Terry Pratchett: His Place In My Life

Two of my favourite authors are dead; Douglas Adams, and now Terry Pratchett. I should really post something about Adams’ influence on me; he got me into writing and reading. For now, though, let’s stick with Terry.

I didn’t take to Pratchett straight away. A friend gave me the first two Discworld novels, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. I found Colour hard to read, and not the laugh-fest I’d been promised (this friend knew I was an Adams fan, and assured me Pratchett was just as good). It wasn’t a novel so much as a series of episodes involving a wizzard named Rincewind, an Inn-sewer-ants salesman named Twoflower, and a very aggressive piece of walking Luggage. I made it through the book but wasn’t terribly impressed, so I didn’t bother with Light. At least, not straight away.

Two things happened that changed my mind about Pratchett’s work completely. My cousin William loaned me a book Terry had co-authored with a fellow named Neil Gaiman. I thanked him and put that book on my shelf.

The second thing that happened was a TV show called Prisoners of Gravity, a talk show with a sci-fi twist; comedian and Frantic member Rick Green interviewed genre authors on a variety of themes and topics. One such episode was on the subject of God in sci-fi and fantasy. Terry Pratchett was an interviewee, and I was impressed with his intelligence and wit. He talked about his latest Discworld novel, Small Gods, and how it related to the subject matter. I bought and read Small Gods right away, and loved it. I pulled The Light Fantastic and Good Omens off the shelf and devoured them; Light was good, but Good Omens is my favourite novel of all time.

I’d like to add here that Small Gods and Good Omens came to me at a time when I was seriously questioning the Christian faith I’d been brought up in. Those books asked similar questions, and even provided one or two answers. I didn’t immediately turn into the agnostic I am now - I was far too terrified of eternal damnation for that - but my journey to spiritual enlightenment had begun. Lucky thing I read those books when I did, eh? Quite a coincidence I came upon them when I did, at exactly the time I was ready for them. Divine intervention, perhaps? I like to think so. It makes me smile.

And so did all of Pratchett’s books I’ve read since. Except for Strata. Never could get into that one. I got used to the regulars, as it were, who appeared in the Discworld series: the Ankh-Morpork City Watch; Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlik; the Patrician, Lord Vetinary; the Wizards of Unseen University; and of course, Death. And the Death of Rats. SQUEAK. The world they inhabited - the Discworld - was a fully realized place, especially the city of Ankh-Morpork. I never wanted to end up in The Shades alone!

I got quite a kick out of his ‘children’s’ books, especially the Johnny trilogy. And I use quotes around the term ‘children’ because, well... Terry put it best when he said “people assume they are children’s books because the main characters happen to be children.” If I had decided I was too old for Johnny and the Bomb when I picked it up, I never would have learned of the danger in going down the wrong leg of the trousers of time.

Terry understood children. When he wrote them they were never marginalized or waiting for a grownup to sort things out. They were intelligent and capable. But still children.

I’m a few novels behind, so I have more Discworld (and that book he co-authored with Stephen Baxter) to look forward to. Terry will remain alive for me for a few more years while I catch up. The end will come, as it must for all of us (and all series, eventually). I can only hope I’ll leave behind a similar body of work when Death taps on my shoulder.

Writing’s a funny thing

I recently hammered out two short stories for an anthology that I would not have written if that anthology hadn’t existed. One of them was hard to write, and left me feeling very anxious about it. The other was an absolute joy that had me giggling madly and praising my considerable genius.

I did 8 chapters of a new novel, only to put it on hold so I could write those stories. I thought that maybe it wasn’t a story worth telling, but I’d started Chapter 9 and wanted to at least get that done. The interaction between two characters in that chapter created a wonderful moral dilemma and convinced me the book needs to be written. I’m now on to Chapter 10.

It’s nice to know that, nearly 30 years later, the writing process can continue to surprise me.

Apoca-Lynn: Genysys

My 2nd attempt at self-publishing success is a tale of love gone terribly, terribly wrong. I originally wanted to release this story on Valentine’s Day to take advantage of the dramatic irony, but April Fool’s Day will have to do.

Brief synopsis:
Bill O'Lannerman didn't know what he was getting into when he started dating a psychic named Lynn Woodslink. Childish, self-centred and kinda nuts, Lynn can read his every thought and move solid objects with her mind. When he broke up with her, she used those powers to put him in a world of pain. Aided by a club of spellcasting gamers, Bill struggles to survive the fury of his girlfriend scorned.

I had the inspiration for this story after watching a turkey turd of a movie called My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson, it was about a guy who dates and then breaks up with a superhero named G-Girl. She uses her powers to take revenge on him, smashing his house, boiling his fish, putting his car into orbit, etc... until he finally apologizes for hurting her feelings. It rubbed me the wrong way - why was he apologizing to her?!?

Sure, it was just a movie, and a comedy to boot (just not a funny one). But it got to me, especially when I read some of the women-written reviews. They seemed to think it was a good thing when Uma’s character repeatedly smashed through the roof of his house. And when she threw a live great white shark at him? You go girl! If only all women everywhere could throw sharks at their exes. Wouldn’t that be great?!?

