Working on “Goddess Arisen” (2022), and it’s tough. The graphic violence against the main character is of a type and level I have not before written. What hurts most is that in the chapters leading up to this, I’ve come to adore her, and I don’t want anything to happen to her, and now all this horrible is being piled on top of her. I think that’s what is often the tipping point for us regarding bad things happening to other people: “Do I know him/her?” It’s sometimes easier to accept that something bad has happened to someone when we don’t know that person, but when something bad happens to someone we know, we say, “Oh, that’s terrible! That person is so nice.” Imagine how much better the world would be if we treated everyone - strangers, relatives, friends - as if we adored them and wanted only the best for them.