About Me
Hello, my name is Steph. I’ve been writing and publishing since 1988 and I’ve been in the games industry since 1996. I wrote a little bit more on the About Me page. This is my sometimes-updated website. Enjoy.
Life
Watermelon Rinds and the Demons of Burn Out
As I pickle watermelon rinds, I’ve been contemplating how to write about my burn out. Like you do. Turns out: Working for your “dream company” for a decade burns you out when your dream ends up collapsing in on itself. You stand on the edge of the pit of a smoking crater, staring down the… Continue reading
I’m ready to talk about Jim
This is Jim Crider. He died on Tuesday. I was a dirtbag teenager. I did dirtbag things. I didn’t get better until my mid-20s. Jim was my friend anyway. I never met Jim in person. We knew each other through GEnie, which was an online service. We were both heavily active on what was called… Continue reading
Water Pipes Popping, The Universe is Smiling, It Must be Christmastime!
On Thursday, I turned on the water tap in the kitchen and nothing came out. The first thing I thought was, “Well, how am I going to fill the kettle for tea?” and the second thing I thought was, “Oh, shit.” Because of course I knew what this meant. It seems like ever year I… Continue reading
Thursday, With My Daughter
You’re out for a stroll with your two most important people, and there on the sidewalk, in bright pink chalk, are the words. And your seven year old, who is so proud of her reading, stops to puzzle them out. “Black. Lives. Matter.” She looks at you. “What does that mean?” You’re close to home,… Continue reading
A Farewell to Echo
I don’t write poetry, but I just moved out of a house and I have this In my head so: here. Continue reading
Don’t Get Mad, Get Civil
Zo’s seatbelt got stuck, and that’s when the trouble started. Continue reading
The Purge: Reader’s Digest Edition
There appears to be a bit of a scandal in the wider world ever since Marie Kondo told you all to burn your tomes and paint your naked bodies with the ashes. Continue reading
A Saturday Well Spent
Things I found at the farmer’s market: White guava White sapote Heirloom tomatoes Purple tomatillos Fresno chiles Things I’m making tomorrow because I found them at the farmer’s market: Fermented hibiscus-fresno chile sauce Tomato jam And I admit I stared at the purple tomatillos for a very, very long time but did not buy them.… Continue reading
Two Years of You
Sunday night as I put your sister to bed, she held up the little heart-shaped scrap of cloth I gave her the day after you were born, what she calls her “Lovey”. “That’s two years old now,” I said. “What? No it isn’t,” she said. “Yes it is.” “But you gave it to me after… Continue reading