I didn’t think so, for personal reasons. I once asked a woman out to the movies, on what I assumed was a date. She emailed me back to inquire about showtimes, then added, “but don’t get your hopes up, because I already have a boyfriend!” I was upset - I’d thought I’d been pretty clear I was asking her out, and I thought the “don’t get your hopes up” bit was rather arrogant. I didn’t respond, and two days later I got another email from her. My lack of response had pissed her off, and she let me know it in colourful detail before signing off with “I guess all men really do want just one thing!”

Now I was pissed. I called a mutual friend to bitch about it, and he told me everything would be okay once I apologized to her.
Wait, what? She insulted me, I pointed out, and I have to say sorry to her?!? Yeah, my friend told me. You didn’t respond to her email, and that hurt her feelings.

So when I saw a movie in which a guy had to apologize to the woman who’d thrown a shark at him because he’d hurt her feelings? Yeah, it struck a nerve. I wanted to create a story similar to Super-Ex - a guy breaks up with a girl with superpowers, and she punishes him with those powers - but I wanted to tell it my way. And hopefully made a point or two about the way pop culture views male-female relationships. Apoca-Lynn is the result.

Yes, I’m aware that, oppression-wise, women have been given the short end of the proverbial stick for centuries. Yes, I know the media often portrays women and girls as sex objects with unrealistically thin bodies. I am a feminist, and view sexism as an evil that society should have grown out of by now.

But that doesn’t mean I should have to apologize to someone who hurt/insulted me. I think that holds true for all genders.

Of course, just because it touches upon some serious issues, don’t go thinking that Apoca-Lynn is some deep, message-laden manifesto! There are jokes aplenty, more per square inch of page than Evil & The Cupid War. It’s my favourite genre - far-fetched YA - and I’m in my element. It’s also a 1st person POV, a choice that was easy to make for this story. As with Evil?, it just fits.

I have high hopes for Apoca-Lynn. I’ve already started writing a sequel, Armagge-Dawn. If all goes well, I’ll have that one done and up on Smashwords in a year, maybe a year and a half. For now, enjoy this first Bill O’Lannerman tall tale. Here's the link for pre-sales - may it fill you with mirth. Unless of course you don’t find that sort of thing funny. That would be unfortunate, but don’t expect an apology.

New Business, Part 2

That business plan I was all fired up about last year? Not really working out. I finished a book in my new shared universe and started another, Zombie Jesus Day (ZJD), with plans to keep going while putting other projects aside.

Instead, I’ve spent the last several months working on I, Suicide (a spinoff novel from The Cupid War) and a Doctor Who fanfiction story. I, Suicide will be a hard sell, and I can’t make any money at all from fanfiction! What happened to the great plan?

What the hell went wrong?

Basically, I kept giving priority to other projects. A lot of those projects were articles for Toronto.com. Those had to take priority because they had deadlines. And they paid. In money. There was also a short story I wrote for an anthology (they rejected it). Each time one of those came up, ZJD had to be put on hold.

Then, when I was typing up what I had of ZJD, I had to have another project to work on during the day (see this post here for more details). I picked up I, Suicide again, and discovered I had a passion for that story once more. And when I was typing up the new chapters of I, Suicide, I tried to get back into ZJD. Only I couldn’t. I’d lost the mojo for it. I ended up doing an I, Suicide short story instead, and picked up the thread of a Section K story (the one with the chocolate zombies, mentioned in my last post), and got into the afore-mentioned fanfic.

So, what’s the plan now? Finish I, Suicide and the Section K story, then see about picking ZJD back up once more. Then start a new novel in the ZJD world.

Unless... you know, stuff happens.

Ad Astra 2013

As always, I had a fantastic time at this year's Ad Astra convention. Saw good friends, sold some books, did some panels and spent some money on stuff I really didn't need but kinda wanted. And yet, I came away from this con with a heavy heart, and did not book a table for next year.

Why not? Let me put it this way: if there was one word I could use to sum up the whole experience for me, however, it would be bittersweet. I had nothing new to sell, after all, and I had nothing on its way to publication to promote. It felt... like I was yesterday's news, making one last desperate attempt to get noticed before fading into irrelevancy.

Whoa. Got kinda dramatic there. That happens when I'm in one of my moods, a topic that will become even more relevant as this post continues.

Anyway, the con. I went down Friday evening to get registered, find my table, and attend a panel on ebook publishing that featured my good friend Sarah Water Raven (author of Detective Dochherty and the Demon's Tears). It was fun and insightful, but left me no wiser on how to boost sales on Closets(anyone? Pretty pleeze?).

Saturday was busy, with my first panel at 10 in the morning. My friend Monica Kuebler (of Burningeffigy Press, publisher of Section K) came early to run my table while I was away. The Changing Face of the Paranormal in YA featured myself, Kelley Armstrong, and moderator extraordinaire Amanda Sun. We covered a lot of YA paranormal ground, agreed that vampires have been done to undeath, and offered predictions on what the future of the genre might bring (hint - Angels!). I left feeling full of beans, metaphorically speaking, and thought I'd done a good job.

