A Little More Respectful: When Words Collide 2014 Notes - Part I

I'm now back from 5 days in Calgary at When Words Collide 2014 where I was one of the featured guests. I participated in a dozen different panels, workshops, talks and presentations, including two half-day seminar/workshops in which I shared both information from myself as an author as well as from my role as director of Kobo Writing Life. I'll post a bit about some of WWC 2014 in the next little while on my blog, captured from highlights and notes on the things that impressed me.

First, the conference itself impressed me. A gathering of readers, writers, editors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and other bookish folks is almost always a guarantee of a good time for me, but this one was one of the best run conferences that I have ever had the pleasure of attending and participating in.

The hosts, the conference committee, the organizers and the volunteers all deserve the most hearty thanks and congratulations. I'm sure I already offered them the highest compliment possible by signing up to attend next year on my own personal dime; (this year, as a featured guest, they paid all of my expenses and treated me like royalty) The fact that I do NOT want to miss this at all and will happily pay all expenses out of my own pocket should be evidence enough as to just how much I value this.  (My good friend Robert J. Sawyer, who was a guest author at WWC years ago, was also there this year, telling me that this is one of the few conferences that he has never missed and will gladly pay his own way to get to for the value that it brings. And I'm so glad Rob was there, because I had the chance to spend time with him; lately it seems we only spend time together when we're on the road attending the same events.....)

Brandon talking while Randy McCharles and I look on (Photo by Barbara Tomporowski)

But for this post I wanted to highlight something that Brandon Sanderson, one of the other guests of honour, mentioned during his Friday evening keynote talk.  Brandon, Jack Whyte, Jacqueline Guest, D.J. McIntosh and I each took about 10 to 15 minutes to talk about something of our own choosing four our keynotes, and, without having consulted one another, we offered what I thought was a very complimentary and dynamic offering. I was certainly captivated by every speaker there.

Brandon isn't just a fantastic writer, but he is also an amazing speaker. There were a few key highlights in his speech that stuck with me.

Brandon spoke about the importance of recognizing the difference between "I don't like this." and "This is crap!" and the effect that the secondary thinking has had in terms of infiltrating so much of our society. He spot about the very judgmental ways in which people, in attempting to assert their love for something feel it necessary to put down the things that are not to their tastes.

For example, is it more important that there are a lot of people reading a particular popular series of books, or that you feel there is quality in those books, particularly when they are not your cup of tea? Isn't the fact that there are any books that are drawing attention and helping bring more readers into the thrill and joy and wonder of reading the thing that's important?

Brandon spoke about a topic that has long interested me, and something which I remember first hearing in a description of a character from a television program. It was a very special episode of Family Ties - an hour long one called “‘A’ My Name Is Alex” in which Alex P. Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox) is dealing with the death of his best friend. In part of the episode, Alex describes his dad (played by Michael Gross) as a man who never had to put anybody else down in order to feel good about himself. For some reason I always remembered that sentiment and felt it was an important one to uphold.

Brandon's talk made me think a great deal, and I love how he concluded his talk with the sentiment that we could all stand to be a "little less internet" and a "little more respectful."

When Hats Collide

I have long stated that I love my career as a bookseller; particularly since it often intersects so brilliantly with my career as a writer.

Take my position at Kobo as the director of self-publishing and author relations, for example.

Having been a writer for three decades, I have a pretty solid understanding of a writer's perspective, and that has helped me to champion particular aspects of the creation of Kobo Writing Life that would appeal to a writer. And having been a bookseller for more than two decades provides me the retailer's perspective -- which can be quite handy for a writer to understand. When I took on my role at Kobo in October 2011 it was two of my greatest passions coming together.

Colliding, you might say.

This morning I'm bound for Calgary, Alberta, to attend When Words Collide, a conference that brings readers and writers together and is one of best annual conferences for writers according to more than a dozen writer friends who have attended it over the years. I have long wanted to attend this conference and this year I'm one of the featured guests, alongside Jacqueline Guest, DJ McIntosh, Brandon Sanderson and Jack Whyte (among dozens of other distinguished writers, publishers and publishing professionals)

Tomorrow I'll be leading two half-day workshops that combine my experiences as a bookseller, writer and my role at the helm of Kobo Writing Life.  In the morning I'll be presenting Marketing Best Practices and in the afternoon an examination of the merits of Hybrid Publishing with dozens of examples from my own experience as well as from authors and publishing folks I have interacted with over the years, outlining strategies for success, potential rabbit-holes to failure and studies of past performances.

Friday through Sunday I'll be leading discussions and Q&As as well as sitting on panels, doing readings and a keynote and also meeting with authors and publishers to discuss Kobo and how they can use Kobo Writing Life to reach new global audiences.

Oh yeah, and, with my publisher, Atomic Fez, I'll be doing the pre-launch celebration for my first full length horror novel I, DEATH, with a limited special When Words Collide edition of the novel on Saturday.

