Since I tend to write chronologically, the middle is always the place where the process is most taxing.

Historical atrocities have certainly shown that dehumanizing any group is the first step toward genocide.

I believe actual violence scars children much more than violence in storybooks.

In Japan, it's strange to openly take credit for giving to charity or even to donate publicly.

Since I tend to write chronologically, the middle is always the place where the process is most taxing.

I believe young children in particular enjoy witnessing the survival of youthful protagonists against terrible odds. I think it's gratifying to the reader when you give young characters that kind of agency.

In medieval Europe, childbirth was a leading cause of death. So widowed fathers with children were quite common, meaning stepmothers were equally common.