[WARNING: Sexual content below.] Shameful admission: in the year 2008, when I was waging a twofold battle against cancer, I began to watch a show called The Bachelor. Or maybe it was The Bachelorette, that season. Whatever the gender of the mate-seeking protagonist, it afforded me a bit of an escape from my torturous reality, […]
There’s a French expression that doesn’t quite translate into English: “like a hair on soup.” You’re having coffee in Starbucks and enjoying the alone-time when someone you vaguely know intrudes on your peace and quiet…like a hair on soup. That’s the gist of it. One week ago, I stood in a wedding reception feeling very […]
My most vivid memory of bullying dates back to elementary school. There were two boys on bicycles who would lay in wait for me at the end of the day. I’d pass through the wire gate that led from the ugly blue-gray buildings into the street. And there they were. A little older than me. […]
Ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder? It sneaks in during the winter months and afflicts 5% to 20% of Americans, with varying degrees of intensity. MKs are not impervious to the darkening, and I believe their cross-cultural uniqueness might make them more prone to it. I’ve seen so many of them hit the proverbial wall […]
I was honored to be interviewed by Melinda Schmidt of Moody Radio for a podcast series titled Bring to Mind. Listen to the interviews Listen to the full interview about MKs Listen to the 8-minute interview about Tangled Ashes and the Lebensborn Don’t forget to “like” and/or share using the links below, and as always, […]
A few years ago, I began to write an ironic column for Black Forest Academy’s newspaper under the pseudonym of Genevieve. A box at the library’s check-out desk allowed staff and students to suggest topics for my column, the majority of which I ignored in favor of the more titillating ones emanating from the suggestion […]
I clicked on the Google Alert email in my inbox and read the first line. “I.O.U Sex has posted a review for Tangled Ashes by Michèle Phoenix.” Well—that got my attention! I giggled, hesitated, giggled again, then cringed a little and clicked the link to the article, surprised to find a very positive review […]
A time capsule crashed back into my life on Thanksgiving Day. It startled me a little. The meal was long over. The dishes were done. To dispel the fog of our turkey-comas, my two guests and I tore into my Christmas boxes, first setting up my tree, then unwrapping the 100+ ornaments given to me […]
There were ghouls, witches and zombies wandering around my neighborhood in October. Some wore pink sneakers under their torn bed sheets. Others had lollipop smudges on their chins. All held bags and baskets at arms’ length, hoping their harmless evilness would score them extra loot. But there is nothing harmless about true evil. Neither in […]
There are Internet “plagues” that put Egypt’s seven afflictions to shame. Just a couple years ago, Facebook’s “Twenty-Five Random Facts About Me” became the cloud of locusts swooping into our cyberlives with equal parts intimate revelation and weird self-flagellation. The point was simple: list twenty-five unrelated facts about yourself, post them, then ask your friends […]