The Lost Children of Academia

"The lost children of academia." It sounds like the tagline for a cheesy b-grade movie about spirits haunting a hundred-year-old campus building and picking off tenured faculty one by one.

But it's a reality I've slowed uncovered since first moving from the "trade" side of book retailing and into an academic/campus retail environment.

- From my article in Canadian Bookseller magazine Volume 4 - 2009

That's how my latest article in Canadian Bookseller magazine opens and is a subject that has been milling around in my head for several years now. In 2006 I was an "outsider" to the campus side of book retailing, and though I came with plenty of years of bookselling experience, I was to discover there's a whole new world of bookselling out there with regards to the campus experience.


And I don't just mean the backwards and twisted world of textbooks. That's a whole different ballgame and I'm not going to go there no lest I get all sidetracked and on my "this needs to be changed" soapbox.

Just focusing on the general books or "trade" book side of the business, it's still an interestingly different game, particularly since trade booksellers in campus stores have three main audiences to attempt to please: faculty, campus staff and students.

Talk about a broad spectrum.

Talk about huge challenges for the booksellers on campus.

But talk about opportunity.

My article looks at the differences, but more importantly, looks at the similarities between campus booksellers and other independent and chain bookstores out there and attempts to help campus booksellers recognize their strengths and benefit from networking opportunities and resources that exist for them.

If you don't already read Canadian Bookseller magazine and you're a bookseller, you should. The latest issue not only has this article I wrote, but plenty of great content geared specifically for booksellers and book nerds in Canada. Not that it wouldn't interest people outside our great country, but it is geared towards bookselling north of the 49th parallel.

About The Mark

No, I'm not like that freaky character in Seinfeld who refers to himself in third person as "The Mark" -- I'm talking about Canada's daily online forum for news, commentary and debate . . .

The Mark - News & Perspectives Daily

I was recently asked to submit articles to The Mark -- they recruit contributors using two criteria: professional credibility and a connection to Canada.

What I like about the articles on this online news digest/forum is that they are less than 1000 words and are relatively digestible chunks of thought and perspective for today's reader.

My first article is called The Future of Publishing is Here and it debuted yesterday.

The "summary" phrase for the article is: Print on demand supplies books almost instantly while lowering costs, allowing local bookstores to compete with the Amazons of the world.

I could describe what this essay is about, but it's only 700 words -- you might as well just go read it yourself.

Here's my author bio page on The Mark. For it, they used a photo that my buddy and talented photographer Greg Roberts took several years ago when I was in need of some serious "author" pictures.

Photo by Greg Roberts

The photo was taken on Hamilton Mountain in the spring of 2004 (I believe) on the side of the road near the West Fifth mountain access. I think it's cool that in the background you can see McMaster University, where I now spend a good deal of my time.

And since much of what I'll be writing about in my articles for The Mark will be based on my real-world experience as a bookseller rather than pulled from the eerie depths of my imagination and fears, I've opted to write under my full name Mark Leslie Lefebvre rather than the pseudonym of Mark Leslie which I adopt for my fiction.

It at least helps ME keep the non-fiction straight from the fiction pieces.

Types Of Writing Satisfaction

I have found that there are two main types of writing satisfaction for me.

One is the act of finishing actually composing something in words. IE, either finishing the first draft of a story or article for the first time, or if not at that point, then the moment when you have finally finished the last re-write and are satisfied with the piece you have written.

The other type of satisfaction is actually submitting the work to a market. This usually occurs after having researched a market and finding the perfect home for your piece. There's a real sense of completion at that point which is different than the sense of completion you get when you actually create a story or article. (Note on this -- about half the time I write something first, then try to find a home for it, and the other half of the time, I know the home the writing is intended for and I write the piece with that market in mind) But regardless of which way I do it, there's still a degree of satisfaction with actually submitting the pieces.

It reminds me of a quote I saw last week on Twitter attribted to Greg Daugherty and which I quite liked.

"Rejected pieces aren't failures; unwritten pieces are."
- Greg Daugherty

I'll take the concept and modify it a bit to get to the second level of satisfaction and offer the following:

"Rejected pieces aren't failures; unsubmitted pieces are."

I know it might sound strange, but my "writing time" is spent within these two main chunks of time. Writing and Submitting. There are various levels of satisfaction related to each. But they definitely compliment one another.

Of course, now that I think about it, there are two other types of satisfaction related to the latter stages in writing -- they would be the satisfaction of making the sale, or having the work accepted by an editor and then the satisfaction of actually seeing the work "in print." I use the traditional "in print" phrase regardless of whether or not the work actually appears on a printed piece of paper, particularly given the fact that there are many electronic or online markets for writing lately and that in the last year, 3 of the 10 writing sales I made were to online markets.

