Note: This is an opinion piece. This is not a scholarly essay. It’s not going to have well-cited sources. I’ve read all the books I discuss here. I’ve been forced to read them in high school, and re-read them for graduate school. I’ve read teacher […]

I’ve been taking far, far, far too long to get around to reading Clariel and Goldenhand by Garth Nix, and I decided that in order to get myself in the right place to do it, I would reread the original Old Kingdom books. I have […]

Okay, so, there’s this story in the bible. A servant is just doing their servant thing, when an individual in a position of power in the household where they serve attempts to rape them. The servant refuses because they don’t want to break the commandments […]

So, my bestie, Steph, talked me into participating in a writing contest, which I hadn’t done since college. It was a fun endeavor, though, more like improv comedy than short-story writing. The premise is simple: on a designated Friday night, you receive a prompt that […]

In contrast to Hailey, whose white fragility worsens throughout the book, Starr’s boyfriend, Chris, is provides a dynamic look at the “white ally.” He comes from a wealthy family, goes to a private school, but he’s enamored with black culture and dates one of the […]

This post will examine Hailey, one of Starr’s friends who displays racially problematic behavior throughout the book and demonstrates white fragility clearly. In one moment in the story, the teenagers observe a basketball game and joke about their “food babies” after a hefty lunch of […]

Walking selfie!  This summer, I made a commitment to walking 3-4 miles a day for fitness. I live in a house with four other people who all do Crossfit, but that’s not really my speed. (It’s not only hard as hell, but it’s also a […]

This first draft manuscript I’m working on right now has me thinking a lot about perspective, when to shift perspective, and whose perspective matters most in any given moment. I’ve got a central protagonist, but it’s also a bit of an ensemble cast with multiple […]