Leesa Freeman's Blog, page 4

In the Wake of Ferguson, Where Are The Allies?

  In reading reports from Ferguson, I wonder where all the allies are. Recently, the Straight Ally has come to mean a message of love and acceptance from people who aren’t LGBTQ but who recognize that all love is love. In a time when so many are still so against the simple choice of loving whomever […]

To the Transgender Woman at Savers

  I want you to know I saw you today. In the middle of all the crazy – the haggard moms shopping with their too bored and whiny children, the teenagers taking advantage of a rare day off school and 50% off prices, the entire families stocking up on winter clothes before the first snows […]

Why I’m Not Doing NaNoWriMo

If you’re doing NaNoWriMo this year, congrats! And I’ll keep this brief, because by the end of today you should have logged about 15K words to stay on track. Which is reason number one of why I’m not doing it. (The pressure!) First I feel like I should explain NaNoWriMo for those of you who […]

Yeah, But Which One’s the Girl?

Have you ever been asked that about a gay couple, because I have. Usually in a hushed tone like the person knew what they were asking was offensive, but somehow couldn’t not ask. The conversation usually goes something like this: Which one is the girl? Um… Neither. You get they are both guys, right? Yeah, […]

Education In America: We’re So Screwed, Y’all

Let me start off by saying that when I say education, I don’t mean teachers. I have a lot of friends who are teachers, and they are just as enslaved in what our warped and bastardized education system has become as our kids are. Our teachers are men and women who want desperately to inspire […]

Novels and Social Commentary – Why it Matters

I read somewhere that having a rape scene in a book is “amateurish” and smacks of poor writing. Basically a cheap way of adding conflict without doing much work to create it. I don’t remember where I saw that, but I’m pretty sure it was some agent, tired of the stack of manuscripts in her […]

Roasting Marshmallows – An Excerpt from Into the Deep End

By the time I’d showered, struggled into clean clothes, and made it to the dining hall, dinner was already well underway. I got a tray of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, and two warm dinner rolls, and found an empty space in a far corner, vaguely aware of the irony that it was the first home-cooked […]

I’m Never Going to “Sell” Anything

Twelve years ago I got a job with a nationally known furniture company that should have been perfect for me. With a certificate in Interior Decorating, working with a company that allowed its customers to choose any sofa frame and upholster it in any fabric, then choose their own trim, pillows, and even feet should have […]

The Passion in Doing What you Love

I’m so excited nearing the end of the publishing process for Into the Deep End. The editing has been completed, the cover is done, my layout is ready to print, and that overwhelming, almost uncontrollable sense of explosive excitement is settling somewhere inside – ready to burst out of me. Last night I was talking to someone […]

Inspiration Porn Really Chaps My Hide!

If you are active on social media, you’ve probably seen headlines like “This Looks Like A Normal Restaurant, Until You Realize The Bizarre Truth” or “She Loved Him Even Disabled, But SEE What He Does To Leave This Bride Completely In Tears!” It’s called a “clickbait” headline, it’s rampant, and it pisses me off! Basically the […]