GenreCon 2014

This is the con that, to my mind, gets everything right. Not that other cons get everything wrong (or even most things wrong), but GenreCon has nailed it for me two years running.

First of all, it's just awesome to be asked to be a pro panelist. Second, they have far fewer hoops for me to jump through to get into the con programming. A couple of other cons have started inviting me now, and they are getting better at making the process of being a panelist less of a chore. They still have a way to go, though, before they are as friendly as GenreCon has been for me.

This year I wasn't at all sure I would make it. Finances have been bad, and I did not want to incur any further debt in order to attend. I tried raising money with a Facebook event, asking people to buy The Five Demons You Meet In Hell so I could use those funds to offset the costs. I raised about $100 this way, and got another $100 from my parents. The con staff helped me out, too - I shared a room with three of them, and got a ride to and from Guelph.

My friend and fellow author Elizabeth Mary Ann Hirst (pictured here) gave me a place to sleep Saturday night, reducing my expenses even further. I am so grateful to know such good people, and proud to call them friends.

Incidentally, Elizabeth was at the con to launch her new novel, Distant Early Warning. Click here to check it out!

I did two panels Friday night, four on Sunday, and so many on Saturday I lost count. I talked about writing, favourite books, Spider-Man, Star Wars, etc. I even joined in with a Disney sing-a-long, and got rave reviews for my rendition of Randy Newman's You Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story. Turns out I imitate him pretty well!

I was introduced to Burger Priest. They are good, but I have yet to be convinced they are better than Hero Burger. And they are not open on Sundays. :( Not cool, Burger Priest!

I sat in on some interesting panels, too, including the one about Doctor Who head writer Stephen Moffat, and the one on Orphan Black even though I've never seen the show. My good friend, fellow author and cover artist Sarah Water Raven led a panel about the joys of Tumblr, another social media platform I am slowly working my way into. We hung out and drank mead Friday night. Woo-hoo!

One panel that caught me completely off-guard was the fanfiction panel An Unconventional Ship. I figured ship meant space ship. It did not. The actual definition, in fanfic context, is adult subject matter that cannot be discussed here in this sentence. For a proper definition of shipping, please see the next paragraph.

It's about sexy boinking sex! Shipping is writing a story in which two characters from a show, comic book, anime or basically any kind of media property get together and get it awn! The only rule seems to be that you shouldn't ship two characters who are already doing it on the show/in the comic/etc. I haven't written any... well, there was that one Merlin story I did. But other than that I haven't shipped at all. Fortunately I have friends who read (and write) a lot of it, so I was able to contribute something to the discussion.

Of course, being a convention, there was only so much time I could spend with so many people I wanted to see. There were a few friends I didn't get to hang out with at all, and others I'd say a quick hello to while running back and forth between panels.

A few friends I didn't recognize at first, including the guy who turned up in a Princess Leia golden bikini. It was a while before I remembered we'd done two panels together at GenreCon last year! I didn't snap a picture of him, so here's a photo of an 8th Doctor cosplayer instead.

Incidentally, the golden bikini was the subject of a panel about the depiction of women in Star Wars. I wasn't scheduled to be on that panel, but a fellow panel invited me to participate. I'm glad he did; it was an important discussion.

I did a reading from 5 Demons... for one person. Jen Frankel, the author reading immediately before me, did slightly better - she had two people in attendance! One of whom was me. Author readings... there's something we need to jazz up for next year, GenreCon!

I made a few new friends, including the woman in this picture who was cosplaying a Pokemon character. I didn't know the character, I didn't catch her name, and I thought she looked like a sexier version of Bam-Bam from The Flintstones. Thus, I named her Sexy Bam-Bam. I'm clever that way.

I also met a couple who had a lot to say about Section K. Was all my stuff that... intense? Foul-mouthed? Generally unpleasant? Nope, Howard Plank & Johnny Tall are not for everyone. It was good to get that kind of feedback, though. They certainly weren't rude about it. Section K simply wasn't what they were expecting, given that I'm mainly a YA author.

