Almost every single time I talk about my upcoming novel BOOK OF DREAMS on here, I make sure to mention that it is a MASH of genres. I think it’s very important for authors to be upfront about stuff like that, so as not to alienate their readers.
I wouldn’t want someone to think, ‘Oh, HORROR!’ and pick up my novel thinking that’s what they’re going to get.
First and foremost, BOOK OF DREAMS is for the YOUNG ADULT market. Here’s a list of the genres I navigate with BOOK OF DREAMS:
Contemporary
Suspense
Paranormal
Horror
Fantasy
I’ve made this clear from day one. I wrote it this way. Just like I did with Half Dead & Fully Broken several years ago, I wanted to write a CONTEMPORARY with a bit of an edge…I wanted it to slide into other genres while keeping its contemporary feel.
If the reader goes into BOOK OF DREAMS not knowing this, they could be disappointed. So this is yet another PSA regarding the book.
Author Blurb from the amazing Danika Stone!
It’s slated to release on Tuesday September 13th, 2022. If you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, you can do so wherever books are sold! (And if you’re LOCAL to the GTA or Durham Region here in Ontario, please consider picking it up at BLUE HERON BOOKS. Here’s a link to the post I wrote about picking it up at BLUE HERON BOOKS.)
Here’s the synopsis for BOOK OF DREAMS:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet teen also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Some pre-order links AND the Goodreads link so you can add it to your Goodreads shelf!
So, two years ago today something magical came in the mail! The Advance Reader Copies ARCs of The Camino Club! It was such an exciting day for me! Though my 7th novel, it’s the first one with a bigger publisher and, therefore, ARCs. And what gorgeous ARCs they were!
From the cover design to the interior, I am still madly in love with what my publisher (CB MESSER, of Interlude Press/Duet Books) did with The Camino Club. Such lovely details. I felt like I was losing my mind with excitement as I flipped through the pages.
I can’t begin to explain how much I love every little thing about the design. It’s still perfect, after two years. What surprises me is that I didn’t keep any of the ARCs for myself. I do have one final copy of the book at home, though.
On this 2nd anniversary of THE CAMINO CLUB ARC arrival, I just know that my next book is soon to arrive. It went out to the printer a while ago and it’s only a matter of time! Book of Dreams is almost here!
Releasing to the world on September 13th, Book of Dreams is destined to arrive on my doorstep any time now. I have such amazing news about this book and I have been sitting on it for so long that it’s burning a hole in my soul! The very second I get the okay to share this news, I will be screaming it from the rooftops.
Have you pre-ordered your copy of BOOK OF DREAMS yet? If you are local to the GTA, you may want to wait for an as yet announced author signing to take place sometime in September. This will be after my return from walking the Camino de Santiago from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I am out of country from Sept 7th to Sept 23rd. Yes, that’s right…I’ll be walking the Portuguese Camino on the day my book releases! This was NOT planned. The original release was May, 2022. The Camino was booked long ago and when the release date changed, my plans were already carved in stone. So look for a book signing sometime late in September or early in October.
You can PRE-ORDER BOOK OF DREAMS wherever books are sold. Here’s some links:
BOOK OF DREAMS (Duet Books/Chicago Review Press, SEPTEMBER 13th, 2022) EBOOK NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER!
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from a previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet teen also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Although I won’t share the cool interior design of BOOK OF DREAMS just yet, I will share the EPIGRAPH and the DEDICATION. Here they are…
My upcoming novel BOOK OF DREAMS is set in my hometown. Toronto, Ontario. I didn’t think I’d ever write that sentence. At first I even did this surreptitiously, adding little details about Toronto that probably only residents would know. I have always felt the need to mask the Canadianism of my fiction, create small town anywhere locations that wouldn’t alienate American readers.
What I didn’t expect was for my editors to suggest feeding more details of Toronto into my manuscript at a recent editing stage. I can’t tell you how much this delighted me. Also, I guess I wasn’t exactly as surreptitious as I thought I was being. Looks like they knew it was Toronto, but not Toronto enough.
So I was free to sprinkle a few little details about. I still went sparingly, always conscious of the potential of losing the interest of American readers because of the setting. This may sound implausible, but I do believe this is something us Canadians struggle with when feeding into the American market.
We follow by example. How many times have we seen our city streets transformed into Chicago, or New York, or various other major American cities for the sake of filming? To see a police car with New York plates and colours is not unusual here. To see an American postal box on the street is not unheard of in Toronto. These things just mean you’ve walked too close to a movie set. It happens in downtown Toronto all the time.
