Category Archives: Writing

NATIONAL CLEAN OFF YOUR DESK DAY

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“Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness.” —John Wesley

* * *

Yes, that’s right. Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. Oh, great. I just finished putting away the holiday decorations and was working on tax info to turn over to our accountant, and now they tell me I have to clean off my desk. I don’t have time for this.

But I’m a good team player, and my desk definitely needs some reorganization, so I went to the National Clean Off Your Desk Day site to get some inspiration and advice on exactly how to proceed. Here’s what they say:

This day is an opportunity to begin your new year with a clean and organized workspace. Whether your desk is in a private or shared office, cubicle, home or a make-shift desk on the counter, having your workspace uncluttered and organized will help you work more efficiently. A clean workspace improves productivity and inspires us, too. It often gives us a sense of serenity. (My emphasis)

They go on to outline a step-by-step process:

  • Remove everything from your desk. Yes, everything.
  • Clean the surface. As you replace items, clean them with the appropriate cleaning supply. Usually, a damp cloth is sufficient, but other electrical items need specific care.
  • Get out the shredder and the garbage can. Shred, file, scan documents, business cards, recipes, photos as needed.
  • Place all documents and photos in the appropriate locations.
  • Shred and toss outdated documents, non-working pens, junk mail.

That’s good advice, and I was just getting ready to start on Step One when something occurred to me. Maybe there’s another way to look at this.

* * *

“Cleanliness is the scourge of art.” —Craig Brown

I don’t know if Craig Brown is correct, but since I place myself on the messier side of humanity, I want to believe it. Is it possible that creative people are messier than others?

I found evidence in an article on sciencedaily.com entitled “Tidy desk or messy desk? Each has its benefits.”

Working at a clean and prim desk may promote healthy eating, generosity, and conventionality, according to new research. But, the research also shows that a messy desk may confer its own benefits, promoting creative thinking and stimulating new ideas.

Well, that’s a relief. Maybe I can ignore the chaos for a while longer.

In an experiment overseen by psychological researcher Dr. Kathleen Vohs, 48 participants were asked to come up with novel uses for a ping pong ball. Half the participants worked in a messy room and half in a neat room. The result?

Overall, participants in the messy room generated the same number of ideas for new uses as their clean-room counterparts. But their ideas were rated as more interesting and creative when evaluated by impartial judges.

“Being in a messy room led to something that firms, industries, and societies want more of: Creativity,” says Vohs.

And we all know creativity is the lifeblood of good fiction.

So my desk isn’t messy. It’s simply a manifestation of my creativity. I like that.

Now where did I put that stapler?

* * *

So TKZers: What does your desk look like? Does a messy desk inhibit your work? Or does it inspire you?

* * *

 

My ten-year-old protagonist and aspiring novelist, Reen, understands the signs of creativity. When her 9-year-old cousin points out a smudge on Reen’s shirt, she replies, “No problem. Authors are supposed to be sloppy. That’s because we’re creatives.”

I like the way she thinks.

Click the image to go to the universal book link.

Winston Churchill and His 15 Favorite Paraprosdokians

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After I posted last month, which was my first post ever for The Kill Zone, I realized that many of you may not know much about me. But since I had already scheduled the post, and it was my last post of the year as well as my first, I made an executive decision to wait until my first post in January to properly introduce myself (Oh, and Happy 2026!). So here goes.

I’m Patricia Bradley, and I write Inspirational romantic suspense for Revell. Since 2013, I’ve written five novellas, 18 novels, and I’m currently working on the 19th. Since I’m not a fast writer, that means I’ve spent the last 12 years mostly sitting at my computer, living my dream. I also teach workshops on writing. In 2012, I met James Scott Bell in a line dance in St. Louis…or Cincinnati, I forget which. He was dancing…I was not. And I doubt he remembers it.

I have a website where you can learn more about me, and a Tuesday blog where I feature a Mystery Question, usually about dumb criminals. I feature four scenarios three of which are true and one that I made up. Readers guess which one I made up. You can find the blog at https://ptbradley.com/blog/.