Of course, another interesting factor related to the satisfaction is how each level of satisfaction builds upon the previous. There's an interesting sense of milestone accomplishment at each stage.

WRITING --> SUBMISSION --> ACCEPTANCE --> PUBLICATION

None of the later stages, of course, mean as much without the previous ones.

And while the satisfaction of the later stages can be large, they don't come without a huge degree of work and effort at the beginning. I'm trying to determine if the effort of work in the WRITING and SUBMISSION phase makes the level of satisfaction in the ACCEPTANCE and PUBLICATION phases any greater. And in all honesty, while it is VERY satisfying to have something I worked really hard at published, there are plenty of pieces of writing that I didn't spend much time on that I'm just as satisfied with when they got published.

Similarly, there are stories I had accepted the first time I sent them out and other stories that took half a full dozen cycles of submission to get into print. The satisfaction comes, I believe, in finding the "match" between story and editor.

And on a similar note, while the stages can build upon one another, because of the representation of more work and more effort, the later stages can also mean nothing without the work.

That is to say that, if, for some bizarre reason, I had something published that I didn't actually write (ie, perhaps been given credit for something I didn't do), it wouldn't have ANY meaning to me. Or if I wrote a bit of fluff that was published without actually being accepted, it doesn't mean as much (ie, this blog post didn't have to be vetted by an editor before it was published, so while there is satisfaction in the writing and submission of it, there's limited joy in the publication of it because there was no hurdle to overcome to make it to publication . . .

. . . of course, on that note, when it comes to writing that isn't vetted by a third party, such as blog posts, podcasts, etc where I can simply PUSH my content out to the world without having first had to convince an editor it was worthy of being shared, the satisfaction might come not from having achieved publication, but rather from acceptance of readers (ie, either the fact that the writing HAS actually been read and potentially commented on, etc)

That inverts my process a bit perhaps to something like this:

WRITING --> SUBMISSION --> PUBLICATION --> ACCEPTANCE

Hmm, and if you can't tell that this post (like most of my blog posts) is a rough draft that I simply compose then push out, then let it be known that I'm working out this simple concept as I write it, because I just realized that I completely forgot the 5th level of satisfaction from this writer's perspective. The CONSUMPTION and reaction of readers. I'll call this level REVIEW because it's shorter, even thought it doesn't necesarrily mean a "review" in the traditional sense of a "book review", but rather the fact that the writing is reviewed or consumed and potentially reacted upon. Again, it might be a traditional "review" or merely comments made by readers, or even the knowledge that it is being consumed (in the case of number of copies sold, number of times something is downloaded, subscribed to, etc)

So here are the 5 levels of satisfaction I have stumbled into through this meandering "first draft."

WRITING --> SUBMISSION --> ACCEPTANCE --> PUBLICATION --> REVIEW

Hmm. I might be on to something here. In any case, I'm satisfied with having toyed with these concepts and written something that I believe has at least a bit of merit. (This post has been a great warm-up writing exercise for an article that I plan on working on for a traditional market for my work) While I don't gain much satisfaction from the submission or publication process (hitting "PUBLISH POST" is easy and publication is instant, I might perhaps gain some satisfaction if this post inspires comments or reaction from readers)

So to that effect, to all the writers out there, let me know your thoughts. Am I being too simple? Too complex? What do you think? Similarly, readers -- what are your thoughts about this POV of the process from one writer?

Don't Know The Title Or The Author? Cool.

I've been a bookseller for almost two decades now. One of the most challenging (and yet most fun) aspect of being a bookseller is when a customer comes in and knows just a tiny bit about the book they're looking for. IE, they know part of the title or author's name or perhaps just the colour of the book or the fact that the author was on CBC radio or Oprah just a few days ago and a basic concept of what the book is about.

Putting your investigative bookseller hat on and doing your best to find that customer's book is one of the truly absolutely joys of bookselling.

Sure, you can approach it with frustration and get angry with the customer for being ill-prepared. But seriously, it's simple when a customer comes in and asks for the new Dan Brown or Stephanie Meyer book -- no challenge there, no use of actual brain power or real bookselling skills. Your average big box warehouse or WalMart with extremely limited book knowledge can do that. And yes, I love being able to answer the easy questions, but I also quite enjoy the fun challenge of helping turn the lost and confused customer into one who leaves my store satisfied and with more knowledge and perhaps even the book they came in asking about in hand.

That's why I loved Josh Christie's recent blog post No Title? No Author? No Problem!

