Hello, everyone!

To say it’s been a packed month would be an understatement–esp. given the (IMO) greatly disheartening events at its start. For a time, I was worried these and their (still-unfolding) aftermath would cripple writing for this month; thankfully I’ve been proven wrong, and NaNoWriMo is still marching on, with the end in sight!

Although things were scrambled enough that I neglected to update you all until now, the home stretch, I promised more details on my NNWM draft, and so here they are! School of Whacks (working title), as mentioned previously, is a murder mystery/noir-type project, a genre I’ve never tried before, but felt like doing so for this round–my last annual pursuit of the traditional 50K NaNo challenge. The story is set in a private school, Kingfield Academy, where the students are, in a nutshell, exiled from kindergarten to senior year by their indifferent or purposely cruel families (all of whom are wealthy, Mobbed-up, politically corrupt or all three), so that they are “prepared for the real world.” All kinds of criminal activity–physical abuse (by students and teachers), theft, protection rackets run by specific cliques, drug use of almost every type, bribery and blackmail–are rife within the school, up to the highest admin levels. Murder isn’t uncommon, although it’s easily hushed up as an accident or “tragic suicidal breakdown.” Then one day, one of the school’s semi-outcasts finds the body of another student, killed by gunshot: the first in Kingfield’s history…and a crime that could finally bring the corrupt institution, along with its shady donors and alumni, down for good. (Disclaimer/Full Disclosure: I went to private school myself, from first grade to high school, and while it wasn’t always the most enjoyable experience as the introvert bookworm, this story is NOT intended as satire or bashing of said school, lol). Although maybe as much as half the story might end up getting deleted on Dec. 1st (thanks to a whole raft of new ideas hitting, like they usually do, after I’ve already put down a huge chunk of the word count), I still expect to finish this challenge, and properly cap a 15-year run of annual NNWM wins!

Nor will the writing stop, once this challenge is over. I’ll be scaling back quite a bit, given the approaching holidays and Outside World demands, but I nonetheless aim to have my AH short story “Vive L’Empereur!” finished by New Year’s, at the latest, so that I may start off 2025 with a publish-worthy version for Sea Lion Press or elsewhere. I’ll also begin nailing down the other draft choices for that year; right now, it’s looking like a blend of short and novel-length works, with a tilt towards the former, and one or two of the latter standing out from the rest.

Well, I must return to the (thankfully almost over) NaNo grind, so I’ll sign off here! Enjoy your Thanksgiving (and if any of you are in need of holiday reading, check out the sale on my AH works “Dillinger in Charleston” and “Dixie Curtain” at the links below)!