There’s not a lot about my life that I’ve been sure about.

I wasn’t sure about college, I’m never sure of one of my projects until it’s proven successful (like the fast-funding and ongoing Veranthea Codex Collection Kickstarter!), and generally I wander around pretty fickle until I see something that I know is right (deciding what to make for meals is often a thorough debate).

Stephanie is not one of those things.

Eight years ago after a long shift of hard labor (I was a foreman at a landscaping company back then) I went to the Rock Room, a bar in Polish Hill in Pittsburgh. My friend Diana was working there as a bartender and so I settled in for some drinking, and before long another friend of hers arrived. She was a small little thing (easily a head and a half shorter than me, juuuust a wee bit taller…