Back home, the usual post-con depression sank its claws deep into my soul. Fortunately, a case of con-flu did not come with it. GenreCon was fantastic fun, just like the last one. I hope that when next year's con comes, I'll have a new book to launch and/or promote.

I'd better get busy.

Really Awesome Title

Wow, it has been a long time, hasn't it? There are all sorts of reasons why I just couldn't get back on track with this blog, and I don't intend to list them all here. Basically, I'm still doing ok, and I'm still writing!

I went to Can-Con two weeks ago, and plan to write a post about that as soon as I am able. This weekend I'm off to GenreCon, and am very excited to be doing so. And, if all goes well today and tomorrow, I'll have a new temp job lined up this coming Monday. SFContario is also in my very near future. I will have a lot to write about!

I'm glad I jumped in and posted this. Good for me!

My 2013 Post

So, 2013. Time to look back on it. And for the purposes of blogging, time to reflect on what was good or great about last year, and express positive hopes about the year just begun. Very important not to dwell on the bad stuff, as that would be Unprofessional and No Fun To Read, and just plain WRONG. It might get Too Personal, and nobody really wants that.

Except, I always try to tell the truth on this blog. Or at least, I always want to. I've whitewashed events or glossed over hurts for fear that it would Reveal Too Much, and Drive Readers Away. This blog's main goal is to attract new readers to my work, and to entertain and involve current readers in what I'm up to. It should not be about my personal life, unless it is to mark a positive occasion, or has something to do with my cats.

Everyone loves cat pictures.

But, regardless of what I Should or Should Not say in this blog, I'm going to discuss 2013 for what it was. I suffer from Depression, so even the negative events are positives when you consider that I got through them.

So, what was 2013 for me?

It was the year I landed a decent temp assignment, one that kept the bills paid from January through to June. For the first half of the year, Violet and I had financial stability. The company I worked for liked me so much that they kept me on when one contract ended, then extended my contract two more times. I was well liked by the people I worked with... except for just one person.

It was the year I failed, yet again, to deal with a workplace bully. I stood up to that bully, which for me is huge, but that didn't make things any better. I consider this a personal failure because I wasn't able to brush off this bully's behaviour as the antics of an insecure person. I couldn't just "not be bothered" by this person. I took it personally, I felt weak, and I couldn't rise above it. I still can't.

It was the year I finally qualified for Employment Insurance! That helped tremendously, because I couldn't find any more work until just recently. Job searching continues to be a hard and painful struggle for me. EI allowed us to survive the lean summer and fall months while we dished out resume after resume into the void.

It was the year Violet graduated from George Brown College with a diploma in Graphic Design! Very, very proud of her. This is a huge step forward for her career. My parents came up from Ottawa to be there for the graduation ceremony, and took us out to dinner afterward. Splendid days!

I finished the first draft of a new novel that I feel extremely positive about. I call it I'm So Goddamn Sick of Vampires. I still have to edit it quite a bit, but it is a good story and breaks new ground for me as an author. I also wrote a couple of new short stories, continued working on a Cupid War spinoff I'd started but abandoned in 2011, began a new Doctor Who fanfiction story, and wrote the first 3rd of a new YA Horror Comedy as well.

One of those new short stories had been written specifically for an anthology, following encouragement that I interpreted as a request from the anthology's editors. They turned it down. Second time that’s happened to me. Third, actually, if you count the time a magazine asked me to rewrite a story from a different character’s point of view and then turned that version down, too. That was a kick in the balls. Nevertheless I'm proud of that story, and Violet said it was one of my best.

I wrote numerous articles for Toronto.com. It was a great experience, and gave me a new perspective on professional article writing. For one article, I interviewed two of my co-workers for information on wedding venues. It was a fun experience that I enjoyed tremendously, and the pay was decent, too!