I didn't have quite the same feeling coming out of my 3 PM panel, Demons, Werewolves and Necromancers. My fellow panelists were Jim Butcher, Andrew Pyper and Douglas Smith, three guys who really knew their stuff. I choked on a couple of questions, but managed to hold most of my own as the panel went on. Don't get me wrong, those guys are terrific and did not try to intimidate me in any way, shape or form. I just felt a little out of my depth, like a little kid surrounded by the grown-ups. Of course, the image of the big kid is not something I've ever tried to resist (quite the opposite, in fact).

That night, a large group gathered in one of the Consuites to watch that night's episode of Doctor Who. It was a lot of fun watching a favourite show in the company of so many fans. Space was very limited, however, so there was a lot of shuffling about on the floor to acquire a decent line of sight.

On Sunday I had another 10 AM panel, followed by another at 12. Monica could only come for Saturday, but my fellow vendors were more than happy to watch my table while I was out and about. My first panel was Bullying-TNG with Kari Maaren and Sgt. Pat Poitevin. We discussed the issue of bullying in broad and specific terms, identifying weaknesses in so-called 'zero tolerance' policies and exploring a variety of solutions. Sgt. Poitevin (husband of Sins of the Son author Linda Poitevin)is an RCMP officer who specializes in anti-bullying in schools, and he offered a lot of useful insight.

My final panel was Fandom Mental Health Forum, with Adrienne Everitt, Kate Daley and Brenda Shaw (told you my moods would be relevant again!). All of us were in agreement that the panel time of one hour wasn't nearly enough. We all had a lot to say, and things got very emotional. Naturally I managed to get a plug for The Cupid War in there, but I was reminded of how important it is for me to write even more about mood disorders.

One thing about the con in general that needs to be said: the Timmies Girls were lifesavers! Three young ladies came around three times a day asking vendors if they wanted anything from Tim Hortons. Without their heroic efforts, many of us would have faced near-certain decaffeination.

The con was a good one for me; I sold more books than I thought I would, made some new friends, had lunch with some old ones, and did as much as I could with the time I had. Even so, I missed several panels, readings and parties that I otherwise would have loved to have attended. Some friends I caught only a glimpse of, and I'll have to wait for the next con to get another chance to see them. I'm not sure when that will be for me. I hope to attend Can Con in September, but time (and money) will tell. I still won't have anything new, nor an answer to the question of when will my next book come out. One thing is for certain, though - I am definitely not done with the fandom community. I guess I just really want to prove my worth. I know I don't have to, but that's where I'm at right now.

And, table or not, I will be back at Ad Astra next year.

My Revision Needs Revising

I'm really struggling to get on with editing and revising my work. I have four manuscripts on my hard drive, waiting for me to rewrite them from a cruddy first draft into a reasonable second, and then a ready-to-show-people third. I want to get on with it, I really do, but at times it can seem so very daunting.

My depression plays a part, of course. All tasks seem impossibly hard when I'm down, revisions included. I can't even crack my laptop open during those times, so editing is out of the question.

When I'm feeling better, though, it just seems like exactly what it is: a lot of work waiting to get done. That bothers me more than it used to. It would seem like I've got the deck stacked against me, or rather like I've stacked the deck against myself.

Having said that, I have managed to revise the first 100 pages of a project called Kids Who Know. Longtime readers of this blog will remember me describing this novel as the best book I'll ever write. I feel very strongly about this story (obviously), but perhaps I shouldn't have hyped it up so much in my mind. That's a lot to live up to. Will I ever produce a draft of this book that will meet such a lofty goal?

If I don't try, however, I'll never advance any further with my writing career. I've got one very important thing on my side - I want to succeed as a writer. Therefore, I must persevere. Bit by bit, I will.

New Business

I'm working on a new business plan for myself. My old novel-writing plan hasn't worked out, and it is well past time I swallowed that bitter pill.

The novels I've put out so far have all taken place in different worlds - stand-alones, in other words, with no recurring characters (even my demons have been different!). I really want to do a series, and my current project Zombie Jesus Day will play into that; it is set in the same universe as my last project, I'm So Goddamn Sick of Vampires. I have ideas for more stories in this universe, including an ongoing mythology, and I might even be able to work in a half-finished project from six years ago.

This new universe is where I feel I should be devoting my creative energy. That means I shouldn't be working on stories that aren't part of this new world, including followups to Evil and The Cupid War. I really want to finish I, Suicide, my Cupid War spinoff; a number of readers have asked me for Cupid War and Evil sequels. However, Evil and Epoch went out of print last year, and I fear The Cupid War will soon join them. Building upon those worlds simply isn't practical for me at this point.

