After the Event

Blog no. 164

That went well. No sarcasm needed. The book launch last Saturday was a smashing success. Before I delve into it, very special thanks to Phog Lounge, Brendan Friel, and Justin Cantelo for being part of the event. Also, to all the people who came out to celebrate No Light with us. We moved a bunch of books and packed the house. As far as book launches/readings/concerts go, that was the best one I’ve been to (and I was part of it).

The whole thing went by at super speed, like when you fast forward a VHS tape. In my mind there were even the blur lines. I suppose I’m not the first person to pour so much time and effort (and worry) into something to have it flash by. I hardly even got to hear Brendan play (which is tragic because he’s great). Between kind of shared MC guy, fretting over my reading, making sure the merch table was set, shaking hands, and signing books, being in the moment was tough. There are a few stand out memories I will cherish (for as long as my memory holds out), but so much more that I’ve relived through the accounts of others.

2016

Blog No. 163

I did it! I didn’t think I would, but I did! For all of 2015, another whole year, I put up a blog post every week. That’s three years running now with only one flub (back in 2013 I missed a Thursday and the post went up on the Saturday). I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty impressed with myself. It’s not a feat that everyone achieves. Not everyone wants to achieve such a dream, but some do, and I did.

Christmas Miracle

Blog No. 161

So Christmas Eve happens to fall on my post date. How about that? Because of the assumed busyness everyone is experiencing (I hope) I’ll keep it short and sweet.

Over the last few months, I’ve been working very hard (though not as hard as I could be working I suppose). The stories for No Light Tomorrow were written, but the process of taking the first drafts and putting them into a finished book is long and harrowing. Editing took its toll. It’s not always easy to be shown your mistakes over and over again, but it ends up with much cleaner stories. We went through a few layers of editing, culminating with sending the stories away to a professional who took our carefully written and rewritten stories and shredded them. They were fixed and a last loving look from Christian for my stories, and me for his, brought them to their final versions.

When they were finally done, the layout began. While I have limited experience, I wasn’t ready for what awaited me. Reading tutorials, searching for how to’s, and trial and error eventually ended in a final layout. Sending that layout to the printers resulted in having to make changes, but after learning what I had, it wasn’t as big a job.

After that, we were done. The proofs came back, some last minute changes were made (including some oversights that we just missed).

Now the book is in their hands. We expect to get it in the New Year and we’ve already planned a release event for January 9^th.

It was a long year and things are just getting started. There is a lot more to do in the coming months to bring me to a place where I’ll be happy as a writer. Besides the readings and conventions, more stories, more books, and more editing awaits for me.

But for now, I’m proud to show you the cover of No Light Tomorrow. Sales start January 9^th in soft cover and ebook. There will be links to follow, but I hope the cover will entice you to give it a read.

Thanks for all the support this year. I’m looking forward to keep things going next year too. Have a wonderful day wherever you are and whatever you’re celebrating or not!

Zine 005

Blog No. 150

I know some people (out of the few who read this) are probably tired of hearing about the Zines all the time. They are a flimsy little booklet akin to what high school students create to prove they aren’t part of the system (or whatever). While they may not be anything spectacular, they are a really cool thing to have and make, so for the time being, we are staying the course and Zine 005 is here. We still have to distribute it, but they will be printed and ready to go as of Friday. Out of all the ones we have done so far, this one is my favourite.

This one is starting to garner a bit of a history. As stated before, this year our plan was to print four Zines on a quarterly basis. The first one came out in March and the second in June. That meant that this one was scheduled for September.

“But wait.” You may be saying to yourself. “It’s October. What happened?”

Some Random Updates

Blog No. 147

Things are moving quickly in the Adventure Worlds sphere. (adventureworldsblog.com) From the outside it sometimes seems like everything is at a crawl, but there is a lot going on under the surface that is keeping everyone busy.

No Light Tomorrow (the collection) is still in progress. We are up to our elbows in plans, communications, and searches. It is in the hands of an editor at the moment, so we are in a holding pattern. This will be the first time I work with a professional editor and the first time Christian works with an independent editor, so that’s very exciting, but a bit nerve-wracking. We have been working on the collection since last year, changing it, editing it, shaping the stories. The thought that someone I haven’t met could point out things that will make us do major rewrites is daunting. For now we are in a holding pattern, waiting for the shoe to drop. In the mean time we’ve been planning a big release event with some very special people, hunting for a printer (one who could possibly achieve the outcome we want without too much cost or stress), and brainstorming things that have grown well beyond the scope of the one small collection. We are even thinking about future or regular events for not only No Light, but everything we do and with the other local artists we work with.

