Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer

At the beginning of this year, I committed to doing my book review posts every week. And, well, fuck.

I talked long and hard about my lack of motivation and enjoyment in any of my hobbies with my psychiatrist. At first, I rambled on about how the world is on fire and has been actively burning since 2016. It’s my CPTSD constantly being triggered by a fascist regime and the ultra-supportive cult that thinks everything about Supreme Leader is a false flag. Totalitarian authority makes me want to rip my skin off and run for the spiritual plane.

Basically, Harambe died, and we split into the worst version of our current universe. It’s hell on motivation.

When we drilled down to it, though, it’s more mood based. I wasn’t particularly good about finishing projects in the first place, and my hypomania is always very short-lived. It’s a character flaw, and if First Fable is any indication, I’ve got two more to pick out. You can’t be good at everything, and I’m apparently terrible at commitment. The psychiatrist suggested just putting things out there, regardless of who might see or judge it, and write (or whatever else) without consideration for an audience. The only person I am accountable to is myself. And that’s probably my second flaw. I’m very critical of my work, so I flush accountability down the drain by calling my work trash. Unworthy. Nothing gets done as a result.

Anyway, I’ve got 5000 words of a novella/novel. It’s therapy for me to deal with a difficult situation in my life that left me with some unease due to lack of closure. Things change. People change. It’s time to complete that story so I can move forward without lingering guilt or grief. Particularly the guilt, given it’s not really mine to hold on to.

I’m trying to be better about my reliability. Maybe earn a few points to buy off that flaw where I hate everything I do and disappear into the abyss.

Crafting For Sinners

Jenny Kiefer

Source: Facebook

Tags: Physical Violence, Homophobia, Sacrifice, Blood, Gore, Religious Cults

Summary:

Kill Devil and its surrounding towns in Kentucky have a bit of a reputation: people go missing. The police usually play it off as adults doing adult things and taking off, but their family members and friends have doubts that the people they knew would disappear without so much as a message. Oh, and an additional fun fact about the missing demographic: they are all considered non-desirables by the local fundamentalists. People who aren’t straight, white, and Christian beware.

The book starts with one of these disappearances, a man by the name of Tom. However, his case drew a bit of additional attention as a mother and child, relatives of church members, also disappeared.

Twenty years later, Ruth and Abigail are a queer couple, living quietly at the fringes of Kill Devil society. They spend their lives making extra sure the curtains are closed. The women never so much as look at each other while out and about in the town, lest one of the townsfolk report to them to the church that pretty much owns the town and souls of its citizens: the New Creationists. The church tends to get up to shenanigans when it finds out about unsavory personal lives, and that’s not even considering their kidnapping habit.

Ruth has recently lost her job at the very familiar craft store with religious undertones. She came out to her parents, broke up with her high school sweetheart fiancé, and then the store decided to bounce her gay ass to the curb for morality reasons that are technically illegal. However, everyone in the know has it out for her, so that fact falls to the wayside. The loss of this job puts a slight crimp in the plans to leave Kill Devil and make a life with Abigail, Ruth makes ends meet through knitting and shoplifting supplies from her former employer.

Like all good things, that’s coming to an end. In order to finish a last minute project, she heads to the only craft store in town. She ignores the empty parking lot. She ignores the empty store. She ignores the weirdly absent employees and then takes what she needs, including some sharp-as-fuck needles. Getting caught wasn’t in the plan, but it happens anyway, culminating in her finding out they locked her in the store. Then she kills a man, setting off a glut of monsters, sacrifices, and the holy words of God. The church has an agenda? Say it ain’t so.

Guys, I really did not like this book. Ruth spends way too much time in her head thinking really stupid shit. If I hear Christians talking about needing me alive for some purpose, I’m not going to wonder what they’re going to do to me. Best case, they go all Abraham and sacrifice me to God. Worst case, they go all Beezelbub on me, and I’m going to get sacrificed to a different God. I wanted to bookmark almost every page because there was something that was an internal thought filler that a smart person would never in a thousand years be pondering. Ruth’s actions were smart. Her thoughts? Good god, no bible belt small town queer in that situation would be asking the actual monster what’s going on and expect a monologue. Because I’m not a complete asshole: I liked the concept. There’s a lot of potential in this story, and I think we’ve all thought about what it would feel like not to turn the other cheek in a place like that one store I won’t mention that also requisitions artifacts and treats its employees like good Christian soldiers. Ruth just acts like a fucking dodo. I’m going to check out This Wretched Valley to see if this was just a second book quirk.

Would I Read Again: No. Good god no. Ruth, GTF out of dodge.

Who Dies: Most New Creationists, some Mustard Seed employees, Abigail’s mom (prior to story)

Who Lives: Ruth, Abigail