I don't believe in the separation of "politics" from everything else. For a lot of people the divide seems to be "If I think it's important then it's an important aspect of life that needs to be talked about and if I don't care about it then it's 'just politics' and should be kept out of most things". Whether or not something counts as "an issue" is often a matter of perspective. Even the fact that I write about gay people in happy relationships without condemning them can be seen as a political act. And in fact it would be seen as political by certain relatives who are the main reason I like the idea of writing under a pen name.

My beliefs definitely show up in my work. I don't often set out to write about them but sometimes I realize that a story could be read in a certain political light and that shapes how I finish the story. For example, one of my current projects is a fantasy that involves two characters who are both connected to assassins and I realized that their differences in opinion could be seen as a commentary on the death penalty. I didn't mean to write a main character who agrees with me on that issue but it ended up that way.