Back in the early days the challenge was a bit more difficult. I have evolved over the years into using Google to help me with such requests now, as well as various industry resources such as lists offered by Ingram and Bowker, etc. But Josh offers a truly wonderful resource on his blog, crediting Saikat Basu of MakeUseOf.com in this post and points customers to it as a very useful reference.

Something else I like to do is keep a handy list of other booksellers within a 1 hour drive of my store, particularly specialty retailers -- and rather than have the customer leave without any answer, I provide them with contact information for another local bookseller that I believe might be able to help them. For example, if I determine that the book they were searching for is out of print and I don't have it listed as available through my in-store Espresso Book Machine, I send them to a local used bookstore -- if the book is a business title, I send them to a local bookstore that specializes in business books.

That way, the customer can at least have left my store with a few good leads, which might be more than what they came in with.

HNT - Christmas (Lights) Came Early This Year

With the weather this past weekend having been in the high teens on both Saturday and Sunday, I thought it might be a good idea to climb up on the roof and get the Christmas lights and decorations up.

It sure beat last year when I was trying to scramble along the patches of snow and ice on the roof to get the job done.



The day's events began as all good Saturday mornings, should -- my son and I taking a trip over to Canadian Tire, where we acquired a few "must have" essentials for our day's work. The Christmas wreath behind me is one of the items we picked up.

Take Two Minutes, Would You Mind

Here's a wonderful video by Terry Kelly. Beautiful and touching. Don't forget to take two minutes of time today to remember. It's a pittance of time.



Below is the accompanying blurb from the video on YouTube.

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a drug store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the stores PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the stores leadership role in adopting the Legions two minutes of silence initiative. He felt that the stores contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When eleven oclock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the two minutes of silence to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terrys anger towards the father for trying to engage the stores clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, A Pittance of Time. Terry later recorded A Pittance of Time and included it on his full-length music CD, The Power of the Dream.

Thank You to the Royal Canadian Legion Todmorden Branch #10 and Woodbine Height Branch #2 for their participation in the Video.

Please visit www.terry-kelly.com

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 09

I just posted the latest episode (Episode 09) of my Prelude To A Scream podcast.

This particular episode features my short story "Browsers" which is a "haunted" bookstore tale inspired by a real-world encounter I had with a bizarre little corner bookstore upon one of my first visits to Hamilton. "Browsers" was first published in Challenging Destiny #5 in 1999 and was reprinted in my book One Hand Screaming in 2004.

Here's the opening bit from the story....

STEPPING INTO a used book shop is sometimes like stepping into
another dimension. Where else but a used book store can one find
such an eclectic selection of minds and experiences stored in dusty
tomes, just waiting to be browsed through by anyone who happens
along?

Occasionally a used book shop can be a painful experience,
offering up nothing more than the latest trashy paperbacks and adult
porn magazines.

But sometimes . . .

Sometimes a used book store can provide, to the avid browser, a
mystical experience. Sometimes, walking through that door, you are
overwhelmed with a sense of awe, a sense that something powerful is
being housed within the very walls.

I discovered such a wondrous shop years ago on the corner of
two streets whose names I cannot remember in one of those pseudocities
on the south western edge of the Golden Horseshoe.

...

If this whets your appetite for the tale, you can read even further into the tale online.

But why not just make it easy on yourself and download to or listen to the full audio version of the story?

And here are some of the reviews of "Browsers" that have appeared over the years.

"Anyone who reads much short fiction in the small press fantasy and science fiction magazines knows that the style and form of the old Twilight Zone is still very much alive among writers. 'Browsers' by Mark Leslie, is a good example. A low-key horror story, it uses the time honored method of introducing a character in an ordinary situation, in this case a customer in a used bookstore, and slowly trapping that character in a form of hell. Readers who have enjoyed the experience of losing themselves among the stacks of books in an old musty store will identiy with, and appreciate, this story." -- Greg L. Johnson, Tangent Online

". . . a worthy effect and a good read." -- Jim Bennett, NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW

"Originality is decidedly rare in horror. Invention is even more rare in horror fiction, thus a sigh of relief at Leslie's 'Browsers'" -- Mick Halpin, http://criticalmick.com

Alternative Review of Anderson's FREE

A few months back I posted a long, detailed review of my thoughts after having read Chris Anderson's book Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Shortly after I posted my review, my friend, Paula B of The Writing Show blog and podcast commented that she had a very different experience with the book and would also be reviewing it.

Paula recently did her review in podcast form. Click here to check out the review -- the full text is posted on the blog, or you can download the mp3 or listen to it online.

