Freedom. For *all* of us to write what we want!

To finish off a long wonderful month of posts about freedom and independence I'd like to point out how darned LUCKY we are, many of us, to be born into a time and place where we can write almost anything and have it put out to the public.

It wasn't so long ago, and unfortunately is still true in some countries, that writing about same-sex relationships would get you a prison term if not worse. Writing about BDSM or unmarried people having a sexual relationship, people from different cultures or different levels of society wouldn't be tolerated and could destroy not only your career but also your personal life.

We are blessed to live in a time when a writer can, with or without a publisher, put out almost anything you want to write and make it accessible to the public. Whether they like it or not isn't part of the equation - you are able to put it out to them without fear of being lynched; of being dragged from your house and hung or having your family threatened and forced out of town.

But we can't forget that there are still writers out there being held in jail or under house arrest for expressing themselves, victims of a political or social system that won't let them write what's in their hearts and punish them for expressing themselves. There are still writers out there fighting for the freedom of free speech and we shouldn't forget them or forget how lucky we are to live in a time and place where we can not only write about almost anything we want but through the expansion of self-publishing get our dreams and thoughts out to the public.

So while we're finishing off a month of celebrating freedom let's spare a few thoughts for those who cannot say or write what they want - and hope that they'll be able to join us in the near future.