Then, the former editor returned and made some policy changes. One such change was to reduce the fee for articles by half. I decided my writing is still worth the same as before, so I haven't accepted any new assignments from them. A shame. It was great while it lasted.

Doctor Who celebrated its 50th Anniversary! As a big fan of the show, this was a big deal for me. The anniversary special, The Day of The Doctor, did not disappoint, and it was fun having it to look forward to all year.

I attended four conventions this year: Ad Astra, GenreCon, SFContario and Reversed Polarity. GenreCon was especially important for me, for two reasons. One, it wasn't in Toronto; the decision to do a con in Guelph was a big one for me. Two, I was asked by the organizers to come and be a part of the programming. What an honour! That meant so much to me.

I haven't written about my experiences at SFContario this year, or the panel I did at Reversed Polarity. Both were fun experiences, and both presented new challenges. I didn't write posts about those cons, or any posts since November, for reasons I will make clear momentarily.

It was the year I released a new novel, The Five Demons You Meet In Hell! I self-published the book through Smashwords, and it is my second attempt to break into the ebook market (Closets was the first). A good friend of mine, Sarah Water Raven, did a spectacular cover for me, and made me flyers that I handed out at my last three conventions. It was great to get back into the game once more, and with all the promotion I was giving it through my social media sites, I was certain it would be a success!

It wasn't. Or, to be slightly less negative, it hasn't been a success yet. From the day I released it, November 13, until today, I have sold exactly nine copies.

Nine.

9.

I haven’t even been able to break into double digits.

What, I’ve been asking myself, have I been doing wrong? Promoted it at conventions with flyers? Check. Even did a reading from it at GenreCon. Promoted it on the blog? Check. On Facebook? Checkity-check. Fan page and everything. Twitter, too. I have over 1,000 followers on Twitter, and nearly 1,500 Facebook Friends. That’s a lot, isn’t it? And I did special deals, like dropping the price to 99 cents on Black Friday. I figured I’d have sold at least 100 copies by now.

But I haven’t. I’ve sold nine.

NINE.

What. The. Fuck?

I did not take this disappointment well. I went into a serious funk, what many would call ‘Feeling Sorry For Myself’ but a select few would acknowledge as ‘A Depressed Person Dealing With Bad News’. I stopped blogging, withdrew even further from social activities, didn’t even bother to plan my birthday party until the last minute. And on a few dark days, I thought of suicide once more. Not terribly seriously, and never with intent, but always with a strong desire to just Stop. It seemed as if all my efforts, all my hard work, simply hadn’t paid off, and the future did not look bright at all.

I got through it. I always do, with friends and family helping me. I’m feeling better about things, and putting the poor sales of 5 Demons into a different perspective. It’s not the final crashing and burning of my writing career; rather, it is just another learning experience along the way. The book hasn’t had any reviews yet; my next goal is to get some. And, of course, to keep producing output.

So, 2014. Resolutions? Nah. Not unless I can think of some funny ones. What I will do is keep writing, keep going, keep believing in a future where that payoff comes.

And right now, I do believe.

Today is a good day.

GenreCon Part 3: Sunday

Those who know me well can tell you I'm not much of a 'party person'. I rarely drink alcohol but when I do, I limit myself to a single beer or cider. I have a very low tolerance for alcohol (Violet calls me a cheap date), and I'd rather spend my money on other stuff. Plus, I'm the guy who leaves the party early. I get tired, I start feeling anxious, and I'm not fond of the long trip home (especially if there's a bus involved, one that stops running at 1 AM).

How, then, do I explain the partying I partook in Saturday night at the con? Well, that's easy. The con organizers supplied the drinks for the room parties, and my own room was only three doors away. No bus schedule to keep, no need to fret over finances. And the anxiety? Still there, but I didn't let it stop me.

I got drunk. Pleasantly drunk. I did not get wasted. Nor did I get tanked. Nor, I hasten to add, did I get smashed, plastered or hammered. Other people did (or so I heard), and paid a terrible price that involved barfing. Booze can be a harsh mistress. Nevertheless, I offer my thanks to the organizers of GenreCon for providing so much of it.

