Short Stories Redux

Blog Post No. 412

While I try to get myself back into gear with editing, Christian and Brittni have been submitting short stories to collections and anthologies. That’s not all their doing, but it’s one of the things (the other things can be read about in the latest post on the Adventure Worlds Press site). I’m not going to lie. I’m a little jealous. I’m happy and excited for them. They did the work and took the risk, so they deserve it. I just wish I could say the same thing.

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.

Needing a Novel

Blog No. 133

I was in Anchor Coffee House the other day, enjoying a coffee and talking to the staff. (That place is kind of like my Cheers). I had brought in some layout designs for an ad they are putting in the June Zine (to hit shelves soon) to get their opinions, but it had been a while since I had been there, so the talk quickly turned to “What’s new?” After the pleasantries were exchanged, the topic turned to my writing. I was excited to share what I’ve been doing (as I am with any interested parties) and talked a little about the novel. The good people who work at Anchor know a bit about the other things I have and am writing (the stuff at Adventure Worlds, the Zine, and the Collection) and the question came up, why a novel.

Anniversary, Maybe Next Year

Blog No 115

Last weekend, I went to Anchor Coffee House’s first anniversary party. I was a great event and the place was filled with more people than I thought could fit in the building. Coffee was a dollar (which is why I couldn’t sleep that night) and they had a musician playing most of the day (though they usually have music on Saturdays). The little coffee shop that could had an amazing year, starting with a couple who had a passion for coffee and food, opening a place in (essentially) an industrial plaza on a highway road, and drawing coffee loves, academics, and artists (including me) into the fold. They worked hard and treated people right and had an incredibly successful first year. I was lucky to be part of both the night and the year in question.