In the Raised By Wolves story, the main characters classify their friends as various animals. This starts from Will's adherence to the idea of the world being comprised of wolves and sheep: predators and prey. I am neither wolf nor sheep. I'm a badger, a top-of-the-food-chain omnivore that lives alone or in a small family group and digs around in the dirt. They’re damn mean when cornered. Very few things view them as prey. They eat everything, but aren’t big on chasing things down and killing them. They’re not exactly competitive, just territorial and stubborn – and very adaptable to different environments. I even look kind of like one in my current incarnation... On my bad days, I’m the northern badger cousin, the wolverine. On my good days, I’m the more playful cousin, the otter. I’m striving to be more otter-ish as I age.

On a less metaphoric tack... Let's see: on paper, I'm a middle-aged white woman of English/Welsh/Irish descent (with a little German and Spanish to add flavor). I was born in March, 1964. I've been married for 16 years. We're geeks: comic book collectors, movie fanatics, anime watchers, gamers, MMORPG players (I multi-box World of Warcraft.) We live in a big suburban tri-level in Aurora, Colorado, with two German Shepherd Dogs, two Siamese cats, and a pod of gerbils. We don't have any children. I drive a station wagon. I'm allergic to soy and alcohol.  I used to be an IT manager; before that I was an administrative assistant. Now I just write. (That doesn't mean you can make a living at this: it just means I married well.)

So why the hell would anyone want to buy a middle-aged, married woman's books about gay men? Why do I write about gay men; or vampires for that matter? Boredom? Curiosity? The problem is this; once we wander off the beaten trail of documented lifestyle facets (birth, marriage, employment...) we get into territory where the road is not well-paved with easy-to-understand definitions. For example, I'm a polytheist. Even the people who actually understand what that word means in a religious context are not automatically going to know what it means to me. I could write books attempting to adequately explain my take on the things that fascinate me: religion, gender, sexuality, philosophy, history, and myself. 

Wait... I do write books.  About that stuff even...

I write about people wrestling with religion and spirituality because I wrestle with them. I was - thank the Gods - raised as an atheist. I discovered my spirituality through art and astrology - no, really. I am a work in progress on the spiritual front. I hope to be evolving and learning things about myself and my place in this vast and perfect universe until the day I die. In the meantime, I am very thankful I have discovered my calling and I am able to pursue it. I feel I have my Peace With The Gods, but it - like any good relationship - must be maintained through love and observance.

I write about gender and sexuality because I have wrestled with them since my earliest memories. I have gender dysphoria - enough so that I have spent most of my adult life considering whether or not to seek gender reassignment. As of now, I have chosen not to: I have found a way to be somewhat comfortable living as a woman on my own terms. But that could change... I like writing from the male perspective, though. Not because I'm trying to vicariously be a man on the page, but because there is a very big part of me that is male in its way; and writing through it allows me to explore that aspect of my personality and psyche.   

And I write about love because I believe loving and being loved are the best things any person can achieve.

Writing - ART - is sacred to me. It can be a connection to the divine. It is the striving to understand and express and share. Every story I tell is an exploration of my soul and subconscious. I take it very seriously. That's why I'm such a bitch about people saying really stupid things about my work - or expecting me to write simpler or more easily digestible and accessible works in the name of their entertainment. I tell stories to share them: I so want to share what I write; but I do not write "for" anyone else. I write for me.

I originally planned to write entire pages on the subject of gender and religion, but now I don't think I will. Due to some of the events of the past few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that the best way to address my position on those subjects is through my creative work. I am usually open to discussing my work - and even my life - with anyone who wants to contact me.