Maleficent is So Freakin’ Good

When I was young I used to impress people with my Disney trivia knowledge. I would challenge my schoolmates to trivia contests, trying to see who could stump the other. My coup de grâce was always “Name the evil sorceress from Sleeping Beauty”. No one ever could. I savored knowing her name. Maleficent. I… Read More

SFF + Feminism + Happiness = WISCON

WisCon is the world’s leading Feminist Science Fiction Convention – and now I know why! The schedule was packed with events ranging from “How to Ally“, to “Female Sexuality in Rhoda Broughton’s Twilight Stories”, to getting your face painted and watching episodes of Jem until 3 in the morning. But don’t take my word for… Read More

“Historically Accurate Fantasy” Is An Oxymoron

I have never felt comfortable with the “but it’s historically accurate” defense when faced with blatant sexism in my favorite books, movies, TV shows, Anime, etc. However, I also never felt like I had a good response to the excuse. I have a very real, very physical reaction to seeing things that are hurtful toward women. They flow directly through… Read More

A Witch’s Mortgage

Hearing the evil laughter following her up the stairs didn’t bother her nearly as much as the running children’s footsteps in the empty attic. Grimhilda dropped her heavy black skirts and tried to turn her huge mass around in the narrow, rickety stairway. “Did you let the Poltergeist kids in the house, Sven?!” she shouted down… Read More

Living Your Writing (or How I Convinced Myself to Run a Marathon)

This month I’m almost exactly 26.2 years old. I’ve achieved a marathon in years lived, and what do I have to show for it? A lot of experiences worth writing about, that’s for sure! On June 19th, 2010 I ran Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN. It was my first marathon (still my only marathon) and it was… Read More

Magic versus Reality: Which is more real?

Fiction is not real by definition, but what kind of fiction speaks more truthfully to you as a reader? As a teenager I wished dearly to be transported into Anne McAffrey’s Pern, Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Robert Jordan’s Two Rivers, and so on. I wanted to be somewhere not boring and not ordinary. Now I am drawn to historical fiction… Read More