I have long been a fan of Paula's podcasts, and I really like her voice and style, so I preferred to listen to it. (Besides, it's easier listening to a podcast while driving -- police officers tend to frown upon me trying to read while I'm zooming down the highway)

The first thing you'll notice is that Paula and I had quite different reactions to the book.

I like that.

Because in two "writer" types (and similar writer types I might add, if I'm allowed to compliment myself by comparing Paula and I), you get almost completely opposing viewpoints of a single book -- that alone has to be interesting in and of itself.

Further, I wish she lived closer so that I could get a chance to sit down over a coffee (or two or three) and engage in a healthy debate and discussion about our differing viewpoints. But, as it stands, that's not possible, which is too bad. At least we can engage in our discussions via Skype, email and other social media comments.

The running time for the podcast is just under 40 minutes. That should tell you something about the amount of effort and detail that went into it. And that's exactly what you get in Paula's review. She doesn't just gloss over the surface of the book, doesn't just touch upon particular points, but she engages in a thoughtful analysis of some of the things that she liked and disliked about the book.

I found Paula's review immediately fascinating and I quite admire the method by which she goes through and discusses particular comments and contradictions she found in Anderson's writing. Her review and analysis certainly made me think and though I might not see things from the same viewpoint, I can definitely appreciate where she is coming from and why she was challenged by some of the statements Anderson makes.

Of course, if you read my review, then read or listen to Paula's review you hopefully come away with a balanced look at this interesting book. It would seem that I took a more "gut reaction" approach in my review and Paula took a thoughtful and analytical one. Put the two together and it makes for an intriguing well-rounded effort. (Of course, that's just me elevating my own status by comparing myself to Paula again)

Da Count - Teachers

When it came time to write the dedication for Campus Chills, I started thinking about the theme of the book. All of the stories took place on campuses across Canada. Sure, they are horror stories; wonderfully written chilling tales all centered around university and college campuses.

And what's one thing that all campuses have in common?

They are places of learning -- institutes with a primary goal of educating.

It made me think about the teachers I had throughout my life and how fortunate I have been to learn under them. Yes, I know, everyone can likely easily think about that one horrible teacher who made their life miserable for a short period of time (like Harry Potter's Professor Snape)

But I have to say that I have been extremely fortunate to be able to look back at how many wonderful, memorable and top notch teachers I have had over the years. As far back as grade school, through high school and through to my university years, I'm very lucky to have had so many great teachers. Too many to name, but these teachers all left impressions on me, allowed me to learn new things and helped shape my development and life -- and for that I'm forever grateful.

I suppose I'm lucky to be working at an academic institution right now and I still get to work alongside some really incredible faculty members at McMaster. It has been an endless stream of fortuitous learning for me virtually my whole life. And I have teachers, instructors and educators to thank for it.

And though I had many great teachers, one in particular stands in my mind as the type of teacher who transcended the learning process. Jim Turcott, who taught Math and Physics at Levack District High School was a passionate and dedicated instructor.

Though I hated and struggled with math, I loved going to Mr Turcott's classes (he was also known as Dr. T since he also DJ'd) -- Jim used his passion for math and physics creatively and made the learning process fun. Having been active in the student council and in "stage shows" at LDHS, I got a chance to work more closely with Dr. T. whom I eventually began to call Jim after I graduated from LDHS. I worked for him for many years in his DJ business and learned a great many things about the art of DJing (this was back in the day of cassette tapes -- long before mp3's existed -- so cuing up a show and responding to ad hoc requests created quite a bit of work -- intense and challenging, but fun work).

Jim and I often bickered about music -- he was passionate about that, too. Me being a teenage fan of Rush, I often tried talking him into playing their music at our school dances. He told me that while they were talented musicians, you just couldn't dance to their music. I wouldn't take no for an answer and kept pushing and pushing in my bullheaded way. Jim was right. With the exception of some of their ballads, for the most-part, this brilliant rock trio has created a wealth of music, most of which simply doesn't work well on the dance floor. I only realized that many years later, and, of course, never admitted that to him.


As I mentioned, Jim transcended teaching. He became not just the guy who taught me math, physics and certain DJing skills. He also became a mentor and a friend and taught me a lot about life.

I recently started reading Gary Vaynerchuk's book CRUSH IT which explores how he turned his life-long passion into an incredible success story. Gary's story is wonderful and his passion leaps off the page immediately.

But one interesting thing is, though Gary does a wonderful job nailing the concept that doing what you're MOST passionate about is the key to success, it's actually something that Jim taught me several decades ago just through the way he lived his life. It's one of those basic elements that makes every single day a TGIT (Thank God It's Today) rather than a TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) sort of day. Reading Gary's book reminds me about that passion that Jim demonstrated every day, whether it was in the classroom, behind the DJ station or just hanging out with his friends and colleagues.

