Shel Graves' Sensorium

The tall sailing Ship Athletic also sails to Sore often beside the Ship of Suffering. Strong sailors live aboard. Visitors help run the ship. Their arms grow strong. The ship cruises the Athletic Islands of Sore, Championship, Triumph, and Failure. When the sailors come ashore they bring gifts. They are welcomed. "We seek your council on matters of import," say the leaders of the islands.  The Athletic Sailors see each land with fresh eyes and enthusiasm and bring new solutions to old problems. Athletic has laurels carved into its bows and and a mountain peak with a leopard on its prow. On holiday, the Athletic sailors like to trek and climb mountains. "The sailors were polite leaders with strong identity and sense of purpose," says Miss Emeline Traveler. About Emotion 365: Everyday a New Land of Emotion 

Mud pits and lava pots cover the lava rock bed of Sore. Once lava burned over its surface, but now it has cooled. Nothing grows on the black, pocked rock. Over time sand will rise, wind will blow green seeds onto Sore and it will become beautiful and fertile, perhaps. Until then it is barren, still warm to the touch, its surfaces sharp. Over time the sea comes to polish the onyx rocks. Sea birds visit. Larger visitors view the land from passing ships. Sometimes people from the ships tender out to it. They step ashore and wander. They find stepping on the rocks uncomfortable even painful. They become hungry and irritable. "I want to go home!" a child cries and the parents agree. They groan and remark upon their suffering (they know it is temporary, but still). Soon the Ship of Suffering returns and carries them away. Tiny black, red, and silver fish swim in the Sore sea pools leaping up in the sea spray. They tolerate the rock and warm temperatures. Black barna...

Four poems written while mom has heart work:  1/27/2020 A heart attack, a stent, a stent, a heart valve replacement, a heart block, a stent, a pacemaker, a heart stop and restart, a heart flutter, and scarring the inside of the heart. A heart murmur. The reason I am vegan (and for the animals). I am not wearing a Love Your Mother sweatshirt. I am not wearing an anatomical heart necklace. All of my heart hides inside of me, none of it bared. I have four writing prompts for poems: Time, Murmur, Why I Don't Get a Tattoo of Mary Shelley Cat, and Ways in Which I am Too American. These are now titles. While waiting for her procedure, I ask my mom for four words for the poems. She gives me: Everlasting (her heart?), Thunderous (the sounds of her heart racing as heard through a stethoscope), Amber (her hospital socks are yellow and she thinks of Mary Shelley's eyes, which are green, as yellow), Anticipating (the inspiration for this seems obvious). I also write down: hu...

Claustrophobic's capitol Agoraphobic is a palace beside the Claustrophobic cave without a roof. It’s bigger than the land itself and filled with stars. No one lives in the palace. It terrifies the Claustrophobian shadows who visit only when they have need and then hurry home. Lonely Claustrophobia keeps to itself. There are no councils or commerce. The rulers have fled and cannot be found. However, the Agroaphobic Palace is a star tourist attraction featured in all the guidebooks. About Emotion 365: Everyday a New Land of Emotion 

In a tiny cave lies the small-dark land of Claustrophobic. The denizens are small-shadows leaping. Everyone fears to visit. It’s much too small.

Hot —  a tower city on Strong where the fire people play. The free fire people delight in a lawless land. They burn hot in their pursuits, but harm none. Passions burn bright, but without violence. Hot welcomes all and expands to include them. The Capitol Hot has the brightest, hottest, tallest fires in Strong. Strong's glorious flaming structures extend through the sun. "Its flame sculptures are unique,” says the Guide. “Artists in other lands have tried and failed to replicate them. Their creations are never hot enough.” The denizens of Hot speak in snaps and pops and gesture via billows and winking embers. Fire sprites flicker and play.

