The Trajectory of Today’s Topics

• Hot off the press, National Novel Writing Month shuts down amid controversy.

• Thriller, murder mystery Messiah will have you guessing until the end.

• Writing a novel in 30 days.

• Life on the farm.

Hot Off The Press

The Nonprofit NaNoWriMo Announces its Closure

National Novel Writing Month organization shuts down. The nonprofit that challenged authors and writers around the world to pen a full novel in a single month has officially shuttered. NaNoWriMo challenged people to write 50k words in the month of November. The organization started informally in 1999, and helped push tens of thousands of writers to write more, and potentially start chasing their dreams. 

Surrounded by controversy. In recent years though, the operation began facing serious allegations. Some alleged that an organization volunteer was grooming children through the Young Writers Program. The moderator in question was removed because of “a number of conduct violations,” though the program denies the most serious allegations. In an official statement, NaNoWriMo said, “The vast majority of complaints sent to the Board have not been verified, including claims about child grooming.” I really hope that’s true.

Readers are not ready for AI written novels. Adding to the negative attention and uproar in the writing community, NaNoWriMo put the proverbial nail in their coffin with their stance on AI. While AI may be the buzzword everyone is talking about, most creatives are not excited to see artificial intelligence creating works of art, whether visual, vocal, or the written word. The arts are exclusively a human attribute and invention. NaNoWriMo took a differing stance on AI in creative writing when they said that the “categorical condemnation of artificial intelligence has classist and ableist undertones.” Ouch… Yeah, most writers didn’t care for that attitude and began leaving in droves. 

Don’t fret, the NaNoWriMo organization may be gone, but that doesn’t mean the spirit has traversed to the land of the dead. You can make any month your own NaNoWriMo. Set a goal, find ways to push and keep yourself accountable and do it. There are writing programs and word counters such as Scrivener, Dabble, and even Google Docs and Word to help you keep track of progress. If you like the feeling of a NaNoWriMo community, there are online organizations starting up all over. Remember, NaNoWriMo lives on inside of you. (Ugh, that sounds like a Hallmark movie line. 😂) 

The TBR Files

A Debut Murder Mystery With All the Twists

If you liked the movie Se7en, you’ll love Messiah. Boris Starling’s first novel is an excellent thriller, troubled cop, murder mystery that will keep you guessing. Messiah came out in 1999, and I read it a few years later. The fact that I’m doing a review now means it’s been on my mind for a number of years. 

A serial killer who thinks he’s a Messiah. Set during a balmy London summer, a serial killer starts targeting people—seemingly at random—leaving no forensic evidence, and setting the city on edge. Red Metcalf, a career cop with a penchant for truly understanding serial killers is set on the case. With very sparse clues, even less evidence, and a seemingly random victim load, Red will have to dig deep and to find the killer. How much is he willing to sacrifice to stop the sadistic psycho on the loose?

This story had me hooked from the beginning, and guessing throughout. I thought I had it figured out a few times, only to be proven how incompetent a cop I would have been. The clues were there, but they were so seemingly inconsequential that I didn’t connect them. But I love that. It was almost like that rug pull from The Sixth Sense, but not as jarring. That one knocked me flat on the floor! 

It can be a little long-winded at times. There were a few times when the story seemed to drag on a bit, but it soon picked back up. We are introduced to Red’s troubled past, his failing marriage, and other cliche, burned out cop, who is obsessed about his job. That’s the only negative I found. The rest of the book scratches all the thriller, mystery, mess with your head itches. I give Messiah 4.25 out of 5. If you like thrillers, serial killer murder mysteries, and “whodunits,” take Messiah out for a spin. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

…And Then This Happened

Welcome to the Funny Farm

We’re always busy on the “farm.” When I’m not writing, working, or going to events to beg readers to buy my books, my wife and I take care of chickens, rabbits, and several garden plots. We have a veggie patch, a tea garden, and a handful of flower gardens to help attract pollinators. It’s not a full fledged farm yet, but some days it can feel like it. 

We wanted to live a simple life. When my wife and I moved to Winchester, VA, we knew we wanted to raise chickens, have a garden, and live as off grid as possible. We promptly turned an old building into a coop, sectioned off a small plot for the garden, and jumped in head first. Though not complete novices, we have, and still do, make mistakes, and we’ve suffered heartbreak and loss. The most recent was when a fox took out half our flock, but that’s another story. 

There was a plan in place. Once we felt comfortable with our egg layers and we had a good system in place, we started thinking about meat chickens. After two years, learning all about dual purpose vs strictly meat birds, we found the chickens we wanted to start with. Since we had a spacious hen house, we figured dual purpose birds would be the way to go. They could hang with our egg-laying ladies until it was harvest time. We wouldn’t need a separate structure for meat birds. That way they could forage and live a decent life before going off to “freezer camp.”

That plan fell apart so easily. Like all well laid plans, they went to 💩 when we went to the feed store one morning. The ladies and our bunnies needed more food, but when we opened the door, we heard the inescapable sound of baby chicks cheeping. Only a few weeks prior, we purchased 14 more layers to replenish our lost stock. We were done for a while. For a few years hopefully. Well…. We walked out with 14 more chicks. The employees offered us a deal we couldn’t resist. The chicks weren’t selling, and they were afraid of leaving them alone while they were closed for the next day, and practically threw those fuzzy puff balls into our arms. 

So, now we have meat birds and I’ve been granted the task of building them a separate outdoor run. They require a high protein diet that our layers don’t need. Adding to that, we had an unexpected rabbit birthing for the first time! Again, that’s another story we can get into if you’re interested in hearing about that. Enjoy the pictures!