The Novel that Refuses to Die.

So, one of the librarians at one of the libraries I work for sent out an email telling people about an alternative to Amazon called "Bookshop," which is a consortium of independant bookstores. It's nice to see the so-called "little guys" managing to hang in there in the face of the ever-encroaching monolith Jeff Bezos' ego hath wrought.

Like any published author would, I immediately typed in my name and saw one of my novels available in their catalog.

I see the description still has that stupid editorial change from "thus" to "this" that still makes no sense at all. It's correct on the back cover blurb, just not in the website descriptions.

Don't let that keep you from ordering it, reading it, and forming an opinion.

Authors Daring to have Opinions: The Scourge of Complacency

This just in: A successful author made comments about a controversial topic that didn't line up with many of their fans' expectations! It's never happened before. Human beings always performs exactly the way we expect and never disappoint us. This is especially true of famous people, whose only function and role is to please us and validate whatever we believe. At least, that's how the Fates intended it.

In grown-up reality, however, there are occasional aberrations that result in some uppity creative type going against the grain. Obviously it's a terrible thing. After all, where would we be if so-called thinkers such as Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood and Harlan Ellison had had opinions and thoughts of their own? They were wise enough to know better and conducted themselves like proper extensions of their readers' wills and desires. I shudder to think of a mouthy Harlan Ellison or a scathing Vidal. What about a Baldwin or Atwood who actually decided to shine a light on the inequities of society? Yikes!

If writing is exclusively for comfort zones and turn-off-your-brains entertainment, and it is, then obviously the writer's thoughts are, too.

Sadly, this particular author forgot their station in life as "the entertainment" and shared opinions that upset tons of readers to the point where they began  feeling traumatized. Their childhoods had been ruined, you see. This author's books were a way of life for them, as evidenced by their shared desire to reenact them, dress like the characters, and make obnoxious references to them as if everyone knew what the hell they were talking about. This presumptuous author ruined all that with comments that forced these readers to re-examine the very foundation of their fandom. And then, the inevitable calls for censorship started.

I too was brainwashed at one time into thinking the free expression of ideas was a positive. I readily embraced those insipid words sung by Andy Partridge of XTC:

I believe the printed word is more than sacred
Beyond the gauge of good or bad
The human right to let your soul fly free and naked
Above the violence of the fearful and sad

What ridiculous tripe. Everybody knows words are supposed to comfort us, make us feel good about ourselves and never, ever, laugh at us when they see us naked. And because I now understand an opinion-free life is a life lived well, the very notion of someone discussing issues I am passionate about in any way that isn't how I like to hear them discussed makes me projectile vomit like a malfunctioning lawn sprinkler.

In addition to my more enlightened understanding regarding opinions, I have also come around to understanding that anything I object to on philosophical grounds deserves swift and merciless action. For famous authors, that can only mean one thing. Boycotting. Censure is the key to silencing those who drain the precious fluids from our sacred cows and nothing hurts them more than encouraging a total halt to all purchasing of books, movies and anything else the author has created. That'll learn 'em to mess with us morally superior types.

But, wait. There's more.

You might think it's only philosophically and ethically consistent if the aforementioned censorship occurs by completely cutting off all connection to the author's material, no matter how meaningful or impactful it was for you. Maybe you've even let Big Fiction convince you that it's unethical to still embroil yourself in the fandom of an author you now find repulsive. Don't listen to that nonsense. Listen instead to the group that says it's okay to enjoy the work as long as you never pay for it. And it's even more better-er if you take that person's work for your own and rewrite it to better match your sensibilities. It doesn't matter if the author is the only reason for you being able to do that. They shouldn't have opined. It's not hypocritical! Shut up! It is not!

No, you're acting like a child! You! 

Is there a spot, or a room of some kind where I can go inside and feel safe from all these contrary ideas? While there, I will work on my magnum opus, a novel that doesn't offend anyone, never makes the reader think or question anything, and agrees with whoever is reading it at the time. And if I fail, have no fear. You can feel justified in taking my hard work, changing it to something else, and never paying me a dime.

Just like Buddha...

And probably Jesus.

Come for the Petition, Stay for the Comments!

Many have read of my experiences at the library I dubbed "Library2" on Facebook because it was the second one I started working for, definitely not because it was second place. It was my favorite place to work for the three years I spent as a regular employee and the year+ I spent as a sub once I'd moved on to supervision at a different library.