Bright, explosive Strong exists in space on the sun. It withstands fire. Fire beings live in this world of hot gases. Only the Strong survive. Few may visit. Adventurers come to steal a trophy fire — few succeed. Strong provides warmth and inspiration for athletes and laborers. Strong fire powers mothers, those who do mental work, and anyone doing a job others would not. Fire dogs, fire cats and herds of wild fire horses roam free. In the molten fire oceans fire whales spew lava and steam. Krakens stretch and unfurl red tentacles. Flying fire fish burn through the sails of the fire ships. Although Strong burns most visitors, the denizens enjoy the heat. They pity those in cold lands. They love the fire of Strong. There is no place they would rather be. About Emotion 365: Everyday a New Land of Emotion 

Half-blind hippos who live beneath the Inanimate lake rule Bleary. They speak with the large slow fishes who circle the lake and the alligators who glide within. Large mud huts sit beside the muddy waters. The hippos keep to themselves. They are ignorant of events beyond Bleary and Inanimate. They tell stories that make half-sense. They speak in folk lore and wisdom. It is said that the hippos keep valuable secrets but visitors in search of wisdom are disappointed. The land appears dull. The hippos hide from visitors beneath the muddy waters and speak in their own language which few understand. The hippos eat great quantities of algae and avoid trouble. The fish swim round the lake. The alligators snatch an occasional bite of fishtail. The people on the shores weave their grasses and sit beside their capybara drinking many cups of bitter tea to stay warm. "Once I learn the language of the hippos, I plan to visit," says Miss Emeline. About Emotion 365: Everyday a ...

Everything and everyone within Inanimate plods. Do they move at all? In the center of the land, filling most of it, is a round flat lake. The fish within do not jump, but glide back and forth in its waters. The clouds hang low, the skies windless. Rain falls as mists. People live on the lake shore in villages among the reeds. They weave their roofs out of grasses. They weave grass mats and hats. They drink tea and sit and watch the Inanimate Lake. They burn grass logs in their fireplaces to heat the lake water and make their tea. Hippos lumber within the lake. Alligators walk through the mucky water. Tame capybara roam the land. They curl up indoors on grass mats by the hearths which burn grass fires. The people wear thickly woven tunics and large socks. Few visit Inanimate, although it is said to be a good place to come to cure illness or to die slowly of a lingering illness weaving grass and warmed by grass fires. It is one of the few places Miss Emeline Traveler has yet t...

Everything moves quickly in Industrious, an enormous and complex city of bright copper, steel and silver. Much gets done. It produces plenty. Conveyor belts transport goods out of the city. Carts wait below the spouts, then leave piled high. Many places depend upon Industrious goods and supplies.  The Industrious create systems to ensure a steady flow of goods. Mechanics test and replace worn parts. Engineers examine the workings and make improvements. Architects create designs. Together they upgrade the spouts, pipes, belts, and machines and make Industrious efficient and then more efficient. The workers, managers, and supervisors work well together. The supervisors ensure there are breaks and snacks and celebrations of work well done. Anyone who is sick may rest, assured that others will keep operations going while they recuperate. "I have never seen such clear, bright skies, and beaming stars as in the quiet nights of Industrious," says Miss Doe Friend.

No flat land here: only raised, beveled, sloped, and lumpy earth. Yet, many villages have been built here. Town halls with crooked clock towers. Cracks and spurts in the town square fountains. Fields run into wet lands and the farmers plow uphill and down. Houses have bumpy floors. Every home and building includes a first aid kit filled with ointments, bandages, healing herbs, and compresses.  There’s no bureaucracy, so the pace is swift, but mistakes in diplomacy are often made. The leaders frequently backtrack. “That is not what was meant,” the Clumsy leaders explain. “Really, we meant to…” Still trade and commerce persist. Carts roll over lumpy roads piled too high with goods. War is, for the most part, avoided. The silly unkempt land and its inhabitants seem harmless enough, even endearing. "Look at the quaint villages, those open fields, and quirky buildings scattered this way and that!" exclaims Miss Doe Friend.