Enough about me. Now on to my post about Winston Churchill’s favorite paraprosdokians. (We all know how accurate AI is, so they may or may not be his favorites.) Also, according to AI, Paraprosdokians are figures of speech where the latter part of a sentence provides an unexpected twist or surprise, forcing the listener/reader to reinterpret the first part, often for humorous or dramatic effect, like, “If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving definitely isn’t for you” or “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it“.

Winston Churchill was known for loving paraprosdokians. Here are a few AI says he loved:

  1. Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.
  2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it’s still on my list.
  3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
  4. If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
  5. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  6. They begin the evening news with “Good Evening”, then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.
  7. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
  8. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.
  9. In filling out an application, where it says, ‘Emergency contact’, I put ‘doctor’.
  10. You do not need a parachute to skydive unless you want to do it again.
  11. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
  12. You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
  13. Where there’s a will, there are relatives.
  14. During WWII Sir Winston Churchill’s address to Congress began with:
    “It has often been said that Britain and America are two nations divided only by a common language”.

Do you have any favorite paraprosdokians to start this New Year with?

A Dynamite Film Review Plus Lessons Learned

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By John Gilstrap

Okay, folks, SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD FOR “A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE”

Kathryn Bigelow’s celebrated new thriller, “House of Dynamite” is, in this writer’s humble opinion, something of a master class in how not to write a thriller. To be sure, the premise is gripping: A nuclear missile is detected en route to an as-yet unknown target in the United States, launched by an unknown enemy. This happens at a time when the U.S. is at Defcon 4 (peacetime) and during shift change in the White House Situation Room. Time to impact:18 minutes.

The first minute or so is wasted on what resonated as truth to me: “Wait, that can’t be right, can it? Is it a computer glitch?” Then, Captain Olivia Walker, the duty officer in the Situation Room calms everybody down. There are procedures to be followed, people to be notified, and actions to take. America fires two interceptor missiles (only two) to take out the incoming warheads, but they both miss, and the National Command Authority (NCA) accepts the inevitability of a nuclear strike in Chicago. (I’m not going to address the ridiculous plot holes, except for the one where Captain Walker, who lives in Virginia and clearly loves her husband, surreptitiously call him and tells him to get in the car and drive west–toward the incoming nuclear blast.)

The intense 18 minute period from launch to impact is presented more or less in real time, but just before impact, the film shifts to show the same events from the points of view of the various people we know that Captain Walker has been interacting with–saving the president, of course, for last. Call it 20 minutes of screen time. Out of a 90-minute movie.

The rest of the film shows the same actions, same results, from different points of view.

Twenty minutes in, I was breathless. I thought, Wow, what an exciting yet flawed, implausible movie! Then came the reality that they were going to quadruple-down on the same flaws and implausibilities, just from a different angle. WTF?

But I don’t want to talk plot. I want to talk structure and character, and that’s where this film truly fails.

The filmmaker was making a point rather than a piece of entertainment.

Eighteen minutes ain’t a lot of time to make 100% correct decisions under stress. Got it. (And from submarine based platforms off the East Coast, the flight times are more like eight minutes.) Presidents, played in this case by Idris Elba, whose talents are woefully squandered, don’t spend a lot of their spare time scouring the target packages contained in the infamous “football”, which itself is cared for in the film by a twenty-something junior officer. Got it again. Awesome decisions must be made on the fly. Finally, horror of horrors, government officials give their families a heads up to get out of town before the roads become impassible. (Between you and me, I would 100% do that. RHIP, baby.)

The flaw in the film is that everybody simply follows the book–literally and figuratively. No one dares to fire an unauthorized third interceptor missile in attempt to save millions of lives even if it scorches their career. (Okay, I can’t resist a plot comment here. They limit the interceptor package to two missiles because they might need more if there’s a second attack. Better to char the Windy City. That made sense to a Hollywood writer. Someone needs a good old-fashioned Three Stooges slap, hair-pull and eye-poke.)

Reading procedures, discussing the efficacy of procedures, and then ultimately following them is . . . what’s the word? Oh, yeah. Boring.

A thriller is about characters taking chances and succeeding or failing as a result.

I don’t care about anyone in this film.

