NerdinOut Con 2022 Day 2

October 9th, 2022 Today at the convention, a kid walked up to my booth and picked up a copy of Brushfire. He looked carefully through it and then told me he wanted to look at everything in the room before he decided on what one thing he would buy. He told me he might beContinue reading “NerdinOut Con 2022 Day 2”

NerdinOut Con 2022 Day 1

October 8th, 2022 Holy cats, Rochester, you showed up today. One of the first things I saw was a young boy with his dad. He had just walked into his first convention ever and he was telling his father how amazing it all was while they were in the moment, experiencing it together. It wasContinue reading “NerdinOut Con 2022 Day 1”

The Comic Show @ Valley Creek Mall

September 17th, 2022 Oh, the humanity. It can be hard to be human, especially when the world is being particularly human-y. It’s one of the reasons I’m taking a break from essays this month; I’m just not up to dealing with it all right now, and the feeling feels mutual. But today? I needed today.Continue reading “The Comic Show @ Valley Creek Mall”

The Kind Monster

September 6th, 2022 Starting today, I’m going to be taking the rest of the month off from posting essays. I feel like you and I could use a break from each other, in a good way. I hope you’ll catch up on posts, if that’s your thing, or pick up some of my work andContinue reading “The Kind Monster”

For You or Not For You

September 5th, 2022 When I saw the State Fair water tower on the horizon this year, the nostalgia hit me harder than normal. Instead of a general flavor, nostalgia tends to get colored by people whose loss feels recent, like yesterday, even though they’ve been gone, say, nearly two years. It got me thinking aboutContinue reading “For You or Not For You”

Stupid Questions

September 2nd, 2022 “So I was looking at the long term / Three quarters and I quit school / Now I break hearts as a learning tool.” – The Next Step, “Honesty & Happiness” As that lyric accurately describes, I did not go to college for long. Even calling it “college” doesn’t feel right. ButContinue reading “Stupid Questions”

I Am Not An Illusion

August 24th, 2022 Mystery is an amateur magic show. I get frequently asked why I tell people stuff on the internet. Like, the stuff you shouldn’t really tell people, the stuff people don’t talk about like I think they should, the stuff that is heavy or hard. I do it because I feel like weContinue reading “I Am Not An Illusion”

Not Too Little, Never Too Late

August 19th, 2022 When people get comfortable around me and my sobriety, they start to ask more complicated questions about it. The one they inevitably get to is: “Do you miss anything about drinking?” I do. Of course I do. Too much for a single post. But I want to talk about something that mightContinue reading “Not Too Little, Never Too Late”

Accessible Excellence

August 18th, 2022 The most common thing said about my books comes across as backhanded, but I’ve come to realize it aligns with what I want to do as a writer so completely. The song goes: “I am not a big reader, but I really liked your book.” Usually followed by the encore of: “IContinue reading “Accessible Excellence”

Cold World Trailer

August 15th, 2022 It has not been a cold summer, but for my readers, it has been a Cold World summer. Some of the best reviews of my writing career have made their way to me from people who have discovered the secrets of this story set on Earth in 2222; Cold World is aContinue reading “Cold World Trailer”