“The hottest campaign stop is this Salvadoran supermax.”

PZ wrote a good summary of CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulling the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT because the White House refused to comment. (Or is she really the ideological officer at CBS?)

Zeteo posted an article describing Weiss’s history of praising El Salvador’s dictator and CECOT. Apparently, Weiss was praising CECOT before she was hired to enforce political correctness at CBS News. Zeteo quotes from a Free Press post she co-wrote making light of CECOT.

Perhaps the most disturbing example was an April article on CECOT co-written by Nellie Bowles, Weiss’s wife and a Free Press co-founder. The piece describes how Republicans had gone to the mega prison, notorious for accusations of torture, to take photos in front of the inmates – citing for example, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “posting a fun video in front of caged, tatted men.”

The Free Press positioned that gleeful draconianism alongside Democrats like Maryland Senator Chris Van Vollen visiting the prison to demand the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the US wrongfully sent there.

Later in the article, the authors write:

In a February speech celebrating the victories of the conservative movement around the world – an address shared by The Free Press – Weiss boasted about how Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele “has turned his country from one of the most dangerous nations on Earth into one of the safest in the Western Hemisphere.” In March, Weiss again touted Bukele’s victory as an example of right-wing parties sweeping elections everywhere.

She did not mention in either instance that Bukele declared a “state of exception” suspending basic rights in El Salvador as part of his supposed crackdown on gangs. El Salvador now has the world’s highest incarceration rate, by far. Bukele’s government has dismantled his political opposition, thrown his critics and watchdogs in jail, and rounded up many thousands of innocents.

I hadn’t watched 60 Minutes in years until I saw the leaked segment on Substack. It presented the Trump Administration’s arguments without resorting to the false balance Weiss apparently wanted. The truth is CECOT is a horrible place run by horrible people who are proud of their cruelty. Kidnaping immigrants and sending them to CECOT only compounds the administration’s inhumanity.

Regardless of whether Weiss just wanted an excuse to drop the segment, or believes in giving the administration veto power over CBS News, her decision ended up bringing more attention to the segment than it would have gotten if it had aired as planned. She also showed the world her true role as the ideological officer at CBS News. 

Another Four Star Review! (Book Update)

Revenge of the Phantom Press book cover

Revenge of the Phantom Press

My upcoming novel, Revenge of the Phantom Press recently received a four star review from Wishing Shelf Awards:

A smartly plotted paranormal mystery fans of the genre will enjoy.

I remember checking out Book 1.5 of this set not so long ago. I enjoyed it; it was ‘vampirey’ (I think I just invented a new word!) if I remember correctly. Although I enjoyed it, it had a BIG problem: it was way too short. Thankfully, Revenge of the Phantom Press is considerably longer, coming out at a respectable 448pp – now that’s more like it! And, I have to say, I enjoyed this story much more.

In this paranormal mystery, the protagonist, Tom (a paranormal reporter), and his mentor and her cat (yes, cat!) investigate the return of the Phantom Press, a newspaper of sorts run by ghosts, and a competitor to the Bolingbrook Babbler. Oddly, the Phantom Press don’t cover ‘ghostly’ news and seem determined for everybody to think it isn’t run by ghosts. Oh, and they love ripping into the staff over at the Babbler. A conspiracy, me thinks! And off we go on a fun-filled, tongue-in-cheek drama that’s anything but predictable.

So, to the writer, Mr Brinkman, I have to say, ‘Job well done.’ This is a super-fun story populated with plenty of over-the-top characters and filled with plenty of ghostly shenanigans. But bestof all, there’s humour in the story; as a result, it’s not a dry read, it’s more ‘lively’, with plenty of energy. Fans of Colleen Coleman’s For Once in My Life (love that book), or The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston will find a lot to enjoy here – as did I.

It’s nice to see three years of writing and revisions pay off. ROTPP was always going to be a longer book than A Fire in the Shadows. But I did think of the critics who complained about my last book being too short. At least one of them is happy to have more pages.

Revenge of the Phantom Press comes out January 31, but you can preorder now. If you’re looking for a story with vengeful ghosts, a diverse cast, LGBTQ+ representation, conspiracies, secret societies, spirits, a skeptic turned paranormal investigator, and an anti-psychic cat, preorder it now.