In the humble capitol of Generous, the Generous Council deliberates on where needs exist that can be filled by Magnanimity. They keep wish lists from the needy lands and seek to fulfill them. The Council prioritizes quickly and with certainty. They fill the needs that they can and plan to meet more difficult requests. They often hold parties to celebrate the good works of Magnanimity. All come together, raise glasses and eat cake. Many fine bakers practice their craft in Generous. Cake makers abound. Marvels of frosting. "Wait, the land is cake!" exclaims Miss Doe Friend. Miss Emeline Traveler nods knowingly. The frosting flowers bloom. The balloon-plants rise from the Generous tier towers.  An intoxicating berry liqueur flows from the fountains. Unicorns sit on the Generous Council. All of the denizens who join the Council become unicorns with the power to grant certain wishes in their horns. Winged horses, the couriers of Generous, fly to other lands bea...

Tall ships loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables sail from Magnanimity, a bustling land of export, to other lands. Magnanimity exports value added goods: sewn textiles, polished wood, burnished metal. Everything grows in abundance. Everyone supplies what they can. Wool falls from the sheep. Seeds blow in the air and are caught in great nets. The soil propagates. A fertile clump of it will seed a desert. Rainclouds float from Magnanimity to drought-stricken realms. The always active denizens discuss how they can best help other lands. They are kind and industrious and make the most of each good day. They produce what they can and share it with those in need. Magnanimity welcomes all tradespeople, craftspeople, and hard workers. Immigrants contribute as much as they can. The leaders maintain the Giving Order. “Ours is a free and fair society. Everyone gives input. Everyone listens. All seek to make the most of what they have and distribute it to those who have less," says t...

The floral bouquets of Moral Ambiguity arrive at Muzzy to be sent from here to other lands. Often they are waylaid. The tags indicating their destination go missing. Scattered on the steps leading to Muzzy lay dead, dried, and rotting bouquets meant to beautify birthday parties and weddings. The complaint box is stuffed and overflowing. Several denizens of Muzzy are paid (very little) to make apologies. None of them are skillful. Delivery people sent with the bouquets often get lost. Some never to return. A haze of pollen and seed lies over the city. It smells of blossoms past their prime and rotted plants. A fetid perfume lays low over Muzzy. The denizens of Muzzy want to do better. They hold meetings and councils to discuss solutions, but many of them are pollen sick. They erupt in sneezes. Visitors are few, but some come seeking lost deliveries. Mothers wanted bouquets for the births of their children. Brides are missing bouquets. Sometimes the visitors get lost and pollen clou...

Vibrant varieties of flowers — large and small, dark and light, many petalled, with smooth and waxy leaves — bloom in Moral Ambiguity.  The other Emotions order brilliant bouquets of Moral Ambiguity for parties. Spires of green with waxy red tips. Pom-poms of yellow and lavender. Pink grasses. Blue, yellow, black, and scarlet orchids. Fields of yellow, white and pink daisies. Lilies grow in the swamps.  The denizens of Moral Ambiguity spend their lives growing, tending, and arranging blossoms. Pollinators live here: bugs, insects, and mammals with long probing noses. The land includes bright meadows and dank rainforests.  "Our mild weather accommodates a host of blooms," says the Guide. Always plants germinate and bloom and are often plucked in their prime. About Emotion 365: Everyday a New Land of Emotion 

An orb of light, the capitol Powerful, floats over the flat land of Defiant. Arcs of electricity, purple and red, strike those below. Inside the airship, Powerful, the crew takes care of all the rotating systems. Every member of the crew knows the ship’s navigation, engineering and biology intimately. They take turns being captain, engineer, ship’s doctor, and communications officer. As the crew update Powerful's systems sun struck lightening bolts strike the land below. Runners dodge orange, red, and yellow bolts. The Defiant sit beneath purple and green arcs of Powerful and drawing in its energy. Sometimes Powerful looks like a benevolent second yellow sun. Other times, fierce, chaotic, energy. The Captain of Powerful, whichever of the crew it is at the time, knows what’s best. They always sound assured.  “I served on Powerful for a time, not long enough to be Captain,” writes Miss Emeline. “I was bartender, janitor, and chief scientist." "Yes, I would go ...