In any case, here is the dedication for CAMPUS CHILLS:

To all of the teachers, instructors and educators
who inspire, coach and nurture young minds

Particularly to Jim Turcott
Teacher, mentor, friend 1951 - 2008

Thanks for continuing to inspire, me Jim. And thanks to so many of the teachers out there who are passionate about what they do and help continue to inspire us all . . .

HNT - Flashback N Buskin

Just a few hours ago, an old university buddy commented on a photo I had posted to the Sock 'n' Buskin Theatre Company group on Facebook -- S'n'B is Carleton's University's student theatre company where I spent a great deal of time between 1988 and 1992 and made a ton of great friends -- many of whom I am still friends with today.

The comment inspired this week's HNT post -- a shot that was taken on the set of one of the larger plays (in terms of cast size, set, lighting and production crew) that I had worked on when part of the company: Balm in Gilead. The play was written by Lanford Wilson, but the director of the play added wonderfully fitting musical interludes written by Lou Reed and John Cale into the production. Performed by three beautiful women and sung in modified tempos the music was haunting and disturbing and added wonderfully to the overall ambiance of the play.

This is a shot of four of the crew hanging out behind the bar on the set.

Robert Bell (Lighting Designer), Andrea Clasper (Stage Manager),

Steve Wilson, Mark Lefebvre (Assistant Stage Managers)

Good times! Hard to believe that was . . . yikes . . . almost 20 years ago . . .

Here are a couple of other shots from the play, taken during one of the earlier rehearsals.

Adeel Ahmad (Ernesto), James Gatto (Dopey), David O'Meara (Rake)

Dan Willis, William Murray, Stuart?

A Chilling Halloween Treat

Usually, on the evening of October 31st, by the time that my son is in bed, and Francine and I are shutting the lights off and unplugging the power leading to the front yard decorations (typically a haunted graveyard scene with plenty of tombstones, scary figures either popping out of the ground or lurking among the graves, blue and red floodlights a strobe light and fog machine), I get that same feeling I used to get when I was a child and Christmas was over.

A little bit sad.

The thrill and excitement of Halloween is over for another year.

Since Halloween is the one time of year that most everybody else is in sync with the types of things I most adore (yes, I have a bit of inkling towards the macabre), I'm that much more sad.

I'll go on believing in ghosts and goblins and monsters lurking in the shadows, while the rest of the world moves in into other seasonal celebrations.

Sigh.

I've always wished that Halloween could be extended and not just culminate in a single night.

I mean, wouldn't it be neat if Halloween celebrations could last throughout the week?

Well, in my own little way of trying to extend the Halloween spirit, I'm offering a special Halloween treat.

Starting today and ending six days from now, I'm offering free copies of CAMPUS CHILLS, the anthology of terror stories set on campuses across Canada which I edited. The contest appears on Goodreads.com.


With original stories from some of Canada's finest horror authors, this wonderful collection is certain to offer you a special chill for reading during a dark and creepy fall evening.

There's one copy available for each of the seven days the contest is open.

For a chance to win, simply register your name at the Goodreads contest site. A random selection will be done, and the winners will be sent a copy of CAMPUS CHILLS. No strings attached.

Of course, I'd love if it the seven people who win a copy would be so kind as to write a review of it on Goodreads, on their own blog, on Facebook, or tell some friends if they enjoyed it -- but other than that hope, there's no catch.

Simply, it's a Halloween treat -- starting today and ending at the end of the week. The contest is open to people in the US and Canada.

So, if you're looking for a special Halloween treat and something to offer you some special chills beyond the Halloween season, go sign up for a chance to get your copy of CAMPUS CHILLS.

Best of luck to you if you enter. And if you're not a winner, please note that the book is available at a number of retail locations in Canada -- many of which take online orders and can ship to you. Ask for it at your favourite local bookstore. Tell them to check out www.campuschills.com to find out how easy it is for them to special order a copy in for YOU.

Happy Halloween! Here's hoping that the Great Pumpkin is good to you this year.

Evolve = Adapt = Survive

There was a great article in the Huffington Post recently called Evolve or Die: Why Reinvent Independent Bookstores? by Praveen Madan and Christin Evans.

The article covers some startling facts, such as an average of about 200 independent booksellers closing their doors a year in the U.S.

The authors go through a list of the various factors likely leading to this dramatic extinction (or slaughter if you prefer) of an ongoing traditional fixture in local communities. It's about a dramatic explosion in competition, from price-slashing retail monsters like WalMart to the ever convenient explosion of internet book stores.