So I used Toronto street names in my book, but purposefully did not set my story in an actual city. I suppose I did this out of fear of being told to change the setting.
With my requested sprinkled additions, it is now definitely Toronto set…and I couldn’t be happier!
I mention Kensington Market, my favourite Toronto neighbourhood. My characters attend Heydon Park Secondary. The bookstore is on Elm Street, just off of Yonge. I even mention the King of Kensington, Al Waxman…and bring up his statue in Bellevue Square Park.
Canadian actor, best known around these parts for his role as the lovable Larry King, AKA King of Kensington.
I also mention Carbonic Coffee (Here is their Instagram account), the gorgeously sleek coffee shop on Baldwin Street…as the last place the main character Gaige kisses his boyfriend Logan before all the madness of the story happens.
Carbonic Coffee, Baldwin Street, Toronto (Google Streetview)
It’s all there. Except Dundas. I erased that name, just as Toronto City Council is about to do. Only, they haven’t done it yet…so I didn’t have the new name to change the street to. I chose DARIUS…a little homage to another YA book (Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram). It’s a bit of an Easter Egg. I wasn’t going to use Dundas and I really admire Khorram’s book(#1 of a 2 book series).
So if you’re reading Book of Dreams, for geographical reference, in the book’s universe the Eaton Centre is at Yonge-Darius Square. (-:
This post is just to say…WOW! It really makes a difference when you can set a story in the place where you live. So many Canadians shy away from doing so! We do this either out of a false taboo we ourselves created against doing so, or after being specifically told not to do it. It’s weird. These days, I think it’s more self-policing than publishers actually having an issue with it. We remember a time when it was frowned upon, and we keep that mindset.
Or maybe the movie sets around town tell us Toronto is good enough for the movies, but not good enough to BE Toronto in the movies. The New York or Chicago you’re watching on your television screen is quite often Toronto in disguise. 😉
BOOK OF DREAMS is now available for PREORDER! preorder a copy now wherever books are sold!
My publisher actually DROPPED THE PRICE on new releases. You can get the paperback of Book of Dreams for only $12.99! RELEASE DAY is SEPTEMBER 13th!
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet boy also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
To all of my readers who have pre-ordered BOOK OF DREAMS…I am forever thankful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I have an announcement concerning the release date of the book.
My publisher, Interlude Press, was recently acquired by Chicago Review Press (read about the acquisition here at Publisher’s Weekly). One of the first things to change, for me, was the release date of my upcoming young adult horror, Book of Dreams. They want to give the book more time…for marketing, etc. It’s a hard but understandable change. I hope those who pre-ordered are not too put out by the change in the release date. They want to give it the time it deserves to prepare it for its journey into the world, and I’m totally onboard with this change. Feeling pretty excited about this one!
You can still pre-order BOOK OF DREAMS…it’ll just show up a bit later now. Instead of MAY 24th, 2022…it’ll arrive SEPTEMBER 13th, 2022.
Totally coincidentally, the new release date also happens to be my birthday!
(Please note that some online retailers still show the May date as the release date. This will change…the news is fairly recent. Sites should be updated soon.)
You can pre-order BOOK OF DREAMS wherever books are sold. Here’s some links, if you would like to do so:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet boy also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Yesterday, I was fortunate to have the cover reveal for my upcoming novel BOOK OF DREAMS take place on LGBTQ READS! Not only that, there was ALSO an EXCERPT from the novel shared! Much much thanks to LGBTQ Reads for hosting the reveal! Please consider supporting the site!
Before I share the cover here, though…a little bit about the book!
BOOK OF DREAMSwas my 2014 Muskoka Novel Marathon novel. I wrote about 1/2 of it over a long weekend in that July (The novel writing marathon is a yearly event that raises money for the YMCA literacy programs in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. I’ve taken place in the marathon 13 times now. I won BEST NOVEL AWARD for 5 of those marathons.). BOOK OF DREAMS was awarded Honorary Mention for the 2014 marathon.
After the marathon, I worked on polishing up the 1/2 of a manuscript I managed to write. Then, eventually, I wrote the last 1/2. Fast forward to May 2022, thanks to Duet Books, the YA imprint of Interlude Press, it will become a novel I can actually hold in my hands!
Here’s the synopsis for Book of Dreams:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet boy also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Now, HERE. IS. THE. COVER!
