Several years ago, I caught myself getting wrapped up in, of all things, a sitcom from the early 2010s. Not one to quickly get involved in a new show—particularly a sitcom, particularly post-millennium—you can imagine my surprise when my immediate attention kept drifting from my spaghetti prepping to the TV screen. It was something my…

In the past I have talked about trigger warnings and my stance on them—not only as a writer, but as an audience member. And as of this blog post, I still—more or less—stand by those thoughts. And on a somewhat related topic (though, not directly related), I’ll add one thing more to the conversation: I…

One day in the little bookstore where I work, I witnessed a conversation between one of my coworkers and a customer. When asked what kinds of books she read, my coworker immediately looked sheepish. Her eyes drifted downward, her lips screwed up in a lopsided grin, and she leaned into the counter as if preparing…