Recent Posts
- You Better be a Perfect Writer, All the Time, Or Else!!!
Thoughts on the expectations and demands of artists and writers. - They Say Evil Is Real. Apparently, It’s Called AI
Thoughts on oppression and the controversy around using AI in writing. - Thinking on Kindness
A personal reflection on generosity, gullibility, and the quiet lessons learned from the kind. - Aliens in Rose-Colored Glasses
A modern look at aliens, candor, comfort tribes, and the surprising lessons Austen still teaches us. - Lessons in Off-White
A new job in Abu Dhabi taught me more about privilege, perspective, and humanity than any classroom ever could. - Let Them Bring Cool Whip
Their horror at my Cool Whip was so dramatic I half‑expected Mr. Collins to burst in and deliver a sermon on the moral decline of modern desserts. - Paris Chainsaw Massacre
Nothing says ‘Parisian charm’ like witnessing a chainsaw massacre in your courtyard. - How to Write a Dictator: Tyrant Tactics 101
Ever dreamed of writing the perfect tyrant? Great! Because nothing says “page-turner” like a power-hungry megalomaniac who thinks facts are optional and fear is fabulous. - Eviangate
What happens when a ’60s bouffant meets French grocery aisles? Chaos, cigarettes, and one very confused mom. - Creative Ideas
Where do writer’s get their creative ideas? Honestly. We aren’t always sure. - A Stout Cup of Humble Pride
“Humble Pride”, you ask? That must be an oxymoron, or mis-typed Humble Pie. Nope. It’s the difference between arrogance and confidence, which are not the same thing.
These pieces intertwine memoir with personal essay, a dash of literature or pinch of political, all within the same piece. Naturally, I had no idea how to categorize them. But given many are both memoir and essay, I call them “Messays.”
Connect:
Substack: Novella
The Dawn Bringers
They say nothing survives the light. They are wrong. Darcel witnesses the impossible – a woman that bonds monsters, walks in the sun, and heralds the second unraveling.