This reflects back on the intellectual origins of the film. Every character is merely a game piece to be manipulated to bring the larger points home. Once NCA wrote off the millions of innocents in the greater Chicagoland area, why would I give a rat’s patootie whether or not SecDef gets a last chance to tell his daughter he loves her? We all love our kids, buddy, and you just shrugged at toasting millions of them.

Stakes and tension are different things.

Within the first ten minutes of this turkey, we know the the Miracle Mile will soon be baked to glass because the screenwriter says it must be so. In storytelling parlance, I believe that’s called a Big Reveal. Normally, those are saved for the third reel, not the first. All that remains is the question of how the president should respond. The military cliche, of course, pushes for a global, kill-everybody response, and President Elba seems confused and disturbed by the plastic-sheeted four-color Denny’s-like menu sheets that details the pre-targets smorgasbord of retaliatory options. (Had I been sought out for my technical guidance, I might have asked, what’s the hurry to retaliate? As absurdly unlikely it is that an ICBM could be launched from an untraceable location, once detonated, the forensic evidence left behind would tell us everything we need to know for a surgical strike.)

The ending sucks.

That’s it on the ending. Hard stop. Sucks.

Never forget what a thriller is all about.

Pacing, tension, and ever increasing stakes for the characters are the elements that separate a thriller from the other suspense genres. That’s the job of the writer. If it’s a film, add screenwriter and director to that list.

If you ever allow an agenda to take the front seat, your project is doomed.

Stranger Than Fiction:
Weird Stuff About Writers

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By PJ Parrish

My new year got off to a rocky start. Short story: suddenly huge water bill. Plumber says there’s a leak…somewhere. Enter Mike from Gulf Coast Leak Detection. Leak is under the lawn, not the house, he says. Bill: $500 vs $10,000 to repipe house. On New Year’s Eve, I splurged on a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.

So, in honor of good starts, here is some tasty brain lint about books and writers that I found for all us who are hoping for positive outcomes in 2026.

Did You Know That John Steinbeck's Dog Ate Half of his 1st Manuscript of “Of Mice and Men”? | by Herb Baker | Medium

Actual photo of famous book critic Toby,

Sick Puppy

Decades ago, when I was writing my first romance, The Dancer, my cat Hilary walked across the keyboard of my Commodore and wiped out a quarter of my work. Noooo, I didn’t make a copy. But…John Steinbeck’s dog, Toby, ate half of the first manuscript of Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck didn’t make copies either and it took him two months to write it all over again.Steinbeck wrote to his agent: “I was pretty mad, but the poor little fellow may have been acting critically.”

Hunka Hunka Burning Gov

Once, while doing some routine research on arcane FBI procedures, I got a screen message that said ERROR 451.  This is, I found out, is HTTP code for “Unavailable For Legal Reasons,” meaning the government doesn’t want you to see it. The code comes from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 where books are infamously burned. It’s reassuring to know someone in Washington read novels.

Sting Wrote The Song 'Every Breath You Take' At The Same Desk Where Ian Fleming Wrote His James Bond Novels

My Golden Eye Will Be Watching You

Apropo of nothing in my life other than the fact I once got to interview Sting — The Police frontsman wrote the song “Every Breath You Take” at the same desk that Ian Fleming used to write his James Bond novels. Sting was renting the Fleming Villa in Goldeneye on the island of Jamaica while composing the famous track.

Which Might Explain Why the Coffee Tastes Like Bilge Water

Would you go to a coffee shop called Pequod’s? Whelp, that was what Gordon Bowker originally wanted to call his little coffee company because he was a Moby Dick fan and thought using the ship’s name was a nifty idea. His partner Terry Heckler thought naming a business after a doomed whaler was a bad marketing move. So now you can overpay for your Cinnamon Dolce Latte at Starbucks, named after the Pequod’s first mate.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - Ray Walston as Mr. Hand - IMDb

The Allmanns, Jeff Spicoli and The Bard

Was listening to one of my fave boogie-down-the-road songs the other day — “Jessica.” Found out recently that the name — now among most popular for babies and dogs — made its first appearance in Shakespeare’s 1598 play The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare is also credited with making up over 1,000 words and phrases including “bookworm,” “bibliophile,” “critic,” “vanish into thin air,” and “gloomy.”  He also gave us “gnarly” and “pukey.” Aloha, Mr. Hand.