Special WWC limited edition cover for I, Death

Looking forward to a fantastic string of days where the hats I wear as Kobo's author relations guy and writer collide so brilliantly.

It's really hard to figure out when I'm working and when I'm just following a lifelong passion. What a fantastic problem to have.

I, ARC

I received the ARC for my forthcoming horror novel I, DEATH the other day.

Cover for I, Death, designed by Bret Taylor

It's quite stunning. And I have to say that working with Ian, the publisher and owner of Atomic Fez, has been an absolute blast. He is an editor who knows what he likes, knows what he dislikes, and he pulls no punches in telling me that something about the story or plot is stupid and needs to be revised. His suggestions, edits and revisions to my novel (hilarious as many of his notes were), helped refine the story into something that I'm quite pleased with.

Front of the ARC - Releasing October 2014

I'll be on a flight to Texas for Romance Writers Association's annual conference soon and will likely be using most of my "air time" to go through the ARC and make some final proofing notes.  It's quite amazing to see this as a printed book after the long history the novel has had. The first half of the novel originally appeared as a "real-time" story told on a blog in 2006; I then sold the expanded novel version to Ian about a year or so later, when he was editing for a UK based publisher.  That particular publishing house didn't survive, but not long after when Ian started his own publishing company, he said he was still interested in the novel; but with only a book or perhaps two coming out per year, it would take a while to see the light of day.  Working with Ian has been very satisfying and was definitely worth the wait.

Back cover of the ARC

There's a wonderful quote from Halifax's the extraordinary storyteller and writer, Steve Vernon which is derived from the Foreword he wrote for the book:

"I, Death is a death rattle coming of age story; it is a song, and it is the world's funniest dirty joke - all rolled into one."

Oh, and, if Steve's quote wasn't warning enough, let me add a note on the content. I, DEATH includes raw horror and pretty nasty and disturbing moments with people doing really bad things to one another. It's not for the faint of heart. To demonstrate Ian's wry humour, check out the PUBLISHER'S NOTE disclaimer on the copyright page which addresses this....

That's right - following the standard "this is a work of fiction....any resemblance to any real places or persons....is purely coincidental" but is then followed by:  "Any scenes involving alcohol, drugs, and / or teen-age sex are not in any way an endorsement of these sorts of behaviour by the publisher or the author. Kids: don't do drugs, stay in school, use a condom. Word, yo." 

I've only met Ian once in person. At a brew pub. Imagine that? We not only share an affinity for twisted and dark humour, but we also share a passion for discovering fine new beers.  I'll be seeing him again when we do the pre-launch for I, DEATH at When Words Collide in Calgary in just a couple of weeks. Though the book officially releases in October, this will be a launch party with a special pre-release edition of the book which won't be available anywhere else.  [Facebook Event Info]

The book is in pre-order now (via all your favourite bookish places), or please request it/order it through your favourite local bookstore. (Only the print version is available for pre-order through retailers - the eBook isn't yet appearing in their catalogs) The story is also unrolling for free on Wattpad, if you want to get a head start on the story. There will likely be a Goodreads giveaway once we get a bit closer to official release time.

Warrior Dash 2014

Another Warrior Dash weekend in Barrie, Ontario has come and gone. It is always a weekend filled with much mirth, hanging out with both old and new friends, and, of course, somewhere in there, some running, too.

Pierre adding dye to Chad's beard

Is it too late to be reading the instructions WHILE dye is being added to my hair?

As always, Pierre and I spent part of the day hanging around the beer gardens enjoying the many free beer tags that were given to us. (One of the benefits of wearing a warrior costume is that people who aren't using their beer ticket give them to you - not that we needed any free beer - the giant "Beeramid" we had created above the fireplace in the condo was doing okay all on its own)

Pierre, Chad, Tricia and me prior to the race

Pierre, Trish and I after the race (Chad must have been at the beer tent already)

As had become tradition, we shaved our heads after the race. We tried dying our hair blond the night before, but starting with black hair (okay, mostly black with a little bit of grey), the hair only lightened a bit. So we then dyed half of our heads black (but it ended up turning a strange blue hue -- hmm, maybe the combination of two different hair dyes in a short time period combined with the chlorine from the swimming pools had something to do with it.

Pointing out each other's beer bellies

Menacing warriors are here to drink all your beer!

One of the funniest moments from the weekend was while walking around the beer gardens and posing for pictures with so many different people. It's fun to ham for the camera; people are always in such a happy and playful mood when you're in a costume. And we had three different people we posed with let us know that we simply HAD to pose with them because they have a picture with us from every year of the Dash.

Pierre and I hanging out with some pals from The Basement Fitness in Sudbury

The post-dash buzz cut is complete - now we're Breaking Marking Bad!

As always, the whole weekend was a really fun time. Somewhere in there we managed to make new friends, annoy old friends, bump into old high school pals, get lots of swimming in with the kids and help the kids discover the joys of fishing, paddle boats and catching frogs from a pond.

Good times.

