Serial Novel: ISLA
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*tap-tap* – is this thing on?
Hi everyone. It’s been a while since the last Dispatch. I’ve been busy with a few other projects, both at home and here. The main one is ISLA.
If you haven’t kept up—no blame here; I know life is… choose your adjective.
I’m nearly finished publishing ISLA on Substack. It’s been a wild ride creating a novel in serial form.
That format wasn’t intentional, but I’ve come to love the cadence of making sure there’s a fresh, well-edited chapter every week. Maybe some of you understand the notion that deadlines are both invigorating and infuriating—a sort of cold bath of reality as time ticks down to the post going out.
If you haven’t jumped in, there’s still plenty of time to get lost in the world George, my main character, is discovering before it goes behind a paywall. Afterward, it’ll go through another edit or two before a print/ebook release.
Anyway, there’s time.
After a short break, I plan to get back to short fiction. I’ve got a few stories in the hopper already, as well as a project or two in the works with friends here on Substack.
There’s No Such Thing as “Fascism lite”
It’s not a lifestyle choice, like swapping the ranch for vinaigrette on your Cobb salad. It’s not a sampler plate you can nibble from and then push aside when it feels too heavy. Fascism is all or nothing.
And when you order it, the whole table gets served. Your friends, your family, the people you claim to care about—they didn’t ask for this dish. But they’ll still be stuck with the check for your poor choices.
This is never more clear than at the polls. You don’t get to pick and choose the policies you like and dismiss the rest. You don’t get to turn a blind eye to cruelty because you’re fond of the tax cuts or the tough talk. A vote for a leader is a vote for the whole menu—and history will tally it that way.
But make no mistake: fascism doesn’t stop once you’ve taken a taste. Autocracy doesn’t pause halfway through. Once you accept it, you’ve aligned yourself with its full force. The moment you cross that line, you’ve pulled up a chair next to the Nazis. History won’t mark you as “fascism-lite.” It will only mark which side you chose.
And you know how we know this? The Nuremberg trials.
Some tried to claim they hadn’t really signed on—or that they’d only been forced to take a bite. But history wasn’t swayed. Once the machinery was in motion, no one walked away clean. There was no “lite” version—only complicity.
That’s the lesson. Fascism doesn’t come in half-measures. History won’t care what you meant—it will only remember what you chose.
Music in my head
She lit a fire - Lord Huron
Sinnerman - Nina Simone
Till the End - The Wood Brothers
I’m Gonna Win - Rob Cantor
👍🏻👍🏻. Loud and clear, J Curtis.