I’m Giving Myself a New Title

I'm proclaiming myself Queen of the Night and declaring the local park my territory after about 10pm. No one will be around to contest my claim, except perhaps Nature, and so far she's been content simply to soak my socks & shoes and give me the occasional jump scare, when one of those lurking night … Continue reading I’m Giving Myself a New Title →

Musical Interlude: Mermaid

I finally got around to joining Spotify last year one night when youtube went down and left me deprived of my playlists there. Their algorithms have been getting better about suggesting music I might like, which is how I found my way to the Swedish musician Skott. Her song 'Mermaid' could be mistaken at first … Continue reading Musical Interlude: Mermaid →

Reading that Shapes the Writer: Watership Down, Dune, Lord of the Rings

Of the many works of speculative fiction I've read, these three books stand out as being truly epic. They have very little in common when it comes to setting or flavor or protagonists. The first is about rabbits establishing a new warren, the second a far distant sci-fi human future, and the latter a far … Continue reading Reading that Shapes the Writer: Watership Down, Dune, Lord of the Rings →

Reading that Shapes the Writer: The Last Unicorn

God I love this book. To this day it remains one of the most unique books I've read and was the source of my discovery that prose could be poetry. Peter S. Beagle is not just telling a beautiful and unique story, the way he tells it is, in and of itself, a special kind … Continue reading Reading that Shapes the Writer: The Last Unicorn →

Reading that Shapes the Writer: Tolkien (Part 2)

Part 1 As a white child growing up in a 'colorblind' household I didn't notice the issues with how race was depicted in the material. Criticism there is fully warranted and I wish people adapting the work would realize that Tolkien himself, were he alive today, would probably have grown enough as a person to … Continue reading Reading that Shapes the Writer: Tolkien (Part 2) →

Reading that Shapes the Writer: Tolkien (Part 1)

I was 12 the first time I read The Lord of the Rings. I waited until 12 at my oldest sister's request. She loved the trilogy and she was afraid if I tried reading it too early that a struggle to get through the writing might prejudice me against the story (it was probably good … Continue reading Reading that Shapes the Writer: Tolkien (Part 1) →

Writing With Flavor

This morning I read a blog post with advice on how to keep writing on a blog simple and accessible. On the whole I agreed with the advice - if you intend to use your blog as a business. Since I don't intend to use my blog as a business, I'm going to feel free … Continue reading Writing With Flavor →

Good To The Bone

I'm a good person, pretty much down to the bone. The religious indoctrination of conservative Christianity had me convinced for a large chunk of my life that I was a terrible person filled with darkness and dark desires, and that only the blood of Jesus could hold me back from depravity and hedonism. A life … Continue reading Good To The Bone →

Happiness and the Conservative Christian Girl

For most of my life I've had to pass my happiness and desires through the happiness and desires of someone else, first. I couldn't just make a choice because it would be good for me and make me happy, I had to check first to make sure if what I wanted to do was acceptable … Continue reading Happiness and the Conservative Christian Girl →

My Therapist Is Enabling Me

By which I mean she's encouraging me to honestly assess what I want out of life and to pursue a life that gives me happiness and satisfaction. And my poor brain just doesn't know what to do with someone encouraging me to live my life in a way that makes me happy and so it's … Continue reading My Therapist Is Enabling Me →