Jennifer Brozek's Blog, page 51

Sucks to be the Adult

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

TL;DR – I made a general complaint about a growing number of inappropriate (rape, abuse, racist) jokes at my LARP and asked the staff tell the playership as a whole that they needed to stop. Not only did a friend get banned for stating rape jokes were wrong, I was forced to deal with a person I have a Gentleman’s Agreement with. I am leaving my LARP for as long as my friend is banned.

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As a genre (SFF) author and an RPG writer, I’m well aware of the problems of sexism, classism, and racism in my chosen profession. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the problems, seeing some of it in myself, and working to fix what I’ve seen. There’s an awful lot to do because the problems aren’t going away. But, people are making an effort.

So, what am I supposed to do when I see the same problems in my professional life creeping into my leisure time? More than just creeping in… growing and escalating? I guess I need to be the change I want to see. I can’t sit by and be silent. But, at the same time, I know that if I call attention to the growing problem, shit is going to hit the fan and I will be hurt in the process. That’s what rape culture and victim blaming is all about.

Sometimes it sucks to be an adult. Sometimes it really sucks to be right.

I’m part of a large weekly LARP (live action role playing) troupe. We have about 80-100 active players with an average of about 60-70 showing up to a single game. There’s no way to get that many people in an activity without having problems. We have ways of mitigating these problems. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they make things worse.

The Issue
Over a 4-5 week period, I saw a notable upswing in the number of rape jokes, racist jokes, and other inappropriate jokes. I also saw, and experienced, people crossing boundaries they shouldn’t be crossing. People saying “stop” to offensive lines of conversation and being ignored.

I decided that this couldn’t go unattended and made an official request to the LARP staff and PAs (player advocates) to remind players that the LARP was supposed to be a safe place, that we do have rules of conduct, and that they needed to be obeyed. In my request, I gave two specific, but nameless, examples.

Things pretty much went to hell after that.


The Good
Not everything that has happened is bad. Despite the mess that has gone on behind the scenes, the staff did make a good announcement that comfort levels needed to be met. That people needed to pay attention to comfort levels, to obey requests to stop or “fade to black” (official LARP “I don’t want to be here for this scene” speak).

I am grateful that the staff did bring this to the attention of the playership as a whole.


The Awkward But Good
One of my specified complaints was an accepted rape joke during noms (players nominating players for good role-play). The joke was “Shh… just let it happen.” as someone talked about how their character was foiled by another.

Two days after I made the complaint to the staff and PAs, one of my best friends and PA emailed me and admitted that he had made the “Shh… just let it happen” joke. He apologized and explained that it was a college thing/movie quote and he had had no idea that it was part of rape culture. He then explained that he had researched the phrase and found out what it actually meant. Read about that Microsoft executive who had used it in the middle of a demo and been fired for it. He said that now that he knew what it meant, he wouldn’t use it again and would be a lot more careful with his words.

This, my friends, is doing things right.

And yet, I had to fight back the urge to reassure him. To tell him it was okay because he didn’t know what he was doing. Instead, I thanked him for doing the research, for discovering what his words meant, and for promising not to speak them again.


The Bad
Here’s where things turn bad. After I made my complaint/request to the staff and PAs, they had a very long discussion in email without me. A lot of this has been told to me or I’ve read parts of the emails.

Apparently, there were several people who wanted to cry out “free speech” and others who said that rape jokes were a way of coping with trauma.  To the first, fuck you. To the second, I understand this in a private setting. My complaint was about public offenses. Public black face jokes. Public rape jokes. Public jokes about child abuse. Public jokes that didn’t stop when asked. I wasn’t talking about how people deal with their traumas privately.

One PA, T, stated that rape jokes were wrong 100% of the time. She was talking in public. She wanted a definite stand from the staff and they wouldn’t give it, took offense, and looked at what she had to say in the worst possible way. The staff has banned T from game for stating that rape jokes are wrong and for not stopping with her point of view when people told her that her point of view wasn’t valid and should stop. Banned her from the game for “at least” 5 weeks and possibly as much as 3 months for her stance. (Not sure what they are going “revisit” at 5 weeks.)

T, completely taken aback, wanted to know what the heck was going on. I’ve read the emails from her side of things and I cannot see anything she’s said that was worth being banned from the game. Especially since she was backing me in all this.