I probably will finish I, Suicide, however. I'm invested in it, and it would be a shame to throw away all that material. It will remain a backup project, and will likely see publication as a self-published ebook. Not that my success rate with ebooks has been particularly high (anyone want to buy an e-copy of Closets? Please?).

Nevertheless, I do feel I should stop working on I, Suicide. I'm being all artist, and I need to be more businessman. On the other hand, I've learned never to stifle my muse. If it wants a story told, that's always been good enough for me. And who's to say I, Suicide won't be a big hit?

Nobody, that's who.

All I'm really saying is, I feel I need more focus, more discipline, and a fresh start in a new universe will get me a lot closer to that goal. That's the plan.

Let's see how it goes.

Typing Tribulations

My writing has hit a bit of a snag recently, and it's all my fault. I've written the first couple of chunks of my new novel, Zombie Jesus Day, and I'm very pleased with how it's going. I write everything by hand first, then I type it up at home on my Mac. That's the plan, but I often neglect the typing up part. Then I get increasingly anxious about losing my notebook, and with it the entirety of my story.

To ease that anxiety, I have twice decided to leave the ZJD notebook at home. In the evenings and on weekends I'll type that novel in, and work on another project during the day until the typing is finished and I can resume ZJD without fear.

Therein lies the snag - Finding another project to work on while I'm out and about, one that I'm equally passionate about. It's been problematic, hence my usage of the word snag. I have a Section K story that's halfway done, and I've been trying to get back into my Cupid War spinoff I, Suicide. I lost interest in the SK story, and I, Suicide just isn't doing it for me. I've managed to get a chapter and a half done, but that's not a whole heck of a lot (at least, I don't feel like it is). I might discuss my issues with that project in another post later.

In other words, I feel I haven't done nearly enough writing while ZJD was at home. I was extremely relieved to get back to it, and to find that the story came as easily as before. In fact, the writing went so well that I've once again reached a point where I have to type it up or risk losing it. It sits at home, waiting for me while I try once more to get into something else.

I really must get better at typing up my work. A little discipline would do me a power of good. Maybe that can be my New Year's resolution, if it's not too late in the year to make one.

It is?

Crap.

Well, I'll try and get better at it anyway.

I'm Feeling Indecisive

Sometimes when writing, you can get blocked or hung up on the simplest of things. I've just finished a scene in my current project, which would have been a chapter break except this story isn't going to have chapters. It will have sections, but not chapters. That decision gave me no trouble at all.

But I've finished this scene, right? And it's time to leap into another character's POV and start a new scene. Except I'm stuck; I can't decide which character to go with! Or what the next scene needs to be.

I hope I sort this out soon. I hate staring at a blank page while the minutes go by. Grumble, mutter, mutter grumble...

So Now I'm 40

Yes, today is the day of my 40th Birthday. It's an enormous milestone, the way all birthdays that end in a '0' tend to be. I'm glad I was able to get one last birthday in before the apocalypse, which is of course scheduled for next Friday.

*#$*ing Mayans.

The day has gone well. I had a job interview that seemed to go swimmingly. I got some more work done on my current novel project, Zombie Jesus Day, and am nearing the 1st 3rd mark. Violet got me the blu-ray of The Avengers as my birthday present, and I am currently enjoying a second viewing (with director commentary!). I had my party last Saturday; it involved good friends, English beer, and a fantastic selection of chicken wings. Good times all around, and memories I shall cherish while the world is ending.

I've had some good writing-related stuff recently. My good friend Rebecca Lovatt reviewed my novel The Cupid War, and you can read that review here. She also did a thorough and intensive interview with me, and the link to that is here.

My good friend Steven Pearl, author of Tinker's Plague, filmed an interview with me at SFContario. You can see Part I of that interview by clicking here.

So, happy birthday to me! Jolly good, and all that stuff. Now, if you'll excuse me, The Daily Show is on. Bye!

SFContario Weekend Part II

And now for Sunday, the second half of my SFContario experience. Although it wasn't really half the experience - I had only two events, compared to the five I did the day before. Nevertheless, it was a very full and rewarding day!

My first event was the Writing in the Digital Age panel in Ballroom BC, with fellow panelists James Bambury, Lynna Merrill, and my new best friend Sarah Water Raven (seen here stuffing a pen up her nose).

The panel started at 10 in the AM, which is a problem to anyone who understands the Sunday schedule of the TTC. Basically, the trains don't start running until 9:00 AM, with very little service before that (including my local bus!). From the time the first bus of the day picked me up, I had about 45 minutes to get to the panel on time! And somewhere in there, I had to squeeze in another cup of tea, too! Once more I was extremely grateful for that Tim Hortons inside Finch Station.

I got to the Ramada Plaza Hotel in decent time (read: not too late), but I still had to find Ballroom BC. See, the rooms in that hotel were tricky to find without a strong sense of irony. After all, the Gardenview had no view of a garden, the Courtyard wasn't anywhere near an actual courtyard, and the Solarium had no sun. The name Ballroom BC suggests a very large dancing room with a stone-age theme, so I knew I to look for a small room with lots of tech lying around. And that's pretty much what I found!