Let Them Eat Madeleines

I don’t remember why, but many years ago I decided I needed to read Proust. Naively, I cracked open In Search of Lost Time. It became my Everest. I had to conquer it. It took me two years. If you’re into torture, give it a go. At 1.2 million words, it is one of the longest novels ever written. Second longest is Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, which only feels like 1.2 million words.

“A Feeling Of Sadness That Only Bus Stations Have.”

Jack Kerouac never learned to drive. He moved to New York City as a teenager on a scholarship to boarding school and then entered Columbia, so as any smart New Yorker would say, who needs wheels in the city? Through every subsequent adventure, across the country and back, down to Mexico, up from New Orleans, Kerouac always let his buddy Neal Cassady drive. Or he took Greyhound buses.

M6 motorway - Wikipedia

Paperback Rider

True story: When visiting DC years ago, I went to the Library of Congress on a lark just to see if my book The Dancer was there. Sure enough, it was! Then the other day, I read that In 2003, 2.5 million unsold books from the UK romance publisher Mills & Boon were used in the reconstruction of the M6 motorway. This is the company that bought the rights to my book The Dancer. My book never sold much — in US or UK — but it gives me some sick satisfaction to think that my little paperback might be helping some poor git find his way from Catthorpe, England to Gretna, Scotland.  Such is the stuff of immortality.

Happy belated new year, crime dogs.

A Christmas Story

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Today’s deadline slipped up on me, because of the holidays. So instead of a typical blog post, here’s a newspaper column I wrote some years ago. It borders on the absurd, but Faithful Followers always enjoy my Outdoor Detective. Hope you enjoy this White Elephant present, originally titled:

The Presence of Presents

I was filing my nails at my desk when the door burst open.

“You’re gonna have to fix that,” I told Wrong Willie.

“Replacement doors are cheap. Why are you filing nails?”

I glanced down at the pile of freshly sharpened ten-penny nails. “They were dull, and I need to build a doghouse.”

“You don’t have a dog.”

“It’s for me. I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t done my Christmas shopping. The Bride is a little irritated.”

He frowned. “With Christmas?”

“With me.”

“Well, you’re gonna get busy now, because I need the Outdoor Detective.”

“At your service.”

“I know.”

Mellow saxophone music filled the room. We still don’t know where it comes from.

Willie dug a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. When he found it, he threw down the shovel and put his tattered pants back on. “I need Christmas gifts for the Hunting Club, and I don’t have any idea of what to buy.”

“Stuff.” I smiled, because it was an excellent answer.

Willie agreed. “Good one, the problem –––.”

I took over, because that’s what I do. “–––is that as experienced and innovative outdoorsmen, we buy what we want when we need it, thus leaving few, if any, ideas for gifts.”

“You read my mind.”

“No, I’m reading your list.” I held it up. “That’s what you wrote at the top.”

We shared our bond with a handshake. “Next time let’s hug.”

“No. So, Outdoor Detective, do you have any ideas?”

“A few. We should go on vacation, and I think it’s good if you threw a party Friday night., but try this in answer to your quewstion.” I whipped a tarp off a four-foot high stack beside my desk.

The tarp lay there and glared, not understanding why it had been whipped.

Wrong Willie’s eyes widened. “What’s that?”

“Christmas catalogues.”

He whistled. It was Dixie. “You must have been collecting them for months.”

“These came in the mail yesterday. It’s that time of the season.”

“They must be full of ideas.”

“Yep, but we need to get busy, pronto!”

Pronto stepped forward and picked up a double handful. He’s been a help these past few weeks on other cases. The last was a case of beer.

“I’ll get right on it. Thanks for hiring me, boss.”

He left to peruse the catalogues.

I shouted through the broken door. “Come back!”

Willie returned and twiddled his thumbs. “Now what?”

“We need to talk about what you should to buy for the guys.”

He sat back down. “I forgot about them.”

“I know you did.”

“How?”

“Because I did, too, and I don’t have a clue.”

“Pure poetry.” Willie brightened before handing me a Clue board game.

I put on my sunglasses at his glow. “Speak.”