However, despite the depressing and very frightening realities that the authors discuss in their article, they make a point that all is not lost.

Here is a quote from the article

"So far you haven't heard anything new. We believe that this is a time of great opportunity for independent bookstores. What? Go back and read that again. Wait a minute, didn't we just write the obituary of the independent bookstore?

We believe that independent bookstores can have a great future and we are betting our careers on it. What makes us optimistic in the face of all the doom and gloom surrounding independent bookstores? New opportunities that can help independent bookstores reinvent and reinvigorate their businesses. New opportunities being made possible by a publishing industry in turmoil, new opportunities being served up by new technologies, new opportunities we can identify if we pay attention to the unmet needs of our customers."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/praveen-madan/evolve-or-die-why-reinven_b_337322.html

Then they go on to list 5 potential new opportunities and supporting details for each.

1) Literary Community Building
2) Author Services
3) Enhancing the Browsing Experience
4) Print on Demand
5) New Markets

Since the article is well thought out and written, it's best for you to go read it in its entirety.

Like me, you'll likely want to keep an eye on updated articles from these authors on this subject via The Huffington Post.

HNT - Which Tie?

In last week's HNT post, I speculated on whether or not I would wear the same skull tie at the Campus Chills/Haunted McMaster 2009 event that I had at the Haunted McMaster event in 2008.

Of course I did.

This year I wore it with a black shirt rather than a white one.

You've got to love those versatile skull ties.


I mean, there are only so many occasions where I can wear my Halloween/horror ties, and I do have a few of them. (The skull one is just my favourite) I need to take advantage of those occasions where it is appropriate for me to wear such a tie. Which are, basically, my appearances as a horror author at bookstore events and conventions (though you don't often dress up at a convention), and, of course, near Halloween.

I have even more Halloween underwear, and have to admit, I'm really good at only wearing them during the Halloween season. (Of course, in our house, the Halloween season begins about the last week of September -- but I do have no less than a dozen different Halloween themed boxers, so can go almost two weeks without wearing the same pair twice. No wonder they've lasted so long and my collection keeps growing. Since they get put away until the next year, there's hardly any wear on them, so they keep lasting. For example, one of my favourite pairs, my spooky eye shorts (and incidentally, the subject of my very first HNT post back in October 2005), which glow in the dark, are still in perfect shape.

And should they last that long, I imagine I'll be wearing them another 40 years from now (assuming, of course, that I also last that long too)

Campus Chills Launches

The Campus Chills launches in Halifax, Hamilton, Waterloo and Edmonton went over extremely well last week, with 4 different events taking place across the country on October 22, 2009.

Here are a few of the pictures from some of the events.

Starting in Halifax at Dalhousie University bookstore, here is Steve Vernon, offering some lunchtime reading and talk treats to the audience there.


Here's a fun picture taken before the Waterloo event started, with Douglas Smith, Julie E. Czerneda and James Alan Gardner hamming for the camera with the University of Waterloo bookstore staff in the lecture hall where the readings (and Julie's story) took place, complete with eerie lighting and spooky effects.


Here's a shot of the happy family at Titles Bookstore McMaster University where Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit, (me), Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom did readings and signed copies inside the bookstore where the haunted campus walks started and ended from.


While I have video of Susie Moloney and Brit Trogen reading at the University of Alberta Bookstore (I'm going to chunk the videos up to put on YouTube), I don't have pictures of the event, but will attempt to post them soon.

And today, if you find yourself in Ottawa, get thee over to the Algonguin Bookstore on the Woodruffe campus. Because mid afternoon Nancy Kilpatrick and Carol Weekes will be treating. Below is a shot of the Algonquin campus store mascot, Thor, getting into the Halloween spirit by checking out Campus Chills.

HNT - Haunted Hamilton 2009

Today is the launch of CAMPUS CHILLS -- an anthology of all original tales of terror by 13 extremely talented Canadian authors which I had the extreme pleasure of editing for the three campus bookstores that have produced it.

Titles Bookstore McMaster University, University of Waterloo Bookstore and University of Alberta Bookstore combined their resources to sponsor paying authors professional rates to craft stories specifically for this anthology.

Their tales are set on campuses across Canada and run the full range of horror -- from classic ghost stories to eerie "Twilight Zone" tales to the utterly disturbing and shocking. They have a couple things in common though. All of the tales draw upon some sort of speculative element (ie, some historic ghost legend, a classic "monster" or a new discovery from a campus lab) and they are brilliantly crafted tales by some of the finest writers I've ever had the pleasure of working with.

