Quarantine Activity Suggestion: Dungeons and Dragons (No, Really)

So...we’re in social distancing mode. Over here, I’ve got some of the symptoms of COVID-19, although not enough to take any kind of test, and therefore am home bound until they clear up. (I'll be fine, don't worry!) Which is going to be great for my writing, not so much for my existential dread over …

Bad Ideas for Valentines Day When Single

Valentine’s day can be a tough holiday when you’re single. It feels like the entirety of popular culture is designed to make you feel like you are somehow failing by not being in a relationship. Granted, thanks to the wonders of social media you can feel that way every day if most of your friends …

A Month of Misery – Changing How I Think About Happiness

I hate self-help books. Actually, no, that’s an understatement. I loathe self help books. Most of the ones I’ve read are full of vapid, meaningless advice that’s designed to make you feel good about yourself without giving you anything really actionable. They give you a brief feeling of general confidence that you can be ‘happy’ …

My Personal Loser’s Club

I saw It: Chapter 2 tonight. This isn't a post about that. It's not a review of It. I might do that Sunday, or I might talk more about the book release. I'm having a party for that tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that. Getting together with some of my closest friends. I don't have …

The Best Lessons I Learned from Terry Pratchett

As I mentioned a little bit ago, I’m a huge Terry Pratchett fan. The Discworld novels have gotten me through some rough spots in my life. They’re hilarious and fantastic (in the traditional sense, i.e. full of fantasy, as well as the modern sense) and just...just the best.  One thing I didn’t mention though? They’re …

Some of the Biggest Influences on my Writing (As a Child)

I am a human, at least until I find a way to upload my brain to the internet and reign immortal as a digital consciousness, grinding the remaining meatbags under my mechanical heel. As such, I am not immune to the influences of other creative works. With Strange Cosmology coming this summer - my second …

3 Things You Can Do For Teacher Appreciation Week

This week, if you hadn’t heard, is National Teacher Appreciation Week, the week where we remember to appreciate one of the most under-appreciated professions in the country. Now, I’m not a teacher - I went to college with the intent of being a teacher, got into a high school classroom as a substitute teacher right …

How I (am trying to) Prevent Burnout

For the first thirty years of my life, I was kind of a slacker. Full day video game marathons, reading an entire book in an afternoon, or binge-watching an entire Netflix show in a single day were fairly common activities if I didn’t have work that day, and if I did have work I’d spend …

Life with Cats

The other day, I was sitting on my couch with a tiny psychopath screaming at me. He wanted me to give him attention so he could bite my hand. At some point, this has stopped being an abnormal occurrence in my house - about three and a half years ago, in fact, when I adopted …

Maintaining the Holiday Spirit When Things Go Wrong

I love Christmas. It is my second favorite time of the year, beaten out only by Halloween. (Yes, Nightmare before Christmas is one of my favorite movies because it combines both.) The reason Halloween edges out Christmas is because the holiday season can be stressful. Getting gifts for everyone, managing schedules, organizing events - you …