One of the reasons I left was because of a coupe that took place concerning the Library Board, where an openly hostile opportunist bullied his way onto the organization and proceeded to make life a living hell for the director. That director, one of the best bosses I've ever had, quit in frustrated disgust, paving the way for the Board to choose a much more compliant person to take her place. While none of that happened before I left, I sensed it on the horizon, having witnessed simliar in the past.

I won't go into further detail here because I feel that an editorial does a perfect job. In fact, it does so well that I am posting the entire thing below rather than just a hyperlink:

TO THE EDITOR:

I am writing to you because of my concerns about the dysfunction of the Farmington Library Board of Trustees and its director, Riti Grover, and how they interact with the present staff and furloughed staff.

As a retired Farmington teacher of 30 years and current furloughed library staff member of 12 years, I have never witnessed so much confusion, mismanagement, disorganization, and lack of understanding of the workings of a library on the part of the library board and its director.

A brief history would show that over the previous three years, the past mayor of Farmington Hills, Ken Massey, unethically appointed an individual to the board who was openly critical of the library board. His approach to the job was intimidating, demeaning and disrespectful to all the board members. One by one, all but one of the library board resigned, citing that the board had become “toxic”, and there was a “significant impact” on staff morale. During this time, Ken Massey was hand selecting new board members, and the mayor of Farmington, along with the Farmington City Council, were interviewing and voting on new board members.

The director, Elyse Streit, was working extremely hard to bring in new programs and technology, which were all rejected because of the intimidating tactics of Massey’s choices for the board and their lack of knowledge about the library. I must say that some board members were good people, but could not stand up to the pressure.

Unfortunately, after a very frustrating year, Elyse Streit resigned due to the fact that the board had eroded her ability to do her job. During the past year, four of the “new” board members have also resigned. Two have been replaced, and two are in the process of being chosen.

A company was called in to help with the hiring of a new director. Riti Grover was chosen by the board but did not seem to be the first choice of the library staff. Ms. Grover began her position in January of this year. Many staff members are questioning whether the Farmington/Farmington Hills community is being well served under Ms Grover and the Board to whom she reports.

When COVID-19 hit, the library was shut down on March 14, 2020. The decision was made to have very few staff members in the library to carry out online services and to have the rest of the staff work from home and be paid. This was a good move and reflected Governor Whitmer’s guidelines. Then on Thursday, April 23 at 9 p.m., in an email, all staff members except for about 17 “necessary” staff were told that they would be furloughed with no guarantee of rehire or reinstatement. This was effective the next day, Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m. The Board said it was due to concerns about how Covid-19 may affect library finances. But this is not a valid point, since the library’s budget comes from a millage which is set for the fiscal year.

Only a small handful of libraries in Oakland County furloughed their staffs. Farmington Community Library is one of the last libraries in the metro-Detroit area to begin curbside service, and we will be open fewer hours than almost any other library. Many members of the community have expressed their unhappiness with the lack of library services.

The library has called back a small number of staff to begin some of these programs. Many librarians, while working at home, went through the process of researching and choosing the best books for our next ordering period, but so far, no new books have been ordered, and our fiscal year has ended. New books will be ordered, but the books that did not get ordered in May and June will never be ordered or will have to come out of this year’s new budget. It will take time to order, receive and process new books, delaying the time that they will be ready for the public. This is so disappointing for our community considering, at the present time, there are no new books for the summer reading program.

On June 16, 2020, we received a letter from Library Board President Jim White, saying he appreciated our patience and included a six- part phased reopening plan. In his letter, Mr. White said we are initiating a comprehensive service module assessment. He gave a very brief explanation, which was vague and confusing.

At the June 25, 2020 virtual Board Meeting, many people were asking for more information to help us understand what this assessment is and why we need it. There was also concern about the price of hiring a consulting firm at this time. Ms Grover started to look for the cost of this when she was interrupted by the intimidating board member, who yelled, “No, this is not the time to answer these questions! It is not on our agenda! We need to talk about this first and address it at another time.” I am paraphrasing, but he was quite angry and obviously did not want to be transparent with staff members or the public. I am concerned about all the money they have saved from furloughing so many staff members and what it will be used for.

At the present time, our library is in a state of chaos, because the board and Ms. Grover have chosen to call back only 40 out of 133 employees. The following is just a small amount of tasks which must be accomplished: approximately 30,000 materials need to be quarantined, processed and shelved; all virtual programming has to be planned or maintained; librarians are necessary to run the Summer Reading Programs; providing curbside book pick-up; and so much more is needed to service the community.

