Heritage

Mpepper/ February 12, 2025/ Think Pieces/ 0 comments

“Are you American or Mexican?” The question was asked in good faith and curiosity by my nail tech, who was helping me determine which shades of green would look good on my fingernails. As I have olive skin/yellow undertones, it’s a valid concern. Still, in the current climate (I live in the U.S.), such a question may not always be

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An Allegory

Mpepper/ February 5, 2025/ Think Pieces/ 0 comments

There are many people living in a large house. Outside the house, a pack of rabid wolves circles. They want in. Most of the people in the house know better than to let the wolves in. They in fact work to secure doors and windows against the threat of the wolves. However, for some bizarre reason, some of the people

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The Lie of Karma

Mpepper/ January 29, 2025/ Think Pieces

Centuries ago, when faced with growing unrest amongst the common populace, the church and aristocrats (keeping in mind there has been a fair amount of overlap between those two) sold the idea that everyone would get what they deserve… eventually. They told the masses that their hard work would pay off… in Heaven. And that the poorer they were on

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Smells Like…

Mpepper/ January 23, 2025/ Uncategorized

Given the shit state of the world, I’ve opted for lighter subject matter in this week’s post. See, everywhere I go, I’m told by random strangers that I smell good? Not in a creepy way, mind. In a genuinely kind and enthusiastic way, like the woman in a store who, as I passed, tapped me and said, “I don’t know

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No More Meta

Mpepper/ January 16, 2025/ Announcements

Last year, I left Twitter (X). It was a tough decision; I had spent 15 years building and curating a network of fellow writers, readers, film enthusiasts, and the like. I stuck it out as long as I could—longer, really, than I should have. Sure, my little corner of that hell site had remained mostly clean and comfortable, but I

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Christians v Education (and why they’re wrong)

Mpepper/ January 9, 2025/ Think Pieces

My goal this year is to post at least once per week. Alas, I don’t always have that much to say. Bad news for a writer, perhaps. But I do have a thought that’s been bouncing around in my head for a while now, and I meant to make a YouTube video about it, but I haven’t (yet—I might still).

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It Goes Both Ways

Mpepper/ January 3, 2025/ Uncategorized

Time for yet another unpopular opinion. See, I really do want to support small, independent bookstores. I’d like to believe we’re in this together, so to speak. But that’s an idealistic, unrealistic view. Because, as with so many things in this f***ed up world, it actually comes down to money. I live in an area that has an indie bookstore

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End-of-Year Sale

Mpepper/ December 29, 2024/ Announcements

Now through January 1, you can grab the ebook versions of The Switchgrass Crown and The Ghosts of Marshley Park for 50% off on Smashwords! Click here for TSC. Click here for GoMP.

Goals for 2025

Mpepper/ December 26, 2024/ Uncategorized

I’m not one for resolutions, but I do like to set goals. Quantifiable is better; otherwise, how do you really know if you’ve achieved it? But I also reserve the right to shift, move, and/or change my goals as I go. I think flexibility is key. Reading In 2024, I set a goal of 42 books and managed to read

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Year in Review

Mpepper/ December 24, 2024/ Flashbacks, Writing

Sure, there’s another week left in 2024, but I can’t imagine what could happen to change my feelings about the year in general. It was a bad one for me. I barely wrote and didn’t publish anything. I was asked to run for the local school board then backstabbed by the people who encouraged me to get involved in the

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