Category Archives: Mistress of Woodland

Excerpts and information about the novel-in-progress Mistress of Woodland (MoW).

I won’t abandon my integrity, even if you abandon me

I feel like talking about the Book of Job again, because (1) I’ll be giving a talk that starts out with my Job poem “Sermon” next month & (2) I’m reading a lot of old emails about a particularly Job-relevant period of my life. Continue reading

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Mielikki

“When they told me who to put on the throne / I said, no, I will not be ruled. / The gods they showed me were tyrants
who displeased me with their judgments, / their injustice, yes, their cruelty.” — A poem for National Poetry Month.

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Metsän henki

“She stands outside & in me, / a flicker beckoning / at the inmost limit of vision / where the blind spot is insufficiency / of self-knowing.” A poem in celebration of National Poetry Month.

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Integrity, violation, healing

This excerpt from Rachel Meikäläinen’s Whole Numbers delves into the meaning of the word integrity.

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Jane Doe, Finnish style

How the main character of Mistress of Woodland became a philosophical forebear of my fictional Consensus society in Long Dark and Cold.

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Writing life

A writer’s progress report: reading up for the design of Consensus in Cold & Long Dark; work on “Trading Shirts”; revision of “Itch” from Finer.

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Outer Alliance Pride Day 2009: An excerpt from Mistress of Woodland

As a member of the Outer Alliance, I advocate for queer speculative fiction and those who create, publish and support it, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity.  I make sure this is reflected in my actions and my work. … Continue reading

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Night of the butcher knife

An excerpt from “Dream,” the fifth chapter of Mistress of Woodland, based on two actual experiences — including a depiction of that state of depression I call the pit.

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Breaking through on Ophelia

The last couple of days have been very productive with writing. Not so much with direct writing, as in breaking through a problem so that I can write. No offense, Ophelia, but that problem has been you: needing just a … Continue reading

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