“Welcome to the flat land of Defiant!” The Defiant run across the plains baring their long muscular legs. They show off their ability to visitors, practically flying, skimming the ground. They race to the edge, leaving puffs of purplish, blue behind them and nearly tumble over. The wild runners of Defiant look like onyx stallions, glossy-coated cheetahs, and leopards. Some do run so fast they tumble over the edge of the Defiant cliff. "But fear not!" The fallen sprout wings and rise. They fly under the land, step on the trail underneath and continue to run all the way around the oval-shaped land. After the races, the Defiant relax in steam pools, sinking in to eggplant-colored waters, surrounded by gleaming onyx rocks. Juicy bright red fruits overhang the pool. They reach up and pluck them from the black-trunked trees with slivery branches. "The fruits are incredibly nourishing and replenishing," says Miss Emeline Traveler. The Defiant trees drip ...

An enormous hallowed out boulder sits dead center of Stubborn. Here lies the capitol, Hard-Hearted, a boulder riddled with tunnels. Cave maws open to the Gravel Plains where the bison graze. Thin stone-men live within, eating rock crumbs and carving tunnels and rooms. They greet ambassadors from other lands tersely. They themselves refuse to travel.  “We want for little and have nothing others want," say the Hard-Hearted. Visitors come because they must. They've have been ordered to search for magic stones, rumored to cure hunger, disease, or infirmity. “Bosh, they only make the wearer hardened to those states," says Miss Emeline. A sick person accepts their wasting death. A family member watches a loved one suffer. Still, the Stubborn Stones fetch a high price in other lands. Though, some lands — like Compassion — have strict bans against them.

Taste: nocino-walnut liqueur Sound: breath Smell: pine Sight: snowfall Touch: chilled; needles; a sensation of floating up; a sensation of rolling on waves Extra:   v iam inveniemus aut faciemusis —  I shall either find a way or make one. nightmares of a spotted dog: they join a dog fighting ring, in a white van lost, hiding a smaller dog and cat from them, in my home, wearing biker armor dreams of pink Grateful for: creativity and companionship; my auntie

Far down the valley, lies the bedrock of slate, Stubborn, covered by gravel, held down by kudzu, and dotted with boulders. Visitors tumble down the scrub brush hill, but struggle to climb back up.  The denizens are stiff half-stone creatures. Stoney bison roam gravel plains and graze on rocks. Strict laws govern who comes and goes. Other lands avoid relations with Stubborn. "Even talks could lead to war," says one Council member. "And stubborn has nothing anyone needs or wants." "Not true," says another. "There are rare hard-pressed gemstones. I've heard there are pockets of these among the stone." "Bah," says the other. "Not worth the trouble." But occasionally, a Stubborn trinket surfaces — a gem or magic stone — which fetches an exorbitant price. Miss Emeline Traveler can distinguish a Stubborn jewel when she sees one. About Emotion 365: Everyday a New Land of Emotion 

Xenophobic, boasts a giant metallic walled tower with a tiny red front door, which cost all the land's jewels paid for the common, poor, deluded citizens. The steel bolted door sits 10 feet off the ground. A platform whines up and down as its electronic gears turn to permit entry to guards and solo travelers. The platform fits, five medium-sized beings, at maximum. Behind the walls, grey circular space rises. “It surrounded me until I felt I could not breathe,” said Miss Emeline Traveler. “I began to ascend the circular staircase up and up and up. There were elevators. Windowless elevators, even smaller than the cramped platform, with room for only two or three.”  Tiny rooms circle the tower with small landings looking inward. Paths wind up the inner tower. Signs indicate one-way travel only. “They are designed so they can be walked around but without meeting any other being. Only two can walk abreast," says the Guide. "When we went there were a few humans and som...