My husband, as a PA, got involved and discovered that there was a weird way the emails came in that looked like T had told a staff member that she was a horrible person for having a coping mechanism that included rape jokes. When this was pointed out to T, she felt bad and sent in an apology in good faith, trying to explain the way the emails came in over her phone. Not only was her apology rejected, some of the other PAs and staff were abusively vindictive towards T for making the apology at all, stating that she wasn’t really sorry enough in their opinion, and she just didn’t understand how she had hurt people.

And I’m sitting here, still wrapping my head around the fact that T has been banned for making someone feel bad about making rape jokes.


The Worse
You’ll note above I commented that I gave two specific examples of the inappropriate jokes and behavior going on at game. A PA asked me for specifics on the second example which was: “In fact, I told one person to “Fade to Black” and to stop and finally that he was being plain creepy. He thanked me for my comment. It took another guy to pointedly say, “Dude, that wasn’t a compliment.” to get him to stop.”

As requested, I gave the specifics of that example—name and witness’s name. It seemed, for a while, that the staff was just going to focus on the two examples I gave in my email. Then, there was the agreement that a general statement would be made but the person who wouldn’t stop their offensive line of conversation also needed a private talk. I agreed but asked that my name be kept out of it.

After the head of staff (HST) agreed, another PA, who I will call JJ, challenged the request for my name to be kept from the person who wouldn’t listen to the “fade to black” request. “How can someone be expected to alter their behavior around a specific person in future if that specific person won't reveal themselves to the offending party?”

Read: Why shouldn’t this guy know so he can be careful around you because you’re the one with the problem? (Victim blaming.)

Instead of: This guy needs to change his behavior—If he is told in or out of character to "Fade to black", he needs to obey that. (Changing the perpetrator’s general behavior.)


Added Insult to Injury
Can it get worse? Oh, yes. JJ, the PA who challenged my request to be anonymous? I have a “Gentleman’s Agreement” with him. This is the LARP equivalent of a restraining order. “If players/Staff have irreparable Out of Character differences, they may call for other ST assistance to minimize contact between those players.”

I requested the Agreement with JJ for OOC reasons involving severe lack of trust issues based on past issues. This is the third time he’s broken this Agreement. First time, he tried to talk to me at game. I rebuffed him. The second time, he sent a member of staff over to ask me to drop the Agreement because he “missed role-playing” with me. He stood not 30 feet away to watch the interaction. I escalated the breach of the Gentleman’s Agreement, and the use of a person in authority to pressure me, to the whole staff.

This third time? He had no reason to get involved in the email discussion after the HST agreed to my request for anonymity. It was a deliberate manipulation to require me to interact with him. Do I trust that he hasn’t already told the person in question that I was the one who made the complaint? Not at all. In fact, I’m pretty sure that he has done so (or told someone close to him) “just to be fair.” See: Severe lack of trust.

Fortunately, another member of staff on the thread saw the interaction for what it was and will follow up with breach of the Gentleman’s Agreement. I hope something happens with it. I haven’t heard either way.

Additional note: T mentioned that after all this, after complaints had been made, and that she called JJ’s actions into question as well,  JJ just “happened” to drop by her place of work (a retail store) and wanted to “see how she was holding up.” She noted to me that there were 4 other branches of her store between his house and her place of work. “8 years at that store and he never comes in once. Talk to his roommate [The HST] about his behavior last night and boom... There he was.” 

[sarcasm]
Showing up at someone’s work and force them to interact with you on a professional level after questioning their actions to someone in confidence—that’s not creepy or intimidating or panic attack inducing at all.
[/sarcasm]


End Result
I made a generalize complaint that there was a growing number of inappropriate actions and jokes happening at LARP. I requested the staff to remind the gamers that this is not acceptable.

The staff made a good announcement. For that, I’m grateful.

The staff also banned T, a friend and PA, for her staunch believe that rape jokes in public are 100% inappropriate because of the way they trigger others. I am leaving the LARP for as long as T is banned. I think the staff overreacted and I am standing behind T.

The person I have a Gentleman’s Agreement with forced an unnecessary interaction and, in essence, victim blamed me for taking offense when someone wouldn’t stop an inappropriate and offensive line of conversation when asked.