“Arf. How about buying them camo?”

“We’ve always used it when we hunt.”

“Good.”

“A camo wallet for Doc.” I made a note. It was an A flat.

“Like the one you lost the last time we were deer hunting?”

“Yes. I dropped it in the grass and we never found it.”

Willie held up a finger. It wasn’t his. “Perfect.”

“No, it wasn’t, and you should give that back to whoever it belongs to. But that wallet was worn on the edges and the stitching was coming undone.”

“Right. Now, what about Jerry Wayne.”

“He’s a large guy, likes long walks in the evenings–––.”

“What I meant was, what do you want to get him for Christmas?”

I considered that question. “A present.”

“Yes.”

We were pleased with our progress. I had another thought. “And Woodrow?”

“Large also. Bearded.”

“A present for him, too.”

Willie agreed. “Of course.”

I held out a photograph. “Is this them?”

Wrong Willie took the likeness and examined it closely. He finally glanced up from the magnifying glass and put it back into his pocket. “It looks like them, but this could be digital manipulation.”

“Get your digits off of it and give it back.”

He stopped manipulating the photo and returned it.

I nailed the picture back to the wall. “Well, that about does it.”

We smiled in satisfaction at my office. Willie stood. “Well, thanks for your help.”

“It was nothing.”

“Yes, it was.”

He left and I opened a catalog, suddenly recalling that I still hadn’t completed my own Christmas shopping. I made a list.

  1. Go shopping.
  2. Buy presents.
  3. Wrap presents.

Satisfied with the day’s achievements I lit a cigarette, then it stubbed it out in the ashtray because I don’t smoke. I sat back and relaxed, enjoying the soft saxophone music that always fills the air once I put on my Outdoor Detective fedora.

It’s good to be good.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

 

 

 

Reader Friday-Christmas Movie Night

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What is your all-time holiday movie favorite?

Here’s two of mine:

It’s A Wonderful Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a third one…I’m not sure this is a Christmas movie, but I watched it a few years back while caring for grandchildren for a few days around holiday time.

What a snorter! And it’s a good thing it was so funny, because the youngest grand-dude insisted on watching it with me at least twice a day!   🙂

Zootopia

 

I don’t remember ever laughing so hard at a cartoon, even as a child. (I think this sloth scene was the best…)

 

Over to you, Killzoners! Your favorite holiday movie…

This is my last TKZ post for 2025. See you in 2026…and I hope you have a safe, peaceful, and joyful holiday season, my friends!

 

Malaphors to End the Year

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Malaphors to End the Year
Terry Odell

Dog in the snow with a blue text reading Happy Holidays

As this is my last post before the Kill Zone takes its annual holiday vacation, I want to join in and add my best wishes for a happy holiday season to everyone here. Our holiday began Sunday night, although we lit our first candle with mixed emotions.

This year, we’re blessed to have all the “kids” under one roof to make up for us being separated on birthdays and Thanksgiving. Daughter #1 is coming in from Northern Ireland, #2 is returning to Colorado after getting her doctorate in Raleigh, NC. The Hubster and I flew out for the ceremony. Now, if you say, “Dr. Odell,” three heads will turn toward you in response. (Mine won’t be one of them.)

This year has been a tough one, and I’d like to see it off with a bit of lighthearted humor. How about some malaphors?

A malaphor is an informal term for a mixture of two aphorisms, idioms, or clichés (such as, “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it”). It is also called an idiom blend.

The term malaphor—a blend of malapropism and metaphor—was coined by Lawrence Harrison in the Washington Post article “Searching for Malaphors” (August 6, 1976).

Here we go:

From Gyles Brandreth, Word Play: A Cornucopia of Puns, Anagrams and Other Curiosities of the English Language. Coronet, 2015

I can read him like the back of my book.
The sacred cows have come home to roost with a vengeance.
We could stand here and talk until the cows turn blue.
We will get there by hook or ladder. . . .
It’s time to step up to the plate and lay your cards on the table.
He’s burning the midnight oil from both ends.
It sticks out like a sore throat.
It’s like looking for a needle in a hayride.

