The Wordsmith's Forge

This poem is spillover from the November 5, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl, sponsored by elliemurasaki. It was inspired by various people's requests for atypical and unexpected families, and by this attempt to make Disney villains conventionally attractive. Well, that got me thinking how those folks would respond ...

WARNING: This poem contains some rude language and references to offstage violence. They're villains, what did you expect?

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Here's a project that shows what it's like to have dyslexia.  Art, science, activism.  Awesome.

In honor of National Coming Out Day, here are some of my QUILTBAG characters and series. Feel free to share this list, or make your own, so folks know there's cultural material out there featuring people like them.


Schrodinger's Heroes -- Science fiction about quantum mechanics and saving the world. Diverse sex/gender/orientation of characters. Mix of romantic, erotic, and nonsexual content.

Torn World -- Science fantasy shared world about temporal technology gone horribly wrong. Wide diversity of characters. Mix of romantic, erotic, and nonsexual content. Worth noting is that Northerners are considered nonmonogamous unless otherwise specified; serial monogamy is the norm for women, while men are not required to stick to one partner per month unless they wish. Character sheets: Omorth (asexual), Tekura (homosexual, also monogamous which is queer in his culture), Vlaran (lesbian).

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There's a call for contributions about disability in comics, so if you are interested in writing on this topic, check it out. 

 Advertising as storytelling: paying for your attention.

This poem is spillover from the July 2, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from avia.  It also fills the Rejection square in my card for the hc_bingo fest.  It has been sponsored by timescaper. This poem belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.

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This is the freebie for the July 2, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from aldersprig, who wanted a poem in honor of Charles Ramsey.  The title is a riff off a famous science fiction story about social invisibility.

The Heroes That White Men Don't See

Charles Ramsey isn't the kind of guy
that most people picture
when somebody says "hero."

He doesn't have the chiseled physique
or the floppy blond hair.
He's slender and dark
and a little scruffy-looking.

Yet he's the one who rescued
three women who had been kidnapped
and imprisoned for years
in a quiet house in an ordinary neighborhood.

Sometimes evil wears a familiar face
and eats barbecued ribs
and listens to salsa music,
and nobody notices for a long time
because it's just so unexpected.

Sometimes courage has keen ears
and a nose for trouble,
going unremarked until suddenly
it's caught in a spotlight.

Being a hero isn't about
having big muscles or a toothpaste smile.
It isn't about the color of your skin
or the amount of money you make.

It's about how you respond
when you hear someone scream for help.

I wrote this story for a fat-positive contest last year, although the voting eventually stalled out with some finalists selected but no winner(s) announced. Recently I went back to the story in light of my new Terramagne setting, and it fits that very nicely. Here, then, is a team of fat superheras of assorted ethnicity. The story has been sponsored by an anonymous donor and I'll be posting it in sections.

Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. 

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I wrote this story for a fat-positive contest last year, although the voting eventually stalled out with some finalists selected but no winner(s) announced. Recently I went back to the story in light of my new Terramagne setting, and it fits that very nicely. Here, then, is a team of fat superheras of assorted ethnicity. The story has been sponsored by an anonymous donor and I'll be posting it in sections.

Begin with Part 1. Skip to Part 4, Part 5.

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