I am constantly distracted. Part curiosity, part adventure, part procrastination. I often find myself meandering off track, sometimes even darting, for some shiny new treasure that is not what I am supposed to be focusing on. This happens most often with story ideas. And housework. But let’s stay on point here, okay? Story ideas.

For my anthology, Foe Be Us : Phobias, I explored a lot of various aversions. It’s amazing what people can fear. Phobic behavior can manifest in many ways, including physical symptoms, emotional withdrawal, and/or irrational outbursts. I published thirteen stories, addressing what people are afraid of, ranging from being forgotten, to germs, to driving.

Recently, I came across a new (to me) phobia, allodaxaphobia, the fear of opinions.
And I laughed out loud.

Considering the many lists of phobias I researched for inspiration during the ten years I was compiling the collection, I must have come across this one. The book was published in 2018 and my only rationale is that fearing opinions didn’t seem story-worthy at the time.

All I can think of now is, my goodness this explains a lot.

I’m looking forward to writing Foe Be Us : Book 2.
I believe I’ll start with allodaxaphobia.
I don’t really care how others feel about the idea.
And that’s a good thing, I think.