Blog Post No. 496
There are only four more weeks until I reach 500 posts on this site. I’m still working on what that will exactly look like (without it being way too long). In the mean time, I’ve been hard at work cajoling friends to write guest posts for me to fill in the gap from now until the big day (which is June 23rd if you want to mark it in your calendars). I asked the guest bloggers to write about working with me and/or this blog, but I tried to leave the subject open enough in case they came up with something a little different. I also pointed out that I’m open for them to be less than favourable, but I mostly said that to appear to be gracious.
Up next week, you’re getting a post from Justin Cantello. I’ve known him since we were both youths studying journalism in college. He offered me his ticket to see Finger Eleven at the student centre since he couldn’t go. Our entire relationship has been a mirror of that first encounter. Him being super generous and supportive and me trying desperately to not take advantage of it. He was one of the founding members of Adventure Worlds Press back when it was just a shared site for authors trying to learn how to write by posting short stories. I’ve counted on his enthusiasm, critiques, and his unique perspective on storytelling since the beginning. Also, the all the times he and I spent talking shop over a coffee.
The following week will have a post from Brittni Brinn. I met Brittni years ago through my day job. She was big in the local theater scene and since a fair bit of that happened where I work, I had the pleasure of getting to know her. (I even worked her wedding). It’s a tossup on who’s nicer between Brittni and Justin. I’d hate to be caught in that crossfire. What’s certain is that as an author who writes science fiction, like I do, Brittni has a totally different perspective. In working with her (doing edits for each other and asking for opinions at writing sessions) I’ve been greatly inspired by her creativity and her far superior understanding of modern culture. I’m deeply saddened that she moved so far away, but thanks to modern technology, she and I are still able to keep in touch and help each other out.
Finally, you’re going to get a post from Christian Laforet. I’m not sure how I managed to convince him to write something for a lowly post like mine. Since he adopted the pseudonym C.M. Forest, he’s rocketed to super stardom with his newly released horror novella and novel. Out of all the guest writers, he’s probably the one I’ve spent the most time with (and he definitely has the most dirt on me). If any of them actually gets critical, he’s going to be the one. Sadly, I haven’t been able to join him on his current adventures, but I hope that he and I will be able to get back to our regular writing meet-ups, road trips to conventions, and overnights in sketchy hotels soon.
After you get the pleasure to hear from those three fantastic writers (and friends) I have to somehow follow it up with the much anticipated (and super important for the future of humanity) 500th post. I’ve been writing regularly on this blog since 2013, for some reason, and number 500 feels like a big milestone. I’m sure by the time I get to 1000, I’ll feel silly about making anything of 500 posts, but for today, I’m giving it my all. Look forward to those guest posts in the next few weeks and if you like what you see, you should follow the links to their own websites.
Ben Van Dongen 