Identity is Ever Evolving
This is a stance that I have had for a long time. Identity isn’t something that can be locked in once and then you’re stuck with that. Since I started my publishing journey, you’ve already been witness to my own identity evolving: from the use of they/them pronouns and nonbinary identity to the use of he/him pronouns and trans identity. It’s been almost a year since my last blog post, and this seemed like a good topic to reopen the blog with.
To start, I won’t go into details about what kept me away the last year. Only to say that it has been busy for me and my family on a personal front. This has settled down mostly and will have permanent resolution too. Ask me someday about living with dementia. I would be happy to share. But for now, I want to focus on identity.
Art and logo design by donquani on Toyhou.se
When I took the B. M. Valdez pen name, I reluctantly agreed that it was best to use my initials (B. M.) instead of my name (Blaze) due to the full time career I currently have. It’s been three years now? (question mark because time is fluid so I’m not sure) since I began this journey, and I have always regretted that decision. I’m not here to tell you that I am switching to my name. Instead, I want to tell you about the evolution of the B. M. Valdez identity that I have been thinking about for a long time.
Any one who has known me for a while (or even anyone who has read my acknowledgements) know that I am close to my sibling, who was previously known as Shadow (their identity has evolved too). We write stories and build worlds together. My most recent book, Rest in Peace, even takes place on a planet my sibling created. So there’s a lot of overlap in my creative endeavors and theirs. Plus, they have this little business called Soul Gems and Treasures that we’ve worked on together on and off throughout the years. We’re working on getting it up and running again and I’ve even started using the logo as part of my publishing brand.
Art and logo design by both Merula Valdez and author Phoenix Grimm.
With our pursuits so interwoven, I wanted to bring my sibling into the B. M. Valdez brand. I thought that I am the B and they could be the M for a really long time and finally brought it up to them, whose original chosen name is Shadow. They admitted to me that Shadow wasn’t the right identity for them and would love to choose a name starting with an M to be folded into this with me.
That said, B. M. Valdez will still be on all of the books but it will be much more than that. It will be the identity behind Soul Gems and all of our galaxies. I have my talents and they have theirs, all of which complement each other.
Art and logo design by donquani on Toyhou.se
Shadow’s name is now Merula. We will be updating our website pages to reflect this and to let you all know who is doing what. Merula is an artist, a jewelry artisan, a photographer, and a world builder. I (Blaze) am an author, a product maker, a world builder, and an inkspinner (check out the world we’re building up for Soul Gems!).
In the coming weeks, you will see changes being made to this site to bring this identity shift to fruition. The About page will feature both of us and the social links will include links to both of us. If you see us at events, there will be a B business card and an M one.
In the end, the decision that I came to regret has given life to this wonderous idea that I don’t think would have been born otherwise. I hope you all are ready to be along for the ride and to share in the great things that we are creating.
Yours truly,
Blaze
