Michael Scott Monje Jr.'s Blog, page 21

Defiant: Losing Control (Chapter 7)

Defiant is a serial novel. If you're new to it, you can click here to read the introduction or you can click on the Defiant tag to see the full list of entries. New entries go up every Friday. This week's chapter deals with the way relationship anxiety and sensory anxiety play together, and the consequences that can have on a person's concentration.




 Clay sat in his office, staring at the wall. His mistake kept playing
in his head. Again and again, he reviewed...

Facecrime (Update 3--the Final Update)

As I've mentioned before, I'm taking some time this summer to look back at some of my favorite pieces of writing. When I started this, it was mostly genre pieces. I've read Jacqueline Carey's first D'Angeline trilogy, some old Clive Barker, and even a little Robert Silverberg.





For the last couple of weeks, I've been taking a break from the genre work and re-reading some of the old literary classics I loved as a kid (meaning elementary through undergraduate years for me). It's been surprisi...

Facecrime (Update 2)

As I've mentioned before, I'm taking some time this summer to look back at some of my favorite pieces of writing. When I started this, it was mostly genre pieces. I've read Jacqueline Carey's first D'Angeline trilogy, some old Clive Barker, and even a little Robert Silverberg.





For the last couple of weeks, I've been taking a break from the genre work and re-reading some of the old literary classics I loved as a kid (meaning elementary through undergraduate years for me). It's been surprisi...

Facecrime (Update)

As I've mentioned before, I'm taking some time this summer to look back at some of my favorite pieces of writing. When I started this, it was mostly genre pieces. I've read Jacqueline Carey's first D'Angeline trilogy, some old Clive Barker, and even a little Robert Silverberg.





For the last couple of weeks, I've been taking a break from the genre work and re-reading some of the old literary classics I loved as a kid (meaning elementary through undergraduate years for me). It's been surprisi...

Defiant: The Routine (Chapter 6)

Defiant is a serial novel. If you're new to it, you can click here to read the introduction or you can click on the Defiant tag to see the full list of entries. New entries go up every Friday.




 “Remember what we talked about before the semester started. You
want to take a breath and a half after you hear a question before you
rattle off the answer. A breath and a half. Otherwise, you seem
impatient, and it seems condescending. Students will think that they
sho...

Re-Reading Kushiel's Legacy (Part I) - Fantasy and the Kyriarchy

Since it's summer and I'm writing my next couple of books, I've been taking a look back at a few of my favorite genre pieces. For the last several weeks, that's meant working my way through the first three books of Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey. These three books formed the establishing trilogy for the alternate history/fantasy that has been the bulk of her work so far, and in my opinion, they are her best work.



Writers of fantasy who seek to move beyond some of the more parochi...

Defiant: None of Their Business (Chapter 5)

Defiant is a serial novel. If you're new to it, you can click here to read the introduction or you can click on the Defiant tag to see the full list of entries. New entries go up every Friday.






“Is there something you're avoiding? Something about me, or about
our sessions?” Dr. Williams asked.

Clay turned his gaze from the window, where he had been watching a
group of high school aged students play around on skateboards. It
took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light of the room.

“W...

Defiant: Noahleen Weighs In (Chapter 4)

Defiant is a serial novel. If you're new to it, you can click here to read the introduction or you can click on the Defiant tag to see the full list of entries. New entries go up every Friday.






They ate half-dressed, the way that people do when they know that
they are in absolute privacy but they still feel as if there is some
special propriety that the dining table demands. Noahleen had ordered
a pizza while Clay was in the shower. It was all right—no, it was a
good pizza—it was just from...

We Are Like Your Child

One of the biggest problems that neurodiversity activists tend to face is a difficulty connecting to parents of neurodivergent children*. For whatever reason, the difficulties and challenges that we articulate do not always *click* with parents as being similar to (or an extension of) the challenges facing their own children.



Sometimes, I will own, this is because we activists have a hard time articulating the relationship between the two. More often, though, it seems to be because the pare...

Consent is King

Miri over at Brute Reason wrote a post that particularly resonated with me this morning. In it, she takes a look at the role consent plays in touching that is not overtly sexual (or at least, is not intended to be). As someone who experiences a lot of comfort issues both with touching and being touched, I appreciated that this discussion was being given some exposure.





There are a lot of different issues that come into play when we deal with physical contact and consent. Not only sexua...