Do I feel safe at the LARP? No. I don’t. I feel like I did the right thing and still got punished for it. Exactly as I expected I would. I just didn’t expect to have so many other people hurt in the process. The collateral damage on the way this whole thing has been handled has been extensive and disturbing. I hurt because of what’s happened.

Sometimes doing the right thing really sucks. And people wonder why women stay silent when they are harassed, assaulted, or abused.

Tell Me - Loren Spendlove

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

I so backed Zuva. Apocalypse Girl approves!

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Jenn was kind enough to invite us onto her blog to tell you about a solar-powered flashlight/phone charger we designed called Zuva. She absolutely swears it has nothing to do with the impending zombie apocalypse / alien takeover / world ending storm.
 
Zuva means "Sun" in the Shona language, one of the many dialects spoken in southeastern Africa. After living in Mozambique and Angola for nearly 5 years, we discovered that two of the greatest needs of the people are a dependable light source and a way to charge cell phones without access to the power grid. Even the poorest of people in Africa have cell phones. Used phones are cheap, and in most places, only the person originating the phone call pays for the call. But, the question is how to charge your cell phone when you have no access to electrical power?
 
One of the communities that we visited several times in Mozambique is called Luaha. It is located 40 kilometers from the closest power grid. The leader of the village, Lucas Bento, has a cell phone, along with several other villagers. But, because they can only charge their phones when someone goes to the larger village which has power, they keep their phones turned off unless they need to make a call or send a text. We were able to send text messages to Lucas, but he only received them when he turned on his phone, and that could take several days.
 
Another issue that the villagers face is lighting. Unless there is a full moon, there is absolutely no light at night. We have rarely experienced anything so dark. So, a combination solar flashlight and cell phone charger is exactly what they need since what they do have in abundance is sunlight during the day.
 
While we were designing Zuva we realized that many of us in the US also face the same issues. What happens when our power goes out due to an ice storm, hurricane, or any number of natural disasters, where not only could we use a flashlight, but a charged cell phone - especially in this day and age where we are encouraged to text, not call, during large scale emergency situations to free up the phone lines for emergency responders.
 
The problem with most flashlights is that when you reach for them the batteries are often dead or weak. We designed our flashlight to be zero maintenance – you never have to replace anything. The best place to store the Zuva is in a sunny windowsill or on the dashboard of your car. That way it is always charged and ready to supply hours of bright light, or charge your cell phone when you realize that your battery is nearly dead.
 
Lastly, and most importantly, given that we were originally inspired to create while living in Mozambique and saw everyone there struggling with an inconsistent power grid, lacking light, or a means to power their phones (a lifeline in many cases), we’re donating 1 flashlight to "Care For Life" (a humanitarian organization that works in Mozambique helping the people there by teaching them self reliance) for every 4 flashlights that are funded through my indiegogo campaign. So not only will you be able to have light and power during your own emergencies, but you'll also be helping people in a developing country maintain light and power as well.
 
If you'd be interested in supporting Zuva, you can do so here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zuva-lighting-a-sustainable-world

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We're Loren and Tina Spendlove. We lived and worked in Mozambique and Angola for nearly 5 years and gained a great love and appreciation for Africa and its wonderful people. We have a great deal of experience bringing products to market in the United States through traditional means. This is our first crowd-funding project, and we're launching it because we don't just want to bring another product to market. We want Zuva to make a difference in the lives of people like those we met in Mozambique, and feel that it has the potential to do so. We have 5 adult children, 6 grandchildren, and 2 more on the way!

Loren: PhD, Education – University of Wyoming.  MBA – California State University, Fullerton. BS, Finance – Brigham Young University.  Certified Financial Manager (CFM).  Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Tina: MA, Health Psychology – Northcentral University.  BA, Psychology – Southern Utah University.

Happy Book Release Day to Me!

Available at: AMAZON | THE BATTLESHOP | DRIVETHRURPG | BARNES and NOBLE
Brozek creates well-developed and complex characters whose failures and successes, strengths and weaknesses pull you in, making you care about them and their fate. I would definitely recommend this book for older YA Lit, New Adult, and Adult readers.”
– Janine K. Spendlove, War of the Seasons trilogy, USMC pilot

“Jennifer Brozek's superb storytelling makes me want to play Battletech again.”
– M. Todd Gallowglas, Tears of Rage and Halloween Jack series

Nellus Academy Blurbs

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

Here are some great Nellus Academy Incident blurbs! I'm really excited about this first one because the author is also active duty USMC. When I write military fiction, I want military members to enjoy it and not groan at the mistakes. The Nellus Academy Incident release date is 27 Jan 2014. Next Monday!

