for as long as the L word has been around i've been at the receiving end of jenny schecter jokes. played by actress mia kirshner, i'm reminded over the years that i resemble jenny, the notorious "psycho-bitch." should i take this as a compliment or as an insult?

i always point out that simply because we have dark hair and blue eyes and are writers does not mean that i am like her character. but i have found myself coming to her defense from time to time, feeling a surge of compassion rise.

her character is messed up. she does get crazier in season five, and yet, what is really so terrible about her in relation to the others on the caste? i see her as someone who has not yet found herself, or rather, has not made peace with who she is and the confusion and lack of emotional stability on screen is what i think is so frustrating/annoying/threatening/upsetting to some L word fans. she is lost but there is beauty behind that. perhaps we have all had "that friend." perhaps we have all struggled to navigate the darker places within at some point in time.

she seems to strike a sensitive chord. my ex-girlfriend told me that her friends were "very worried" upon seeing that i look like jenny, and that i'm a writer. note to self: be jenny next halloween. i look at jenny and do not think i resemble her that much.

i have far more in common with the real life mia kirshner than with the character she plays. mia kirshner, in real life, is a bisexual writer and activist, and will be reading from her book at bookpeople on monday at 7 p.m. i missed leisha hailey's appearance when she was in town and i am not about to miss my doppelgaenger....

soon, like in december, i'm releasing my book of poems, dear austin, in time for the holidays. i'm also at work on my novel. i'm determined this time around to tell the stories that need to be told. i think that as writers we're collectors of people's stories - elaborate libraries waiting for the right time and place to release them. i feel i've been waiting my entire life to do it.