The panel itself was insightful and fun. I got a chance to gripe about how I had to learn Internet marketing by trial and error, and the others spoke about what had worked for them. I learned some good tips about ebook publishing, for which I am grateful to my co-panelists.

Afterward, I visited the con-suite with Sarah the pen-sniffer and her minion, Keli. It really is terrific for authors and other panelists to have a place to go and relax with a snack and a drink in-between our scheduled bits of programming. Having had a table at most other cons, I would often return to said table instead of taking advantage of the con-suitey goodness on offer. My lack of a table this time meant I sold fewer books, but I had the chance to unwind in the company of some awesome people. And Keli the minion bought a copy of Section K from me, so it was awesomeness all around (thank you, Keli!).

My last bit of official programming was a book signing, located in the Hallway. Which hallway was the Hallway? That's what I had to find out with all speed. Luckily I received directions, and was delighted to discover that the Hallway was, in fact, a hallway! No irony in that designation at all. I shared a table with Violette Malan and two other authors whose names I really should have written down (sorry, guys!). The Hallway was empty, with nobody for us to sign books for. It looked to be a very dull and depressing hour...

...but then my friend Rebecca Lovatt arrived with brownie cookies and chocolate chip & cookie dough muffins! And there was much rejoicing. Nom, nom, nom!!! Words cannot describe how awesome Rebecca's baked goods are, so I won't waste any trying. No books were sold or signed, but boy were we well-fed! Nom, nom, I say again, nom!

The signing ended, the muffins were woofed, and one last bit of business for me remained. My friend and fellow author Ira Nayman (Alternate Reality Ain't What It Used To Be) had requested a copy of my first published novel, Attack of the Intergalactic Soul Hunters. Who was I to day no? He is probably the last person on Earth to have purchased a copy... at least until I sell it to another publisher!

I left that day feeling grand. SFContario had been good to me, and I definitely plan to return next year.

The Cupid War - First Love!

I am tremendously grateful to my editors at Flux for helping me make my books the best they could be. A perfect example of their help came during the revisions of The Cupid War, when they suggested I flesh out the details regarding the first couple Fallon had created. Originally, I had simply mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 9 that Fallon had successfully brought two people together. Flux thought I could do better, and I did; I came up with the idea that Fallon had united two writer/performers at a spoken word event. Thanks to those extra details, I not only had a stronger scene in the novel, I also had the seeds for a short story!

The Cupid War: Fallon's First Couple is an even-more-fleshed-out version of that scene. It features both Fallon and his mentor Caleb, and includes a certain naughty song that I wrote during my own spoken word days. I plan to release this story here, on this blog, in just under a month's time. If you liked The Cupid War, don't miss this sequel... no, it's not a sequel. Or a prequel. It's more of an... inthemiddleofquel. You'll see what I mean when you read the story. And you can do so on November 1st.

Mark your calendars, cancel your appointments and practice your call-in-sick voices! You won't be sorry.

Don't forget to check out this blog's other short story, Walk of Evil. And please post some comments - I love feedback!

October Occupations

My Ottawa vacation is over, and October has begun. My search for employment continues; I could really use a good job that lasts a few months. Maybe even a year. Or two. I'd hoped to come back to such a job - I'd been chasing a data entry position before my holiday, but unfortunately that whole thing fell apart. A real shame, as it would have had good pay and benefits and everything.

I've finished the first draft of my latest novel, currently titled I'm So Goddamn Sick of Vampires. My next project is called Zombie Jesus Day, and I've already got a good start on it. I don't know if I've ever jumped so easily from one novel to another, at least not without a month of downtime in-between. ZJD is a concept I've been punting around in my mind for several months now, and I can't wait to tell it.

Apart from those projects, I still have several completed first drafts that need revisions and rewrites before they'll be ready for public consumption. I've also got I, Suicide and Evil 2 to return to, when I'm ready for them. I'm contractually bound to offer any sequel or spin-off of The Cupid War(such as I, Suicide) to Flux before any other publisher. Unless some kind of miracle happens and The Cupid War becomes a best-seller, Flux will not want to publish it.

Evil 2, however, is another story - all the unsold rights for Evil have reverted to me. No reason I can't pick up where I left off with that book, provided the story stands well enough on its own.

For now, though, I'm sticking with Zombie Jesus Day. It looks to be a very fun write. I'll need that kind of a project to help me through the job-searching days ahead. Fingers crossed I get some decent employment soon!

Can*Con 2012 - Sunday

Sunday was my busiest day, with two panels and a reading. I started the day off right with a Tim Horton's breakfast, and I surprised Violet with said breakfast in bed! Best hubby ever? Uh huh!

I was nearly late for my reading with Eric Choi and Melissa Yuan Innes! We each read for twenty minutes: Eric read his essay Making Mars A Nicer Place, Melissa read the first chapter from her book High School Hit List, and I read from The Cupid War. All of us received our due from the audience, but Melissa's reading generated the best reaction, and deservedly so. I can't wait to read her book now!

