Apologies for no December post

...but I'm back!

Hi, everyone, sorry for the delay in posting this month. I’ve been battling with the new age verification in Australia - which now require us all to upload biometric data and legal identification to social media platforms - platforms that are never held accountable and I have questions - where does our data go, what things do they have in place to stop cyber-criminals etc. Not to mention the broad implications that our data will be used for nefarious means, such as a social credit system, identification fraud or other criminal activities.

I wish I could believe in a world full of wealthy and powerful people working together to make everything better for everyone, but it appears that is not their agenda. It seems their agenda is to add in more and more control, but seem to give us the illusion of being free. We are not.

I’ve finally found a temporary workaround to the lock out.

An Australian Magpie getting a little too close to my lunch…a bit like the government getting a bit close to our private business.

I loved Substack in the beginning, both as a reader and creator, but this overreach by the Australian “government” has ticked me off in a way that I haven’t felt in a few decades. I was stoked when I got my first paid subscriber, then the second and the third, and felt their support of me as I continued to put up a post about a thread of curiosity in the fairy tale academic space every month.

But it’s made me stop and wonder if this is the best platform for me and my fairy tale research/storytelling/adventures on my three pages. I absolutely love the research process and creating content in my three areas of passion: fairy tale/story/travel - it really lights me up - and from the feedback I’ve received, people appreciate it.

I don’t know if this is just an anomaly that I’ve managed to get on today or if I’ll lose access again later. If you would still like to follow my work, I’ll be here, but I’m drifting away from social media platforms altogether in general. My website and podcast will continue.

I’d like to offer you all a 70% discount on my self-paced Write Your Own Fairy Tale Course to make up for my absence and inconsistency in the past few months. Use the code: SUBSTACK25.

I know it doesn’t make up for the regular content I promised, but I feel very strongly about this gross violation of our identities and increased risk of hackers getting important information. And in the time of AI, our identity is the most valuable thing we own - both physical and digital.

I had no intention of ever making my Substack political in any way, but here you are. If this is where you leave me, go in peace, be kind and generous with others whenever you can, and lead with your heart.

With much love and gratitude for your support,

Alyssa