I had shots. With whipped cream in them! Yum. Made some new friends, got to know some current friends better. Then I got a little flirty... it was probably for the best that I packed it in and went to bed when I did. It was four AM by that point, and I had a lot to do in the morning.

Check out time for hotels is 11 AM. I had a panel at ten, which meant I had to be packed up and out of the room before then. And, I was not going to spend another $20 on breakfast; I would find the nearest Tim Horton's instead.

Which meant I had to be up and with it by nine at the latest. In fact, I rose at eight. I need time to get my shit together in the mornings, and I hate to rush. I made myself presentable and went out into the cool, foggy morning air, and twenty minutes later I had my tea, a bagel, and a box of Timbits to share. Life was good.

Checked out. Luggage stowed. Tea savoured. Bagen eaten. Time for my panel, Self-Publishing in the Age of the Internet with Elizabeth Hirst and Sarah Water Raven. Considering it was 10 AM on a con Sunday morning, attendance was very decent. The panel went well, and I learned a lot of important stuff about ebook publishing. Afterward Sarah and I went for Thai food, and got back in time for a panel about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At that point, my lack of sleep had begun to catch up with me.

My Pacific Rim panel could have gone better. Ryan Consell and I had a large audience, but five minutes in I realized I'd forgotten pretty much everything about the film. I remembered there were giant robots fighting giant monsters, and that the movie had been a lot better than that premise would suggest. And I think I repeated that at least three times. Fortunately Ryan had numerous beefs to pick with the movie's science, and that got a lot of discussion going. I should have done better, though. I've got to stop thinking I can simply wing a movie panel just because I've seen the film in question.

After that, the con was more or less over for me. I got more tea and did some writing, then began my numerous goodbyes. Sarah dropped me off at the Guelph University bus stop, and I was able to catch an earlier bus back to Toronto. I was sad to leave, but I was very happy to get home and see Violet and my two fuzzy boys again. And to get back on my computer and play Candy Crush. Man, had I missed that game!

Will I go to GenreCon again next year? That's certainly the plan. I hope I'll be able to report on the smash success of The Five Demons You Meet In Hell, and announce my next project. But even if I don't, I'm sure to have another good time!

GenreCon Part 2: Saturday

Where we last left off, I was about to embark on a very busy afternoon at GenreCon. Two PM had me on the panel 50 Years of Doctor Who, followed by my reading, followed by The Basics of Writing Genre, followed by my signing. At that point I'd have an hour long break, and then I'd do Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Benedict Cumberbatch at seven. Whew!

The panels were well-attended. My reading and book signing were not. Nevertheless, I had an enjoyable time. And I sold a few books! One I sold for a dollar to my new friend Tristin; he'd been to all my panels and my reading that afternoon and the previous evening, so he totally deserved it.

For the Doctor Who panel, I sat between two panelists (Paul Neale & Dalek Dreadnaught) who had insider knowledge of the upcoming 50th Year Anniversary special. It was very tempting to ask for spoilers, let me tell you! We discussed the highs and lows of the last fifty years of the show, and our hopes for the upcoming adventures of the 12th Doctor.

Sarah Water Raven joined me for my reading, and brought a bunch of kick-ass flyers for my upcoming novel The Five Demons You Meet In Hell with her. She also joined me at my table in the dealer's room for my signing, and we both sold a couple of books. These things are more fun when shared with a friend!

