Genta Sebastian's Blog, page 17

Authors Are Artists Too

Elly Wagner's clay work during Celebrate Yourself!I just got back from a wonderful weekend filled with powerful women. I was reminded how pleasant it is to be surrounded by women who are unafraid of asking questions and eager to explore both inner and outer worlds.

The youngest was eighteen while the oldest was ninety-something. Although there were fewer than forty women there, the place rang with creative energy. Women wrote stories, painted, drummed, expressed the feminine form in clay, and...

My Slight Brush With History

César E. ChávezThe man my father told stories about as we sat around the family kitchen table became a legend, a leader of people on a quest for equality for all. I was still new to school, in second or third grade, I had four younger siblings, and life was one of ease and privilege.

My father was a physician/pediatrician who practiced in the town of Fresno, in the central valley of California. In the mid 1960's, he was one of the few doctors in the area who still made rural calls, sometimes d...

FAT SHAMING - Another Form of Bullying

I was talking about this with some women the other day. We're all full-figured women who've lived our lives on the heavy side of the scale, rather than the lighter, and each of us had horror stories to tell.

I shared a story of going through the cafeteria at school during the second grade, and being dished up a portion much smaller than those around me who had all paid exactly the same amount of money. When I asked why I got less, the lunch lady smiled sadly and said, "You don't really need th...

Peculiar Writing Tips

Stipula Etruria Fountain Pen SpreadWhen it comes to tricks of the trade for writers there are many, many suggestions out there. Here I've collected some of my favorites from around the web, and added some of my own.

Some of my favorites excerpted from Chuck Wendig's blog, Terrible Minds - Ten Stupid Writer Tricks (That Might Actually Work):

The WTF Code: Sometimes you’re writing and you hit a part in the story where you’re just like, “Nope, no fucking idea what happens here. Maybe they fight?...

We Won!

One year ago social media was suddenly covered with red equality signs. The simple symbol spread quickly, including supportive pictures posted in impressive numbers, and people from all walks of life began to discuss marriage equality, tell their stories, and more importantly, listen. Here is just one of them.

Katherine Forrest's speech:

My brothers and sisters, I am 74 years old and on this momentous day in the history of our community I speak on behalf of my generation.
Katherine Forrest
My ge...

Twilight vs. The Hunger Games vs. Harry Potter

As an author of YA fiction, I'm always interested in what makes a particular book or series a success, and I've come to some conclusions.

I read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers because of it's extraordinary financial success, and the almost immediate movie options. I wanted to see why kids liked it so much, and I'm not talking about follow the crowd kids, I'm talking about sane and sensible kids headed for college on work scholarships.

After reading the books - not my favorite series, I...

Fred Phelps - Unwilling Gay Ally

Fred Phelps hated fags. I don't think anyone can dispute this fact. He was nearly rabid on the subject, and some have suggested that he was tossed on a sea of madness for decades.

It was this very craziness that made him such a valuable ally in the fight for gay rights. He and his family church became instruments of change in the culture war over acceptance of gay rights.

Phelps' ugly persona, almost a caricature of fanaticism, held a mirror up to people who had casually denounced gay rights as...

Sex Sells And So Does Sexism

  Have you seen these vintage ads floating around? Do you find them shocking?
 

These ads were indicative of American society as a whole - and they were all post WWII - trying to put Rosie the Riveter back in her domesticated place. What bothers me most is that so many young women of the 21st century are buying this idea that they should be small, frail, domesticated home makers rather than taking their places in the wider world. With our male dominated society refusing to see women as...

Riding The Rainbow

Announcing the quickly approaching publication date for Riding The Rainbow, my LGBT novel for young readers (ages 7-14).

Blurb:

Chubby, awkward Lily has two out-loud-and-proud Moms, and is teased and bullied at school. Clara, the new girl in the fifth grade, has two in-the-closet Dads and keeps their secret by staying quiet, trying to become invisible. As the two girls get to know each other, they question the way the other’s family lives. The world is looking much brighter for the two friends,...

Happy Anti-Bullying Day!

Today you have the opportunity to join your voice (albeit silently) to the cry against bullying. It's truly simple - just wear purple.

All across our nation (and I hear in parts of Canada) people who are angry about bullying are becoming visible. A purple wave of human beings stand out, which in this case is also standing up.

So stand out today in PURPLE. Use your visibility to make a point. And if someone asks you why you're dressed in purple, gladly engage them in a conversation about the nec...