Coming out to myself was one of the hardest parts of my journey. Tears were shed, desperate prayers to be changed were prayed. It's been a struggle to accept myself and I couldn't have done it with the help of so many others who have paved the way for me. So, if you're religious and wondering if God…
Catalog
Website
via twitter.com
I'm increasingly asked about sensitivity readers and my personal belief is that they *can* be a good tool, but they are NOT The Answer. The Answer is for the author to consult experts, do the research, put in the time, and understand why they're writing what they're writing. Writing, especially abou…
You never forget where you were when you learned the swimsuit models are wearing bras they airbrush out of the pictures. They DON'T have magic boobs that don't sag or look squished flat. They're wearing bras. Your breasts are great! It is the SWIMSUIT that makes them look weird. If you could wear an…
As the daughter of a father, I think the lot of you could do better.
As a reader, it is my opinion that 99/100 battle scenes suck. As a writer, I do not like facing those odds.
I know there's a lot of scary stuff in the world right now, but this is something I've been thinking about that I can't get out of my head. As a cast member on a show about tech., our job entails visiting tech. companies/conferences etc. We meet people eager to show off new tech. Often we'll see tec…
Writing short stories is much more difficult for me than books. I started SIX short stories before I settled on 'Midnights. Part of the problem is, I like to really BUILD characters and relationships. But you have to get in and get out, with a short story.
I've been thinking a lot recently about consent, and how the last few weeks have underlined how terribly power has understood it and corrupted it. Everyone is taught about consent in some limited way, but for men it's usually as a hurdle to be cleared. A checkpoint for attaining something even in re…
We need a total and complete shutdown of movies with “daddy” in the title until we figure out what the hell is going on.
Call me old-fashioned, but I want a man who will protect me like I'm the reputation of a guy he's never met.
'Not all men' has sort of become a useful thing to say, now that SO MANY men want to rationalize disgusting behavior as a normal, guy thing. NOT REALLY. It’s not normal. It’s not something men can’t help. PLENTY of men get through the day without harassing anyone.
If we’re being honest - and I feel like this crosses race and class lines - male culture tries to make boys/men feel fucked up for NOT being harassers. That’s how warped this shit is.
'Depression is a choice' = 'your pain is your fault' 'You can overcome this if you just try hard enough' = 'Your pain is making me uncomfortable. Please shut up.' If you are unburdened by depression, real true depression, count yourself lucky. Keep your quick fixes to yourself. This is the kind of b…
I have been followed by an ever-present amorphous sadness for almost my entire life. I am 51 yrs old. It varies in strength from a casual unresolvable suspicion that I will never find the joy that others do in a sunset, to the feeling that being dead might a respite & a kindness. I’ve been on meds.…
To recap: Republicans are currently defending a pedophile in order to save a Senate seat so that they can push through an enormous tax cut for the rich because it's the only victory their leader, another sexual predator, may get after colluding w/ Russia to steal our election.
Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. As we remembers those killed by hatred let's also pledge to stand up to the increasingly vitriolic campaign of abuse we're seeing in some sections of the media. Trans rights are human rights.
I hope every kidlit/YA festival and convention either has or is developing a strong harassment policy and makes it prominent. So many girls and women in this space—we must show them their safety matters.
If you think about it, water is the majority shareholder of your body.
Yes, books are spendy. BORROW IT FROM A LIBRARY. Libraries buy more copies if they're in demand. Ta-da! Paper trail, happy publishers.
In 200 years, anthropologists will puzzle over why the words that accompanied "lmao" on the internet were never actually funny.