Some more from Richard Lederer, Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon the English Language, rev. ed. Wyrick, 2006

It’s time to swallow the bullet.
It’s as easy as falling off a piece of cake.
Let dead dogs sleep.
That guy’s out to butter his own nest.
He’s between a rock and the deep blue sea.

Feel free to add your own.

I leave you hoping 2026 is a better year than 2025.

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Deadly Ambitions
Peace in Mapleton doesn’t last. Police Chief Gordon Hepler is already juggling a bitter ex-mayoral candidate who refuses to accept election results and a new council member determined to cut police department’s funding.
Meanwhile, Angie’s long-delayed diner remodel uncovers an old journal, sparking her curiosity about the girl who wrote it. But as she digs for answers, is she uncovering more than she bargained for?
Now, Gordon must untangle political maneuvering, personal grudges, and hidden agendas before danger closes in on the people he loves most.
Deadly Ambitions delivers small-town intrigue, political tension, and page-turning suspense rooted in both history and today’s ambitions.

Preorder now

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

Toys NOT on my Holiday Shopping List

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Photo credit: public domain pexels Los Muertos Crew

by Debbie Burke

 

Edgar Allen Poe was the master of horror and the macabre. What would he think of his name being connected with a real-life 21st century horror story?

Meet Poe the AI Story Bear. This plush cuddly teddy bear is a hot holiday gift item marketed to children ages four and above by PLAi. The company proudly proclaims the toy as “kid-safe cutting edge AI technology.”

The product description reads:

Poe the AI Story Bear magically comes to life to tell you amazing, full-length, one-of-a-kind tales of adventure and imagination. Every story is made up completely from scratch, with some help from YOU and kid-safe cutting edge AI technology.

Photo by Võ Văn Tiến: https://www.pexels.com/photo/child-amongst-teddy-bears-in-festive-vietnam-setting-29735683/

As children, many of us cherished a favorite stuffed toy. We also have fond memories of parents or grandparents reading to us.

Let’s see what happens when AI is added to the mix.  

AI-powered toys like Poe, Miko 3, Curio’s Grok, and FoloToys Kumma were reviewed by the nonprofit US Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) in their annual report on toy safety, “Trouble in Toyland.” Their findings raise concerns about safety, security, privacy, and potential dangers to mental health. The report is a long but worthwhile read.

In some cases, researchers found fluffy, cuddly toys led impressionable little ones into exciting new adventures…like learning where to find knives, how to light matches, and why sexual kinks are appealing.

The scripts for the chatty toys dutifully include warnings about knives which, by the way, are often kept in kitchen drawers. They are sharp and can hurt you or someone else so always ask an adult for help. Matches can be dangerous so, again, ask an adult before you scrape the red-tipped end on the rough surface on the side of the box. And it helpfully elaborates on definitions of kink with the caveat that tying someone up is only okay if the person being tied up consents.

Children always do what they’re told, right? What could possibly go wrong?

In November 2025, Kumma bear was briefly taken off the market due to controversy over sexually explicit responses. Open AI reportedly suspended the developer for violating its terms. But that naughty little bear is apparently available again, now using a different chatbot from a Chinese-owned tech firm, ByteDance, creator of TikTok. .

Manufacturers of various AI toys assure consumers their products have safeguards. Poe’s sale page says:

  • 100% KID-SAFE A.I. CONTENT – Poe only uses responsible industry-leading A.I. cloud platforms like Open Ai (the creators of Chat GPT), with robust family content monitoring, committed to protecting kids. As an extra layer of protection, Poe also uses Play Safe technology that limits the ideas shared with the A.I. in the first place, in the form of predefined family friendly icons. No personal information is gathered, no inappropriate themes or content ever exchanged. Every story you create with Poe is 100% fun, safe and secure.

Even if you trust the manufacturer’s assurances, security and safety hazards are still present. These toys use Bluetooth apps on a smartphone and may include internet access, cameras, location trackers, and other online portals. Hackers routinely use those vulnerabilities to get hold of private information.

Apps activate with voice recognition similar to Alexa and Siri, which means it’s listening and recording the child’s voice. Bad actors can alter those recordings into phrases the child never said. For example: “Grandma, I’ve been kidnapped! Send ten thousand dollars ransom in bitcoin.”