Thanks once again to the amazing CB MESSER for designing this cover that captures the mood of Book of Dreams so wonderfully. I love the way it portends to the story inside of it! This is the shiny book that captures Gaige’s attention in the creepy bookstore, yes…but it also suggests some of the dark goopy underworld awaiting him when he dares to open its cover and look inside. CB did an incredible and incredibly subtle job here and I could not be more pleased! CB designed my The Camino Club cover, as well. And I think I made it known by now how much I loved that cover!
My next young adult novel, BOOK OF DREAMS, is now available for PREORDER!
Release Date: May 24, 2022
Synopsis:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from the previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet boy also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Book of Dreams is a bit of a horror/contemporary mix. It’s being published by Duet Books, the YA imprint of Interlude Press. This is the same publisher that published my last novel, The Camino Club. They will also be publishing my YA contemporary, Where is Ethan Sinclair, in 2023.
LINKS TO PREORDER BOOK OF DREAMS:
If ebooks are your thing, BOOK OF DREAMS is now available for preorder at both AMAZON USA/AMAZON CANADA and KOBO USA/KOBO CANADA (It’s on preorder at all the Amazon and Kobo countries)!!
One of my early readers shared a doodle they created while reading Book of Dreams. He has given me permission to share it…I really adore it. It’s such a simple sketch, and it perfectly gets the vibe! Of course I’m going to share it here again…
Original Artwork by Jarom Verdonk – Artist’s rendition of Jack Chalek, the villain in BOOK OF DREAMS.
When you visit a site to preorder your copy, you’ll still see the following placeholder cover:
Rest assured, the final cover will be phenomenal! I’m still overwhelmed by the beauty of the cover for my last novel, The Camino Club! Never has a cover been so perfectly matched to one of my stories. I have super high hopes for Book of Dreams!
As promised, I would like to share my interview with horror author Luke Walker, on the soon to be eve of his North American release of HOMETOWN. The Proust-like Questionnaire I did with fellow Purgatoruim contributors went over so well, I invited Luke to take a similar questionnaire. I’d like to make this a semi-regular feature. It’s always interesting and entertaining to see how these questions are handled. Luke’s responses solidifies this theory for me. You’re going to enjoy this!
Without further ado, here it is:
Horror Writer – LUKE WALKER
PROUST(ISH) QUESTIONNAIRE WITH LUKE WALKER
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Time spent with my wife. It’s as simple as that.
2. What is it about the horror genre that connects with you as a writer?
I’ve thought about this a lot over time and never come up with a single answer. I think it’s just the way I’m built. I like to see what’s going under the surface and in the dark. Some people don’t like to poke around in the places we’re not supposed to talk about and that’s cool for them. I think exploring the more unpleasant sides of life means we can appreciate the light a little more, and appreciate how fragile it can be.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Without question, the dentist. You can keep your futility of existence, your self-destructive nature of the human condition, your dying alone and unloved and you can even keep your spiders. Spare me from the dentist.
4. What is your most preferred genre as a reader?
It has to be horror. The horror genre covers a much wider area than a lot of people believe which means all the more books and writers to discover. There’s so much to horror than blood and guts and there are definite differences between horrifying a reader, terrifying them or simply grossing them out. Likewise, horror can go into fantastical realms as equally well as it can the mundane and everyday. No matter how many books I read, there’s also more to discover about the genre and more facets to explore.
5. Which horror writer do you most admire and why?
Without question, the King. Stephen King has always had that indefinable talent and ability to draw the reader in and to make them want to spend their time with his characters whether they’re the good guys, the villains, dead, alive or somewhere in between. If proof of his ability is needed, it’s in people who’ve never read one of his books knowing who his characters are. Outside the actual books, the man has done so much to bring horror into the world of normal, real things and that is almost always more frightening to a reader or a viewer than horror outside their familiar lives.
6. Has your idea of horror changed from the time you first started reading it to your perception of it now as a writer?
I don’t know if my idea of it has changed, but the genre itself has obviously undergone changes from my first readings of 70s pulp novels (all with lurid and garish covers) to now when horror and horrific imagery can be found in many more places. As with any area of fiction, tastes and requirements from readers alter over time; publishers and writers will always respond to that, but it’s obviously important not to force those changes. Readers know what they like and it’s when they’re given an honest tale. The best writers don’t jump on bandwagons; they tell their stories with honesty.
7. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
It’s not really a virtue but I have a big problem with style over substance. It’s all well and good being cool and funny, but you need to back that up with something below the surface. I’ve come across a few writers over the last few years who present a persona of the hard living, hard drinking author and then you read their stuff which turns out to be average at best. But their image is celebrated and apparently what sells them so they keep it up. Give me a writer who just wants to tell a tale and can do so over the guy who acts like the stereotypical writer.
8. What life experience(s) do you draw from when it comes to working in your chosen genre?
You name it, I’ve drawn on it or will for future work. Most of the time, I do so without realising. It’s only when I finish a piece that I might recognise something from my own experiences and that’s fine with me. An overheard conversation, a joke I heard years ago, a recent holiday, an illness, someone I used to know but might not have seen in a while or being convinced as a little kid that the clump of coats at the bottom of the stairs was a person – I’ll take inspiration wherever it comes from.
9. What else have you written?
Hometown is my most recent published work. I have a new novel, Ascent, which will be published in June. I’ve got a collection of short horror stories, Die Laughing, a Lovecraftian novella called Mirror Of The Nameless, and I’ve published several short stories either online or in print. Obviously there are the usual pieces that will never see the light of day; they’re locked away in a dungeon and there they’ll stay.
10. When and where were you most afraid?
Luckily, I’ve never been in a position of real fear. The odd thing like doing a parachute jump was pretty hairy, but that was more ‘oh my god the sky is so big and I’m so small’ awe than outright fear. For someone who writes a lot about fear, I’ve been lucky to rarely experience it.
11. Which talent would you most like to have?
I have zero talent in a few areas: anything sporty or athletic; drawing; numbers. It doesn’t exactly hold me back but being able to do something like that to a small extent would be a nice change.
12. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
A cat. Eat, sleep, get stroked, repeat. Also, cats are cool and everyone knows this.
13. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
There’s a hell of a lot of hate around these days. Obviously that’s always been the case, but it’s easier now for people to shout about it and be heard by others who feel the same. The end result is people who feed off each other’s hate and misery and while they don’t feel better about it, they do feel validated. They feel their hate and misery is justified which feeds on itself. That’s about as low as it gets.
14. What are your three deserted island books?
Stephen King’s It; 1984; The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler.
15. Who are your favorite writers?
Loads. Off the top of my head: Stephen King, Gary McMahon, Edgar Allen Poe, Alison Littlewood, Clive Barker, Pat Barker, HP Lovecraft, Sarah Pinborough, Gene Kemp, Neil Gaiman, Bram stoker, Clark Ashton Smith, Penelope Lively. And more I’ve forgotten and will kick myself for doing so.
16. Who is your hero of fiction?
The kids from IT, the good guys from Dracula and Winston Smith. OK, it doesn’t end well for all of them but they keep going even when everything is as dark as it can get. That’s something I try to bear in mind for my own characters. Real life, too.
17. What sound grates on you more than any other?
The laughter of children. Joking. A fork on a plate is nasty. It makes my teeth itch just thinking about it.
18. How would you like to die?
Wow. That’s a heavy question to answer on a Saturday morning. I don’t know about method of death, but knowing I wrote some books people hopefully liked, and that I was loved and gave love. And nowhere near a dentist.
19. What sound brings you deep joy?
My email doesn’t ping but I’d imagine if it did when I get an acceptance from a publisher, that would be nice. I might change my settings so it makes a noise but only when it’s an acceptance. Other than that, when one of my cats jumps on to my lap is a nice sound. Not so much when they launch themselves off, though.
20. What is your motto?
Something that keeps coming up in my books. ‘The world is dark, but it is lit with little lights.’
If you happened to miss ID PRESS PUBLISHING’S book launch this past Sunday for the horror anthology PURGATORIUM, you can still pick up a copy at AMAZON and KOBO!
I still can’t tell if my friends like or dislike (okay, hate) my inevitable group-selfies at our gatherings. These are the Purgatorium contributors who were at the launch on Sunday at Copper Branch. Missing from the shot is Kate Arms, who was away on a retreat.
It was standing room only at Copper Branch in Brooklin, Ontario on Sunday, January 21st, for the launch of Purgatorium. Several of the contributors, myself included, read excerpts from our anthologized Purgatorium stories. I think it’s safe to say that fun was had by all. Many books were sold and signed, many lively conversations took place, announcements were made…things are coming up roses for ID PRESS. I’m thrilled to have been included in their inaugural anthology and look forward to their future projects!