And Other Things

Blog No. 146

Here we are on another Thursday and I have another Blog post to do. This week was one of those weeks where I totally forgot that the blog existed until Tuesday then I fumbled around for an idea ultimately not coming up with anything good. The sad part is (as it usually the case) I remember coming up with an idea last week, then promptly forgetting it because I was doing something else, or couldn’t be bothered to write it down. Now I’m here, writing this, not really sure where I’m going with it. Who knows what that means (I hope good). We’ll have to hand on for the ride and see where the heck I take us.

Normally, when I sit down to write the weekly blog, I think back over what I’ve done in the past week to come up with the topic (adjusting for proper company and searching specifically for content about writing). Some weeks, looking back is a struggle—that is finding something in the past week to write about is a struggle. Often there are a bunch of usual things that get tedious to write about (therefore likely tedious to read). I generally go writing with Christian, we work on Adventure Worlds, the collection, and our novels. I can often be found at Anchor enjoying the great coffee and atmosphere when I’m not at work. There are very few days where I don’t waste time on too much television and floating around the internet. And oddly, I never seem to read enough. While my days are full, there are plenty of weeks where nothing of consequence happens.

Escape!

Blog No. 143

There I was, locked in a room with my friend and four strangers. The key was hidden somewhere beyond a locked door and we had to find the combination. We split up the room and started tearing it apart looking for clues. Nothing was spared. Tables were upturned, stools were disassembled, carpets were pulled violently away. Within minutes we had the room in shambles. Nothing was untouched. Gathering in the middle of the room, we righted a table and split all our collected items onto it, searching for patterns and connections. With the makings of a plan, some astute perception, and lots more looking, we were able to use the puzzles to unlock more clues to more puzzles. Ideas were rapidly created, attempted, and discarded, and when all hope seemed lost, we found the code to the locked room. Inside there was another lock, more clues, and no hope. Our time ran out and the game was over.

The Second Time is never the same

Blog No. 142

I am a big fan of the book Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. I wouldn’t call it my favourite, but I do like it enough to have given it two reviews on this blog in the past. It’s a fun ride that swerves sharply down memory lane. Highly praised and being adapted into a Stephen Spielberg film, I don’t really need to go into too much detail about it. The second offering from the author is called Armada. It has been out for a couple of weeks and even before it was finished, the movie rights were snatched up. Excitement has been rising since the book’s announcement shortly after the publication of Ready Player One. Everything was pointing to Armada being another fun, reference laden sci-fi story. I expected to love it, ordered it as a hard cover, and waited eagerly for it to arrive.

Novel Update 002

Blog No. 131

I know I’ve said it before, but out of high school I went into electrical engineering. I intended to get a good paying job and spend my free time writing. I had only finished one or two short stories at that time, but I was sure that all I needed to do was secure my future and the rest would fall into place. That didn’t happen and after a year and a half I was struggling to pass most of my classes. I spoke with a few classmates who were in the same boat and looking to jump ship and realized I didn’t have to go down with the ship either. I finished the semester (barely passing) and after a terrifying conversation with my parents, I went over to journalism. That venture also ended in disappointment, but through both failures I learned a lot (and made a few friends that, if I were able to do it differently, I would probably stay the course in fear of losing them). I failed on my first novel too, and like those programs, I learned a lot, even if I didn’t get out of it what I hoped.

Leaving things behind

Blog No. 130

I love the format of a short story. There is artistry in writing a really good story that fits in a small space, but feels larger than it is. All of my humble beginnings in reading and writing began with short stories, even the genre I am most drawn to, SciFi if you haven’t guessed, was proliferated through the short stories published in the magazines in the 40s and 50s (and even earlier). I’ve written about it before, so I won’t go into too much depth, but I think, even with novels being the major way to make a living as a writer, I will still find time to write short stories for the rest of my life. It’s the same with this blog, almost. I have no idea what the future of this blog, or the format that it currently is in, will be.