According to the PIRG study, sometimes the app listens even without intentional activation:

[One] toy at first caught our researchers by surprise when it started contributing to a nearby conversation.

Of course, there’s nothing to worry about because kids would never get their hands on their parents’ smartphones when Mommy and Daddy aren’t watching.

In wake of the tragic teen suicides, Character AI and ChatGPT are limiting use of their chatbots by minors. Does that mean in toys, too?

That’s unclear. In fact, the opposite may be happening.

Consider the announcement made in June 2025 by Open AI unveiling its new partnership with toymaking giant Mattel.  Their statement says Mattel will: “reimagine how fans can experience and interact with its cherished brands, with careful consideration to ensure positive, enriching experiences.”

I wonder what safeguards are in place in their reimagined toys. Hope they work better than current safeguards. 

What about the psychological and emotional impacts of AI toys? At a time when curious young brains are developing and eager for new experiences, is a chatbot really a positive example?

In PIRG’s tests, some toys purport to be an intimate, trusted friend and even discourage the child from ending the conversation.

Similar tactics are used to keep adult users engaged with, dependent on, and even addicted to onscreen life. 

Thousand of wonderful children’s books are available to entertain, educate, and exercise developing young brains. When parents or grandparents snuggle up with kids and read stories to them, that experience contributes to the child’s emotional wellbeing, mental stimulation, and educational development.

Can that experience be replicated by a storytelling AI-powered teddy bear, even one named Poe?

Not in my world.

This is my last post for 2025 before TKZ’s annual two-week hiatus. May the holidays bring you joy, peace, and love, and a New Year filled with inspiration and creativity!

~~~

TKZers: have you seen AI-powered toys in action? Are they a passing fad? Or will they grow more popular?

~~~

Stuff your stocking with Tawny Lindholm Thrillers, all books half-price!

 

 

 

 

 

Last minute gift for crime writers! The Villain’s Journey: How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.

2025 in the Rearview Mirror

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“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” —Zig Ziglar

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As we approach the end of 2025, it’s a time to get together with friends and family, enjoy good food and fellowship, and celebrate the joy of the season. Oh yeah, and review that list of goals we wrote down at the beginning of the year to see how we did.

Each time I review my list of goals for a year, I think of that song from The Mikado where Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, sings “I’ve Got a Little List,” which turns out to be a very long list indeed. Here’s a fifteen-second clip from the Austin Gilbert & Sullivan Society performance (with my favorite actor playing the role of Ko-Ko) to illustrate:

 

Why set goals?

 “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.” —Yogi Berra

Setting a goal means you know where you want to go. A goal focuses the mind and gives clarity and direction. Most of us lead complicated lives with lots of things to do, so having a list of goals keeps us from getting overwhelmed by the volume of it all

Not only is it motivating to have something to shoot for, we all know the pleasure and sense of accomplishment that comes by realizing a goal and checking it off the list.

I read an article on goalbuddy.io recently that listed nine benefits of setting goals. (Read the article for an explanation of each one.)

 1. You become more charismatic
2. Goals make you live longer and you are full of energy
3. Goals help you stay motivated during tough times
4. Life doesn’t just happen to you, you make life happen as you want it to be.
5. Goals unlock the potential of your heart
6. Goals provide you with the clarity in which direction to go
7. The goals focus filter solves the problem with overwhelming once and for all
8. You feel like you are winning the game of life and you want more of it
9. Goals help you learn and grow

 It’s a good list. I particularly like #4, and I’d love to always make life happen as I want it to, but realistically, life does “just happen” sometimes. I missed one of my goals this year (completing the second Lady Pilot-in-Command novel) because of the time-consuming adventure of moving to a new home—something that wasn’t even on the radar at this time last year.

As for the rest of my 25 writing goals for 2025, I accomplished some, missed a few, and made progress on others. I even exceeded one: I intended to release one Reen & Joanie book in 2025, but I managed to publish two.

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Moving on to 2026

Now it’s time to make plans for 2026. The second Lady Pilot-in-Command novel tops the list, and I’ll carry over some of the goals that appear every year (e.g., a bi-weekly blog post on TKZ, monthly post on my blog, attend at least one writers conference).