Previous Warrior Dash Summaries:  2013, 2012, 2011 (This one I actually talk more about the run itself and less about the beer and hanging out in the beer tent)

The Push And Pull Of The Editorial Process

I'm about halfway through the proof version of my latest non-fiction paranormal book for Dundurn, Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores & Libraries and have to say that I'm really pleased with the editorial and design team.

A draft of the cover flat for Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores and Libraries

Yes, I'll admit, the process wasn't without frustration. I'm quite passionate about both bookish locales as well as sharing ghost stories, so there was a lot of me, personally, invested into this manuscript.

Too much me, perhaps.

I spent a bit too much time dwelling on my own passion for bookstores, for libraries, for spooky stories. Content that might bring value to an in person author appearance or talk, but which might be too much for the pages of this particular manuscript.

I needed an unbiased editorial viewpoint to keep me from diverging too far off the path that would appeal to the broadest audience.

I disagreed, of course, with several suggestions for how to revise the book, saw value in many other suggestions, and stubbornly pushed and prodded in that ego-centric way that authors can sometimes fall back to when someone else is trying to "rain on their parade" by suggesting an alternative way to approach something.

So there was push and pull, and disagreement.

But at the end of the day, as I'm halfway through a solid proofing read of the book, I have to say, I'm impressed.

Unedited proof showing sidebar of the "side story" for a chapter

The editorial team at Dundurn took what was a pretty good manuscript that I turned in and they have helped to craft it into something pretty amazing. The book takes just the right balance of speculative wonder about the paranormal and an appreciation for bookstores and libraries, offering something of value for both camps of potential readers without going too far off in one direction. A great editorial suggestion to pull some of the "back-story elements" from the main body of some of the chapters and insert that into sidebar boxes works brilliantly. 

This worked nicely, because, in doing research for the book, I fell in love with the history of the locale I was writing about and wanted to share interesting tidbits of the building's history or some intriguing factual notes that were related to the original story. The problem, though, is they didn't add to the main story as well.


Tomes of Terror isn't exactly the book I had envisioned when I pitched the book to Dundurn.

It's even better.

Guest Post: Michael Cairns - Art & Fatherhood

The following is a guest blog post from Michael Cairnes as part of The Planets Blog Tour of July 2014.

ART & FATHERHOOD by Michael Cairns

Every week day I get up and go to work. And every day when I get to work, at the horribly early hour of 6:50, I sit at my drums for half an hour and practice, then I sit at my desk and write for forty minutes. At eight, school begins and I put my other head on.

When I get home, after time with my family and my daughter is in bed, I open my laptop and put in an average of 3 hours on writing, editing and marketing I do this every single day, day in day out. I do it because I love it and I do it because I feel compelled. And I do it because I want to be able to say to my daughter that I never gave up on doing the things I love and following my dreams.

There’s more to it than that though. I also do it because I believe that every single person can make a living doing what they love. Not what they’ve come to like because they didn’t have any choice, but what they truly know, in their heart of hearts, they are destined to do. I want my daughter to grow up believing that as deeply as she can.

The world in which we live is both a creative’s paradise and at complete odds with the way we, as creatives, want to live. It is a world dominated by money and its power over how we live our lives. But it also has more people consuming more art than at any other time in history. This has led to a world in which millions of people are creative but far too many of them hide it, or view it as a pastime that has no more value than watching the latest episode of blah blah blah. 

As a secondary school teacher, I deal every day with students whose parents have told them not to take or study music because it won’t get them anywhere, and because they won’t learn anything useful. After scraping the blood off the walls, I calmly explain to the students that their now sadly-deceased parents were wrong. I explain that art can give you something no amount of money ever will.  But I know as I’m drumming this into them that I am fighting against a tide of belief that art, and the creation of it, are somewhat secondary in our culture. A frivolous nice to have but not worthy of any real commitment or as a career choice in its own right.


Art and the creation of art develops skills. It develops the skills of perseverance and dedication. It develops the ability to think using all parts of your brain. It gives you the chance to appreciate things that normal life rushes you past before you even notice it. Art gives you stillness in times of chaos and it gives you energy when all you want to do is sleep. It develops self-belief and self-confidence and above all, it teaches you that life is about more than consuming.

I would like my children to grow up believing that art is as valuable to the world as food and sleep and far more important than money.

Why is it as important as food and sleep?

Because we are no longer hunter-gatherers. Because, for the vast, lucky majority of us, our lives can and should mean more than surviving. And this is where art comes in. Art, meaning stories, paintings, music, dance, theatre, and many other things, reminds us of all the worlds that exist beyond us. We are not isolated vessels, drifting through dangerous seas. We are part of the sea and the more art we appreciate, the more of other people soul’s we look into, the more we become one.

Art brings us together, even when our taste leads us to disagree. In that thought, in that elevation from animals to thinking beings, we become closer.

I want my daughter to be part of that world. I want her to bring people closer together. I want her to feel rich in her heritage of coming from a family in which art and the sheer pleasure of creation is valued as highly as any other skill. And I want her to remember that her dreams, no matter what they are, are blueprints for her life, signposts to be followed to happiness.

