Small update, everyone—one that concerns where I've been and where I'm going!
First, what I've been up to: I've had a very busy month finishing my Sex Positivity vs Sex Coercion, or Gothic Communism book series; re: by archiving its work files onto a cloud service, but also uploading and promoting Volume Four and Volume Five, the former focusing on essays written after June 2025 and the latter on older material before July 2022. Other than those, I've had to heal from a leg injury that happened on April 9th, which is only just getting back to normal (more or less); i.e., I can walk up and down stairs again (something that frankly would've been nice while I was packing everything up for an upcoming move, but I digress).
tl;dr - I had to release two book volumes on two different periods of my life in less than a month, while also: healing from a random leg injury, preparing to move on relatively short notice, and archiving my life's work—the pros being that Volume Five only contains pre-written stuff (minus some new paratextual material; re: "Interview with the Vampire," 2026).
(source skeet: vanderWaardart, 5/16/2026)
Second, my future plans; re: interviews, offline activism, and drawings. My book series is basically dunzo (above), but I want to continue doing interviews and on-the-ground stuff (read: being gay in public versus behind a computer screen). What I mean is, I'll be moving away from interviewing sex workers specifically and expanding to include queer folk in general, or allies to the Cause who see trans people as people and sex workers as workers, etc; i.e., as part of a larger intersectional struggle under Gothic Communism; e.g., interviewing Atun-Shei about their upcoming vampire film (sometime in September or October), but also potentially Brigitte Empire, Queer Armorer, and Transgender Ancient History* as educated peers armed with pens and/or swords (that was a Romeo + Juliet [1996] reference). While currently tentative in all cases, some will potentially happen at a later date—meaning when things settle down/are safe and convenient for both sides to give it a crack.
*And similar researchers, activists, and artists I plan to reach out to (e.g., The History Wizard, above), everyone demonstrating that most vital of facts: that we (trans people) have always existed, and anything to contrary—and moreover anything inventing the past for reasons that say otherwise—are frankly bullshit. We either have the right to exist or we don't, and anyone who would stoop so low as to reinvent the past to erase us is the enemy not just of queer folk (trans or otherwise), but of the entire planet.
Note: To any queer rights activists who want to be interviewed, you may reach out on Bluesky or Discord (where my username is the same: vanderWaardart). Furthermore, apart from being anti-capitalist, my work is also eco-Socialist and anti-racist—with an emphasis on BIPOC rights inspired by my partner (and co-writer/co-editor), Bay Ryan. To it, my blog and website are designed to archive minority voices in times of crisis (while also being resistant to censorship, thanks to Josey Howarth). My work is anarcho-Communist/critical of Marxist-Leninism (re: "State Vampirism," 2026), but allows for discussions with Marxist-Leninists... provided racial struggles intersect with issues of class and queerness (and culture at large; e.g., religion). That means no reductionism nor tokenism, Omelas scapegoats or bigotries; e.g., whorephobia. Trans people are people, sex work is work, all cops are bad, and land back for all colonized, embargoed or otherwise oppressed territories! If that all jives with you, feel free to reach out!
(model and artist, left: Ryder K and Persephone van der Waard; middle: Scyllacybin and Persephone van der Waard; right: Gorgeous George and Persephone van der Waard)
Drawing-wise, I plan to finish up pieces I owe models for the series, up until now (several shown, above). Then, I'd like to pursue some artistic ideas focusing on my own gender expression a bit more (such as Madikken, below, or similar alter-ego redheads like Revana). Put in more poetic language, the Lady of Shalott shall be stepping away from her mirror, descending her tower and going back to Camelot. There I'll be spending more time with family and friends, in-person, but will always be online doing work to help queer folk everywhere. "All the gods they cannot sever us; if I were dead you still fighting, I would come back—back from the pit of Hell—to fight by your side."
(artist, Persephone van der Waard: top-left, top-middle, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-middle, bottom-right)
