Issue 92: Teresa Milbrodt

Notes on "Coffee with Werewolves"

I started work on a novel-in-stories about Lee and Mattie at the beginning of the pandemic. I'd been researching the disability rights movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, and when I chatted about my project with a friend they wondered aloud what the experience of queer disabled people might have been at the time. That question launched me into a series of stories about Lee and Mattie, all of which are tinged with a sense of loss and displacement. Since beginning this project I've done research at queer archives, a fabulous experience which made it easier and more difficult to evoke the mood of the time. While some communities were fairly progressive regarding queerness and queer politics, those often existed in small pockets. It's been challenging to strike a tone that feels authentic without duplicating harmful stereotypes or my 2023 sensibilities. Overall, though, this is one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I've had as a writer.

Music, Food, Booze, Tattoos, Kittens, etc.

Nine Things that Bring Me Joy and/or Peace (in no particular order):
1. Growing cherry tomatoes, giant zinnias, and kale.
2. Taking long walks with my partner during which they explain the intricacies of their latest tabletop roleplaying game.
3. Inventing cookie and brownie recipes during episodes of stress baking.
4. Washing dishes to ‘80s music.
5. Repairing my partner's jewelry.
6. Drying zinnia heads to save seeds for planting next spring.
7. Daydreaming about picking up various skills like how to do plumbing.
8. Appeasing my cat by letting her drink from the bathroom sink (my partner taught her that).
9. Texting hugs.