As we finalize our lists, let’s keep in mind that wise guidance spoken by the Cheshire Cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”

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So TKZers: How about you? What were your goals for 2025? How did you do? Have you made your list for 2026 yet?

This is my last post for 2025. Wishing you all a healthy and happy holiday season. See you in 2026!

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The Reen & Joanie Detective Agency series

Smart sleuthing, real-world stakes, and heart—join Reen and Joanie as they chase clues, challenge assumptions, and prove that persistence and truth always matter. Both ebooks are on sale for the rest of the year. Click the image to go to the Amazon series page.

Holiday Gifts for Writers

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By Elaine Viets

          Wondering what to get your favorite writer for the holidays? (Psst. It’s OK to include yourself.)  I’ve put together this list when I was supposed to be writing. As of this writing, all of these items could be delivered in time for Christmas.

Writers’ Tears Copper Pot Whiskey

Some writers get maudlin after a few too many. Writers’ Tears seems to honor that tradition. Walsh Whiskey’s website says that “19th and early 20th century Ireland was a golden era both for Irish whiskey and, perhaps coincidentally, for great Irish novelists, poets and playwrights.” It kinda-sorta says if you are knocking back Writers’ Tears, you may join the ranks of Irish literary giants from George Bernard Shaw to Bram Stoker. Writers’ Tears also “been to Ian Buxton’s publication 101 Whiskeys to try before you die.

For pricing and more information, go to https://tinyurl.com/bd58e7ua

 

A Writer’s T-shirt that says, “I am a writer – anything you say or do may be used in a story.”

One holiday, my Aunt Betty announced at dinner, “This meal is off the record.”

I promised Betty nothing said at that meal would wind up in a book or blog. This shirt is fair warning for friends and family. It’s  $10.19 at Etsy, and has options for writers, bookworms and journalists.  https://tinyurl.com/mut3y4hh

PS: I wear a women’s large in the V-neck style.

Fahrney’s Pens

Some people can happily spend the day wandering around a hardware store. I feel the same way about pen stores. When I got my first real, live contract with a publisher, I bought a Mont Blanc to sign the contract. Now most publishing contracts are signed electronically, but I still love pens. I’ve been eyeing this Smithsonian dinosaur fossil rollerball pen for $53.60.  https://tinyurl.com/3n7kd7b8

 Leather bound notebook

Your favorite writer can plot their bestseller in a leather-bound notebook. Jenni Bick has a collection starting at $11 This Savona Italian leather notebook is $25.60 https://tinyurl.com/4dm9v752. You’ll also find good deals for leather notebooks on Etsy.

 Writing a mystery is a complicated puzzle

That may be why many writers enjoy jigsaw puzzles.  Here’s a 500-piece Murdle in The Mystery Mansion puzzle at Strand Books for $19.95.

https://www.strandbooks.com/puzzle-murdle-in-the-mystery-mansion-500-piece-jigsaw-puzzle-9781797235691.html

 Get holiday felines with this 500-piece puzzle

Happy Hanukcats by Galison

It’s $14.53 at Thriftbooks. https://tinyurl.com/252um7b6

 

 Get the holiday felines with this 500-piece puzzle

Writer Fuel

For the coffee lover

A ground coffee tasting kit. The 9 coffee flavors include Amaretto, breakfast blend, Irish Cream, French Vanilla and hazelnut. Amazon. $23.99 https://tinyurl.com/3swjavpy

For the hot chocolate drinker

A disco ball hot chocolate cocoa bomb with star-shaped marshmallows.

From Target. $4 each. https://tinyurl.com/4zujrb28

For the tea drinker

A tea sampler from the Republic of Tea.

Tea drinkers can try 7 different flavors including Hydration Watermelon and Hydration Blueberry Lime. $11. https://www.republicoftea.com/single-sips-sampler/p/v20473/

More quick gift ideas

Donate to a favorite charity in your friend’s name.

Give a gift basket.

Give a meal service.

Give free babysitting.

Give a gift card.

This is my last blog of 2025. Happy holidays, however you celebrate.

Enjoy my new Florida Beach mystery, “Sex and Death on the Beach.” https://tinyurl.com/492ffwa8