Well, it's that time of year. The best time of year. Leaves aflush with colour, dry and crackling at the curbside. Bare branches. Woodsmoke. And pumpkin-flavoured everything. Yes, I'm one of those people.
Hurray for fall!
So, here's a few things going on in my world:
Book Promo
First, for the remainder of October (possibly into November if I'm too lazy to change it), my books are on sale via Amazon for $5.99 apiece for the paperback and $0.99 for the ebook. It's a smoking deal. If you don't already have a copy of Wolf at the Door (the best-ever Thanksgiving werewolf story) or my latest release, It Came From the Trees and Other Violent Aberrations, go buy them. Buy many. Give them to friends as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas presents. Maybe Valentine's Day too. Why not? It's 2024.
You can find them here.
Review
Here's a fun thing: Aurealis Magazine out of Australia included a review of It Came From the Trees in its latest issue. The reviewer called it a short collection that "packed a punch - well worth a read."
Thank you, kind sir.
Here's a link to Aurealis.
Read their stuff. It's good.
That Witch Whispers
In September, Victoria, B.C.-based publisher Black Cat Books released their second anthology That Witch Whispers. Publisher Shanon Sinn went in a cool direction for this one, gathering a baker's dozen of B.C.-based authors who write in the spec-fiction/horror/supernatural realm and having each write their own witch-themed tale set in supernatural British Columbia.
My story, "The Lighthouse Keeper", is featured in the collection. It's a dark fairy tale about two boys who wash ashore on a rocky lighthouse island in B.C.'s Hecate Strait during the Klondike Rush. What they discover there is ... well, you have to read it for yourself. I'll say this: the story draws heavily on plotlines from Hansel and Gretel, and is really a story about coming of age. While on the surface it appears to be one about establishing agency, I'd make the point it's more about boyhood ignorance and overlooking sage advice at your peril. Give it a read. It's all in the ending, as any short story should be ;)
And a shout-out to editors Zoe McKenna, Joshua Gillingham and my fellow authors (SM Beiko, Delani Valin, Jade Greive, Emily Osborne, Lor Gislason, Drea Laj, Haley Healey, Kendall Bizentran, KT Wagner, Recla Ker, Colleen Anderson, Shanon Sinn) - all the work in the book is a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed reading my author copy.
What I'm Working On
I'm currently balancing between a number of writing-related projects: editing some work, trying to get back to editing the manuscript for a fantasy novel I finished in 2021 that's been sitting in a drawer, working on a screenplay and a research paper for my MA.
The screenplay. I had a dream six weeks ago I was in the Home Alone house, except it was Halloween. I woke up the following morning with an idea: what if Kevin came home in his forties at Halloween and had to housesit for his mom? And what if, on Halloween night, the ghosts of Harry and Marv came back to take one last crack at the kid that got them tossed into prison twice? And what if Kevin never dealt with his childhood trauma?
So, I started writing that screenplay. I haven't written work for the screen since I was in university so I really don't know what I'm doing. It's probably all a waste of time anyway, but I can tell you it has come together very easily and has been a lot of fun. So, not a waste of time, turns out. Basically, it's Home Alone meets Evil Dead. I'm hoping to have it wrapped in the next few weeks and then have it cycle through a few close friends for feedback. If I'm being honest, I mostly started writing it to get me back in the habit after a couple false starts with short stories over the summer.
Currently Reading/Watching
Currently reading:
Needful Things, Stephen King (fun, cosy, classic King for this Constant Reader)
The Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson (not a huge sci-fi reader but dove in after a friend recommended it. I also recommend it)
The Klondike Detective, Bruce L. Willis (picked this up on the fly in a bookstore in Whitehorse. Only partially in.)
The Castle in the Attic, Elizabeth Winthrop (reading to my youngest daughter. This is THE book that made me a reader when I was a kid. Amazing to go back to it)
Currently watching:
The Lord of the Rings - the Rings of Power (love it)
Only Murders in the Building S4 (also, love it)
Frasier S2 (the new one, really good)
The Penguin (one episode in, it's solid)
Movie-wise, we're well into horror season. The new Salem's Lot is good, check it out. I watched the Friday the 13th series 1-8. I think the first, sixth and seventh are my favourites. On to the Nightmare on Elm Street series. I'm through the first three. No knock on Jason Voorhees here, but the Freddy movies are a notch above his slasher counterpart: more imaginative, better effects, better acting and plotlines.
Recent interviews
I joined Jeff Lippman recently on his podcast the Garden of Doom. We had an excellent time. Great guy.
Check it out here.
Last week, I had a chance to sit down with Miss Liz for her podcast Teatime and have a long chat about life, writing, what gets me up and keeps us going. We got downright philosophical. It was fantastic to speak with a fellow Canadian about my craft and share ideas about our place in the world.
You can find that podcast here.
That's it for now. We'll catch up in November.
Oh, one more thing, here's my sweet new zombie mask for this year's trick or treating (kids don't love it, which just means it passed the smell test)
Happy Halloween!
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