Hi, my name is Mary Selina, my pronouns are she and her, and I dislike talking about myself in the third person. I’m a polydisabled, chronically-pained Writer and advocate. I have Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Chronic Migraine, and a whole host of accompanyinh diagnoses which, among other things, require me to use a manual wheelchair full-time , cause me constant, severe pain, and render me fully functionally blind. At age thirteen, I came out as both gay and disabled, and have lived as both my entire adult life. I’m from Seattle Washington and currently still live in the greater Seattle area.
I’ve been writing as long as I’ve been reading, and have always loved stories, especially ones with fantastical elements and characters. When I was 10, I aspired to write in genres that have historically been dominated by male authors and main characters with female heroes instead, but only as a sideline to being a doctor. Over the next few years, my chronic illnesses became more and more disabling and I had to reconceptualize what it was possible for my life to be. I didn’t choose to be a writer as much as my pain chose for me. Of all the potential career paths I’ve considered, writing is the only one I’m able to do with a severe migraine.
I have been writing full-time for over five years now, populating my stories with disabled and chronically ill characters and exploring themes of chronic pain, ableism, and the interplay of physical and mental health. I write in several genres, including literary fiction, fantasy and magical realism, future fiction/dystopia (my personal favourite), and paranormal romance. I look forward to adding to the list as my career progresses. My current favourite literary quote is one from Ray Bradbury who said: “You must stay drunk on writing so that the real world cannot destroy you.”
