Shield Maidens of Roe

Stating the obvious helps no one. What is Democrat leadership doing to stop this?

Kari Keyes | Substack Dystopian writer of modern-day crimes against women and humanity. Click to read Kari Keyes, a Substack publication. Launched 32 minutes ago.

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Somewhere between my third coffee and second mental breakdown today, I wrote a chapter about hope. The cognitive dissonance is real.

Author PSA: if your feminism makes everyone comfortable, you're doing it wrong.

They banned books because stories are dangerous. They banned abortion because freedom is dangerous. They're right to be scared.

Fun fact: reproductive rights are human rights. Not fun fact: we're still having to say this in 2025.

Writing today's scene: women supporting women, building power together, refusing to compete for scraps. Revolutionary fiction or basic decency? Both.

The Collective of Women isn't just a book title. It's a strategy. Alone we're targets. Together we're unstoppable.

Red state observations: they want small government except when it comes to uteruses, who you love, what you read, and how you identify.

My editor asked me to soften the protagonist's anger. I asked them to soften the patriarchy. We're at an impasse.

When someone says 'I don't see color' or 'all lives matter,' what they're really saying is 'I'm comfortable with inequality.' We're not.

Fiction gives us the endings we deserve. Reality makes us fight for them. Let's get to work.

Your daily affirmation: You are not too much. You are not too loud. You are not too political. You are exactly what they're afraid of.

Living in a red state as a feminist writer is like being a vegetarian at a BBQ. Constantly surrounded by things that make you uncomfortable.

Controversial take: women's healthcare shouldn't be controversial.

To the readers who found themselves in my characters: you were always the hero of your own story. Act like it.

The villain in my book thinks he's protecting society. The villain in real life thinks the same thing. Pattern recognition is exhausting.

Being pro-choice isn't about being pro-abortion. It's about being pro-freedom, pro-autonomy, pro-women making their own damn decisions.

Today's mood: character development but for myself. Growing beyond what they said I could be.

Writing tip from the trenches: your protagonist should scare you a little. If she doesn't, she's not radical enough.

My book asks: what if women stopped asking for permission and started taking what's ours? Spoiler: the patriarchy doesn't like it.

When they say 'protect the children' but defund school lunch programs, it was never about children. It was always about control.

Reminder: forced birth is not pro-life. It's pro-control. And we see through it.

Final thought: Fiction can't save us. But it can wake us up, fire us up, and link us up. The rest is on us. And we're more ready than they think.

Today's affirmation: My voice matters. My story matters. My rage is righteous. My hope is radical. And I'm writing all of it down.

The best part of writing political fiction? Getting messages from readers who say 'I didn't realize' or 'I'm ready to do something.' That's the whole point.

Writing advice: read widely. Live deeply. Get angry about injustice. Channel it into your work. Repeat until the world changes or you do. Preferably both.

When your protagonist solves her problems with solidarity and collective action but you're sitting alone in your writing cave eating cheese—do as I write, not as I do.

Found out today that some readers think my books are 'anti-men.' No babe, they're anti-patriarchy. Men can (and should) join us in that fight.

That moment when you're writing a 'radical feminist future' and realize it's just...equality. Basic human rights. The bar is in hell and we're still limbo dancing.