Shawna Spain

Book cover with a black background. At the top are planets of various sizes. Underneath is an unclothed person with light skin and dark hair, on their knees with their arms spread. Rainbow-colored waves are coming out of their head, and water-like waves are coming off of their arms.

Reviewing Resonance: An Autistic SciFi Novel by Dora Raymaker

June 12, 2022 • By Shawna Spain

Dora Raymaker’s new novel revolves around marginalized folks finding their voice and their place in this world—through magical sci-fi lovely weirdness, but still, they find it!

A rocky ocean cove, seen through a grove of cypress trees.

April and Accommodations: I Ask Questions Because I Can’t Read Your Mind!

April 22, 2022 • By Shawna Spain

Please do not get mad at me when I ask for clarification. I am not challenging you, I want to understand what you are trying to convey and because I have not learned to read minds (YET!).

Woman with braided hair and purple glasses is bent over a notebook with a character sheet for "Veri Truestone." There are various dice around her, a rainbow set, a ceramic set, some resin sets and two metal dice in a tiny glass jar. There is a dice vault with rainbow colors, another with wood burning of a map, and then a dice bag with purple fabric.

Learning Life Skills or Just Gaming? Why Can’t It Be Both? An Autistic perspective on TTRPGs

August 23, 2021 • By Shawna Spain

You know where I didn’t learn how to figure people out like that? Anywhere that was not a game. Not in previous jobs, not in books, not in school. I learned these life skills using a table top role playing game (TTRPG), purely by accident.