Hello, and welcome to my two cents!
I’m Dolly,[1] and I’m married to my wonderfully funny, kind, loving, and brilliant (but broken) husband MFT, a misfit toy on the Island of Misfit Toys. (Gen-Xers know . . .)
As this is the first post, I feel I should tell you my reasons for starting this blog. This is, after all, my blog, and while I hope most of what I write will be scintillating, I reserve the right to share things purely for my own particular pleasure.
First, for the several years that I’ve had this blog idea percolating around in my head, I’ve envisioned it being a place to connect with and encourage others who are living on the outside of the bars, both newbies and veterans. I’ve received so much help in my own journey that I’d like to give back. This is not an easy life, and we gotta stick together! <3
It seems that most people view prisoners as less than human—irredeemable knuckle-draggers and devious conmen. Well, I’m here to challenge that view! Do you believe that all people who go to church are good people? . . . Didn’t think so.
(*psst* Not everybody in prison is a bad person.)
This is also going to be my passive response to the people who have dropped me for marrying MFT. We’re going on four years of wedded bluster-n-bliss, so take that! *KAPOW* And I’m just as much in love with him (even more) than when I first met him. So take that! *KAPOW KAPOW*
[Insert “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain.]
Now for some minor, purely personal reasons:
I need a platform, folks! MFT and I are writing a book, and we are almost to the finding-a-publisher phase. Getting your book published nowadays requires a platform . . . with followers . . . lots of them. This is so publishers can have confidence that there are people out there who will actually want to buy your book. “Look at all these people who already like what I write!” So please, tell people about this lil’ ol’ blog o’ mine.
Writing for this blog will help refine my voice. As an aspiring writer, this is important. (What distinguishes one writer from another is their voice—the manner or way of writing that is unique to that writer. If a writer has a strong voice and you are presented with a new piece of their writing without knowing it’s theirs, you’ll be able to tell it’s them just from how it’s written.)
And finally, I’ve wanted my own blog since blogs were first popular and it seemed that all my friends had one. At the time, I didn’t trust myself not to write something stupid or embarrassing. (Oversharing was a real possibility.) Later, I didn’t think I had anything worth sharing with the world, and I’ve never been fond of the idea of using a blog as a journal—heavens, NO! You can read my journal after I’m dead. But now I do have something worth sharing. Thank you, MFT.
A few loose ends—
- All content written by me will be written by me (not AI).
- Email me at dolly@misfit-toy.com and I will respond. (Maybe not timely, but eventually.) You can also email MFT at mft@misfit-toy.com, and he will also reply (even less timely than me, because—you know—prison).
- I’m sure the haters will be sharpening their blades. Shoo fly! Save that nonsense for someone else.
- Full disclosure: My husband is incarcerated, and I am married to him (in case you missed that). And yes, we have sex (never fear, there will be a blog post on that—more than one, if MFT has his way). So, needless to say, this blog will feature adult content. Murder and prison and sex, oh my! You’ve been duly titllated.
Enjoy!
[1] All names will be changed to protect the not-so-innocent.