A library cannot be run by one-third of its staff who are currently overworked and scrambling to meet the demands of their jobs. In a recent letter sent by Mr.White, he stated that no more staff members will be called back until the completion of the comprehensive service module assessment, which is set for August 24, 2020. So many furloughed staff members want to work to meet the needs of our community, but this board is in no hurry to reach this goal.

I am very concerned about the future of the Farmington Community Library and whether it will be able to get up and running again with such contention between the board, the director and the staff. We need the community to come together and make its voice heard!

Suzanne Dengiz
Farmington Hills

There's also an online petition that, as of this writing, already has over 400 signatures after having just been posted yesterday. Feel free to add yours to it. Below is the text from that petition and you can click here to view the actual page:

We request that Bill Largent be removed from his position as Library Board Trustee due to his combative and hostile actions that have created a toxic setting and not only hinder, but actively destroy the ability of the staff and library, as a whole, to offer adequate services to their patrons.

A brief history would show that over the previous three years, the past Mayor of Farmington Hills, Ken Massey, unethically appointed Bill Largent to the Library Board whom he was openly critical of. His approach to the job was intimidating, demeaning and disrespectful to all the board members. One by one, all but one of the Library Board resigned, citing that the board had become “toxic” and there was a “significant impact” on staff morale.

Since his appointment:

Staff grievances have been disregarded.

Staff have been name called.

The former Library Director resigned after her attempts to work with the Library Board were met with unprofessionalism and hostility.

Mr. Largent has repeatedly made hostile comments to and about members of the public who have attended board meetings.

Mr. Largent has been unable or unwilling to account for the usage or reallocation of public funds and has demonstrated multiple times that he is unaware of the difference between the financial operations and responsibilities of a library versus a for-profit business.

The new incompetent director was selected, we suspect, to be a complicit puppet for the library board, despite staff wishes for another candidate.

The majority of library staff were furloughed on April 24 at Mr. Largent's direction, in an effort to "save money" that was already guaranteed to the library through a dedicated millage.

Mr. Largent has routinely rallied to strip staff of their benefits while on furlough.

Mr. Largent has micromanaged the new director, and prevented her from being transparent to the public actively silencing her during meetings.

As such, we request the removal of Mr. Largent, a member of the FCL Library Board of Trustees in favor of somebody competent and capable of keeping the library and the public it serves best interests as a priority.

The Sermon on the...Me?

Previously, I posted about the Baptist pastor who enjoyed my short story "Ultimate Messiah Smackdown" enough to review it positively and mention using it as the basis for one of her sermons.
By the end of that post, I wrote about how I thought I might send her an email telling her how honored and thrilled I was. Well, I did. And with her kind permission, I am sharing our correspondence below:

Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell,

We have never met or corresponded but I ran across a review you wrote of a short story of mine in an anthology titled, "Alternative Theologies" and was moved by your reaction to it. I posted a more in-depth reaction on my blog which you may choose to read below:

HOLY Umm...Something! There is perhaps no greater validation of one's creative efforts than when someone who should find the work offe...

I was especially moved by your intention to use it as a tool for a sermon you were planning. Naturally I'm curious as to whether or not that ever happened but whether it did or not, the fact that the story resonated with what can only be considered an "expert in the field" on that level fills me with glee. And I'm not a gleeful sort, by any stretch of the imagination. I hope you don't mind that I Googled your name when I saw that you were a pastor. 

Thank you for the kind words and if there is any input I can provide on the story, please feel free to ask.

Sincerely,

Christopher Nadeau

Hi Christopher! Great to hear from you!

I did indeed use this story as an illustration in a sermon just over a year ago. I'll see if I can find a copy later. I preached about the illusions of the prosperity gospel and used your descriptions of Jesus and which Jesus do we choose to follow. Thanks for sharing your blog post, and I'm glad that both your story resonated with me and that my review was helpful!

I sold my first short story ever this year to the Space Force anthology, whenever Bob finishes it up, titled Space Force Chaplain. I'm excited to get it out into the world. 

Thanks again!

Blessings, Mindi

Excellent. Any blow I can help strike against the Prosperity Gospel is a worthy one! I look forward to reading the sermon whenever you locate it.

