You may be looking at this page and wondering why we’ve claimed a little spot for ourselves. Why not just share our writing on the same page as the other pieces we’re bringing you? After all, we’re all writers here, right? If I tried to summarize it in one word, I’d probably say, “Accountability.” That…
Category: A Piece of Our Minds
Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Reaching Critical Mass
Another Year of Queer Rage, Thanks to Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Recently, I was chatting on Facebook with someone, and I called 2022 as my “year of queer rage.” Not surprising when 2022 was an epic year for anti-lgbtq legislation with 315 bills filed attacking the queer community. Thankfully, ninety one percent of these bills failed to…
Low-Hanging Fruit (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Low-Hanging Fruit Low-Hanging Fruit and Comedy I grant you that size isn’t a funny issue for everyone. There are people who are bullied for their size; made to feel less-than, etc. Telling jokes about these kinds of traditional topics is an art that presents interesting challenges. What I was trying to…
HB 991 and SB 1316 Spell the End of Free Speech in Florida
*Note On March 6, 2023, SB 1220 , the companion bill to HB 991 was filed in the Florida Senate by Senator Keith Perry, who represents an area near Gainesville where the University of Florida is located. As of that date, no companion bill for SB 1316 has been filed in the Florida House. HB…
Interrobang
Big Cat, Little Cat: Interrobang The Interrobang and Other Matters Has anyone actually seen an interrobang? I mean just been reading along and… BAM! INTERROBANG. I’ve been reading stuff for more than thirty years and I’ve never seen it once. Which reminds me that there are a lot of features of a language that seemingly…
Storyteller… Replaced (The Dr. M Chronicles)
Well… I’ve been replaced as storyteller. Or, at least, it’s only a matter of time. My nephew, Dr. M, lives in Bangalore with his parents. Anuja and her mother live nearby. I call him once a week to tell him a story. The time zones work out so that it’s midnight my time, but I…
Jokes (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Bad Jokes Dumb Jokes I have a particular relationship with bad jokes. I come from a family of bad-joke-tellers. And I swore I would be better. That sounds like a joke; or the premise for one. But it’s actually not. My parents and grandparents and uncles and so on would say…
Shooting at Michigan State University
I’m still dealing with lingering effects of COVID right now. Mostly fatigue and pain, with more frequent headaches as a bonus. So shortly after dinner last Monday, I dozed off for a bit, and when I woke up I began scrolling through Facebook and was shocked to see a post telling me that a friend…
Impostor Syndrome (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Impostor Syndrome Impostor Syndrome It seems like nothing is as integral to the writing process as impostor syndrome. I should really have called this website 3 Rules of Writing. And the third rule should have been: “Stop it with this impostor syndrome bullshit. You’re not fooling anyone. We know exactly how…
Finding my Place as a Writer
I’ve had a pretty beastly journey with anxiety. There have been times I’ve really struggled with anxiety so bad that I experienced agoraphobia. When simple things like leaving my apartment to take the trash just a few feet down the hall to the trash chute might trigger a panic attack. When going outside my building…
Depression (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Depression Dealing with Depression… in Story I was reading a really interesting book the other day. My friend had asked me to be a beta reader for her new novel, written from the perspective of two house-cats. The background characters are a woman who suffers from what appears to be severe…