The book, which is being produced on the Espresso Book Machines at Waterloo, U of A and McMaster, (a 308 page perfect bound trade paperback retailing for $19.95) is launching and going on sale today at the following stores:

University of Waterloo Bookstore (Waterloo, ON)
University of Alberta Bookstore (Edmonton, ON)
Dalhousie University Bookstore (Halifax, NS)
Algonquin College Bookstore (Ottawa, ON)

...and, of course,

Titles Bookstore McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) where Titles is joining forces with Haunted Hamilton. The launch of Campus Chills will be taking place inside the bookstore where a series of 20 minute guided ghost walks of the campus that start and end at the bookstore will take place.

We will be featuring the following Campus Chills contributors who will be doing readings and signing copies of the anthology and their other books at the store: Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom.

Steve Vernon, Julie E. Czerneda, James Alan Gardner, Douglas Smith, Susie Moloney and Brit Trogen will all be attending the launches in Halifax, Waterloo and Edmonton today. Plans are being draw for a pre-Halloween event in Ottawa at the Algonquin Bookstore with Carol Weekes and Nancy Kilpatrick.

Titles Bookstore did a similar event last year, branded Haunted McMaster (and yes I blogged about it last year, too) -- so, fittingly, enough, this year, we're calling it Haunted McMaster 2009.

For this week's HNT post, here's a picture of me handing out one of the many exciting door prizes from last year's event. You can count on the fact that I'll be posting pictures from tonight's event in Hamilton as well as the other ones.

The question is, will I be wearing the same "skull" tie this year?

I'm not telling.

Campus Chills Anthology Trailer

I recently posted a couple of YouTube videos related to Campus Chills, an exciting new anthology that I have edited which was produced specifically for the Espresso Book Machines at the McMaster, Waterloo and University of Alberta bookstores.

The first one, is a "video book trailer" for the Campus Chills anthology. It's under 60 seconds and is relatively simple -- some text, some voice over, some creepy background music. Campus Chills features 13 original tales of terror set on campuses across Canada. It include stories by Kelley Armstrong, Julie E. Czerneda, Kimberly Foottit, James Alan Gardner, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly, Nancy Kilpatrick, Susie Moloney, Douglas Smith, Brit Trogen, Edo van Belkom, Steve Vernon and Carol Weekes and is introduced by Robert J. Sawyer.




The second one is about "Haunted McMaster 2009" -- the combined book launch and ghost walk of the McMaster campus taking place at Titles Bookstore Thursday October 22, 2009 at 7 PM. Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit (McMaster Author), Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom will be onhand for this book launch. The good folks at Haunted Hamilton will be offering the free ghost walks.

It Hurts Really Badly

Alexander and I spent several hours Saturday and Sunday setting up the front yard for Halloween. Basically, we transformed it into a graveyard scene, adding one or two new elements to it and switching it up just a little bit from last year. (Pictures forthcoming)

As always, my son was right beside me, participating every step of the way in the creation of this annual masterpiece. He is such a hard worker it amazes me. I'd like to think it's something he gets from his old man.

Of course, there's something else I'm pretty sure he gets from me.

It's his use of adverbs and adjectives. At one point, when he was helping me hammer some boards into the rickety graveyard fence we were putting up, he caught one of his fingers under the business end of the hammer. Yee-owch!

As I was trying to console him and inspect the damage, he kept saying. "Oh, Dad, it hurts really badly." Lately, it's a phrase he often repeats when he is hurt beyond the normal fall and scrape that five year olds are prone to. And while it disturbs me when he is injured, I also find the way he says it so absolutely cute and adorable.

Then it strikes me. Cute as the statement is, he's falling into one of the traps I can sometimes fall into when writing. Tossing out adverbs and adjectives like there's a massive "going out of style" sale going on.

Of course, given that at five, my son is already demonstrating he'll soon be surpassing me in various abilities (as sons often do to their fathers as they get older), he'll likely be a better master of words than his old man. I'll still be saying things like "This pain hurts really badly" and he'll be suggesting I be more concise like "it smarts" or at least more creative like "the agony I am experiencing is unbearable."

HNT - Campus Chills

I have spent a good amount of time in the past year working on a book called Campus Chills, an anthology of thirteen tales of terror set on campuses across Canada.

Campus Chills contains never before published stories by Kelley Armstrong, Julie E. Czerneda, Kimberly Foottit, James Alan Gardner, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly, Nancy Kilpatrick, Susie Moloney, Douglas Smith, Brit Trogen, Edo van Belkom, Steve Vernon and Carol Weekes. It is introduced by Robert J. Sawyer.