Chocoholic Michael Cairns is a writer and author of the superhero fantasy series, The Planets and science fiction adventure series, A Game of War. A musician, father and school teacher, when not writing he can be found behind his drum kit, tucking into his chocolate stash or trying, and usually failing, to outwit his young daughter.

Download a free copy of Michael's novella Childhood Dreams (A Game of War, Part one) at  http://cairnswrites.com -- you will also find podcasts, free short stories, info about Michael, and of course, links to where you can buy his books. Check out The Planets Blog Tour. 

The Spirit Room on Kobo, Kindle and Smashwords 

Three Ways To Get EVASION For FREE

My novella thriller EVASION has been continuing to receive positive feedback since it was featured on Wattpad in late May for a day.  It now has almost 82,000 reads, almost 1200 votes from readers and a demand to read the next book in the series.

I suppose this means that, for NaNoWriMo 2014, I'll have to write the sequel.....

If you're interested in reading it, there are currently 3 different ways you can read it for free.

FIRST WAY TO GET IT FREE (eBook)

•  Wattpad - you can read 100% of the book, 100% of the time, for free on Wattpad.  You can read it online or download the mobile Wattpad app.  All free.

SECOND WAY TO GET IT FREE (eBook)

• DIGITAL BOOK DAY - Monday July 14th will be Digital Book Day - produced by the wonderful "thrillers with heart" author CJ Lyons, it includes a giveaway of digital books in multiple genres from authors from around the world.  Please note that the links on this site will only be live for Monday July 14, 2014, so this is a limited time offer.

Digital Book Day

 THIRD WAY TO GET IT FREE (Print Book)

• Goodreads Giveaway - 10 copies of the print book (which retails for $14.95 US) will be available through this Goodreads promotion. It's a random draw from all entrants, but 10 chances to win! (The chance to enter, closes July 30, 2014) :)

So there - you now have 3 different ways of getting access to read EVASION for free. A couple of digital ways and one way to get it free in print. 

The book is currently available for sale on Amazon in print and eBook (regular price $4.99, but reduced to 99 cents at Amazon for Monday July 14th) and Kobo (where it's FREE on Monday July 14th) and Smashwords (other retailers coming soon)

If you do read it, I would greatly appreciate you reviewing the book on your favourite online review spot (most commonly, folks post reviews to Goodreads and Amazon)

Dad And My Writing

June 28th has always been a special day. My Dad's birthday.


When we were young, it was always a time for our family to get together (my larger family, that is, which always included my Mom's brother, Uncle Leslie, and his family. His sons, my cousins Rodney and Kevin grew up more like extended brothers than cousins, so whenever I thought of the family getting together, they were always a part of it - especially on special occasions like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and my Dad's birthday)

My Dad died unexpectedly on an operating room table. It's something I've been dealing with for a long time. Before that, my biggest fear for the longest time had been losing my father. And that was the spark of the novel Morning Son, which I wrote more than a decade ago.

Morning Son is the story of a man who is tasked with spreading his dead father's ashes at his father's favourite fishing spot -- only, his old man's favourite fishing spot was a secret, so the novel's hero ends up leaving his wife and daughter behind to go on a quest to see if he can learn this secret locale -- only, he uncovers other disturbing secrets from his father's past that he wonders might be better left alone.

Dad reading a scene from Morning Son

I had been working on one of the first drafts of the novel when my Dad, Rodney and I were staying at a cabin on Manitoulin Island. They were hunting and I was writing. Although the novel is fiction, some elements had been based on things from my Dad's life, such as a motorcycle accident that had almost killed him when he was in his early twenties and left him with a leg injury that would plague him his entire life -- I thus had my father read a few of the scenes that had been based on real life, like the accident in order to help ensure I properly captured the essence. (I had constructed it from reading the gigantic court transcript of the case)

I shopped Morning Son around to a few publishers, several of whom thought it interesting and with some merit, but none interested enough to publish it. I put it back in the drawer and haven't looked at it in years. I think it's a decent novel, and certainly unlike most of my writing, because it's mostly contemporary fiction, with perhaps a bit of a mystery to it.

But last November, during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I ended up writing about my Dad again. Only this time, it was to explore something that kept happening to me shortly after he'd died. I keep "seeing him" everywhere. Wish fulfillment, of course, because I wasn't ready to have lost him. But my mind kept imagining scenarios where he wasn't really dead and thus there was a chance that the two of us might get together again some day.

And that's how my novella length thriller Evasion was born.

Evasion opens with the following text...

Scott Desmond was looking at a dead man.
    He shook his head, swiped at the sweat running down his forehead and into his eyes, tried to focus more clearly on the sight before him.
    There was no mistake about it.
    The man he was looking at across two sets of train tracks was none other than his father - a man who had died almost eighteen months earlier.

