*Apologies in advance for the length of this post, especially after a prolonged quiet*

Yesterday, a fellow writer, Stacey Jay, was criticized for crowdfunding a project to develop a final book in a series that had been passed over by the publisher. When I came on the scene, the public critiques had gone well past pointing flaws in the business ( Read more... )

Yesterday, I was the speaker at the CISV USA greater Springfield Chapter's annual kick-off. I was approached and asked to share the speech, so I thought I'd plunk it here (with links!) for anyone who is interested in what I had to say about diversity and doing something about it.

Everyone Deserves to See Themselves on the ShelvesThank you for ( Read more... )

I think I've figured out one of the biggest things that bug me in this "Who Gets To Write What" discourse going around lately.

I think it has something to do with the fear of making mistakes and who gets to make them.


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Normally, I don't cross-post my social media (reminds me a bit about Dr. Egon Spengler warning, "Don't cross the streams!") but my recent post to my Facebook page got me thinking... it read:

Wearing my old Harvard sweatshirt, an old lady stopped me in the grocery store aisle and asked if I went there. I said yes, I went there for grad school, not ( Read more... )

It's Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month and, as a youth activist, I'm all about these kind of conversations throughout the month (including any day ending in "y"). But while I get to talk about these things as a public speaker and advocate, rarely do I get to talk about it as a fangirl of scifi TV and popular culture ( Read more... )

I have been debating what to say on a number of deep issues that have been rocking the writing world that I love so well, and today I think I'm ready to give one a shot because yet more controversy has freshly hit the blogosphere with thoughtful posts by The Book Smugglers, John Scalzi's Whatever and Foz Meadows on issues such as Toni Weisskopf, ( Read more... )

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Yesterday, I got to get up and scream and dance and rave about things I'm passionate about to a bunch of unsuspecting high school students. This is my other life ( Read more... )

One would think that as a feminist (and a humanist and a menimist) as well as a raging gender advocate that I might have something to say about the Steubenville rape case. And I do. I have many, many things to say, but other people have said just about everything that I could or would want to say--and some things I would have never thought to say ( Read more... )