There was no rest for the author of Evil (ha ha, see what I did there?); I had to run all the way next door for my next panel. That is one tremendous benefit of having a smaller con - no time lost running across hotels (or even highways[looking at you, Anime North!]) to get to your next event. This panel was GLBTQ Reader, looking at the issue of gender identity in speculative fiction. Brett Savory, Liz Strange and I were lucky to have a very involved audience, and it became more of a room discussion.

Another hour of dealer’s room time, followed by my final panel: Humour in Science Fiction, with Ira Nayman(Alternate Reality Ain’t What It Used To Be) and Cenk Gokce. Here's a picture I took of our terrific audience:

We talked about different types of comedy, and comedy in sci/fi we enjoyed, but the consensus of the panel was that humour in sci/fi equals an automatic rejection from publishers at the current time. Of course, that will change overnight if somebody writes a fantasy/comedy that sells a million copies!

Also, my high school friend Kevin Booth dropped by the panel to wish me all the best – everyone should have a friend like that.

As the convention wound down, I made a final tally of my sales: 23 books in all, including 8 copies of Evil; 5 copies of Epoch; 6 copies of The Cupid War; and 4 Section Ks. Not bad at all! Seems a shame Flux has given up on Epoch and Evil when there is clearly still an audience waiting to be found. I also sold eight Transformers toys, netting me some fine pocket change!

Goodbyes came next, to friends new and old. As always, it was sad. My thanks to Farrell McGovern, Caycee Price, Derek Kunsken, Elizabeth Buchan, Tim Sellmer, and everyone else who worked so hard to put this convention together. I had a fantastic time, and next year I must return for more!

Can*Con 2012 - Saturday

On Saturday I checked into the hotel. We could have stayed with my folks again, but having a room at the hotel just seemed easier. I wanted to have the freedom to do con stuff late into the night without worrying about how I was getting home(OC Transpo and I have, shall we say, a sordid history). Besides, staying in a hotel is kind of exotic. And it was great for Violet and I to have a place to dump our suitcases.

I had no panels that day, so I spent a lot of time in the dealer's room selling my stuff. I was delighted to see so much interest in Evil and The Cupid War - it was my first Ottawa convention, so I was introducing myself to a lot of new people. Do you have any idea how amazing it is to look over and see someone reading a book you wrote? Well, trust me, it's fantastic. But almost as fantastic was hearing the person next to them saying, "I'm stealing this from you. This looks awesome!" Thank you for that, S.M. Carriere (author of The Dying God & Other Stories)!

Apart from my novels, I was also trying to unload some of my Transformers toys. I know I made some fellow Trans-fans very happy (I'm looking at you, John Seed!).

In the afternoon, I attended a panel on marketing one's novel(with Marie Bilodeau, Matt Moore, Allan Isfan and Above author Leah Bobet), and learned the benefits of not being an a$$h0le. Apparently that's a really bad thing. All kidding aside, though, I came away from that panel with plenty to think about. Afterward, Marie joined Violet and I for dinner at a small Vietnamese restaurant across the road from the hotel. Good soup, and lots of it; when they say a large bowl, they really mean LARGE!

That night I went to the ChiZine launch party for John Park's new novel Janus. I missed his reading, sadly, but I got there in time for good conversation and plenty of beer! It was a perfect way to unwind after the events of the day.

Then I slept. Just down the hallway from the dealer's room. Super convenient, and it sure beats lugging a suitcase full of books back and forth by transit, lemmie tellya!

Can*Con 2012 - Friday

Last weekend I attended Can*Con, a sci/fi convention in my home town of Ottawa. It reminded me a lot of Ad Astra and Con-Cept - not too large, and more of a literary focus. Actually, I was surprised at how small the convention space actually was; three panel rooms, a con-suite, and a tiny little dealer's room! I worried the con wouldn't be very well attended, but that concern was quickly put to rest. I sold lots of books, had a great time, and hope to make my attendance an annual thing.

I have a lot to say, so I'm splitting this post into three parts - one for each day of the con.

Violet & I arrived by train Thursday afternoon and stayed over with my parents. It's been a long time since I got to spend quality time with them, and the convention provided a wonderful opportunity to kill two stones with one bird! My folks drove us to and from the hotel on Friday night, which was extremely kind; they live in Orleans, which is as far East of Ottawa as the hotel is West! They must love me or something(Awwww!!!). It was nice to show them what I do for an almost-living!

We arrived in time for the Paper Airplane Contest, hosted by my friend and fellow author Marie Bilodeau. But she was no friend to anyone that night, oh no... as judge of the contest, she was a living embodiment of fear itself! I still have nightmares(hold me). There were many impressive and flight-worthy airplanes made from paper that night. Mine was not one of them.

Nevertheless, the evening was a joy. To get the extra-special folding paper, Marie insisted we sing. I stood and gave a terrific rendition of the Lumberjack song, with Violet as my Best-Girl-By-My-Side. I also made friends with some kids, all of whom gave me their paper airplanes afterward. It may have been out of pity, but I prefer to think of it as a sweet gesture!