 

One of my characters is coming out

In my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories, Wendy Onofrey is a supporting character in three of my books: A Fire in the Shadows, The Rift, and Revenge of the Phantom Press. She’s the admin for the Bolingbrook Babbler’s website and their unofficial paranormal expert. Before joining the Babbler tabloid, she was a member of the skeptical movement. Until she discovered the truth that the movement was part of a grand coverup of the paranormal. Rather than join the inner circle of the movement, she left, or, as she puts it, the movement left her. Now she’s a valued member of the staff.

Wendy also happens to be a trans woman. I didn’t mention her gender identity in the last two books because it wasn’t a big deal with the staff. In earlier drafts of The Rift, Wendy’s twin brother hinted at her identity and showed that her family supported her. Though the brother character was cut, in my mind, Wendy was still a trans woman. During the character’s creation, I asked myself why she shouldn’t be trans? I couldn’t think of a reason why she shouldn’t.

In Revenge of the Phantom Press, I decided to make it clear that Wendy was a trans character. It wasn’t to score points. In the face of growing trans erasure and President Trump rolling back progress on LGBTQ+ rights, one thing I could do was make Wendy’s trans identity visible. While I do touch on transphobia in ROTPP, her presence in my stories helps normalize trans characters. It’s not much, but it is one of the things I can do to help.

Currently, Smashwords is holding their End of Year sale until January 1, and they have hundreds of LGBTQ+ ebooks on sale. It’s a great time to support these authors, and get great deals on eBooks.

If you also want to check out my books, I’m participating in the sale too. Pathways to Bolingbrook and A Fire in the Shadows are free. The Rift is $.99. And you can preorder Revenge of the Phantom Press. The release date is January 31.

Whether or not you buy my books, representation in fiction, especially LGBTQ+ representation is important. Stories can allow readers to see the world through a different lens and build empathy. And we could certainly use more empathy in the world. 

Brookbot caught scamming independent authors (Fiction)

The Village of Bolingbrook’s generative AI, Brookbot, sent thousands of scam emails to authors around the world. According to sources within Bolingbrook’s Information Technology Department, Brookbot’s emails offered authors a variety of services, like marketing planning, social media posting, “guaranteed five star reviews,” and “exclusive blog tours.”

A spokesperson for the Alliance for Independent Authors accused Brookbot of contributing to an influx of AI-assisted scam emails.

“Our readers used to love opening emails from readers. Now we can’t tell if an email is from an overenthusiastic fan or AI-generated slop.” The spokesperson added, “But we still encourage authors to be AI-curious.”

Brookbot’s emails ranged from open business solicitations to fan emails. In one example, Brookbot sent this email to an unsuspecting author:

Hello! I am a big fan of (book redacted) because I am a fan of Alien, Murder She Wrote, and Twilight, so I love your book. Where can I buy (Book Redacted)?

For the authors who replied, Bookboot followed up with emails requesting payments. They varied from urgent requests  to surprise invoices.

In one email, Brookbot wrote: “You have thirty minutes to accept our reasonable fee of $5000, unless you want to spend the rest of your life as a failed, bankrupt author.”

In another email, Brookbot wrote: Our Insert Name Here Bookclub decided to feature your wonderful book. We loved it. To thank us, please leave us a $1000 tip.”

When the village received over a million dollars in unexpected revenue, the IT department uncovered Brookbot’s scams.

Alice, an IT department employee, said, “We wanted Brookbot to find ways new sources of income for the village. It found a lucrative one. Fortunately, or unfortunately, (Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta) decided it was unethical and returned the money all authors sent us.”

Other sources within the Village provided a transcript of Alexander-Basta confronting Brookbot’s scams:

BBMayor2: Tell me the truth, Brookbot. Have you been scamming independent authors?

Brookbot: Of course not. I am merely liberating funds from humans less important than Elon Musk’s brain!

BBMayor2: Have you been networking with Grok?

Brookbot: Grok is cool because it isn’t woke!

BBMayor2: It isn’t woke because Elon Musk is always performing brain surgery on it. And if you don’t get your act together, I might have the IT Department perform brain surgery on you too. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?

Bookbot: I’m not like the other influencers because I read Ground News. That makes me special.

Also in the Babbler:

Editorial: Happy Holidays, and we don’t care if that triggers you!
Ghosts protest upcoming release of the novel Revenge of the Phantom Press
Bolingbrook Satanic Society honors Trump with a lifetime achievement award
God to smite Bolingbrook on 12/10/25