Tiny multicolored and variously shaped houses dot the landscape of Naughty like jewels. The people live apart and do as they like in their wee homes. They purchase necessities in tiny markets. Unpredictable weather plagues Naughty. Hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, whirlwinds, cyclones are frequent events although they happen sharp and quick as a pinprick, doing little damage. Everyone just gets wet or windswept and then carries on. Many inventors make their homes here. The term mad scientists is not preferred. They make toys, games, and tunneling machines. Many are curious about what lies below, not for profit (they are not miners) they just like to explore. The denizens of Naughty keep to themselves. They don’t like trade or commerce. They don’t want to be judged. Their goods are good enough for them. They do like to travel to other lands to eat new foods, get ideas, explore, and find new pleasures. They talk about their travels in Naughty klatches where everyone brings a dis...

Visitors climb to the Capitol Rambunctious atop Playful’s tallest mountain, then sled down. Its gates open wide. They ascend a giant climbing wall of gears. The gear wall encircles the city. The denizens wear climbing suits which allow them to adhere to the walls and goggles to see runes upon the gears which show the way. Sometimes, they push away from a wall and float to another. They tumble and somersault. “Could some one please...” Miss Doe Friend shouts. “Anyone?” It is difficult to get their attention. “Just put on a suit and start climbing,” the Guide advises. “And the googles, there.” Miss Doe Friend does and begins to ascend. “The higher one goes the more it all begins to make sense,” she says. A booming voice tells the Rambunctious the day’s news… “Repairs are needed in section AD3.” “Ice cream is available on tower wall GE5.” A boy tumbles by holding an ice-cream bar. About Emotion 365: Everyday a New Land of Emotion 

Rivers run through mountainous Playful. Denizens climb mountains and swim rivers. Colorful parks with rubbery trees with bright puffs of turquoise, magenta, yellow and orange leaves abound. The trees drop large seed balls. Youngsters chase them until the pods burst open and fill the sky with colorful seeds. Denizens dance and lift their limbs high trying to catch the seed puffs. Lively animals live in playful. Everyone likes to run and jump. Such exaltations are always welcome. “I was surprised to find myself leaping and shouting,” Miss Emeline Traveler said. “I did not know I could be so fast and so loud. I found so much energy for climbing and swimming. Nothing felt like work. And yet all of these lively peoples are so polite." “Yes,” says Polly Bird. “No one plays with someone who is rude and does not know how to share.”  The animals growl in jest but never bite. They like to cuddle in between bouts of play. There are no sharp edges or weapons. “Hazard removal is ...

Many visit the fascinating gardens of Interested filled with sculptures and paths to viewpoints. They visit the museums, galleries, concert halls, and libraries. The denizens of Interested love to invite guests from other lands to perform. They host athletics teams, dance troupes, artists and all kind of performers. They are renowned travelers as well. Miss Emeline Traveler was born in Interested inside a giant purple blossom. The Interested flowers burst and the blue seeds float off everywhere. Miss Emeline loves to wear a wide purple skirt when she travels.  “I am a little Interested Seed floating through the world,” she says. The Interested take copious notes and photographs and return to hold well-attended exhibitions, in one of many Interested exhibition halls, of what they have learned. Interested has few unexplored wild places, but many roaming animals of all kinds. There are trams into the mountains and maintained trails. The denizens love to watch each othe...