“This is the first Battletech novel I've ever read, and given that I knew nothing about the “Battletech universe” prior to this as well, I had no idea what to expect going into it.

What did I find? A well written story where I immediately identified with each of main protagonists: eight, hand selected, teenage military cadets. This is a story where it would be so easy to write a “Mary Sue” or “Gary Stu” type character, but Brozek doesn't do that. She not only manages to carefully balance and develop each character, but she does it naturally and through the flow of the narrative, so the story never feels bogged down with extraneous details - instead, it pulls the reader along, making it very difficult to put down.

As an active duty member of the military myself (USMC), I am grateful for the fact that she didn't shy away from broaching difficult/realistic subjects such as courage and fear in the face of battle, loss and sacrifice, and of course the effects of the trauma that the cadets go through. Additionally, like real combat, just because you're a “well developed character,” that doesn't protect you from dying - meaning, there are no “red-shirts” here. No one is safe in this story, no one. And I appreciated the stark reality of that brutality. It hurt my heart to read it, and that's how war should feel: painful.

Brozek creates well-developed and complex characters whose failures and successes, strengths and weaknesses pull you in, making you care about them and their fate.  I would definitely recommend this book for older YA Lit, New Adult, and Adult readers.”
– Janine K. Spendlove, War of the Seasons trilogy, USMC pilot 

“Jennifer is a pro. Her dedication to the Battletech series is worth your time.”
– Ivan Van Norman, Outbreak: Undead and King of the Nerds

 “A fun read. Jennifer Brozek’s Battletech novel, The Nellus Academy Incident, takes us on a wild journey as we follow Cadet Allegra Greene from the classroom to the battlefield. Battletech fans, this one’s a winner.”
– Bobby Nash, Evil Ways and Earthstrike Agenda

“In a solid reworking of the classic rites of passage story, Jennifer Brozek uses solid characterization and great action scenes to make The Nellus Academy Incident a real winner.” 
– Michael A. Black, author of Chimes at Midnight and Sleeping Dragons in the Mack Bolan Executioner series

 “Brozek's made the world of Battletech accessible to those new to the game with The Nellus Academy Incident, all while putting new names and faces into a world beloved by longtime Battletech fans. If you're looking for action-packed, smartly paced sci-fi, then get your hands on a copy of this book.”
– Lillian Cohen-Moore, Convention Book: Void Engineers

Tell Me - Tracy Barnett

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

I met Tracy at one of the myriad conventions I’ve been to. It was a pretty good time and he’s a smart guy. He’s got a new project to tell you about.

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When I wrote Bones of the Earth for the Apotheosis Drive X Kickstarter this past spring, I had no idea that it would turn into a real world for me. Now I'm working on funding an expanded version of the setting, and am working on a companion novel.

Without further ado, here's the Kickstarter for Iron Edda: War of Metal and Bone.

Iron Edda is a world of Norse Myth, epic scope, and personal stories. And even though the project has only been live for a day as of the writing of this, I've learned so much from putting it together.

Mainly I've learned that you can't do this stuff alone. Working in a vacuum is not a great practice to follow. You need feedback, input, guidance, correction, and sometimes, someone else to shine a light on the path for you. Everyone's process is different. Mine sees me being public from the jump. I share everything. Others may hold off, polish and refine alone, then share.

The ultimate point is this: you can't do this alone. So if you're working on a project, know when you need to reach out and ask for help. Because I've learned how to do that, the entire Iron Edda world is richer and better for it. I can't wait to see where this project goes. And thank you to everyone who has helped make it possible.

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Tracy Barnett runs Sand & Steam Productions. This is Tracy’s fourth Kickstarter, and second project in the world of Iron Edda. For more information on everything that Sand & Steam does, check out www.sandandsteam.net.

Bubble and Squeek for 14 Jan 2014

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

Interview: New Interview with me from Muse Hack.