Congratulations on your short story sale.I admit I'm a little envious. "Space Force Chaplain" just based on its title is better than anything I've written this year!

P.S.

Do you mind if I share your reply to my email on my blog?

Go ahead and share my reply. :)

Blessings, Mindi

I will be sure to share the sermon as well if and when she ever sends it to me~

What's up with the Furrys???

Seriously?

Even an anthology asking for tales of rage-filled individuals including serial killers and mass murderers has to include the following disclaimer???


Note: This is not a furry anthology and is not seeking furry fiction.

HOLY Umm...Something!

There is perhaps no greater validation of one's creative efforts than when someone who should find the work offensive or discomforting instead finds it insightful and useful. Such was the case for Christopher's Moore's brilliant "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" when he let a friend who was also a Catholic priest read the novel prior to publication. And now, or more accurately two years ago, such is the case with my short story, "Ultimate Messiah Smackdown" which made its second and more prominent appearance in the "Alternative Theologies" anthology published in 2018.

The collection has received mostly positive reviews and even engendered a bizarre controversy where some zealot decided to steal all copies of the book from the publisher when he left his table unattended at a convention. If that doesn't make you want to read it, you are probably not my kind of person.

I don't know if it made one specific reviewer want to read it or not, but I happened upon her review on Goodreads and was quite simply blown away. The reviewer in this instance is a Christian pastor named Mindi Welton-Mitchell. As I wrote earlier, based on stereotyping and presumptiveness, two things at which we Amuricans excel, she should have found my story of Corporate Jesus vs. Actual Jesus offensive. This becomes even more of a supposed certainty when one looks her up and discovers she is a pastor at a *GASP* Baptist church!

Well, this may come as a surprise to many of you, but my grandmother was a member of the Baptist church for approximately seventy of her one-hundred years, Republican Jesus bless her soul. She taught Sunday school for decades and I often attended those classes, hence my apparently unusual; knowledge of the workings of American Protestantism. Many Evangelicals have tried to school me on the Bible, having been taught that "unbelievers" don't know anything about the faith. It hasn't gone well for them. My grandmother taught me too well. Reverend Welton-Mitchell most likely falls into the category where one would have found my grandmother. Devout, sincere, able to laugh at herself within reason, and more interested in growing than in remaining in place.

(I'm kidding about the Republican Jesus part, of course. My grandmother would have severed her own limbs before she voted Republican. She was proof that faith-based individuals are not all Right Wing.)

At least, that's what I got from her review of the anthology and my story in particular. Below is the portion regarding "Ultimate Messiah Smackdown":

Perhaps my favorite entry was Ultimate Messiah Smackdown. Which Jesus do we really follow, the smiling white guy in a suit who preaches the prosperity gospel and the religion of nationalism, or the man who challenges us to think and act differently (and might smell bad)? Or which Buddha, for that matter? I’m already planning on using this story as a sermon illustration.

It would have been enough for her to offer a positive, thoughtful review as a Christian minister, but for her to also mention using my story as part of a sermon is nothing short of  astounding. I am honored and a little humbled and a little thirsty, but I think that last thing is solvable with water. I have no idea if the intended sermon took place, but I am going to ask her because sometimes, rarely but sometimes, a review can touch an author as much as our stories touch the reviewers.


Read the entire review here.

From the "Oh Dear God, Nooooo!' Files

No judgment, but the following anthology description is definitely one I'd prefer to have wiped from my memory with a laser and a Brillo Pad:

"This erotic horror anthology challenges you to come with a creepy but sexual narrative of furry characters transforming into objects."

Cover Image for my Next Anthology Inclusion

 My short story, "The Days of Touch and Death," will appear in this one. More info as it becomes available!

HIgh Praise from a Former Editor

The quarantine has been a time of rediscovery both in the physical world and the online one. I have found several older short stories and nearly completed novels while cleaning up a long neglected room in my house, but I have also found interesting things in my email history while searching for newer unpublished stories to submit to publishers. One such forgotten treasure comes from the sad conclusion of my film journalism days in the form of a recommendation letter below:

To Whom It May Concern,

I had the pleasure of editing Christopher’s work from August 2014 thru January 2015.

Christopher is a very talented and dependable writer. His work was of the highest quality and always represented  his passion for film journalism. Christopher exuded professionalism. He was committed to surpassing my very high standards and rigid deadlines.