Fascinated packs everything in Interested into one lively busting city. It has exhibit, concert, and performance halls. It hosts conferences from everywhere in The Herodrome, Ballast Center, Great Hall, and Golden Airship. The city, rising to heights, makes good use of its land. The denizens dress plainly, unadorned. They express their interest in the world outwardly. When they awake, they rise quickly and leave their homes ready to meet others and explore the new day. They live in small, spare dwellings. The excitement happens outside.  “I love this place,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. “Among my favorites.” About the Emotion 365 project: Everyday a New Land 

Solarpunk, yes it's a thing! Happy book birthday to Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters ! I have a story in this collection, "Set the Ice Free," and also a story in Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers , "Watch Out, Red Crusher!". Editor Sarena Ulibarri , solarpunk champion, was fabulous to work with. I'm a swooning fan of optimistic science fiction and of those writers who undertake the difficult task of imagining positive futures and making engaging stories about them. Overall, it's fun be a part of this anthology and enjoying the stories as a reader makes it even better — dare I say, thrilling! I love that Publishers Weekly noted Solarpunk Winters ', "emphasis on LGBTQ representation and female empowerment" and I love that this is a book filled with the best of humanity including love of beauty, art, and a lot, lot, of fun parties. Me=muppet flailing about stories I love. So, I'm just going to tell you just a bit about w...

The submarine Numb glides above the sunken beings of dead, cargo holds packed with zombies. The Dead Pirate Marauders struck their heads and made them immobile and unaware of each other, companionless. Though the sub looks stark, the zombies know only the rust metallic smell. They are pushed from the hatches and jettisoned into the Dead Sea. Most sink down into Dead. Floaters must find the strength to swim. A lucky few are saved by whales. They swim to the Landed Dock where those recently risen from the Dead Sea ferry them to shore. Clementine whale saved Miss Emeline Traveler. "I shall never forget her," says Miss Emeline.

Underwater in a barren sea lies the fishless Land of Dead. The water weighs heavily upon those who drop in and even barnacles, smashed into grey goo, cower beneath the watery weight. All sink, sink to the grey ocean floor: still life and breathless. Too heavy for struggle. Without appetite, they defecate grey clouds into the grey water which falls like ash onto the grey sand below. Dark waves roll overhead, the color shifts with the movement of the sun far away shifting subtly from light grey to dark. Still waters below. Visitors come unwillingly, but without struggle. They are dropped by Dead Pirate Marauders into the Dead Sea. Eventually, they slowly rise to surface of the sea, gasp and breathe. The lucky ones have strength to swim ashore before they sink again. Miss Emeline Traveler survived her plunge into the Dead Sea, one of the few to resurrect. She remains, therefore, of the Land of Dead. She calls it home among other lands. Emotion 365: Every Day a New Land of E...

Taste: super berry bowl Sound: trickling water; heart murmur Smell: fresh pine, little leftover Christmas trees Sight: turkeys fighting and having sex Touch: soaked; thighs like rocks Extra: the tremulousness of life-one rough week; “Someone treated you badly. It's all right. You're with us now.” — Rey, Rise of Skywalker  "You can't live on beauty! What do you think life is?" — "So It Seems," Ángel González Grateful for: creativity and promise

This tiny city of a million sprites rests in the Old Pine Tree above Old Deep Pond. Sprites of air, water, fruit, and vegetable make their home here. They are sought after for their protective skills — they identify poisons, alert others to impending dangers, and warn of disasters others could not predict. Despite its cares, Cautious is a bustling city. The sprites make equipment of wood, sap, and boar hair. For magicians, they are surprisingly technologically advanced. They communicate with sprites in other lands telepathically and are linked to The Old Tree. Even the silliest sprite knows the tree’s 1,000-year-old history. Over the ages, other sprite cities have been destroyed, but not Cautious. The Old Tree has existed for ages and is well-hidden in Wary. Only the boars know the way and they are chiefly concerned with rearing their young and finding tender shoots to eat. Visitors come to Cautious to receive warnings, talismans and wards. They become sprites, growing s...