Evasion, trade paperback version - front cover and spine

Evasion explores what happens when Scott Desmond starts looking into his father's death, convinced that he man can't possibly be dead, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Just as he feels he is getting somewhere, people in his life, starting with his boss, begin trying to kill Scott. He is forced to run, wondering if he'll be able to stay alive long enough to figure out what happened to his father.

I hadn't planned on doing anything with it for a while (particularly since I already had two books coming out from traditional publishers and also releasing the 10th Anniversary Edition of my self-published One Hand Screaming all slated for later this year).

But I had posted the novel to Wattpad in the hopes of getting some beta reader feedback and perhaps even winning some money from a post NaNoWriMo contest they'd offered. I figured if I won I could use it for editing and cover design costs for the book. Only, a Wattpad employee found the story, liked it and wanted to feature it in the Thriller category on May 26th.

So I rushed it to an editor, revised the cover and got a cleaner version of the book ready.

It exploded in reads and, to date, has received more than 71,000 reads, over 1000 votes and 270 comments. Wow.

One of the more popular comments including many that ask if the book will be available to purchase and also what happens next.  (Inspiring me with plans to write the sequel to the novel this coming November during NaNoWriMo 2014)

Evasion - trade paperback back cover

The book is available to be read completely for free on Wattpad.  It's also available as an eBook on Kobo and Kindle. (Versions coming for other forms in the near future) And a print version is also now available.

I also thought I'd test out using some book design templates I had read about from designer Joel Friedlander. I had been following his blog for a while and heard many positive comments about his templates and services from trusted folks in the different writer communities. Friedlander has created a series of Word templates that allow authors to easily create print-ready documents for both a book's interior and exterior.

So last weekend, I spent a few hours fooling around with the templates and then loading them to Createspace, a POD solution offered by Amazon.

The templates were simple and easy to use. Despite knowing how to use Adobe InDesign to create a cover flat layout, I used Friedlander's Word template for covers and followed the handy online instructions. I ended up with a template that worked quite nicely and did not look like a cookie-cutter outline. There's enough flexibility within the base template to allow someone to be able to come off with a decent looking design. I was suitable impressed and can highly recommend these templates to authors who don't already have expert support in making print-ready files.

Then I accidentally published the thing.

Yes, in the process of going through the proofing on Createspace, I had meant to order a proof copy (which I did), but I accidentally hit the APPROVE PROOF button and the book went into publish status.

So I hadn't really been planning on letting the thing go live yet. I've been waiting since 2007 for my first novel I, Death, to be published by a publisher I have adored working with. And it's coming later this year.  (I suppose, since Evasion is a novella, I, Death will still be my first novel)

The proof arrived the other day and I looked at it for the first time last night - on the eve of my father's birthday. I was blown away by how gorgeous it turned out.

Evasion is dedicated to My Dad. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience, and testing out the templates and the process to make it into a print ready book has also been incredible.

Interior of Evasion - a Picture of Mark and his father Eugene

On the inside "About the Author" section, I used a picture of me and my father at the BBQ.  It was taken a few years before he died and reminds me of the fun we had on those late June afternoons, hanging out with the family, sharing stories and jokes, drinking a cold beer and enjoying those precious moments together.

When I return to the universe of Evasion this coming fall, I'm certainly going to enjoy further exploring the relationship between Scott and Lionel Desmond, a fictional father-son relationship that has already brought me so much joy in writing. When I look back at it, stories my father shared with me have ended up being used in so many different stories. There are elements of him almost everywhere in my writing.

No, writing Evasion or the next book in that series that explores the father-son relationship between Scott and his father won't bring my Dad back. But it's always fun to dream and wish and imagine.

Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you. I miss you. And I thank you for so many wonderful memories and for the endless inspiration.

Creepy Island of Dolls

I love this creepy story about an island in Japan where Ayano Tsukimi, a 64 year old artist has created more than 350 lifesized dolls to breathe new life into a 'ghost town' of an island.  The dolls are everywhere, posed as fisherman, sitting on bus stop benches, attending an abandoned school or even eerie silent weddings.

Dolls posed in an abandoned school - Source: VIMEO/FRITZ SCHUMANN

It reminds me my first visit to Halifax and discovering the scarecrows of Necum Teuch in a very small community just outside of town. I was doing a book signing for One Hand Screaming at the Chapters on the Saturday night and a Starbucks barista who was interested in horror suggested that I check out this nearby community.

Photo of Scarecrows of Necum Teuch taken by Bob Marchand, Sept 2002

I was so inspired (and freaked out) by the scarecrows, that when I got back to my hotel I stayed up all night writing the first draft of the story A Murder of Scarecrows. It's about a man (Wilson Kendrick) who wakes up in the middle of the night to discover an army of scarecrows is taking over his isolated east coast town.

The story (about 10,000 words) retails for $1.99 US and is available on Kobo, Kindle, Smashwords.

