I think a lot of things are at play when children enjoy a grisly old fairytale. I don't think many children take it literally, or rather it's quite clear to them that it's only a story, only make believe.

I'd hasten to say that the prejudice in Dust City isn't completely analogous to racism in the real world.

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

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

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

People of different ethnicities are definitely not of differing species. Biologically speaking, people are people.

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