Life really hasn’t gone to plan since July.

I disappeared mid-May, intending to update that I would be on a six-week hiatus, but life got away from me. When I came back in July, life was in an upheaval. There were so many posts I had desired to write and publish and things to do, including more exciting news. However, authoring really wasn’t in the cards for me for the next six weeks either as my mental health suffered.

September had been a month of starts and no finishes. A roller coaster of emotion and frustration. Many posts started, none finished to share. Many attempts back into authoring, only one that’s stuck. And now…

Now life has thrown me a tragic curveball.

It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of a fellow author, great friend, avid crafter, dog mom, fellow Pagan, and unofficial mother to me. P. T. Wyant tragically passed away early Saturday afternoon, September 28th, from sudden health complications after being admitted to the ER Friday.

P. T. Wyant, or Paula, was always one of the first people to offer support, advice, and encouragement to those who needed it. She was widely an inspiration to others. Though I often heard the hair-pulling ranting of her drafting stages, her stories were full of great characterization and always left a heartfelt impression. She was one of the best human beings I’ve ever known. Paula introduced me to so many writing communities when I was just starting out in this dream, including the Queer Sci Fi group on Facebook, Siobhan Muir’s weekly #ThursThreads flash fiction challenge, the Snippet Sunday group on Facebook, Wesson Editorial Services, and so many others. I owe her part of my success as a writer and author.

Without her introduction to so many people and groups, I would not have had my first publication with Victory Tales Press. I would not have a plethora of flash fiction tales with which to practice and expand on, both from Siobhan’s challenge and her own Wednesday Words flash fiction weekly prompt. I would not have had three literary magazine publications this year alone without those flash fiction challenges. I would not have a valued professional editor.

I would not have this website and blog without her.

Paula was the first person, save for my dad, to truly encourage my dream in writing. She nurtured my passion like a real mother should. We became each other’s accountability partners, sharing together, bouncing ideas off each other, writing alongside each other through numerous NaNoWriMo (while they were still reputable) months and our own challenges. And it wasn’t just her encouragement with writing that made me feel loved. She taught me to find my own path in witchcraft, and in life. Our shared interest in horses allowed me to learn more about yet another passion of mine. Her willingness to listen to understand instead of listening simply to respond made me feel seen and accepted.

Most importantly though, she taught me how to evolve and heal as a person. She taught me how to spread my wings from the ashes and take flight again. To never give up. To unapologetically be me and be proud of it.

She was my found family, the mother I needed that I never had in my own; and I was hers, the daughter of her heart, the daughter she never had.

During her time on this Earth, Paula self-published two novels. Her debut elven fantasy, Song and Sword, released in May of 2013; and her LGBTQ+ science fiction, with paranormal elements, Sanguine, came out a year later in October of 2014. Additionally, she was accepted into two of the annual QSF flash fiction anthologies: Flight in 2016 with her fantasy tale “Paper Arrows,” and Ink in 2021 with her paranormal tale “Future Perfect.” I know she had so many other tales yet to tell.

It seems fitting to honor her love of writing by sharing one of the last NaPoWriMo poems she posted on her poetry blog ages ago now. One of heart and soul.

“Learning Again”
© P. T. Wyant 2022

I’m so afraid of falling
I’ve forgotten how to fly.
I don’t think my wings are broken
they just don’t know how to try.

I feel I have to relearn
all the things that I once knew:

how to live
how to love
how to be and do.

Paula has left behind a legacy of inclusion, kindness, and wisdom that will live on in the hearts of many. She will be greatly missed, but her memory will remain etched across her stories and her three blogs, Novel Notes, CrapTastic Poetry Lives Here!, and Wytch’s Cauldron, as well as among her vast online community of writers, crafters, Pagans, and friends. Her untimely passing is a shock to so many, myself included. The overwhelming support that has outflowed from her vast online community shows me just how many lives she has impacted over the years. She is gone far, far too soon. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this sudden loss. I am mourning right alongside you.

Grab your broom and your pen and rest easy now, mom (Paula). We will miss you dearly. I will miss you dearly.