Further than Last Year

Blog No. 202

I managed to make it all the way to October before bemoaning not having anything to write about. There was that one bit in the summer, but it was part of the intro where I did come up with a topic. This week, I feel like I’ve actually got nothing. Which is strange, because it’s not like I’ve been in a hole for a week. There are certainly times when I get overwhelmed and spend my evenings searching through Kodi for old movies I forgot about. Nothing happens those weeks (other than stuff my my fave with too much junk food and the movie watching). Surprisingly, while that used to be the way I lived (though with network TV) those weeks are getting farther apart. There always seems to be something going on in my life now.

How to Become an Imprint

Blog No. 194

They say no news is good news, but that about good news? It’s still pretty good. After years of kicking at the can, growing, shrinking, and putting out Christian and my book, Adventure Worlds Press is actually a press. We’re having a big Gala event to celebrate (if you are anywhere near Windsor, you should attend) and our first official book is out last book, but now official. It’s also different too, so how’s that for confusing? Before I explain, I want to go back to a place I’ve talked about many times before.

Shocking

Blog No. 184

What the heck London Ontario? Seriously. No banks are open on Saturday? Only one, but it’s on the far side of the city? Who does that help? What do business do if they run out of change? What is a person who is running a table at an event supposed to do if he runs out of change? What is this, the 90s? Is it just a London thing, or is it weird that Windsor banks are open Saturdays? I’m blown away. Of all the things that happened last weekend, that one was the most shocking—and I was at an event called Shock Stock.

Last week I did a split post about going to Shock Stock and being in a commercial. I thought it would be good to write about both of the major things happening to me. I figured I could just do this one as s split post too, but now that I’m back, it may be better to just stick with one and leave the other for the next post. Which is what I’m doing, right now. Since I’ve already started with my rant on London banks, I may as well stick with the convention.

Working in Coffee Shops

Blog No. 182

There is a running gag on the internet and television about people with MacBooks in coffee shops. It’s funny. The idea is that people are more interested in being seen than in actually doing work. Which is sometimes the case. Coffee shops and cafes are often filled with people either getting a quick lunch, enjoying a slow coffee, or the other thing. I’ve been in many places where nearly every table is beset by a laptop wielding individual (one per table). It doesn’t matter if it’s a Starbucks or local establishment. The coffee shop is a place to be.

London Nerves

Blog No. 181

One of the banner images at the top of my page (the ones that change when you reload it) is a snow-scape taken from the balcony of my tiny apartment when I was living in London Ontario. It was several years ago now, and I was only there for eight months for school, but it was a very formative time in my life, so it’s really stuck with me. I even talk to people like I know London like the back of my hand, but, while I’m acquainted with the place, I realize I will never know it like someone who was born there or lives there. Still, I have the lay of the land and a few potent memories that stick out above the jumbled mess in my head.

Choo, Choo

Blog No. 179

All my April events are done and it was quite a ride. I’m shocked at how three little events, two of which I didn’t have any part in planning, can be so hectic. It’s only five days after the last event and the first one seems years in the past. The relentless cold and surprising number of attendants of the Fogolar Flea Market is a fading memory. Thankfully I have the pictures to rely go back to. The excitement and nervousness from the Phog reading, my second reading ever, is a fading shadow in the light of this moment. The reading at the Essex Railway Station is still fresh, but every moment, the details slip further into obscurity.

200 is a Wonderful Number

Blog No. 175

Clearly since this is my 175^th post, the 200 doesn’t refer to this blog. That said, 175 posts is not bad (and rather close to that other wonderful number). As should be clear by now (given the topic of my last bunch of blogs) in January No Light Tomorrow was release. It is my first book and Christian’s second. It was a lot of hard work and took a super long time to make. We’ve been promoting it like crazy, starting with the launch, hitting some comic-cons, signing at some signings, and we have a bunch more on the way. So far, as of this week, we have currently sold over 200 books. Considering we started with an initial run of 500 (and we’ve given away a few to family, etc) that’s a heck of a start for three months.

Unintentional March Break

Blog No. 174

Last week we a flurry of activity coming of the super successful weekend Christian and had, everything was moving forward—until it wasn’t. I’m not sure how it happened. (I’m never quite sure how it happens). For some reason, I just stopped working. Progress was good, spirits were high, the intentions were there, then (poof) nothing. It seems to be a disturbing trend. Whenever I’m feeling good, or successful, I totally slack off and throw it all to the winds. It’s not a conscious thing, there are just a lot of video games I want to play and TV I need to watch. If I add on real responsibilities to that, nothing gets done and I have only a few thousand words to show for all that time.

Daylight Saving Time is a Jerk

Blog No. 173

Daylight savings sucks. What the heck world (or at least countries who follow the archaic rule). There has been study after study about how daylight savings is a bad thing. Productivity goes down, accidents go up, people are inevitably late (or early depending on the season) and sleep cycles are put out of whack for weeks if not longer. It costs money and I believe it shortens people’s lives. And for what? An extra hour of sunlight? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for that sunlight, but at what cost? Besides, it’s already been figured out that we’d get the benefits of the time shift all year. So why only do it in the summer? Let’s make this switch our last and stay at the hour ahead forever.

The Weekend of Firsts

Blog No. 172

A few years ago (as documented in the deep bowels of this blog) I worked at Chapters. Initially, it was a love affair for the ages. Raises came quickly, the people were great, and I was surrounded by books. For a university list student, it was great. Eventually, all things must end, and my time at Chapters did just that. I moved on and (a little while later) started down the road of writing, perusing my dream of becoming a working writer, free from the shackles of any job, be it book based or otherwise.

During my time at Chapters, there were a few things that constantly ran through my mind. Gee, some of these books are terrible, how did they get published? Even I can write something that bad. Why aren’t I writing? And the big, Wow, some of these authors who come in to do singings are just people. I’m people. Why not me? There were other thoughts, but they mostly revolved around lunch and when my next break was. The pertinent ones are those first italicised thoughts. In January, a few years after leaving Chapters, I fulfilled the first of those quests. My book was published (by Christian and me) and it was put on the shelf in Chapters. Now, Saturday in fact (from 1pm to 4pm to be precise) I will be doing my first Chapter signing.