You can, of course, read the entire story for free if you use the following coupon code (good until the end of 2014) for the book's listing on Kobo. Simply throw it into your shopping cart, then use coupon code:  "starkshort" to apply a 100% OFF discount. (You don't need a Kobo device to read it - you can read it on your smartphone, tablet or computer using a free Kobo app)

Seriously - go ahead and download it for free. I don't mind. I'd prefer it, in fact.

Nice Guys And Finishing First

There's the old saying that nice guys finish last.

I'm not a strong believer in it.

Or rather, I'm sure there's something to be said about nice guys losing the battle but winning the war.

I like to think of it as focusing on the long term rather than the short win.

You can push people down, step on them, worm your way to the top in a ruthless manner; or you can work hard and give it your all, commit yourself to something you are passionate about, build a solid foundation that grows slowly, but certainly, providing a base that won't crumble, providing a solid perk that is less likely to topple.

Hugh and a group of KWL team members hamming for the camera

I've met Hugh Howey several times in the past few years, usually in quick and pleasant exchanges at writer's conferences or sitting together on a panel discussion. But last week, when he was in Toronto, I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with him.

For those who haven't met Hugh, or perhaps only met him briefly in passing at conferences, you'll know what I mean when I say that he gives off a sense of genuineness and charm. If you only know him through his writing, his blog or the interviews he has done, you'll likely get that same sense of his humble nature and generous spirit.

Hugh with Lorna Toolis at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy(He really didn't want to leave - it was like watching a kid in a candy store - but he did have to go and greet a huge group of fans waiting downstairs)

But when you get to know him, you realize that the charm, the genuine nature, the humble disposition and the generosity extends far deeper. I had the good fortune not only of spending time discussing writing and publishing with Hugh, as well as the manner by which he makes the most out of the extensive travel, but also seeing him interact with fans, fellow writers and strangers.

The man exudes an aura of brilliance upon all of those he meets. I watched him greet fans, writers, dogs and toddlers multiple times in the past week and he warmly embraced each encounter, making the absolutely best of each moment, each conversation, each interaction. He was truly basking in the moment and living in a very pure "carpe diem" way.

Hugh being interviewed for the Kobo in Conversation video/podcast

For many writers, Hugh is envied and seen as one of the top dogs to be; his success as a self-published writer, his incredible print-only deal with Simon & Schuster for WOOL and his unmistakeable influence on the industry are things that many others aspire to. Hugh himself is genuinely humble, in love with life and more interested in helping and promoting other writers than in pushing forth his own agenda. He doesn't just talk the talk, but he walks it brilliantly; putting most of his efforts into writing.

I heard him explain to a group of fans and writers last week that one of the most frustrating and upsetting moments in the past couple of years was when he realized that he would not have time to answer all of the fan mail that he receives. But it got to a point where he could spend a full day doing nothing but answering emails from writers and fans -- which would have taken him away from the activity that brought him there in the first place:  writing books that he could be passionate about. So he had to reconcile the fact that, in order to continue to produce the books he wanted, he would have to sacrifice something that meant a lot to him -- the in depth interactions. His auto-responder email jokingly suggests that he has been replaced by a robot and then goes on to explain that he is still reading every single email that he gets. And he appreciates them. He just can't respond to all of them individually. He says that having an assistant do that for him would be less personal -- he then breaks the auto-response into three main sections for Fans, Writers and Business Stuff. He also has a section for Nigerian Princes - because, even though it's an apologetic auto-responder chock-full of helpful info, it also contains his warmth and good humour.

From the look in his eyes when he tells the story of not being able to personally respond to everyone who emails him, you can tell that it still truly hurts him that he isn't able to fully engage with everyone who reaches out.

Mark Medley, Hugh, Ashleigh Gardener, Mark - Book Summit 2014 Panel on Non-Traditional Publishing Communities

He more than makes up for that fact, though, when he does public appearances; when he was at the public events in Toronto last week, he showed up early so that those eager fans who wanted to chat with him had the opportunity; and he stuck around afterward so he could engage in conversation with as many writers and fans as possible.

Hugh is successful because he focuses on the important things -- writing (a lot and consistently) and making real connections with people. The idea of marketing or using social media to do anything other than to connect with fans and other writers just isn't in his repertoire.

And with projects like the Author Earnings website he also focuses on helping shed light on the dark corners of the publishing industry, not as a method of attacking publishers, but of helping authors be aware of the reality of the publishing business and also to help publishers adapt and evolve to better suit the needs of readers and writers. The stated purpose of Author Earnings is to gather and share information so that writers can make informed decisions and to call for change within the publishing community for better pay and fairer terms in all contracts.  To quote from Hugh's blog:  "I would make far more money investing this time in writing fiction, but I care more about change than I do about dollars."

He doesn't focus on marketing or self-promotion; he's quite uncomfortable with that, in fact. When I asked him what his favorite piece of his own writing is, he is enthusiastic about how much he put into the writing of I, Zombie (a book in which he addresses personal feelings regarding 9/11) but then he cautions me NOT to read it; suggests that I'm likely to hate it.

Here's the synopsis for the book

***WARNING: NOT FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION***

This book contains foul language and fouler descriptions of life as a zombie. It will offend most anyone, so proceed with caution or not at all.

