As humans we are on a never ending quest to relate to each other. It’s one of our best universal qualities. Sympathy. Empathy. Walk a mile in their shoes. We have words for all of it. It is this unyielding empathy that makes literature, and the characters in the stories that we tell, so important. When we relate to a character on the page, we may open up more to characters like that in our lives. We may even open up more to parts of ourselves that we previously shied away from. It is with this idea in mind that today’s guest, Maura Lee Bee, writes. Her characters are often atypical, which is exactly why we should take the time to get to know them.