he’s not ready for yet, not without some grinding. So while he saves money delivering pizzas in a car held together by duct tape and dreams, most of his thoughts center around gaming, pizza, and Harriet.
As far as Josh is concerned, pizza is a goddess and Harriet is her handmaiden. Much as he wants to, he can’t summon the courage to ask her out. But he’s not worried. With a little more grinding, he’s sure he’ll get there.
Until he gets a phone call that changes the game.
In his town, a long-abandoned mansion sits at the top of a hill. Kids sometimes sneak in with their friends for thrills, and it’s known as a frequent party spot for the high schoolers.
Only, it isn’t abandoned anymore. Word around town is, a glamorous young couple has moved in: beautiful, suave, and wealthy.
Most importantly, the new tenants are hungry.
And they’ve called for a pizza delivery boy.
PRESS RELEASE: Bringing Bolivar Peninsula to Houston
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bringing Bolivar Peninsula to Houston: Award-Winning Author Georgina Key to Sign Novel of Hope, Resilience at Blue Willow Bookshop
Houston, TX—Local author Georgina Key will be signing her award-winning book, Shiny Bits in Between, on May 21, 2022, at 1 PM at the Blue Willow Bookshop (www.bluewillowbookshop.com) in West Houston.
Winner of Best New Voice, Popular Fiction in the 2020 Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards and a Top 5 Finalist in the Author Elite Book Contest, Shiny Bits in Between casts a light on what it means to move forward after a life-changing tragedy. Set in both Houston and Bolivar Peninsula, Shiny Bits is a story of two women who regain their sense of self and hope through their connections with the Bolivar community.
“We’ve all been struggling during the past two years as we navigate our way through this pandemic. Always looking for those shiny bits in between the darkness is what keeps us going,” says Key.
Having relocated from her 1915 home in the historic Houston Heights to Houston’s historic Riverside Terrace neighborhood, Key’s commitment to preserving history through art remains at the forefront of her life. “Our house was built in the 1930s, and it was love at first sight for me. Places and respect for the lives of those who lived there are vital to me as both a writer and a lover of older homes and communities. My books center around this; whether they’re set in a remote community on the Texas Gulf Coast or in a small village in England, I write about places I know and love,” Key says. “Shiny Bits in Between is my love letter to Bolivar Peninsula.”
Blue Willow Bookshop, which will be hosting Key’s book signing, has been a community gem in West Houston since 1996. Named after the “blue willow” china pattern to reflect its comfortable, cozy feel, the bookshop is an intersection where local authors and readers connect.
“We love to connect readers and authors and are happy to welcome Georgina to the shop,” says Valerie Koehler, owner of the Blue Willow Bookshop.
“Living in COVID put a damper on travel and live events, but we’re back in full force now. It means so much to be sharing my story of resilience and transformation to a public audience for the first time in person. I’m a huge proponent of independent bookstores, and being represented by an independent press, Balance of Seven, it’s even more important to spread the word,” says Key.
For details on the Shiny Bits in Between live reading and signing, visit https://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/event/georgina-key-shiny-bits-between
ABOUT BALANCE OF SEVEN
Established in 2018, Balance of Seven, LLC, is a small independent press dedicated to keeping the magic in publishing. Our readers crave magic, and we aim to bring it to them by providing a platform for new voices and perspectives. We are owned and operated by a cis woman and a trans man: diversity and allyship are at the very core of our makeup. We bravely venture beyond genre; when publishing emerging voices, we find they often do not fit “inside the box.” Many of our books are award winning or #1 Amazon bestsellers, sometimes both. Come say hello to us and discover the book you didn’t know you loved at balanceofseven.com.
Reading is Magic Box – 40% of Each Purchase Supports Ukraine & Peace
by Sarah V. Hines
I wrote Hubris in a dark, bleak time in my life. I was dealing with unbearable struggles both inside and out. Hubris was a way to give a face to the pain and hopelessness that I battled with daily, as well as a discourse on the struggles humanity faced as a whole. I always meant for Hubris to be a statement to how difficult and yet how crucial it is to face the monsters that hold so much power over our everyday lives, who can act with impunity while innocent people pay the price.
We see a very real example of this in Ukraine today, as well as many places throughout modern history: the innocent people of a country must suffer, lives are sacrificed and courage is defined by everyday people’s resolve to stand up to face one madman’s ego and power. As the men and women of Ukraine—many of whom have never even served in the military—take on the monster whose power seems absolute, we see a struggle playing out in front of the world that has gone on for decades, sometimes with very little fanfare from our media. Today, we should recognize the horror and shame of invasions and occupations of people in Ukraine and around the world and stand strong in solidarity with those that fight for their right to exist.
In light of the invasion of Ukraine, I am honored to support Balance of Seven in their decision to donate 40% of all box sales to the charity Sunflower of Peace, who provides dire needed medical supplies to medics and doctors in Ukraine, saving lives when there is little time and resources to do so.
Our “Reading is Magic” box contains a copy of Hubris, as well as a handcrafted beanie, a handmade resin Libra pendant, a meditation for inner calm, and a holographic sticker drawn by yours truly. It is a great gift for readers in your life, as well as those that enjoy books about facing the monsters in the world. In these times, we need these folks more than ever.
About the Author
Sarah V. Hines was born in Ohio where she lived the first 17 years of her life before moving to Florida for a spell and then heading over to Washington, D.C. She is slowly working toward her bachelors in International Relations and Anthropology. She loves topics on fantasy, feminism and foreign policy. She also loves languages and is currently learning Russian, Spanish and Arabic. She is currently working on The Siren Tragedies Series, of which the first book, Hubris, will be published in April of 2022. Throughout the series, she combines various mythological themes to tell her stories.
