In this episode, we discuss Role Playing by Cathy Yardley. At age 48, Maggie has learned to embrace her inner bog witch, possibly to the point of being detrimental to her mental and emotional well being. Various people in her life are encouraging her to be more social and less of a hermit, but the one with the power to reach her is her son, Kit. Based on Kit’s quid pro quo logic, she finds herself joining a local online guild where she can obtain loot, talk shit, and potentially make friends, like with the guild leader Otter.  Unbeknownst to Maggie, Otter, who’s real world name is Aiden, isn’t a 20-something being nice to some woman old enough to be his mother, but instead a 50 year old nurse taking care of his actual mother. Isolated from the very family he’s helping, Aiden struggles to assert himself and fight for the life he wants.  When they finally meet in person, their friendship grows. Can Maggie the bog witch give Aiden the confidence he needs so that he can tell his family to find another scapegoat for the things they don’t like about their own lives? And, in return, can a playful otter really fall in love with a grumbly old bog witch? Content warning: Queerphobia, racism, emotionally abusive exes Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Coming next: Frost by C.N. Crawford