We didn't stay any later Friday night, preferring to save our energy for Saturday. The Saturday post is coming soon...

Out Of Print

You know how I said this month is looking pretty good for me? That was before I got the bad news. My books haven't been doing all that well, hence the decision on my publisher's part not to go ahead with another book from me. That was hard enough for me to take, but this new bad news is even worse.

My publisher has decided to let my first three novels go out of print. As of Monday morning, September 17, all remaining stock of Epoch, Evil, and Attack of the Intergalactic Soul Hunters will be pulped and recycled. This is a huge blow to my writing career; it isn't over, but it is in serious trouble.

I was expecting this news for Soul Hunters. It's been out since 2005, and since 2006 the average sales have been less than twenty copies per year. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

The decision to pulp Epoch and Evil, however, came as quite a shock. Epoch sold relatively well in its first couple of years; Evil, not so much. I had hoped this situation would improve as my Internet presence grew. Since Evil's publication, I've had lots of reviews and quite a few guest posts on numerous blogs. I've discovered the promotional possibilities to be had with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Goodreads and Amazon, to name just a few.

I've also kept up a regular presence on the convention circuit. I'm a regular attendee of Ad Astra and Polaris in Toronto, and a few others when I could. I was the guy with the cartoony leaflets, handing them out to anyone who'd take one, leaving them on chairs and tables, trying to get myself noticed.

I've been busy, worked hard, and had an extraordinary amount of help. To every person who has friended or followed me, or Liked my fan pages; to every blogger who reviewed me, interviewed me, or asked me to write a guest post; to everyone who posted comments on those blogs, or wrote critiques of my work on Goodreads and Amazon; to every convention organizer and volunteer who helped set me up with what I needed, worked me into the programming schedule; to every fan I met at the cons who bought a book from me, took one of my flyers, sought me out at my table, commented at one of my panels, befriended me, and generally made me feel welcome and accepted... I can't thank all of you enough. I am so grateful, and feel so lucky, to have met you, and I want to shake every one of your hands.

And yet... it wasn't enough. Not by a longshot. I tried to get the word out, and all of you stepped in and gave me a boost, but the word simply didn't spread far enough. My novels didn't earn the sales required to justify keeping Epoch and Evil on the shelves.

Thankfully I still have The Cupid War, and I will continue to fight for it. It will be a much harder fight, however, now that I'm no longer taking up as much shelf space. I still have my small press books: my ebook for children, Closets; and Section K, my sci/fi comedy for grown ups. And, of course, I'll keep writing. I still have hope, and a burning desire to write I'll keep going.

Maybe someday I'll sell those three novels to a new publisher. The rights have reverted to me, apart from those already sold. I really don't know what's going to happen with the digital versions of those books; I'll update when I do.

This isn't the end. It does, however, feel an awful lot like the beginning of the end. I wish I sounded more positive about this, but I'm not going to sugar-coat the situation, either. I'm in a bit of a funk, and I'm not going to snap out of it for anyone else's comfort. This is me, reeling from a blow delivered by a harsh reality, and I haven't managed to bounce back yet.

But I will.

Awesome Fans, Positive Feedback

I've recently received some extremely positive feedback on my work, so naturally I wanted to share it here. The first is a review of The Cupid War from my new friend Nicki Weisz on her blog, Books Complete Me. Read the review by clicking here.

Next, I have two emails from new fan Charlie Checkers. The first concerned his thoughts on the German edition of Evil, which is a first for me. The second is in response to my request to print his first email here.

Dear Mr Carter,

I've just finished reading the German version of 'Evil?' and I wanted
to express my gratitude towards you for writing such a great book. It
made me overthink my opinions on many topics even though I don't
consider myself as someone with many prejudices. Especially since I
often reflect on religion, this book gave me some thought-provoking
impulses. I think it is important to make people think about topics
like homosexuality (which I find especially important since one of my
friends is homosexual and people often meet her with prejudice and
hate even though they don't even know her), racism and masturbation.
These topics are all 'taboos' somehow, but I think it is crucial to
figure them out. Thank you for this great book. I'll also read 'Epoch'
as soon as I get my hands on it. ;)
Your demons are so cute. Fon Pyre was intimidating at first, but it
was easy to like him since he likes coffee and doughnuts and in the
end, he's really funny and smart and cool. I also like Stuart so much,
he's so cool and brave!

There are two questions I'd really like to pose: Will there be a
sequel to 'Evil?'? I'd like to know how Stuart's journey goes on.
There are so many other fallen angels in the world, sure he will meet
some of them sooner or later.
I'd also really, really like to know why the demons smell like
detergent. It's fun to imagine that the devil always cleans up his
hell, but what was your idea behind that detail?

