My childhood was spent in a procession of hostile places. At home, I had a severe, distant mother and an alcoholic father to tend with; my sister got into trouble a lot and ran away from home several times, so there was always something terrible going on there. At school I was a poor, shy … Continue reading (Personal) Going Back to Go Forward
Category: Better Living Through Stories
(Personal) The Wolf We Feed
I’m sure you know this story. One evening, an elder sits down with his son. The son had been getting into trouble because he had problems with anger and lashing out, so the elder tells him a quick fable. “There are two wolves fighting inside of each and every one of us,” he says. “One … Continue reading (Personal) The Wolf We Feed
Spillage
There's a Zen story that goes something like this: a Buddhist scholar comes to a Zen master and asks him for teaching. The scholar then proceeds to establish his credentials, talking about how long he's studied, the doctorate he's received, the professors he's associated with, the whole thing. The master listens while pouring the scholar … Continue reading Spillage
My Writing Guide to November 2015
October was a pretty intense month. I went in for full training on changing my position at work, which means there are a LOT of holes in my technical knowledge that need to be filled. The shift also means that I'm down in the trenches with coworkers a bit more, and that means an opportunity … Continue reading My Writing Guide to November 2015
A Black Geek’s Guide to All-New, All-Different Marvel
I fell in with comic books through Marvel, and I'll never forget it. I was vaguely aware of comics growing up -- how could you not know about Superman, Batman, or Spider-Man -- but the first time I heard about a story that made me think "I have to read this" was the Age of … Continue reading A Black Geek’s Guide to All-New, All-Different Marvel
Rainfurrest 2015 Wrap-Up
Another Rainfurrest has come and gone, and I really loved the convention this year. The panels were fun and interesting, but more importantly I got to hang and chat with a bunch of people I had only known online -- JM Horse, Phil Geusz, Makyo and others in the [adjective][species] crew. There were a lot … Continue reading Rainfurrest 2015 Wrap-Up
100 Happy Days
The civil unrest in Ferguson, MO last summer was a tremendous wake-up call for me, but thinking back there were a lot of things that lead up to it. The astonishing open racism that was taking root within the Republican opposition during Obama's 2008 campaign, election and Presidency has blossomed into a full-fledged xenophobia that … Continue reading 100 Happy Days
A Look Into the Future
I've been a little more quiet on the writing front than I feel comfortable with, but there's a reason for that. When I get deep into various projects, I tend to talk about them less because I guess I don't want to reveal how the sausage is made before it's presented. When I push a … Continue reading A Look Into the Future
When I Talk About Bigotry
There's a big disconnect in our society when we talk about bigotry. I think a lot of people in privileged groups believe that bigotry means something like "active discrimination and disrespect of a minority group" or maybe "active/vocal hate directed towards every single member of a minority group". There are a lot of people out … Continue reading When I Talk About Bigotry
Notes From the Field: Sasquan 2015
The 73rd annual Worldcon was held this weekend in Spokane, WA at Sasquan 2015 and I showed up with a small posse of furry writers -- Kyell Gold and my husband Ryan. It was an intense weekend; I met so many great writers and community members out there, made a few new friends, bought over … Continue reading Notes From the Field: Sasquan 2015
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 