Substack Archives - All That Chazz: Your Brain Tickle Destination

When I started my Vocab Menace series, the idea was to find fun words, define them, and challenge viewers to slip those exotic or rarely used words into casual conversation.

I don’t know how many people are actually making that attempt, but I do enjoy finding these words. We use words to tell a story, but the stories behind the words are often interesting, too.

Some folks are concerned we are losing words or adding silly ones. Remember the furor over the elimination of the distinction between regardless and irregardless? I know that sticks in some people’s craws, but language is constantly evolving. It’s an organic thing that can grow in unexpected ways. You can resist, but you may as well try to empty the ocean with a sieve.

We could try to freeze our level of communication at some arbitrary stage, I suppose. With enough teaching, torture, and torment, we could all speak as if we are upperclass eighteenth-century Brits. I doubt that would fly, though.

Some lovers of the English language would clutch their pearls and retreat to their fainting couches if they knew the truth. Most newspapers are written at the sixth-grade level. That’s not a disaster. It’s meeting and reaching more readers where they are.

I am a word nerd, but I don’t beat readers over the head with my research (at least in my novels, I don’t). However, I must admit, I loved using Latin phrases in This Plague of Days. I made it work by translating said phrases and aphorisms. There was never any doubt what was meant and the use of a bit of Latin was integral to the protagonist’s character development. Jaimie Spencer is a selective mute on the spectrum with a special interest in his dictionary. When the world ends, Jaimie finds comfort in the old wisdom of Latin words.

My 1939 Webster’s was the inspiration for the dictionary Jaimie carries around the apocalypse. She’s a thick one, eh?

Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1939

If you are a word nerd, too, subscribe to my Substack for fun, new vocabulary explorations each weekday.

For links to all my apocalyptic epics and killer crime thrillers, check the links to Amazon down the right-hand side of this page. Enjoy!

Here’s why you should get excited

This is not a guide for aspiring vigilantes, but it might inspire you!

Welcome to Poeticule Bay, Maine, a village where justice is scarce, and secrets have deadly consequences. When a gay student is brutally attacked and exiled from his home, the police turn a blind eye. Fueled by rage, Molly Jergins launches a relentless campaign against the school bully and his sinister family.

As Molly’s quest for retaliation spirals into chaos, the lines between hero and villain blur. To hunt monsters, must she become the very thing she despises? In the end, will revenge prove the best success?

Before you go:

Did you know I’m on Substack? I regularly post stories and videos there sharing anecdotes from real life, my reading life, and the writing life.

I have things to say! You can become a paid subscriber if you want to support my work, but that is optional and, honestly, most of what I post is completely free to everyone. Hopefully, you’ll also find it funny/thoughtful/entertaining/whatever-floats-your-neural-boat. Only the sexiest and most intelligent people opt in for my braingasms. Confirm you are sexy and intelligent by joining.