The Homunculus Among Us
Happy Halloween, everyone! This month I’m excited to talk about a subject that I wanted to include in August’s letter about Carapace and Chrysalis and...
Double Feature! Cult Design & My Stance on AI
This month we have a very special double feature! I had planned and promised to write about cults- what makes a cult, how do they work, etc. But, I’ve also...
Brains and Mecha
Hello! Well, I asked Tumblr what they wanted to hear more about this month, and the response was that people wanted to hear more about Carapace and...
When "the Prison Of the Mind" is too Literal
Hello, all! Before we get into the latest scif-research-adjacent subject that’s got me all riled up, please allow me to remind you that, since you are...
Names in Their Blood- out now!
For the first time in the very nearly 3 years I’ve had this newsletter, I’m going to use it to do the thing author newsletters are supposedly for; I’m going...
Nuclear Waste and the Ray Cat Solution
It may not surprise you all that I, as a person who cares about and seriously thinks about the future, am a fan of carbon-free energy. This includes nuclear...
Doll's Eye View - a Bonus Novella for You!
Hello, wonderful readers! This month’s newsletter is going to be a bit different, because I have finally finished the subscription gift I’ve been working on...
On Listening When You Want to Throw Things and Break Stuff
Hello! I hope you’ve had a good start to spring! Before we get into the topic du jour, I have a related and exciting announcement to make: I have a launch...
What Does Time Feel Like?
The theme of the month here in Rhombus House is ADHD. Between assessments for family members, an ADHD certification course I’m taking for work, my regular...
What Arguing About Captain America Taught Me About Psychotherapy
I had no way to know at the time that a mildly inebriated argument about Captain America’s sex life was going to spark a lifelong research interest that has...
Through the Nose
Did I need another hobby? Arguably not. I already have writing, reading, drawing, animating, gardening, and archery, and I’m going back to fencing. Plus I...
The Care and Feeding of Dream Homes
Many of you either follow me on social media or have at some point in the past. If that’s the case you already know that home decorating is an obsession of...
Whose Side is Your House On?
Happy Halloween from Minnesota! Thank goodness for polar fleece Halloween costumes. Though I will be sorely disappointed if we don’t get at least one...
What's in Your Name?
Hello everyone! I’m taking a bit of a break from my series on home security and automation and it’s use of biometric data (here's number 1 and 2 of that),...
That Most Intimate of Thrones
There’s a very famous couples counseling researcher named Dr John Gottman. You might have heard of him- he and his wife have published many books on marriage...
People Just Really Want to Say "Enhance"
Firstly, let me just say thank you to all of you who came and met me at CONvergance last month or who generously invite me into your inboxes every month....
Worldbuilding, Propaganda, and My Favorite Gardening Show
I’ve been thinking this week about narratives, and how propaganda is world building in this shared sandbox we call reality. There’s loads of propaganda out...
What Feeling Are You Most Afraid Of?
I started out thinking about this in terms of how I get to know characters I’m writing, only to realize that I imported it directly from something I was...
This Project is Over the Top, Even for Me
I’ve been online since the mid 90s, so you’d think that I’d be used to the wildness of the world wide web.And yet I’m sitting here, more of less shocked at...
Gods and Ink
I have several tattoos. There’s the question mark on my right wrist, which matches both the exclamation point on my left wrist and the corresponding marks on...
Of Flesh and Gundams
There’s this image that gets hinted around. It’s not always explicit; it’s more assumed. There’s a person. An “I” or a “you”. And the person is essentially...
Things I Stole From Dr Julian Bashir
It’s probably not a huge shocker to most people that I grew up on Star Trek. Just because my own writing has been more down to Earth doesn’t mean I don’t owe...
Nouns Are Out, Verbs Are In
To clarify about my subject line: no, I’m not going to rant about the evils of adverbs or something. I have no objection to any grammatical category. This is...
Spider-Goat is Real But is Not Marvel Affiliated
Please note that this month's letter contains discussion of spiders, but doesn't contain any images of spiders, just an image of our charming little prince...
On Family Secrets
Family secrets are such a mainstay of young adult stories. They have to be among my favorite clichés. Almost every family has them, in one form or another....
Lies I Tell Myself, Security Blankets, and Backstitch Drafting
Back in May, I wrote a post about my prewriting process- mostly because I wasn’t sure what else to write about that month. This month, I’m preparing to move...
Tinkering with Cyberpunk
I have something a bit different for you this month! I was incredibly surprised, in June, to be contacted for an interview! I'm not exactly a household name,...
Because Everyone Was Calling for YA Scifi About HIPAA!
I’ve joked on twitter many times that “I’m writing YA about medical data privacy practices. Haha you know the teens today just can’t get enough of HIPAA-...
The Bananabook Method
Well, this month’s newsletter was going to be about queer mentorship and going to the retirement party for my first openly queer teacher, from back in middle...
People Who Need People
I have one of those faces. Not the kind where people think they’ve seen you before. I’m very rarely been told I look like anyone. (I was once called a poor...
The cartoons are coming for our collective trauma
It’s no secret that I love animation- it’s my first love in terms of narrative media. You probably guessed that by my taking up such an absurd pandemic...
Tractors, cybernetics, and the radical at the RadioShack
I don’t know when or how this story starts, but I know when I became a bit player in it. Several years back, I put my Volkswagen's key through the laundry. I...
The Golden Girls, D&D, and The Newest Way I’m Refusing to Make Writing Solitary
Happy very belated New Year! Firstly, YES! Our dear boy Tamino did make it home safe and sound, if chilly. He turned up 15 minutes till the new year, which...
A Unique Character Development Technique
Hi, all! I tend to get tired of New Years Resolutions, reviews of the previous year, and holiday sales around mid December. So I hope you’ll forgive me a...
Another Kind of Coziness
Hello! The season of coziness is upon us, here in MN. The golds and reds of early autumn have turned to bare branches against blue sky and brown leaves on...
Why I'm Researching a 19th Century Cult This Month
Hi everyone! Sorry for the late send out- turns out it's hard to remember to send out my newsletter when I'm busy taking Starling Trick or Treating for the...
What do we celebrate?
This month, I threw a kind of party I've never intended or anticipated before. We've been calling it a T(ea) party, and it was in celebration of my starting...
What stories are you made of?
When I was just a little queerling in early high school there was a year when almost every one of my friends quietly came out to the rest of our little...
You heard it here, first!
That's right, I've got NEW projects to tell you about! My tendency has always been for strict project monogamy. I start one writing project, and continue...
Welcome to Shed Letters!
Hello, and welcome to my newsletter! Thank you so much for joining me. Please make sure that this address is whitelisted in your email, to make sure that you...