The Basics of Writing Genre was well-attended, at least at first. Bestselling novelist Kelley Armstrong was scheduled to be on the panel, but she'd received the wrong information and thought the panel was on Sunday! When it was clear she wasn't coming, a few of her fans got up and left. The room was still 3/4ths full, however, and aspiring novelist Ed Mochrie and I rose to the occasion. It was Ed's first panel ever, too. Like, ever! Gosh, I remember what that was like, way back in the spring of 2006's Ad Astra. Ed brought a lot to the table, and we had a very good discussion with our audience.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Benedict Cumberbatch wouldn't have kept my wife Violet entertained for very long; most of the discussion was about the movie Star Trek Into Darkness, and not Benedict himself. Corrina McGill, Cory Albrecht and I talked about the film's strengths and flaws, of which there were many. A good friend of mine was kind enough to sit down with me a week or two back and list those flaws in alphabetical order, so I had plenty of material to draw upon. The majority of the audience (and panelists) seemed to have loved the film as much as I did, however, so a lot of that material was glossed over.

After the Star Trek panel, I headed to the hotel's restaurant with friends for dinner. The place was expensive but convenient, and the staff was just wonderful. One of the servers wore a suit identical to that of the 10th Doctor (by sheer coincidence!), and another one bought a copy of Section K.

The evening was very interesting; there was a dance, an epic card game, and room parties. And did I mention the genre-themed drinks? I had a TARDIS, vodka and some kind of blue juice that was quite yummy. Corrine invited me to the Cards Against Humanity game, and I volunteered to be a judge. The object of the game was to answer questions as rudely, inappropriately, or just plain horribly as possible using a selection of cards inscribed with various things. Hmm, I'm not explaining that very well... let me put it like this: in your selection of cards, you might have one that says kitten and another that says sandwich spread, and you might use them together if you got a fill-in-the-blank question like "A ______ makes a very good _______." Or you might use a card that says an adorable two-month-old baby with the question "What did you eat for breakfast?" Get the picture? And will you ever be able to get that picture out of your head? Sorry about that. Anyway, I took to the game like a butcher knife to a puppy's face - I just sank right in! Ooh, whoops. Did it again! I'm so evil.

And then, the fire alarm went off. Every hotel guest was evacuated to the parking lot, including all convention attendees and one very angry wedding party! They put forward their theories as to who was responsible for disrupting their happy nuptials, and came to two possible conclusions: the alarm had been triggered either by "some faggit" or "one of them cosplayers." Tempers ran hot, even though the temperature outside was very cold. I wished for my jacket, but I was one of the lucky ones - more than a few cosplayers were clad in little more than decorative underwear! The hotel staff moved us four times around the parking lot while the firefighters did their jobs, and we were finally allowed back in when the cause of the fire had been discovered a half-hour later. Turns out someone from the wedding party had lit a cigarette inside the hotel and set off the smoke detectors. Naturally, no apology was offered.

I missed my midnight panel on fanfiction due to the 'fire', so my programming responsibilities were finished for that day. I might have packed it in and gone to bed, but it turned out my night was just beginning...

GenreCon Part 3: Sunday Coming Soon!

GenreCon Part 1: Friday

I feel like I'm repeating myself whenever I talk about my experiences at Fandom conventions. I always say that I had enormous fun, felt like I belonged, and was sad to leave at the end. That would be because it's always true. GenreCon was yet another fulfilling experience for me, and I learned a lot of great stuff in the bargain.

For example, did you know that iron is probably the worst metal you could use to construct giant robots with? Pacific Rim got that wrong! And the current level of human technology does not have the ability to detect gravitron waves that may be increasing the mass of our planet. Tsk, tsk, Man of Steel! I also learned valuable information about publishing and selling ebooks, invaluable knowledge given my current writing career plans.

Friday was slow, an evening of settling in. I had no trouble getting to Guelph; I even got the driver to let me off a stop early at the university, practically next door to the Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre! Lots of time and a taxi fare saved there! I checked in, registered, and dumped my stuff in my room, then set out to find my friends. And a cup of tea. I didn't worry about supper; I brought a couple of sandwiches to further cut down on my expenses.

My first panel was about the recent Superman movie, Man of Steel. My fellow panelist was Ryan Consell, a splendid chap with a mind for science who looks almost identical to the 10th Doctor. We had only two people in attendance, a bit disappointing considering how prepared I was. Nevertheless we had a good chat about the Superman films in general and the science mistakes in Man of Steel in particular, and generally had a good time.

