A few weeks ago, I finished writing a novel about a teenager whose search for her mom unearths supernatural secrets in her small Wisconsin hometown. (My agent is reading it now!) I based the locations and mythology on the town where I grew up: the abandoned amusement park, the legend of the deranged circus performers who haunted the…Continue reading The Nike Site
Knitting as spycraft
If you’ve read A Tale of Two Cities (I just finished it for the first time, catching up on English Lit I missed the first time ‘round), you’re familiar with Madame Defarge, the proprietress of a Parisian tavern that’s secretly a hub of revolutionary activity. She’s constantly knitting but “sees nothing,” or so we’re told…Continue reading Knitting as spycraft
Hats of resistance
Several years ago, I made a pink pussy hat for a family member to wear to the Women’s March on Washington on January 21, 2017. The pattern came from the Pussyhat Project as a repudiation of a president who bragged about grabbing women by the pussies. (me modeling the hat before I sent it) More recently, protesters in Minnesota have been…Continue reading Hats of resistance
A 7th century riot grrl
Check out this piece of art I found on the street in New Orleans! My guess is it was part of a costume or handmade float in a recent Mardi Gras walking parade like Chewbacchus, Krewe Boheme, or Krewe du Vieux. Why anyone would get rid of it is a mystery, but the ephemeral nature…Continue reading A 7th century riot grrl
Three better-than-expected horror B-movies
I’m working on a novel about a video clerk in a small town who’s obsessed with straight-to-video, B-movie horror (gee, wonder where she got that from?). So of course I had to do some research, and I found a few gems that were way better than I thought they’d be. Each one’s a little bit…Continue reading Three better-than-expected horror B-movies