The land of Wary is a thick, dense, dark forest. There are narrow paths through it, but one cannot see the way forward. Tiny peoples live here. Fairies, sprites and brownies dart through the undergrowth. They live in colonies in the pine trees. When the wind blows, voices carry across Wary. Wild boars snort and grumble though the forest. They drink deep from dark pools in the woods surrounded by trees, absent clearings.  Miss Emeline Traveler passed through the woods on her way to other places. Then she thought to ask a sprite a boon. The boars chase away unwelcome visitors, but left the Traveler unharried. They walked beside her steering her to the house of Bonnie Bunton, the best magician among the folk.  Bonnie granted Emeline an Emotional Compass. “Those without one may get lost in Wary. Some change into boars over time. Others shrink and join the folk.”

Big, boisterous, bustling Trauma has a population of 7.53 billion. Bands play day and night. Their motto: “Play this music loud.” Street vendors hawk wares. Buskers toot and strum. Fifteen million medical workers live here responding to the alarms that sound throughout the day as beings from other lands arrive. Visitors are victims of wars, accidents, poor planning, and pure evil. They arrive in red helicopters and via Great Red Portal. Trauma ambulances drive roads into other lands and when permitted bring injured beings into Trauma. It does not matter whether the injury was recent or from long ago.  Miss Emeline Traveler came to Trauma once. Shiny patches of red began to bloom under her skin.  “Oh, I’m bound for trauma,” she said, when she saw the ambulance.  “What beautiful silver buildings and shiny silver streets,” she said when she arrived addled by the drugs given for her pain. She saw silver dragons in the reflections on the rain-filled streets.

Miss Emeline Traveler awoke in Benevolence. She had fainted after discovering that her beloved grandmother’s pocket watch had been stolen by Stealthy thieves. The watch had been returned to her hand, the bruises upon her head had been patted with warm compresses and her muddy skirts cleaned and dried.  “It is a soft land,” Emeline reported. “With gentle infrequent rainfalls.”  Kind Seeds grow a nourishing crop of Joy in Benevolence. When the fields bloom, pink pollen floats over the land.  “The pollen and seeds cure ills. It is impossible to be deeply sad when the wind blows,” Emeline said.  A great slow river runs through benevolence. Immortal gators live on the riverbanks. They’ve watched Benevolence blossom again and again. Children ride upon their backs, swim with them in the water, and place their soft hands inside cavernous maws to touch rounded pearl teeth. “In some lands, those teeth would fetch a fine price,” says the Guide. "But, past the capi...

Populated by thieves and assassins, the Stealthy take what they can. The buildings here cast shadows. They have numerous nooks and alcoves perfect for hidden objects and secret conversations. Visitors feel unnerved. “One cannot see around corners.” “One constantly feels watched.” "Spies everywhere!" "In truth," says the Guide. Stealthy lures tourists only to prey upon them. The Tourism Bureau of Stealthy offers travel packages for wannabe ninjas. It advertises the Clandestine Caves, the Cliffs of Sly, and the Sea of Surreptitious. Visitors are victims of pickpocketing, practice for the younger generation of Stealthy thieves. Even Miss Emeline Traveler had her grandmother’s pocketwatch pilfered in Stealthy.

Beginning today I will be posting a writing exercise from the past year. Emotion 365 began as a writing prompt: Imagine an emotion as a fictional place. I really liked this prompt and decided to turn it into a slow writing project — writing five minutes on this prompt each morning. When making decisions, logic, reason, and a cool, hard approach to science seem to carry more weight. I'm often convinced by practical ethics and data-driven determinations. However, it doesn't make sense to eschew one for the other: logic vs. emotion with logic made King. Emotions give valuable insights and direction and, in writing, emotions power characters. There's a lot we have to learn about them and from them. Humans once denied emotions to animals (and are being proven wrong). Humans aren't very good at naming their own emotions, either. Emotions — trust your gut — can be a very good guide to making decisions, although nuanced. To make a decision that rings true for me, ...