Shaggy Bane

For the 10 years that I wrote, Shaggy Bane, I didn't know it would ever be published. And in fact, when I sent it out for consideration, it was rejected 44 times by all the major publishers. But I had understood that maybe there was a heart to the book and that Agnes' story is quite universal. Whether you're gay or not, many of us have often felt other, they're not felt like a place of belonging. So I understood this as a human story, not a specific story. For me, it was just about creating the work. And so when it was rejected, although I was devastated, I could keep going.