Who am I?
Welcome! My name is Sara Light-Waller and Lucina is the name of my small press. This is a new endeavor for me, although I have worked in writing, illustration, and publishing for many years. I developed Lucina Press as a platform for certain ideas about the future.
Mankind stands at a crossroads. The people of our world have been chivvied, deceived, poisoned, and threatened into behaving in certain programmed and pre-planned ways. This has been going on for a very long time. I am a pop culture historian and have been cataloging cultural changes through the eyes of contemporary writers throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. It’s a fascinating study that leads me to believe that we are living in a state of culturally created semi-amnesia.
Right now people are waking up to certain ugly truths about the way the world really is. It’s easy to let it all go by, believing that we are not part of the problem or the solution. But we all live on this planet and that makes us all part of both problem and solution.
Being a victim is easy, but it’s not nice. Why be a victim when you can stand up and be a hero? We all have skills which we may have suppressed because society, or circumstance, tells us they’re of lesser value than money-creating, or “adult” behaviors. The future is looking squishy and unpleasant at the moment. Why take it that way? Why not create a better future starting with you?
I believe our natural-born talents are gifts that can add invaluable contributions to the world and help us build a better future for everyone. We don’t have to accept the dank, dystopian fate that’s been handed to us. We can all work together and change the future. That’s what I call, Neotopia.
Who is Lucina?
My press is named for Lucina, the Roman Goddess of light and childbirth. Lucina, along with Juno and Diana (also birth goddesses) were sometimes called the Lucinae. My Latin is a bit rusty but it seems to me that this means “lights” or “daylights” and certainly refers to birth bringing babies into the light of day for the first time. Birth goddesses were called upon to protect pregnant women and newborn children, and also to help women conceive.
I’m sure that you can see how this fits a small press run by a woman named Light.
My logo adds a futuristic touch the Goddess’ looks, the perfect thing for a writer who adores science fiction pulp and space opera.
Publishing arts and letters is a lot like giving birth to a child, don’t you think? I hope that Lucina gives shelter to all who wish to discuss a brighter, Neotopian future.
To the stars!