Before BTS, I believed dreams were best strangled before the world could get to them, but after finding Bangtan’s music and learning their story, I couldn’t help but fall in love with all seven members—and the ARMY that rallied around them. Our boys have shattered records and filled trophy cabinets with their genre-defying, thought-provoking, life-changing music—all in a language that many of us can only understand through subtitles.
But it was a hard journey to the top, and their fight to be heard reminded me of someone else I love dearly: my younger sister has been a storyteller since she could talk. Over the past decade or so, she’s written several three-hundred-plus page books, with many more in the works: seven fully realized, wildly distinct worlds are fighting to get out of her head. She’s done heroic fantasies, steampunk swashbucklers, murder mysteries, near-future sci-fi, and fractured fairy tales—and those are only the ones I know about.
The reception she’s gotten from publishers (who have to be paid to even look at samples of her work) has all been negative; they say her writing is “too original” or “too complex”—as if these are failings. I have always preferred to be engaged rather than entertained, and judging by the fans invested in the convoluted Bangtan storyline, a lot of ARMYs feel the same.
But let’s get to the point: People around the world came together to do incredible things for BTS, and I think it’s time to take the next logical step. ARMYs have moved mountains for these seven beautiful men who stayed true to themselves, so why not move them for each other?
How many people have to check their bank balance before filling up their gas tank? How many have been told they don’t have talent or the right looks to get noticed, and would be better off getting “a real job”? So let’s hack the system: ARMYs promoting ARMYs, passing on the love and support to let us all speak ourselves. You got me, I got you, and we got us.
Here is the link to my sister’s website, complete with excerpts and links to purchase the books she’s self-published. There will be typos and imperfections, because she and I are the only ones editing these manuscripts, but everybody has to start somewhere. For those who read this far: shine, dream, smile. I purple you.