TOC: SF Signal lists the table of contents for Shattered Shields, the military fantasy anthology from Baen Books edited by me and Bryan Thomas Schmidt. It will be released on 4 November 2014.

TOC: I’ve finished the story selection for Bless Your Mechanical Heart anthology from Evil Girlfriend Media and am in the process of writing up and sending out the story contracts. However, keep your eyes peeled on the EGM website for the official TOC and all that.

Cover art: New book cover for The Nellus Academy Incident, my YA Battletech novel and the story of how it came to be.

Open Call: Reminder that Apocalypse Ink Productions is open for linked novella queries for modern day dark speculative fiction.

Tell Me - Tamera McNeil

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

I’ve not yet read anything by Tamera McNeil, but these Cheater’s Guides sound pretty cool.

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I'm writing a series of guides for SF writers who want to know about something but can't, for whatever reason, go and find out for themselves first-hand. Things like, how does a sword smell, or what does it feel like to spin wool from a drop spindle? It's something I wanted to do for a while, but haven't been able to, and when I had the idea I was a little bit worried that it was yet another great idea that was going to end up on the scrapheap of great-but-un-do-able projects.
   
I get piles of fun, cool ideas, and I'm sure you do too, but in my case they too rarely see the light of day. In this case, the idea came from a panel I always try to attend whenever I get over to VCon, my local convention. It's called Writing About Fighting and always a good time. The audience asks questions and the panel of writers and martial artists answers. Without a doubt the most common questions are about the gritty details - what does a sword smell like? Where do you get blisters when using a quarterstaff? I realized there was a dearth of access to the telling details that make writing believable, and thought, Wouldn't it be great if someone did a writer's reference for stuff like this? And then I thought, Well, why can't I do that?
   
Then I got really excited. Then I got worried, because I've noticed my ideas sometimes follow a pattern that goes about like this:

Great idea > excitement > planning > realize I'm not an expert > give up > idea goes into the scrapheap

This time, though, instead of giving up after I realized there was so much I didn't know, I started looking around for help. Did I know someone who could help me with the Cheater's Guide to Swordplay? Sure I did. In fact, I knew two experts. Did I know someone who could help me on Cheater's Guide to Medieval Homecrafts? Actually, I know a woman who has raised rare-breed sheep just so she can have just the right wool to spin. She also makes her own cheese. So that's a yes.
   
This time, instead of giving up on my project, I started to ask around, and it turns out I know piles of people who do amazing things. More importantly, they were excited about being part of the project.
   
This is what I wanted to say in my Tell Me; I wanted to remind you that even though you personally might not be able to do a whole project on your own, I bet you know someone, or a few someones, who not only could help you, but would love to help you.
   
Those people might be friends, family, the local reference librarian, or an old science teacher. And that means those projects that seem big and frightening, well, they're totally doable.
   
So go on, and get doing them!

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Tamera McNeil is a Viable Paradise XVI alum who always has a project on the go. Her queer-friendly YA novella, Onsen, was released by JMS books in January 2013, and her most recent work of short fiction can be read for free over at Betwixt Magazine. Expect to see more about Cheaters' Guides popping up @tammacneil on Tumblr in February!

Awards and All That

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

You know, life was a lot easier when I didn’t know about awards like the Hugos or the Nebulas. It was an abstract thing. “Oh, there are awards and people win them. Cool.” Then, I started knowing the people who were nominated. “Oh, there are awards and my friends are up for them. Cool!” Then, I started being eligible and nominated for awards. Suddenly, it’s becoming, “There are these awards. How the hell am I good enough for them?”

I think I was lucky. The first two awards I was up for, I wasn’t at the awards ceremonies where I won. This vexed me. The third one, I made sure I was at and wanted to throw up the entire time. I won. I had a speech to read because a friend forced me to write one even though I was sure I wasn’t going to win. When I sat down, I realized I was starving. So, that’s what awards are like for me. Am I good enough? I’m going to throw up. Then, win or lose, I’m starving.

That being said, I still want to be nominated for awards and, yes, I want to win them. Winning is awesome. It really is. But, award season is stressful. People get cranky if you post about awards. People get cranky if you don’t post about awards. It’s really a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation.

