Welcome back to Stone and Signal.  I am excited about this episode.  I hope you enjoy it. The Podcast Links Episode 5 on Substack  Edpisode 5 on YouTube Episode 5 on Spotify The Essay The Transcript The Thin Line Between Cancelling and Censoring Every year, Banned Books Week comes around like a mirror we’re asked to look into—and what we see reflected says a great deal about who we are becoming. The books that end up on “challenged” or “restricted” lists rarely surprise me anymore. They tend to be the ones that speak too plainly about what others would rather not confront—identity, power, the environment, grief, or truth. If a story makes us uncomfortable, it’s easier to remove it from reach than to ask why it unsettles us. If I’m honest, many of my own books could probably find their way onto those lists. Stories that speak of youth defying systems, of ancient forces rising against human arrogance, of governments rewriting morality under the guise of progres...

 "Through writing, I strive to transport readers to another world, to merge their mind and heart with another being, to inspire, motivate, and deepen understanding. To earn my place in this world by living modestly through this work alone—this is my dream, my goal, and my honor." – Lawrence Nault If you have seen the documentary “ Echoes of a Hermit ” then you already know writing has always been a part of my life. That combined with necessity and perhaps some need to control my own work is what led to me entering the world of what is more commonly known as indie publishing. Nearly 20 years ago, I took my first steps into self-publishing. I wanted to get my stories out into the world, and I didn’t see anything publishers were doing that I couldn’t do myself. I started with children’s books (Squirrel Tales, Wolf Tales, and Bear tales, later expanded to a YA sci-fi (Loma – A MacIver Kids Adventure),  and eventually wrote political fiction (Jubilee). At the time, self-publishin...