As far as the venue goes, I eagerly anticipated Copper Branch for quite a while now…after seeing several of my friends Instagram and Facebook their Copper Branch meals. I was NOT disappointed. What a fabulous place. I LOVED their General Copper Power Bowl so much, I’d make the trip back to Brooklin just to have it again. Whether or not you’re vegetarian, you will LOVE this dish. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t chicken…I don’t know how they did it. Such a great meal! And try the shakes…also delicious.
GENERAL COPPER: Shiitake mushroom General Tao, broccoli, fresh avocado, organic brown rice, sesame seeds, sriracha coleslaw, Copper Branch General Copper sauce.
They were lovely hosts for the book launch. You’d be surprised how unruly a handful of horror writers and their entourage can get! The restaurant staff took it all in stride. They were most gracious hosts for the wonderful event. I would recommend them to anyone.
My good friend and fellow PURGATORIUM contributing author, Mel Cober.
Here’s where you can pick up your own copy of PURGATORIUM, should you wish to do so:
The staff and interns of ID PRESS PUBLISHING (L-R): Mel Cober, Pat Flewwelling, Tobin Elliott, Connie Di Pietro, Dale Long, and, Amanda Tompkins.
And if you choose to do so, I’m sure the folks at ID PRESS would appreciate a review of their anthology on GOODREADS. The very best way to thank an author is to post a review of their work.
The proud and fearless leader – Connie Di Pietro, reading from her baby, PURGATORIUM…
NOW, WHAT’S THIS ABOUT 100 DAYS?
That is the amount of days left to the countdown to my SELF-GUIDED NOVEL WRITING MARATHON in BRUSSELS, BELGIUM. I’m trying something different this year. Instead of participating in the 72-hour Muskoka Novel Marathon in Huntsville, Ontario in July, I’m attempting a one-week novel marathon in Brussels ALL BY MYSELF in May. Yes, I will check out some of the attractions the city has to offer. And, yes, I will be taking a one-day walking tour of BRUGES. But I am determined to marathon at least one full novel, and hopefully complete one or two of the ones I currently have as works in progress. We shall see how diligent I can be in a foreign country. BIC (Bum In Chair) is the goal, as it always is at novel writing marathons. I will try to find a balance between touring the city and locking myself away for hours at a time to write. When I set my mind to something, I usually find a way to reach my goal. I am determined to make this work. I can’t wait for May to come, now! Only 100 more days to go…tick, tick, tick…
The countdown is on! BRUSSELS OR BUST!
I will definitely miss the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON come July, but I felt I needed a bit of out-of-the-box thinking this year, and maybe some soul-searching where my writing life is concerned. I feel like this is an important investment to make in my writing career at this juncture—TIME—with the added creative spark of being in a new place. I wish the 2017 MNM marathoners luck in their writing and luck in their fundraising. In 2016, we raised $36,000.00…which is quite an amazing feat! All funds go to the literacy programs of YMCA Simcoe County/Muskoka. Such a noble cause. Everybody deserves to be able to read. Please consider sponsoring one of the marathoners this coming year…I know I will!
The Horror Anthology Purgatorium will officially launch on Sunday January 22nd, 2017! And ALL are invited to attend. The launch will take place at COPPER BRANCH in Brooklin, Ontario…just northeast of Toronto.
Mel Cober (a fellow contributor) and I at Connie’s Halloween party– our first look at the anthology PURGATORIUM!
A few of the contributors to the horror collection, myself included, will be on hand at the launch to read from our short stories. You can pick up signed copies of the book and meet the authors. And while you’re there, you can pick up something to eat! I’ve heard some pretty amazing things about Copper Branch and I’m excited to try their menu.
Come out to Copper Branch on Sunday January 22nd from 2:00pm to 4:00pm to listen to some chilling words, pick up a collection of chilling words and treat yourself to a healthy meal in the process. Sounds like a great afternoon to me!
I recently sponsored a giveaway for a print copy of Purgatorium. That copy went to Lori Twining of Owen Sound, Ontario. Thank you all for entering the contest!
My baby, DUBIOUS PICKLES AND THE CURIOSITY OF ARBOUR LEVESQUE, can be found in the first section of Purgatorium…aptly called PLAYTHINGS.
If and when you read Purgatorium, please consider reviewing it on Goodreads, Amazon, Kobo, etc.
KEVIN CRAIG 