We met some fantastic authors/artists/writers through Indie Blu(e)’s anthology: But You Don’t Look Sick: The Real Life Adventures of Fibro Bitches, Lupus Warriors, and other Super Heroes Battling Invisible Illness. This was a hard anthology to work on. People suffering from invisible illness are incredibly strong but also tired of suffering. The journey to get this anthology to press was longer than expected but we feel it was one of our strongest collections yet. Sometimes truth just has that depth we can all relate to.
Indie Blu(e) was delighted to accept a poem from Jennifer Juniper Montero, she was new to the Indie Blu(e) team and fit right in. Her work is clever and haunting. She writes well in poetry and prose. For our anthology we accepted a long prose-piece called The Fish Doctor, which shared Jennifer’s experience with Crohn’s Disease and the mine-field of navigating doctors and their lack of empathy toward suffering. It was a shocking, visceral piece of writing that strikes anyone who reads it, right in the gut:
“His tie was a fish. The coffee cup on his desk was a fish–tail flipped up, forming a handle. I’m guessing the man liked to fish on his days off from cutting into people.
“You’re not a candidate for surgery.” He slams the door shut on my file, clasps his hands on top of it–satisfied that all he needs to know about my insides is inside.
I smile back. I was tired of being polite, complying with every test and prescription–only to end up sick again. I drank the “milkshakes”– no one who actually had to choke down that thick barium clay would ever call them that.”
(The Fish Doctor).
I recall finding it hard to read the submissions because of the level of suffering those brave souls who submitted had gone through. That is EXACTLY why Indie Blu(e) was so passionate about publishing a chronic illness anthology, to give those erased voices a platform. Even when some writing is hard to read, that doesn’t take away it’s value, it just makes you think hard and not take anything for granted. Jennifer Juniper Montero is a natural writer with an insight into feelings that is fluid and connects easily with the reader.
“I kind of like not knowing
free to enjoy the evolving
I’ve come to trust the unfolding
Letting it show me.”
(untitled poem)
Not surprising then, Jennifer won first place for her poem First Love at the Writer’s Workshop in the Florida Keys. Her writing has been published in Decimos: We Say and The Chamber Chowder (Key West’s business newsletter) among others.
Jennifer loves to travel and has an innate curiosity that leads her on adventure and into intrigue. Living on the road, she splits her time between here, there, and everywhere and writes about whatever happens along the way— a connection that inspires her or a pregnant cat that’s decided she’s to be her Lamaze coach.
Jennifer is an award-winning poet, published in Indie Blu(e)’s anthology But You Don’t Look Sick: Real Life Adventures of Fibro Bitches, Lupus Warriors, and other SuperHeroes Battling Invisible Illness which can be purchased HERE.
Jennifer retorts the age-old advice “Don’t bite off more than you can chew” with “I like to take big bites and then chew really fast!”
We hope you will get to know more of this talented authoresses work. She’s on WordPress folks! The writers and artists featured in Indie Blu(e) anthologies are talented people we’re lucky to work with and we hope to showcase those talents in the coming months. Watch this space.
Jennifer’s Social media links:
Blog: Solo Chick Traveler https://onehitoneder.wordpress.com
Facebook: Jennifer Juniper Montero
Instagram: solo.chick.traveler
Twitter: Jennifer Junipet
“Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual” ~Hemingway
Want to be featured on Indie Blu(e)’s blog? If you have had work published in one of our anthologies, drop us a line and let us promote your work here! www.indieblu.net
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