I got the timing wrong for my next panel, the one on Geek Cliques. I showed up an hour early, and ended up participating in the panel on Canadian content in genre fiction with Jennifer Bickley and my friend and fellow author Elizabeth Mary Ann Hirst. We got some heated debates going, which is what you always hope for in a panel. Attendance was better, too - at least six people - and most of them stuck around for Geek Cliques afterward. Strong emotions were incurred as fellow panelists Corrina McGill, Michael Scott and I discussed the exclusion of unpopular fandoms, fandom hierarchies, and the concept of the 'fake geek girl'. In the end we came to two very noble conclusions: 1. all forms of prejudice or perceived superiority have no place in fandom; and 2. Twilight fans suck. ;)

Next I attended a reading by my good friend and cover artist for The Five Demons You Meet In Hell, Sarah Water Raven. Only a couple of people turned up; Friday nights, it would seem, really aren't very good for programming. Nevertheless we made the most of it; Sarah read from her novel Detective Docherty and the Demon's Tears, and I remember a lively discussion about killing characters in creative ways. Sarah and I went for a drink afterward, as this photo blurrily depicts.

I slept well, and treated myself to room service breakfast Saturday morning. It was expensive, but I could not resist the allure of bacon and homefries! And, I didn't know where to go to get anything cheaper. The morning was mine to do with as I pleased, but the afternoon had me booked solid from two o'clock until eight. I wandered about, checked out the dealer's room, and made a few new friends. Then I woofed down the last of my provisions and prepared myself for action...

GenreCon Part 2: Saturday is Coming Soon!

Mid-October Update

GenreCon was a lot of fun. I'm still writing about the experience, and hope to have a post about it up within the next couple of days. I'll probably split it into three parts, like I usually do.

In the meantime, I want to let everyone know that a new review of The Cupid War has surfaced! This one's from Reads 4 Tweens, and can be read here. It's very thorough, and includes a link to Amazon. I'm lucky to have had so many wonderful reviews of my stuff, and I hope I'll have a whole bunch when I put out The Five Demons You Meet In Hell.

Speaking of which, my new novel draws closer and closer to publication. Officially it will be available on November 13th, but it looks like I'll be able to offer a preorder option! I'm going to publish it through Smashwords first, as per advice I got last weekend, and make it available for the Amazon Kindle after that.

That's it for now!

Oh, wait. One more thing...

Go and see Gravity, on the biggest screen you can find. In 3D, too. It is awesome!

Off To GenreCon!

In just under half an hour I'll be jetting out of here and on my way to Guelph to attend GenreCon. Three days of fun and hard work mixed together in such a way that the work feels like fun but the fun still feels a little bit like work. It can be very tiring, doing a con. I can't imagine the strain the con organizers go through! So here's a thank you to all those who work long hours for weeks on end to make sci/fi cons happen. Couldn't do it without you guys, quite literally! You're the best.

I've done my homework this time around. I've got material for my panels, like a couple of magazine articles and stuff I pulled from the web. I will be a more mature panelist this time around. I wish I had more to show for the FanFiction panel; I've done so very little of it. Here's a link to Happy Landings, my Doctor Who story. Maybe the panel will inspire me to write more. Or maybe I'll be inspired to write more of my own stuff!

I'm still trying to decide what to read. I've narrowed it down a lot, however. Something from The Five Demons You Meet In Hell, for sure - that's the one I want to spread the word on! If I have time, I'll probably also throw in a bit of The Cupid War.

That's it for me! I'll have a full update on the con as soon as I can.

GenreCon Next Weekend!

Next Friday, October 4th, I will travel to Guelph for my third out-of-Toronto convention! This will be another fantastic opportunity for me to promote myself to a new city's worth of sci-fi/fantasy fans.