Yours faithfully, Charlie

Dear Mr Carter,

thank you very much for your answer! Of course you may put my e-mail
on your blog - it's an honor for me. ;)
The short story is AWESOME! I think Stuart's my hero number one. He's
so smart. =) And Fon Pyre is the coolest demon in the world anyway and
it's so funny he doesn't like Starbucks. Everybody in my age drinks
Stabucks coffee just because everybody else does it too, but the
coffee really isn't that good. Fon Pyre rules! I'm totally looking
forward to another book about them!

Yours faithfully, Charlie


Needless to say, I couldn't help but feel grand after I'd read each of those messages. And I had similar feelings in response to the below email from Rowen Lohmann, which came with the subject line: Hey, Your Book Was Sorta Really Lovely

Hey there! I'm Rowen, and a first-time reader of your books as of yesterday.
So, it's hot. It's humid. It's gross, and I figure, 'what better to do with my time, than dig into a book about demons and elves?'.
So I did.
And I have to say, Epoch was pretty great. Yeah yeah, I could say the ending was a touch unsatisfying, but that's only because I felt so engrossed in the characters that it was almost painful to say goodbye.
...some could also argue that I sometimes exaggerate.
None the less, I really did love the book. Every once in a while it takes a book like yours to restore my faith in the, overly-stigmatized(and sometimes for good reason), wonky genre, that is Young Adult.

Get a bit of inspiration from the Westboro baptist church, did we? That place tends to be my fallback when I need inspiration, you know, a fleshed-out model of the perfect antagonist bad-guy.
Alright. I'm blabbering a bit, but here's the condensed version of what I've been trying to articulate:
1. I loved your book.
2. I hate characters, I loved others. You did it well.
3. thanks for writing something in the genre that didn't put young people to shame. The intriguing, layered personalities of your characters had me cheering, spitting, and grasping to find something to hug.

Well done, and I'll be sure to check out some of your other things.
Hopefully this won't be my last email before the end of the world,
-Rowen


Not a bad time to be an author! Thank you Nicki, Charlie & Rowen. Your feedback gave me a real boost.

Polaris 2012

Once again, Polaris was a fantastic experience for me. I sold 12 books, including five copies of The Cupid War, and I also sold off a large number of toys from my collection. Good thing, too, because I spent over a hundred dollars on Doctor Who toys! I felt a little guilty about that, but luckily my toy sales covered that bit of splurging.

My panels, for the most part, went very well.

I did six, five of them fandom-related and one of them focusing on Internet communication and social media. I would have liked to have done more professional panels and writing panels, but I’m still very grateful for the schedule I had. Along with the Internet panel, I did two Star Trek panels (Defending Voyager, remembering TNG), two Doctor Who panels (Madman With A Box, 50th Anniversary Approaching), and one on the 15th anniversary of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The Star Trek and Doctor Who panels were lots of fun, with lots of interesting points raised, friendly disagreements on the quality of certain episodes, and plenty of fond memories remembered.

The Buffy panel, on the other hand, was very difficult. I was moderator for that one and the room was packed, making the juggling of speaking time and audience questions tricky.

That I could have handled without much stress, but I also had to contend with a live, in-the-flesh embodiment of The Simpson’s ‘Comic-Book Guy’. He called me an idiot in front of the entire room because I liked something that he did not. I was taken aback – that is not appropriate panelist behaviour, to say the least - and I did not let it pass. I told him if he insulted me again, I’d have him removed. Good for me for standing up for myself, I say. Still, I’m grateful the guy did not choose to challenge me on the point. I’m not sure what I would have (or could have) done then. He continued to be difficult, and showed no respect for my role as moderator, but I made it through the panel with most of my dignity intact.

On a much more positive note, I made some new friends and cemented a few old ones.One fan and Facebook friend sought me out on Sunday to have her copy of The Cupid War signed. And she’d made a booklet out of Walk of Evil, complete with cover! That was extremely cool. Another friend I made that morning on the bus ride in picked up a copy of Section K. One of my fellow panelists, Graeme Burk, co-authored a book on Doctor Who, titled Who Is The Doctor? I look forward to reading it (even if he didn’t like A Good Man Goes To War!).

And I saw my favourite group of Doctor Who-costumed ladies – always a highlight of the con.

And there were Daleks! Woo-hoo! I mean, Ex-ter-mi-Nate!

When it was over, I left without feeling the usual crushing post-con depression. Instead I was simply content. Another good con. Let there be more!


I’ve heard there may not be a Polaris con next year. Things are changing – there’s talk of a different event in November – and nobody’s entirely sure what will happen yet. Time will tell.

Polaris Saturday Morning

I just missed the bus, so I'll be a little later than I would have liked. Nevertheless, I am soon to be on my way with all my stuff.


Here is a list of the days and times for my panels:

Saturday 11am In Defence of Star Trek: Voyager
Saturday 2pm Communicating On The Internet
Saturday 3pm TimeWarp 87: The Coming of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Saturday 5pm Yes Amy, I Am A Mad Man With A Blue Box

Sunday 1pm A Half-Century of Doctor Who
Sunday 5pm The 15th Anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Must go. I have to wipe the cat hair off my suitcase (Karma & Ron LOVE suitcases!).