February is when things get real.
Tomorrow, the contest to create a character in Exit Strategy officially opens. You'll work with me to shape someone who exists in Mackenzie's world. Someone who has power. Someone who matters. Someone whose choices ripple through the story.
Be Part of the Story: Create a Character in Exit Strategy
I'm writing Exit Strategy, a novella set in the same world as The Unborn Child Protection Act. Mackenzie is escaping a country that won't let her control her own body. But escape is just the beginning.
One winner will work with me to create a character in her world: a power player at The Firm, someone from Mackenzie's company, or someone who impacts her journey. You'll choose the name, shape their background, and help me build their role in the story. Plus, you'll get a copy of the book when it's published.
Contest runs February 3 - March 3, 2026. Winner announced March 10.
But that's not all that's happening this month.
Over the next few weeks, I'm sharing pieces of Mackenzie's world that won't appear in the novella. The stories behind the story. The context that shapes her choices.
February 10: Meet Mackenzie: Then and Now Who she was before the system closed in. Who she became when she realized staying meant surrender.
February 17: When the Meaning Changes Before the Law Does How language shifts to justify control. How "protection" becomes imprisonment.
February 24: Short Story: Citizenship as a Conditional Status What happens when your rights depend on compliance.
These posts dig into the world Mackenzie is trying to escape. They're not required reading for the contest. But they'll give you a deeper sense of what you're stepping into when you create a character in this world.
Thank you for being here. For reading. For engaging with stories that ask uncomfortable questions.
More soon.
M.E. Wright
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Ready to create?
Enter the contest and help shape a character in Exit Strategy.
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