Can you help me?

Exclusive preview (and request) for valued readers

As the 2026 Summer Solstice approaches (less than a month away!), I’m readying for my next phase in the Escape the Patriarchy Challenge.

Like most writers and many artists, I’m held captive to a certain extent by publishers and digital platforms that host and sell my work to viewing audiences. For that service, those publishers and platforms take a cut of the profit—which usually is a fair exchange. Less fair, the hosts also have governance over how the arrangement is structured, including the right to change the ‘terms and conditions’—sometimes with little or no advance notice.

That co-existence always begins as a workable model. Then, as we see happens in many instances where individuals rely on a more powerful “partner,” encroachment of the individual’s rights begins. And over time, those rights often disappear completely.

It’s not my intention here to provide a history lesson. Readers of my work know what I’m talking about.

My purpose today is to ask for your help, in the form of standing with me (at least in a metaphoric sense).

A bit of back story: After many years of publishing in the traditional framework via major houses and magazines, I moved to self-publishing in the early 2000s. But like authors with the “big name” on the spine of their books, I was was beholden to Amazon and other retailers for distribution.

Digital publishing was a boon to early self-publishers and Amazon provided a huge and welcoming gateway to audiences. The original compensation model in the early 2000s was designed to attract indies because the Big Five in New York weren’t betting on ebooks as a alternative to print just yet.

But things change. And before long, Amazon no longer needed the little guys to fill the digital library for Kindle readers. The perks of self-publishing on Amazon (and many other digital retailers) began disappearing. And, once again, the indie got trampled in the stampede to riches.

More detail about my personal journey in this plot is covered here…

Something you may not know about me...

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Same old story. Same song, different verse. But wasn’t just loss of money that hurt. It was loss of exposure. Losing connection to the audience and potential new readers—wiping out the whole reason to be on a platform at all.

But now I’m singing a different tune, turning the page, and writing a new story…

I’m Rocking my Main Character Energy

I truly wish I could say I’m taking control over every aspect of my work. Yes, the best scenario would be to host everything on my own site. But truth be told: I can’t be the creator, publisher, marketer, distributor, and retailer on my own independent platform—any more than I can grow all my own food in my back yard and entirely cut out Big Ag and Whole Foods.

So, I’m doing the next best thing I can do:

I’m moving the bulk of my writing (past, present, and future) to Patreon, a platform that supports creators like myself. Yes, there’s a cost and a risk. The cost is the price of doing business: a percentage of sales to the hosting site and a processing fee to the company that handles the financial transactions.

The risk? Patreon, too, can change the rules and probably have since they started their service in 2013. But for now, for me—after an exhaustive search—Patreon offers the best way to organize and present my work to readers with the least interference on what’s being shown.

And the upside for readers? Easy discovery and delivery via a tiered-subscription model: A Netflix for readers!

PLEASE NOTE: This newsletter will continue to be published on and delivered by Substack. With very little exception, SMUDGE! content will not be duplicated on Patreon.

What’s new? And why do I need both—and a website?

Short answer to the second question: I need both Substack and Patreon because neither fulfills all the functionality necessary for me to deliver my work. And a personal website still is and will always be a creator’s home base.

More importantly!! Here’s the scoop on…

What’s new!

Welcome to a new approach to how the written word is delivered and received. I think of my Patreon as a kind of “Netflix for Writers/Readers.”

What will you find there? My novels, essays, fiction and nonfiction series (some released as serials), a smattering of poetry, lots of photos (including, of course, pet pics!). Travel, adventure, escape are all included!

Yet it’s not as hodgepodge as the variety may make it sound. There is a common theme tying it all together: Freedom. Whether fiction or nonfiction, I write about escape. Leaving a relationship, a job, a system, government, religion, or cultural paradigm.

But the stories are less about leaving and more about arriving in the new life—and what it takes to be an Escape Artist. About how to have the courage and skills required to be the authentic you and claim what you want.

So, I’m opening the doors with lots of choice. It’s a sampling of most everything I have to offer and what you can expect to receive over time, similar to Netflix. Various series being regularly updated with new episodes, full-length novels, photo essays, and much more.

Some series are already complete, most are not. And that’s good for you because it means that each week will bring a new story or idea to entertain you.

As most of you already know, I’m not a one-hit wonder. I’ve been writing professionally for over 40 years. I recently celebrated 5 years and 275 issues with this newsletter. I have written articles, essays, novels, short stories, poems, and many, many cards and letters.

Exclusive Pre-Launch View for You

I am committed to this project and I give you my word that I will follow through on my promise to keep writing and sharing my work with you. As a current paid subscriber, you deserve a first-to-view, insider look at what I believe is the future of publishing.

Please set aside some time to review the new site. Your eyes will be the first to see what’s there and what’s to come. It’s not quite ready for prime time, but as loyal readers you already know the level of quality I offer and what you can expect long-term from me.

That said, I’m eager to receive your feedback, suggestions, requests, and notification of any errors you might find.

Here’s what I need from you

After a “soft” launch to all SMUDGE! subscribers next week, the “official” public launch will coincide with the weekend of the Summer Solstice. That’s when new readers will be viewing my work, possibly for the first time. I want it to look clean, enticing, and already trafficked.

And that’s where I need your help. People who don’t know me will likely be reluctant to sign up if the site doesn’t reflect a readership. I’m asking you to become a member.

A free membership will give you a sampling of everything available and will serve to show the public that I have a following.

If you like what you see, becoming a patron of the arts with a paid subscription gives you access to everything there now and in the future, plus many extras. Please review the various membership tiers.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of your participation in assisting me to Escape the Patriarchal Publishing model. Together, we can form new paradigms for everything we value in life.

As always, I am grateful for you.

☮️ and ♥️, Shelley

P.S. The Patreon site is very much still a Work in Progress. I’m new to that platform and still figuring out how to use it to its best advantage. It’s really a big deal for me to release this early preview of a project before I feel it’s “done.” But in the spirit of “I’ll figure it out as I go along” and “better sooner than later,” I reach out to you, dear reader friend, to help me pave a new path to creative independence for us all.

Avatar artwork hand drawn by Debbie Boudreau Gabel.