Mark has a personal conversation with Malorie Cooper. In this episode they talk about:

• The reason she and her family moved from Boston, MA and back to Canada
• The uniqueness of New England compared to the rest of the United States
• How Canada is one of the hardest countries to emigrate into
• Not having ever gotten American citizenship
• The oppression and fear of being a queer transgender person, particularly in the US
• How it's virtually impossible for people who aren't oppressed to understand what it's like
• Losing half her fan base and friends when she transitioned into the person she was always born to be
• How when you life authentically and vulnerably, people will actually be attracted to you
• Living in a judgement-free zone/bubble
• Feeling unsafe for the first time after she came out as Malorie
• How coming out as trans is likely the hardest thing a person will ever do -- but, in addition to having a child, one of the most rewarding things Mal ever did
• The recurring theme of "found family" in Mal's novels
• And more...

After the conversation Mark reflects on the idea of priviledge he has in not having to be fearful when walking alone outside after dark (for example) about "found family" and the importance of connecting with others who understand you where you are.

Links of Interest:

• Malorie Cooper / M.D. Cooper Website
• The Writing Wives
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Malorie Cooper is a science fiction author and creator of the Aeon 14 universe. She has written over one hundred books and plans to write another hundred more (at least).

Having built her career using advertising to spread awareness of her books, she's shifted focus to helping other authors get a leg up through paid ads on a variety of platforms, as well as optimizing their product page with a focus on increasing conversions.

She and her wife now run The Writing Wives, which helps dozens of authors a month reach their marketing goals.

In addition to storytelling and writing, Malorie loves playing games of any sort, gardening, and woodworking. She shares her home with a wife who also writes, an entrepreneurial teenaged daughter, and far more cats than are strictly necessary.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0