The Trajectory of Today’s Topics

• Hot Off the Press, Apple in Trouble

• Pelzer’s Look at Unbelievable Trauma

• Getting Lost in the Animated NIMH

• Pawpaws and a Delicious Recipe

Hot Off The Press

Yet Another Tech Company Profiting off the Backs of Authors

*Author’s note—If this newsletter seems different than previous ones, I decided, very last minute to change up the subjects. These newsletters take time because I want to make sure they are enjoyable and informative. I also try to make them as professional as possible. With all the violence, school shootings, assisinations, and more in the news and weighing heavy on myself and the country right now, I had to make some changes. I originally was going to cover the rise in cozy crime and murder books, but felt that context would not be welcomed right now. Maybe I’ll cover it later, but it felt callous and wildly inappropriate considering what is happening in the world right now. I hope you understand, and still are able to enjoy this rushed, revised edition.

So, Apple has officially joined the ever-growing “Authors vs. AI Lawsuit” club. On Friday, horror author Grady Hendrix (you might know him from Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, check out my review right here) and fantasy powerhouse Jennifer Roberson (who has written more books than my Kindle can hold!) decided they’ve had enough. They filed a class action lawsuit in Northern California claiming that Apple’s shiny new toy, its OpenELM large language models, were trained on copyrighted works without—wait for it—asking permission, giving credit, or paying a dime. Sounds like business as usual.

Really? Shadow Libraries?? The lawsuit says Apple allegedly helped itself to the Books3 dataset (aka, a massive collection of pirated books) and possibly sent out its own Applebot to scrape “shadow libraries” across the web. Translation: they may have gone full raccoon-in-the-garbage-can with authors’ work.

The fines are paltry compared to the profits. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Apple isn’t the first tech giant to get called out. In fact, the news broke on the exact same day AI company Anthropic announced it would fork over $1.5 billion—yes, with a “b”—to settle a similar class action. That’s only a drop in the bucket compared to their $183 billion worth… Lawyers called it “the largest publicly reported copyright recovery in history.” Anthropic, of course, admitted no wrongdoing (I guess “oopsie” is a proper and understandable lawyer term).

What does this all mean? Well, besides giving publishing lawyers job security and huge windfall profits for the next decade, it’s another chapter in the ongoing battle between authors trying to protect their intellectual property and tech companies hungry for all the data they can get their hands on. The big questions here are about fair use, compensation, and, you know, whether “consent” still matters in the digital age.

Small time authors can make a difference. For now, it looks like authors are finally starting to push back hard enough to make Big Tech squirm a little. And honestly? It’s kind of nice seeing creators stand their ground. After all, if anyone deserves to profit from a book, it’s probably the authors themselves (they work really hard, I should know), not a trillion dollar company pretending it just “found” the words lying around the internet like lost change under the couch.

The TBR Files

Book Review: A Child Called “It”

Some books entertain, others inspire… and then there are those rare few that leave us shaken, and forever changed. Dave Pelzer’s A Child Called “It” falls firmly into that last category. Wow. What a read, is all I can say. I say that now, even decades after I first read this book. I bring it up now because it has inextricably resurfaced in my psyche. Strange how memories do that sometimes, right?!

So, this memoir recounts Pelzer’s harrowing childhood, where he endured abuse so severe it’s nearly impossible to comprehend. Still now, part of me wonders if this was real, but I’m not here to throw doubt or say that what he experienced wasn’t real. It’s just so unfathomable. The writing pulls no punches. It is gritty, raw, and oftentimes gut-churningly graphic. There are passages that are tough to read, moments where you need to put the book down, but find yourself unable to stop because you want him to escape the torturous, unceasing cruelty. It forces you to confront a reality that many children live, and have lived, but few can articulate.

And yet, despite the trauma, A Child Called “It” is not just a story of suffering; it’s one of resilience. Pelzer’s strength, courage, and will to survive shine through even in the darkest chapters. By the end, what lingers most is not just horror at what he endured, but admiration for his unbreakable spirit.

This is not an easy book, and it is certainly not for the faint of heart. I don’t get emotional over books often, but wow, I felt them all while reading this book. If you’ve never read A Child Called “It”, prepare yourself for an unforgettable experience. It is heartbreaking, haunting, and ultimately life-affirming. This is the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve closed the final page. ☕☕☕☕☕

…And Then This Happened

A Return to NIMH

I mentioned this movie last time, and said I needed to revisit it, so here we are. 

Every so often, a film from childhood latches onto your memory and implants itself there for eternity. For me, The Secret of NIMH is one of those films. If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, chances are you remember it too—the lush animation, the haunting score, and that blend of wonder and danger that made it feel bigger, stranger, and somehow more real than the average cartoon. The absolutely stunning animation helps with that too. I can’t comment enough on how gorgeous this movie is just from an artistic standpoint.

Based on Robert C. O’Brien’s novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, the story follows Mrs. Brisby, a timid field mouse who finds herself swept into a world of extraordinary, intelligent rats with a mysterious past. (Fun fact, they had to change the name from Frisby to Brisby because the toy Frisbee, was huge at the time and filmmakers didn’t want any confusion or lawsuits) The book was so much fun, and seeing this magical, very close to source material come to life on the screen, bowled this little kid over. Don Bluth’s animation glows with a hand-drawn beauty. The grittyness, the lush colors, the backgrounds, and those glowing eyes still astonish me. Even now with all the technology, nothing comes close in my opinion.  

A dusty, forgotten door is reopened. Revisiting The Secret of NIMH is like unlocking a hidden, nostalgic door from my childhood. Movies in the 80s and 90s weren’t afraid to be bold, to be strange, to trust children with big questions and bigger emotions, and I’m sure they secretly wanted to instill nightmare fuel… See The Great Owl below. Six year old me was terrified, but I couldn’t look away!

Watch it if you can find it. If you have not see this movie, or it’s been years since you’ve seen it, maybe it’s time to revisit or see it for the first time. If you do watch it, tell me you didn’t get teary eyed at the end! I dare you 🥺