About Hubris and the Reading is Magic Book Box
Telese’s yearning for freedom and Eric’s passion for knowledge bring them together in a dangerous alliance. They must challenge their old beliefs to bring together the warring Light and Dark Worlds, reveal magic to humans, and rally the Sirens against the father-leader who wrote their rules. Can Eric and Telese save humans and create a united, harmonious system of rule, or will the worlds they must align fall victim to their hubris?
40% of each purchase of the Reading is Magic Book Box will go to the Sunflower of Peace Foundation.
Each box contains:
- A paperback copy of Hubris (The Siren Tragedies) – with signed bookplate
- A hand-knitted “Read” cap
- A “Saving the World One Page at a Time” 3” round holographic sticker
- A handcrafted themed velvet charm bookmark
- A “Find Your Balance” mantra card to help alleviate stress and heaviness
- A sparkling indigo Libra (balance) charm, made of resin
READING IS MAGIC BOX WILL SHIP APRIL 2022
I Knew
by Theodore Niretac Tinker
A common question or conversation piece I hear around the trans identity is “When did you know?”
“When did you know you didn’t identify as the gender you were assigned at birth?”
“When did you know you were [insert preferred gender here]?”
“When did you know you were transgender?”
I have heard answers that range anywhere from childhood to late in life. I have heard people talk about their discomfort in their own bodies, their desire to live as another gender, their claiming of pronouns that were not allowed them in the beginning.
Yet when the question gets posed to me, I flounder. Because I didn’t accept myself as trans until I was about thirty and preparing for my wedding and my now-wife (who is also trans) and I decided that we wanted to get married as ourselves, with me in a suit and her in a dress. It was only within that two-year period of wedding planning that I accepted that, yes, I am a man.
But is that really when I knew?
As I explore my inner self and get more comfortable with who I truly am, I’ve come to realize that the knowledge was there long before I acknowledged it. Long before I had the words with which to acknowledge it.
I knew when I was twenty-five. I preferred men’s clothing over women’s—and not just because of the pockets, which are an entire issue all their own with which I fully commiserate. With plans to go to both my cousin’s wedding and a fancy writing event all in one weekend in California, I splurged on an entirely new outfit: gray pinstripe pants, matching gray pinstripe fedora, white button-down shirt, nice tie, and fancy black wingtip shoes. And for the first time in my life, I felt comfortable in fancy clothing. I might not have had the words to claim I was a man, but in that outfit, I knew.
I knew when I was eighteen. When another student gave a single presentation on how to tie a tie—on how to tie a tie!—I became so enthralled, my daily outfit for at least a semester became jeans, a t-shirt, and a tie—in a full Windsor knot, to boot. And not just any tie, but one that I matched with the t-shirt—the first time in my life I bothered to color-coordinate my clothing. I had to deal with questions, from classmates and family. I might have had difficulty explaining, might not have had the words to say who I really was, but in those ties, I knew.
I knew when I was twelve. When I first read Tamora Pierce’s The Lioness series, I grew so enamored of the concept of a girl pretending to be a boy that so many of my future story ideas were based around such characters. Eventually, I settled on Peace of Evon as the one such concept that I would nurture into a full series. And I might not have had the understanding to recognize myself in the anonymous king as much as, if not more than, the girl pretending to be a boy. But in the secrecy and dread of the true self being revealed and rejected, I knew.
I knew when I was seven. That was the first time I got my hair cut short—boyishly short. I remember wanting to look like my dad and being somewhat disappointed when the short haircut was still shaped as a girl’s cut. I would spend the next twenty or so years switching back and forth between long and short hair without really understanding why or being about to put words to the struggle. But in the image my father presented me, I knew.
So despite not understanding and accepting myself as trans until I was thirty, I’ve known for most of my life.
This is one reason I’m insistent on presenting my true self as an author and in the stories I write. Because even if people—children or adults—don’t have the words to understand or communicate who they are, they can still know. And the more representation of who they might be that they see in the world—in stories and in the authors who write them—the easier it becomes to accept and discuss.
About the Author
Theodore Niretac Tinker is a worldbuilder. Words and worlds are his passion; quality and consistency, his goal. A three-time award-winning fantasy author, he has been through such a winding journey as an author that he wishes to help as many other writers and authors navigate the journey with ease and quality as possible. With a certificate in editing from the University of Chicago (home of The Chicago Manual of Style), Tod has spent the last few years achieving this goal by providing editing services for his fellow writers. His bachelor’s degree in mathematics gives him an eye for details, as well as the big picture, enhancing his worldbuilding skills. Tod supports his many literary endeavors with an endless supply of chocolate, which he hoards in his library alongside his books like any good dragon. You can follow Tod on Facebook and Twitter at @TNTinkerEditing for daily discussions under the hashtag #EditingTidbit. Check out TheodoreNTinker.com for more information on Tod’s editing services and available publications. Many of his previous fiction publications, including his Evon series and eleven short stories, can be found under his former pen name, Dorothy Tinker.
About Fiction Tinker’s Guide to Whimsical Worlds
The starting idea for a story may come easily, but many writers get lost when plunging into specifics. Which details should you seek on your quest to create a convincing world that enchants your readers? How do you keep from getting lost down the proverbial rabbit hole?
With his friendly and down-to-earth approach, Theodore Niretac Tinker-three-time award-winning author and seasoned developmental editor-will guide you through your journey to connect the dots, tie up loose ends, and gain new insights into your world.