Unfortunately, for economic reasons not related to Christopher’s performance, we were forced to eliminate his position as well as most of his co-workers. I would gladly rehire him if the opportunity were to present itself.

I hold Christoper in the highest regard and would gladly leverage my reputation for his benefit. I encourage you to offer Christopher a position in your company. He will surely surpass your expectations.

Please feel free to contact me personally with any further questions.

Sincerely,

Joel Renzenbrink

Managing Editor

The Movie Network

Dispatches from the Coronavirus Days#14- Rain & Marches on Inconvenience

Photo credit: Associated Press

"The highest form of intelligence… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding.”  -Bill Bullard

It should be clear to anyone who's been paying attention that individuals such as the ones pictured above have either a total misunderstanding of or a profound lack of regard for the above quote. These are, simply put, people whose time spent reveling in juvenalia never ended and has now manifested itself as something well beyond tragic or even amusing.

The concept of freedom to the protestors of mild inconvenience, the weak-willed sadsacks who shamelessly moan about their First World problems, is one of doing whatever the hell one wants without regard for or responsibility to anyone else. Coupled with good old-fashioned doses of racism, sexism, religious fundamentalism, anti-science rhetoric, and impotent rage, mild inconvenience becomes raison d'etre.

The irony that most of these Michigan marches against safety from a currently incurable virus have been rained out is not lost on me. While not a believer, I am certainly open to the possibility that the God they claim supports every moronic utterance from their misinformed mouths has had enough. I mean, what God worth its long white beard would find so-called "haircut protests" in the midst of a global pandemic worthy? I'll tell ya what kind: One that understands how much it sucks to not be able to get your roots done!

Praise the Lawd and pass the hair dye!

Will these people, assuming they survive all the interacting with potentially infected like-minded types, ever have the presence of mind to look back on their actions and realize how stupidly they were acting? Let's not hold our breath...unless they're walking past us, because those idiots are walking petrie dishes.

On the Western side of Michigan, where I'm convinced there must be some type of radiation leak or brainwashing facility, the virus spread has increased because, surprise-surprise, that's where a lot of the protestors live! Can you imagine if something like this catches on? Protest an unstoppable virus by congregating with people and then going home. Why, with that type of dedication, we could wipe out half of humanity in a matter of years.

But let's not dwell on the people who are upset because they can't get haircuts and eat inside restaurants that are still providing curbside carryout. We're in Idiocracy Phase Two now. Governor Whitmer is slowly reopening the state, a move no doubt brought on by pressures from the militia-minded Northern Michiganders who refused to accept her authority because she's an uppity female Democrat. The places that have remained opened all along, the essential stores, are requiring that their customers wear masks, so naturally these Nobel Laureates have taken that little factoid and turned it into some demented crusade against fear and being told what to do.

Apparently there's no braver way to stand up for one's freedumbs than to square off against a virus (it helps if you believe it's a conspiracy to keep Donald Trump from getting reelected even though Trump himself admits the virus is real) by telling it you ain't a'scared of nothin'. I remember once when a tornado ripped through Michigan, I stood on a rooftop and said, "Bitch, please." You best believe it backed off!

So now these would be Rosa Parks's are attacking store employees for enforcing the "mask it or casket" rule. In the interest of fairness, it isn't just steretypical flag-waving so-called "Rednecks" acting this way either. Take a look at what happened in Flint. But that incident, repugant as it was, seems to be an outlier. Most of the perpetators are white males and females with grossly exaggerrated senses of their importance.

It isn't always resulting in violence, however. Take "Flat-Earther Karen" as an example. Her clearly rehearsed, sad gambit to strike a blow for the unmasked is just one example. Another is this jerk.

What's fascinating about this situation is how these same people, drooling along with Rush Limbaugh and the Fox News pundits, supported the Citizens United Supreme Court Decisin to grant corporatins personhood. That makes them private, sovereign citizens with rights equal to (although any thinking person knows they're more equal than we are) any walking, talking, gun-totin' 'Murican. Private entities can require us to do whatever they deem necessary. They're not infringing on our rights, they're exercising theirs. I would urge all of the protestors to think long and hard about that.

And next time we'll deal with the dual issues of you believing nobody is an expert while accepting anecdotal evidence and how you keep confusing illegality with executive orders. In the meantime, I'd tell you to be safe but you won't, so stay the hell away from those of us who are~

MY DIPLOMA FINALLY ARRIVED!!!

Now I can speak and write with authority!