Turkey Shoot: He might not be the terrorist you expected

Winner of the 2019 Courage in Fiction Award from Independent Publishers of New EnglandIT’S OCTOBER 2015. Meet Mahmoud al Ramadi, 23, a bitter displaced Iraqi who unexpectedly becomes a terrorist. Fresh from battling ISIS in Syria, he’s sent to float to Greece as a refugee. There, in gritty Piraeus, he adopts terrorism—or more precisely, terrorists adopt him. The ambitious operation his new comrades are plotting will, he’s informed, decimate the power elite and nspire revolution around the globe. Having vowed payback for war crimes that orphaned him, the devout Mahmoud accepts the mission as his jihad. His thousand-mile odyssey from war-torn Mosul to strife-ridden Athens and part way back tests his metal, his wits, and his abiding faith. You’ll find memorable characters, tense action, straight and gay romance, ideological and other altercations, and ingenious improvisations in both the real and virtual worlds in this gripping, one-of-a-kind thriller. How you’ll feel about their rogue operation and its dénouement depends on who you are and what you stand for, but it could be complicated. All that Mahmoud experiences edits his articles of faith and just might edit some of yours.

A former academic widely recognized for innovations in digital mapping, Geoffrey Dutton repaired to industry as a developer, analyst and consultant, eventually settling down as a technical communicator telling computer users what they should and shouldn't do. Gnawing unease over the societal costs of high tech led him to quit the biz, whereupon he unlearned expository style and essayed to deconstruct the digital mindset. Over the last six years he has littered the Net with 400 articles, essays, stories and memoirs, most notably at CounterPunch, Medium, and Progressive Pilgrim Review. His obsession with high-tech hi-jinks shows up on his blog progressivepilgrim.review and in a short story narrated by a grumpy malware-infested PC in Atthis Arts' anthology As Told by Things. As might be expected, Turkey Shoot--his first completed novel--also spotlights online malfeasance. Geoff lives in the Boston burbs with his endearing and enduring spouse, their generally awesome daughter, and two overfed and under-exercised pussycats. He enjoys cooking for his family, especially with wild mushrooms that he carts home from tramps in the woods. All are quite well, thank you.