And since I’m going to be condemned either way, here’s what’s eligible of mine for the Hugo this year:

•  "Iron Achilles Heel" - The New Hero II anthology - Stone Skin Press, February 2013
•  "An Infestation of Adverts" - Blue Shift Magazine, Issue #1 anthology - White Cat Publications, June 2013
•  "Dust Angels" - Beyond the Sun anthology - Fairwood Press, July 2013
•  "Lock and Key" - Shadowrun Returns kickstarter anthology - Catalyst Game Labs, July 2013
•  "The Price of Family" - Elementary (All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters) anthology - DAW, December 2013
•  "A Nightmare for Anna" - By Faerie Light anthology - Zombie Sky Press, December 2013

•  Children of Anu: Book Two of the Karen Wilson Chronicles, novel - Apocalypse Ink Productions, June 2013

•  Coins of Chaos anthology - EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, Editor, October 2013 [Short form editor]

The Unexpected Book

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

A couple years back, Jason Schmetzer, the fiction editor for battlecorps.com, asked me if I wrote stories about “big stompy ’Mechs.” My answer was an unhesitating “No.” Jason, not to be denied, asked me if I could crash a big stompy ’Mech and then write him a story. I thought about it and said that I thought I could… if I could think of the right story.

It took two years and some back and forth between me and Jason to hammer out the idea for The Nellus Academy Incident – a YA Battletech webserial about 8 cadets and a General in a PR event gone horribly, horribly wrong. I figured it would be about 25 episodes of about 2000 words each and was designed to go up on a weekly basis. That’s not exactly what happened but, in the end, the webserial was 25 episodes and almost 60,000 words.

I was surprised and delighted beyond words when Jason told me that The Nellus Academy Incident was going to be packaged up as a novel for general sale. This wasn’t my intent when I wrote the serial but, wow, it looked like I had written a YA novel without planning on it.

Yesterday, I got the cover. The book will come out towards the end of January. Isn’t it pretty?

As a side note, I do know what I’d write for a sequel if Jason asked for another serial for battlecorps.com.

 

Tell Me - Danielle Ackley-McPhail

(Crossposted from Jennifer Brozek)

Danielle Ackley-McPhail is an author and editor I admire. I’ve shared a TOC with her, edited her, and been edited by her. Almost all of it has been military fiction. It’s always interesting to get an inside perspective on how people get into cultures they’ve not personally experienced.

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As a writer, there is nothing more gratifying than successfully immersing yourself into another psyche so outside of your own. In becoming another person…if only on paper…and having an audience believe in that character. Have them connect and empathize and even cry for that character. It is a humbling experience.

I recently wrote a story called “Brother” for the Defending the Future anthology, Dogs of War. My story is from the perspective of a soldier horribly scarred by war, both physically and emotionally. That soldier has retreated inside of himself and used the extremes of his military psychological training to defend the tattered remains of his spirit.

It probably will not surprise you—particularly if you know me—that I have never been to war. I have never been in the military. My closest connection is being the youngest child of a military man who fought in several wars, and was scarred by all of them. A child who never experienced the military lifestyle. Heck, by the time I was aware of my surroundings I barely experienced my father at all, not until I was much older. Though not consciously, I suppose you could say that my father was a template for my character. Now, looking back, I can see where the more subtle mindset and defenses my father had were amplified in this story. At the time of writing, though, all I had to draw on was the most basic understanding of the military mindset, post traumatic stress disorder, and a bit of research on the internet to flesh things out. And yet the words flowed. The character told his own story and showed me a glimpse of the trauma left by combat.

Apparently I have a very fertile imagination. Or perhaps I truly channeled some unnamed soldier I will never know beyond the words of my story, because I showed it to the soldiers I know. I showed it to medical personnel familiar with my topic. I’ve read it to audiences several times over. And each time I was humbled at the impact of my words.

This may sound like boasting, but please, be assured that is not so. I am in awe at the gift I have been given to touch people with words and as with anything given as a gift, I am not responsible for the outcome. What I have written in “Brother” is a product of inspiration that is beyond my control. It is not something I planned out to write. It was not something I could possibly write from my own experience. I have no doubt that creativity is touched by divine inspiration and I have learned that through my fiction I can be many people, to many people, and none of them have a single thing to do with who I really am. It is an amazing feeling to be given a gift like that, and to be fortunate enough to share it with the world. I certainly count my blessings and look forward to where my muse will lead me next.