My story collection Silly Little Monsters demonstrated the growing pains as I came into my own as a writer. And yet, "everyone wants to find a place to belong, to connect" served as a mission statement. Reaching out, trying to make connections. That's what it's always been about. me, a…
"Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be..." Salt 'n Peppa Not my favorite Salt 'n Peppa song (that would be "Push It") but it felt apt. Honestly, the title is probably the spiciest thing in this post so don't get too nervous and/or…
The last post was fun to write. This one is less fun, but I can't get back to work on creative endeavors until I untangle these thoughts. It's part of the process. I planned to delve deeper into another literary controversy, and it's one of the threads woven into a…
A Better Me came out two weeks ago. At one point, it was in the top 250 for New Adult and College Fantasy. That was cool, but the best part was seeing all the likes and shares from peers and others. The support of the community is so important for…
"We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr I'm supposed to be ramping up book promotion before launch, but it feels gross. Everything does. I had planned to follow up my last post with a detailed account of my…
“Sin, young man, is when you treat people like things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”― Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum As an unaffiliated voter, I've often said you can know partisanship is inherently toxic, and still recognize when one party has reached peak toxicity. I was only wrong in underestimating how…
The book, that is. I'll still be the same annoying weirdo I've always been. Somehow March came and went without a post, not for lack of trying. Just increasingly dismayed by everything happening in the world. Plus I still had to work, parent, and care for other animals, and now…
Last month I was focused on A Better Me, my debut novel coming out late spring. The main character is a film student who works as a production assistant, an entry level position that demands the ability to perform any number of tasks under pressure. I have so much respect…
“Right now, she wanted nothing more than to shut the rest of the world out and have nothing to worry about except the next page of whatever she was reading.” Genevieve Cogman, The Invisible Library There's still (always) a lot of crummy stuff going on in the world, but for now I…
"Male violence is not only tolerated, but celebrated; women’s violence is not only discouraged, but stigmatized.”Mary Anne Franks I can now announce my short story "The Patriarch" will come out in next spring's Family anthology from Writing Bloc. The anthology was originally planned for fall, and I had planned to…