And be forewarned: This is not a zombie book. This is a different sort of tale. It is a story about the unfortunate, about those who did not get away. It is a human story at its rotten heart. It is the reason we can't stop obsessing about these creatures, in whom we see all too much of ourselves.

The first thing I did, of course, after that conversation, was go out and buy a copy of it.

In any case, today is Hugh's birthday. And, in Hugh fashion, he's traveling at the request of the many people who are in demand for his time. When he was in Toronto, the Kobo Writing Life team brought in a birthday cake for him for a bit of an early celebration.

Hugh with an impromptu birthday cake

Happy Birthday, Hugh, you nice guy, you! Thanks for helping to support my theory.

Check out Hugh's books and stories.

Check out Author Earnings.

Listen to the interview with Hugh from the Kobo Writing Life Podcast.

Beware The Ides of June

So this is the only Friday the 13th in 2014. And it's a full moon. That won't happen again until 2049. Not sure why it's a big deal, particularly since last time I checked we get a full moon every month - so if my calculations are correct, we might have another one next month, and maybe even 12 every year, and sometimes as many as 13. Cool.

As for Fridays, even though it sometimes doesn't feel like it, I'm sure we get one of those every single week; occasionally a handful of them every month.

As for the 13ths, well, they only come once per month - just like that full moon thing. And they tend to happen about 12 times a year. If we occasionally had 13 of them, now that would be pretty odd.

But something I haven't seen discussed (despite the Friday the 13th / Full Moon lining up), is the fact that today is also the Ides of June.

Yes - in that play where Julius is warned to beware the Ides of March, Shakespeare was talking about the 15th. The Ides are part of a Roman calendar designation associated with the phases of the moon, with the Kalends (the 1st), the Ides (the 13th or the 15th), and the Nones (the 5th or the 7th) The way it all lines up, the Ides land on the 15th of March and 13th of June.

Friday the 13th isn't just a long running movie franchise. It has been a tradition for the small Ontario town of Port Dover to have motorcycles descend upon it since 1981 when a group of about twenty-five friends and bikers got together on that date in Dover, had a ton of fun and decided to do it every Friday the 13th. It kind of grew from there into the extravaganza it is today.

Around 2001 or so was when Francine and I started our own Friday the 13th tradition, which we called our Friday the 13th Hot Luck. We served, beer, wine and other bevies and invited friends over to share their favourite hot and spicy dish. It could get a little stupid sometimes, with recipes designed less for spicy food enjoyment and more to see if we could make the other person cry or stick their head in the pool or chew on the fence or some similar activity to try to soothe the burning hot pain on their tongue and lips.

One of the many Friday the 13th gatherings at the old Chateau Leslie

Some of the fun recipes I've used on Friday the 13ths include my infamous blackout ribs (originally made during the blackout of 2003), then, the less intense but wonderfully tasty rib sauce recipe; as well as a wonderful killer home-made pizza using a crazy sauce and fiery hot Hungarian salami from Denningers.

We haven't held the Hot Lucks in at least the past two years. Timing just hasn't worked out. I really miss them and the fun times we had with so many friends. But perhaps it's good we didn't have one this year.

After all, so many other unique events are all lining up today. It's a unique day in the universe.


It's a Friday the 13th with a Full Moon on the Ides of June.


Thus, make sure you're careful out there, and heed the warning:

Beware The Ides of June!

No Relation Book Launch

I attended the official launch for No Relation by Terry Fallis last night.

Sure, the book has been out since May and has climbed the charts on the Globe & Mail Bestseller list (no surprise there - it's a fantastic novel filled with both hilarious moments as well as poignant ones), but the evening was Terry celebrating his new novel with a group of friends, associates, family and colleagues.

Tim Fallis kicks off the evening, admitting he has "some relation" to his twin brother Terry

It was a packed house at Dora Keogh on Danforth; standing room only as we cheered and celebrated Terry's latest book. Book City, the very first bookstore to carry Terry's first novel The Best Laid Plans back when it was self-published and Terry was an unknown author, was on hand selling copies of Terry's novels as well as Douglas Gibson's Stories About Storytellers. (I'm proud to state that, while Book City was the first bookstore to carry it, I was the second bookseller to pick up his book and one that insisted we do a book launch for The Best Laid Plans at McMaster.)

Terry's twin brother Tim (who exudes the same charm and wit as his brother), kicked off the evening, congratulating and teasing his brother before introducing Douglas Gibson, Terry's editor and a master storyteller in his own right, who introduced Terry.

Doug Gibson talks about the joy of being Terry's editor and friend

Doug spoke about Terry's reputation among booksellers as a "nice guy" and, speaking with booksellers, you get a true sense that Terry is adored both near and far by booksellers and is an avid supporter of his friends in the bookish trade. He mentioned in his opening remarks last night that when a neighbourhood bookstore closes, it's not just the loss of a handful of jobs nor the inconvenience of not having a local bookshop to check out that occurs, it's that a piece of the very fabric of culture itself has been torn from that community.