I had asked each of these fine authors to produce a tale set on a campus anywhere in the world (they all chose Canada) and that tells a chilling story. I wanted the stories to either be traditional ghost stories drawing on history or local campus legends, or perhaps be something born from a discovery in the labs. One caveat was that I did not want any stories that were based on real-life horrors such as what happened at Virginia Tech in 2007 or at McGill in 1989. There were to be no enraged gunmen on campus -- those things were still too close to home for so many -- the horrors in their fiction were to come from some supernatural force or from something happening in a research lab.

And the authors came through beautifully. From experiments gone wrong to ghosts walking the deserted hallways at night, from creatures returning from the dead to eerie spectres forewarning danger, from the fear of a failing grade to the dread of abandonment and isolation, from outraged revenge to a desperate desire to change the past, from supernatural creatures stalking the campus to long hidden and buried passageways and secrets, this anthology covers a broad range of the horror genre from some of Canada's truly finest writers.

The book, which is available from the Espresso Book Machines at McMaster University, University of Waterloo and University of Alberta Bookstores, will be launched next week -- October 22, 2009 in a four city, three province series of events.

Dalhousie University bookstore will host author Steve Vernon for a lunchtime reading/book signing in Halifax, NS.

Then, starting at 7 PM in Hamilton, ON at McMaster, Haunted Hamilton will be offering free custom ghost tours of campus starting and ending at Titles bookstore, while inside, after a demonstration of the printing of the book on the Espresso Book Machine, authors Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom do readings and sign copies of Campus Chills as well as their own books.

In Waterloo, ON beginning at 9 PM at the University of Waterloo bookstore, after a demonstration of the printing of Campus Chills on the Espresso Book Machine, authors Julie E. Czerneda, James Alan Gardner and Douglas Smith will be taking customers on a journey from the bookstore to a special secret campus location where everyone will be treated to candlelit ghost stories. (Due to limited space, this free event requires pre-registration, which you can do online)

And finally, the University of Alberta bookstore in Edmonton, AB will be hosting authors Brit Trogen and Susie Moloney, engaging customers in readings, a demonstration of the printing of Campus Chills on the Espresso Book Machine and the previewing of short horror films from local independently produced film-makers.

We were unable to secure a fifth event (Montreal-based) featuring authors Nancy Kilpatrick and Carol Weekes. Otherwise, it would have been a five city, four province series of book launches featuring all contributors. But I'm still delighted that we're able to have scheduled launches across Canada for the same day and featuring 11 of the 13 contributors (okay, 12 of the 15 if you include me, as I'll be hosting the McMaster event, and Rob Sawyer, who wrote the introduction but is unable to attend due to previous commitments)

I will, of course, be talking more and more about the coming events, particularly the one in Hamilton. In the meantime, here's a picture of me reading through an Advance Reader Copy of the book that we're currently spitting out of the Espresso Book Machines . . . this book is so good that I've read it over a dozen times. (I suppose, being the editor, I'd have to read it repeatedly, and yes, I'm a little biased . . . but dammit, these authors have done a tremendous job writing some incredible stories for this anthology . . . it's unputdownable . . .)

Da Count - Fran

This week's Da Count is something I neglect to count often enough, yet a thing that is so very precious to me. My relationship with Francine. She is my wife, my best friend, my lover, my confidante, my playmate, my soulmate, my partner on this life journey.


On Monday, Francine and I will be celebrating 13 years of marriage.

What I still can't believe, and which I am truly impressed by is that she actually continues to put up with me, with all my foibles and faults, all the silly things I do and the fact that though I'm 40 years of age, I am amused by the same things our five year old finds funny. More so than being the kind, wonderful, loving and nurturing gorgeous and sexy woman that I continue to fall more in love with each and every day, she actually has the infinite patience to put up with me.

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I'm certainly a better man for having Fran in my life.

And for that, I count my blessings repeatedly.

HNT - Death Of Free Time

When I was cutting the lawn this past week (something I had neglected to do for close to two weeks due to me being so crazy busy at work and on personal projects, combined with the fact that whenever I WAS at home, it seemed to be raining or an ungodly time to be cutting the lawn -- I'm sure the neighbours would freak out if I started up my mower at 2 AM) I left a small patch of grass in the middle. It's one of the "games" I play with my son while we're cutting the lawn. He enjoys seeing different patterns.

Based on how divided my attention and time has been lately, and hearing myself continually using the phrase "Oh gee, I'd better get home soon or my wife is going to kill me," I thought pulling out one of our Halloween decorations a bit early and sticking in the lawn might be a fun idea.


Symbolic, perhaps of the death of free time I've been experiencing lately?