This Is My Secret: The Blog and Website of Writer Kristin Cashore

Do you all know about Mary's Monster (by Lita Judge) and The Hazel Wood (by Melissa Albert), both set to release on Tuesday? If you're in the Boston area, both authors have events this week. Lita Judge will be at Porter Square Books on Saturday (Feburary 3, 3pm) and I'm hosting Melissa Albert's event at the Brookline Booksmith on Thursday! February 1, 7pm. Do come.

Here goes...



Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein, by Lita Judge

"Pairing free verse with over three hundred pages of black-and-white watercolor illustrations, Mary’s Monster is a unique and stunning biography of Mary Shelley, the pregnant teenage runaway who became one of the greatest authors of all time.

"Legend is correct that Mary Shelley began penning Frankenstein in answer to a dare to write a ghost story. What most people don't know, however, is that the seeds of her novel had been planted long before that night. By age nineteen, she had been diso…

Okay. I've had it.

To the people who are writing articles in The Atlantic and The New York Times and other publications about how "Grace" simply had a bad date with Aziz Ansari, and she should get over it, and it's her own fault for letting herself get pushed around…

Here are just a few reasons why a woman in that situation might not get up and leave.
Because she's very young, and this is the first time she's found herself in a situation where someone's actual behavior diverges so dramatically from their shiny public persona, and that is confusing.Because she is just a person, and he is a freaking millionaire TV celebrity, and he has all the power of celebrity and personality, and that is confusing.Because everything is happening very fast, and it's hard to stay on top of a situation when someone else is being a bully and has taken control, and that is confusing.Because it is very, very easy, when you're trying to be kind to someone you just met a…

Before I start, a couple of important things:

There's a documentary airing on Monday on PBS called Unrest, about MECFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). I hope you'll watch it and pass the word on. Official blurb: "Jennifer Brea is working on her PhD at Harvard and about to marry the love of her life when she’s struck down by a mysterious fever that leaves her bedridden. When doctors tell her 'it’s all in her head,' she turns her camera on herself to document her devastating symptoms. Searching for answers, Jennifer discovers a hidden world of millions confined to their homes and bedrooms by ME, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome. Together, Jen and her new husband, Omar, must find a way to build a life and fight for a cure."

MECFS is a devastating illness that has not received the attention it needs from the medical community, for all sorts of f***ed-up reasons. Many of the people with this disease can't be their own activists…