I'm signed up for eight panels, something of a record for me. I will also be doing a reading and a signing on Saturday. Woo! That's a lot of work from me. And you all know how I feel about the 'W' word! Of course, this will be fun work. I love cons so very much.

My GenreCon Panels are as follows:

Superman: The Man of Steel - Friday, 6 PM, Terrace
Geek Cliques - Friday, 9 PM, Aberfoyle

Fifty Years of Doctor Who - Saturday, 2 PM in Terrace
My reading (Saturday, 3 PM in Elora)
The Basics of Writing Genre - Saturday, 4 PM in Terrace
My signing (Saturday, 5 PM in Dealers Room).
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Benedict Cumberbatch - Saturday 7 PM in Terrace

Fanfiction: More Than Just Bad Porn - Sunday, 12 AM (Midnight) Aberfoyle
Self-Publishing in the Age of the Internet - 10 AM (room TBA)
Pacific Rim: Robots vs. Aliens - Sunday 2 PM in Elora

Three of those panels are about recent movies, three are about writing and publishing, and one is about trends in fandom itself. The recent Star Trek and Superman movies have caused quite a bit of fandom controversy, so I'd better be prepared for some hostility (in the form of aggressive arguing). I'm always delighted to talk about writing, and the self-publishing panel will be particularly relevant for me. Pacific Rim was an awesome movie that I look forward to discussing, but I'm really excited for the Doctor Who panel (the 50th Anniversary special episode is less than two months away!). The Geek Cliques panel will bring up many tender subjects, such as the ridiculous notion of the 'fake geek girl'. Honestly, why would anybody in fandom want to exclude anybody?

Aside from all the new faces awaiting me, I will also see several good friends from cons past. For example, Sarah Water Raven, my fellow panelist at SFContario last year, will be doing a reading at 10PM in Elora Friday night and the Self-Publishing panel with me on Sunday morning. I draw specific attention to her because she is the artist who created the cover for (Big Announcement Soon!), as well as a promotional flyer. I'll display those and make the Big Announcement in another post very soon.

I still have plenty of copies of Epoch, Evil and Section K to bring. If I'm lucky, I might make back my travel and/or accommodation costs. I'm out of Cupid War copies, however; I plan to encourage fans to seek out their copies from Chapters/Indigo and Amazon.

Next weekend is going to be busy but fun. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Autumn Attitude

The summer has wound down, and fall is upon us. I'm hanging in there, trying to stay positive.

I've temporarily stopped work on Zombie Jesus Day again. For the last two weeks of August I was busy as all heck with three Toronto.com articles. Four, if you count the one they needed me to rewrite. I'm delighted I felt able to do that many articles for them. My confidence and motivation have improved. You can find those articles, and the others I've written, by clicking here.

I also wrote a new short story! It is set in the Cupid War universe, and relates directly to the spin-off novel I've been working on, I, Suicide. I'm feeling renewed enthusiasm for that project, which is why I've started work on Chapter 12 of that book instead of jumping back into ZJD. I will post that story here on the blog, but not just yet.

I'm going to attend GenreCon in October! This con is out in Guelph, which will necessitate a bus trip and a two-night hotel stay. It will be my third out-of-Toronto convention (the other two being Can Con last year and Con Cept in 2006), and I really want to do many more. My finances will have to improve before that can happen.

The first step to improving those finances would be getting a job. Finding one has been very discouraging; I look for what I want, but keep finding myself under qualified. Or over-qualified. Or they want me to be two or three different things at once. And then there are job search articles; you can find out what I think of those here.

I've been working on a new YouTube video for my channel. I haven't made one in over a year; I've had a good, fun experience getting back into the swing of it. I call it Lord of The Matrix, and I'll write a post about the making of it soon. Here's the link to the video. Enjoy!

I may not have a steady income right now, but I've had more good days than bad lately. The time off has actually been quite healing, and I'm feeling a lot more optimistic about my future.

A big announcement is coming soon. Stay tuned...