Listening to Terry do a short reading from Chapter One of the novel made me want to read it again.I had read the advance reader's copy of the novel, but I want to enjoy the story once more and figure I'll go back and listen to the podcast of Terry reading the novel.

Reading the novel was great - but the humour was much stronger when delivered by Terry's fine reading of the piece. I'm looking forward to enjoying it again, this time through Terry's narration. (Yes, there's a podcast where you can listen to the entire book for free - Terry has done that with every one of his novels and I applaud Random House, his publisher, for allowing him to continue to use this vehicle as a promotional tool to help sell more copies of his book)

The novel is truly Terry at his finest form. I have adored all of his novels, and while I still have quite the fondness for Angus McLintock (brought to life wonderfully by Kenneth Welsh in the CBC MiniSeries based on Terry's first novel) this is my favourite novel so far.

Perhaps there's something about the way Terry addresses family in this novel that provides the ring of truth for people to embrace it.

The very first book launch for Terry's first book - back in Sept 2007 at the campus store formerly known as Titles (McMaster University Bookstore

In my review of the novel on Goodreads, I called the book witty, wry, cunning and clever and said that "the story combines silly humour, slapstick situations and unexpectedly touching moments with intriguing twists, knots and turns, creating a pleasurable, well-rounded and ultimately satisfying journey."

Join me and the smartest booksellers in the land in checking out this book which I highly recommend you add to your summer reading list.

The Little Things . . . Like Smiles

I can't help but be terribly impressed every time I'm waiting in line to go through the security screening at Pearson's Terminal 1 whenever I'm heading to the US.

Because this guy is always there, singing to travellers.

As people arrive to drop off their checked bags, he assists customers with the process and sings to them. It's one of a dozen different tunes that he sings, of course, midway through any song he'll insert instructions on where people need to go next or a simple "have a nice day" at an appropriate time in the melody.

He always elicits a smile out of me, even when I'm stressed and worried about not making my flight (which that security checkout line can easily inspire). He doesn't have to do what he does. His job is to take the bags and perhaps answer questions from confused travelers - but he adds that little extra touch, offering something unique to the day of each person who sees and hears him.

It's a small thing that he does, but it puts smiles on peoples faces.

Last time I went through Pearson, I joked with one of the agents who was inspecting my hands for residue (drug residue? gun oil residue? bomb chemical residue? driver's booger residue?) by asking her if he ever comes in to work in a grumpy mood. She laughed and smiled and said not that she'd ever seen.

I don't know the man's name, but I admire him and appreciate that little thing he brings in people's lives every day.  He also inspires me to consider what little things I might be able to do to make another person's day that much brighter.

Evasion

I'm rather excited that my novel EVASION is being featured on Wattpad.

There's nowhere to hide when everybody you know is trying to kill you. Scotty Desmond's day begins like any other until his boss calls him into the office, pulls out a gun and start shooting at him. Scott manages to escape the surprise assassination attempt, but everyone else he meets, colleagues, friends and strangers are all similarly obsessed with killing him. Will Scott survive long enough to understand what is behind the relentless attacks and how it might relate to the investigation into his father's mysterious death?

The story was inspired by something that kept happening to me in the first couple of years after my father died. I kept seeing him everywhere. When you lose someone you love, there's always that little part of you that sees them everywhere and in everything. The mind does that to you.

But I started to imagine (speculate, if you will), a possibility where the things I had been seeing hadn't been my mind playing tricks on me, but that my father was actually alive.

I kicked the concept around and made a few attempts to write the story.

But, shortly before NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2013, I started jotting down some notes and outlining the characters and plot that went along with this premise. And I wrote it during November.

The daily word count for Evasion during NaNoWriMo

And Evasion was born.

The book is set mostly in Toronto and Sudbury and opens in the thinly masked building that is Kobo's head office in Liberty Village. It's a fast paced action thriller written in the style of the movie Die Hard -- ie, some crazy shit goes down and the hero has to think on their feet in order to stay alive.  Of course, readers have already commented that the opening reminds them of Joseph R. Garber's Vertical Run. It might also conjure up thoughts of Duane Swiercynzski's Severance Package. I adored both of those novels and watch Die Hard every Christmas, and I wrote this novel to satisfy my own thirst for that type of tale, so I suppose anybody who has enjoyed either of those three might also get a kick out of Evasion.

I had fun playing with the premise -- and not just the action, but the father/son relationship: The novel includes a number of flashbacks into Scott's childhood and memories of his father.

I wrote the first draft for Evasion in November 2013. I let it sit, then did a re-write of it and recently sent it off for an edit.


The book is being featured this week at Wattpad, which is a social platform to connect writers and readers, filled with stories you can read for free online or via apps for your smart-phone or tablet.

I'll be releasing Evasion as an eBook for $4.99 this summer.  The pre-order is currently available at Kobo. It'll be added to the other places shortly.