It was a wonderful night. 20 people in Studio Desjardins and another 20 online. I had a fabulous conversation with Kim Fahner, a great reading, and I signed all the books.
A big thank you to Heather and Latitude 46 publishing, to The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and the League of Canadian Poets (LCP) for their support, and to all my family and friends who came out to the event, watched online, or were just there in spirit. I love you all!
Early in the month, the moon was arcing in the southern sky. In a landscape of outcrops, she was hard to see. Earth and the moon dance around each other and later in the month, she appeared in the northeastern sky.
The month was busy. At work, I was moving toward the completion of another phase of the big project.
At home, it was mostly launch-related activities. Though I had a deadline to meet with Suzy, I decided that after that, I would focus mostly on the launch and maybe fit in some less demanding writing work on short fiction and poetry.
I had a three-day cold early on in the month, and then, later on, caught a bit of a doozy. Going on three weeks now … May have to go to the walk-in clinic so I’m not all stuffed up for the launch (!)
The month in writing
As I mentioned above, I had one deadline to meet with Suzy. It was a bit rough going because I’ve hit the point in the novel where I’m basically rewriting 90% of it. After my meeting, I took a break from Reality Bomb to focus on the launch of The Art of Floating and try to devote some time to short fiction and poetry.
On the 3rd, I was informed that The Art of Floating print run would arrive that week. That day, I also submitted a couple of pieces for future promotion of TAoF. When they come out, I’ll be sharing widely.
Kim was in touch to firm up a few details for our informal conversation on the 7th.
I met with Suzy on March 20th. Again, because I’m basically rewriting the last third of the novel, I wasn’t feeling confident. Fortunately, I was just being my own worst critic. The submission was not perfect, but it was in better shape than I feared.
I’m going to take a break to focus on my launch, book signing, readings, finishing up the short story that seems to have stalled, and get some more poetry written. I’m not going to abandon RB but will probably pick up revisions again after the launch.
I’ll resume work with Suzy for the final push on RB in May. At that point, I should be within spitting distance of the end and may be able to use one of my sessions to work on my query or synopsis.
I was notified on March 1st that I did not make the Your Personal Odyssey earlybird cut. As in past years, I’m still in the running for the main deadline, but I don’t hold out much hope. So many writers apply to YPO, the competition is always fierce.
On the 8th, I was notified that the short story I submitted back in January was not accepted for publication.
The League of Canadian Poets (LCP) declined my event funding application for the launch of TAoF on the 9th. Fortunately, I was approved for some reading series funding last year. I’m grateful for every bit of support I get.
On Sunday, March 24th, my unboxing video and a 90-second poetry reading for The Little Boathouse went live.
I attended an SF Canada board meeting on the 26th.
And the Canada Council for the Arts held their annual public meeting on the 27th.
I was also invited out to the Sudbury Writers’ Guild meeting to share my path to publication and some tips on marketing and promotion.
Filling the well
The new Ash moon in Pisces was on the 10th. Observed with a guided meditation. Daylight saving also arrived on the 10th. In honour of the occasion, I will share my favourite meme.
The spring equinox was on the 19th. A little early this year, but it felt apropos given the exceptionally warm winter we’ve had. As usual, I sparked up ye olde altar, and Alina Alive produced a guided meditation specifically for the equinox.
The full moon (of the crusted snow) in Libra was on the 25th. Overcast, as usual. No guided meditation this time.
I signed up for a Tiffany Yates Martin webinar on “Secrets, Twists, and Reveals” through Jane Friedman on March 6th. I watched the replay. Always excellent.
On the same night was the Women in Motion poetry reading and open mic, organized by the League of Canadian Poets (LCP). Powerful and painful.
On the 8th, Authors Publish offered one of their free webinars, “Fun and Effective Book Promotion,” with Nev March. Again, I watched the replay. A lot of good ideas.
I signed up for a Mary Robinette Kowal webinar, “Verbal and Non-verbal Dialogue,” on March 10th. I always learn one or two tasty tidbits with every one of Mary Robinette’s webinars.
Premee Mohamed shared on Bluesky that she would be delivering an online class on “Polishing Your Query Package” through the Edmonton Public Library (where she is Writer in Residence) on the 11th. Really good. I’m a fan.
The Free Expressions webinar “Rethinking Scene and Sequel” with Damon Suede was on the 21st.
I started intermediate Finnish classes on March 18th. It’s challenging, but I’m enjoying them.
Dori Zener held a webinar on “Autistic Girls and Women: Celebrating Strengths and Supporting Needs” on March 6th. Good information.
My next therapy appointment was on the 26th.
The Good Company support group met on the 27th. The topic for this month was autistic inertia and transitions.
I saw my doctor for a physical on the 4th. My bloodwork results were good and I’m doing well.
And I had a massage on the 13th. Rest and digest, for the win!
I took the week of the 18th to the 22nd off. It turned out to be a working holiday. I got a lot of launch-related work done (!)
What I’m watching and reading
Phil and I watch the first season of the live action Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix). We enjoyed it, but I share some of the criticisms floating around das interwebz. If Aang had run away, it would have explained his resulting anguish about being the avatar better. Kitara has all of the feisty written out of her. Aang doesn’t train with her, doesn’t even try to learn another bending style once in the whole season. The forest spirit got two seconds of screen time! That story was so lovely. Zuko could not have “almost” struck his father in the agni kai. His utter defeat drives his character arc in the first season. And don’t get me started on Bumi.
Like I said, we enjoyed it for what it was. It could have been better without being an exact duplicate of the animated series.
I know I’m late to the party, but I finished watching Little Fires Everywhere (Amazon). An awesome gut punch of a limited series, superbly acted, and thought-provoking. Another book for the TBR pile 🙂
I watched Poor Things (Disney +) when it came out on streaming. I was blown away. Loved. A fantastic tale about a woman becoming her truest self. Yes, there is a lot of sex, but as Bella Baxter is the protagonist, everything is from her point of view, and her sexual awakening is innocent and joyful. Again, LOVED!
Then, I watched American Fiction (Amazon). A Black writer of literary fiction is struggling to find a home for his latest work and indignant that other black writers, whom he sees as pandering to the white stereotypes of the Black experience (read trauma porn) gets into a financial bind when he’s suspended from his university teaching job, his mother is discovered to have dementia, and his sister, the family caretaker, dies of a heart attack. In a fit of pique, he pens his own sensationalist Black narrative and, as a joke, asks his agent to shop it around. When the novel becomes a hot property and the movie rights sell, the author must play along, because he needs the money to give his mother the support she needs. A sharp-edged satire. Very good.
Next, I finished the first season of The Power (Amazon), based on Naomi Alderman’s novel. TL;DR: women begin to develop electrical power and use it to turn the tables on the patriarchy.
I finished the novel a few months ago and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t satisfied with the denouement, which projected the events of the novel into a future in which women simply flipped inequality for a society of institutionalized misandry. The series takes the events of the novel almost to the climax. Mayor Cleary-Lopez has thrown her hat into the senatorial race and attacks her opponent on stage. Tatianna has murdered her abusive husband and eliminated his army by sending them to root out her sister, who has amassed an army of women. Tunde witnesses the devastation of the conflict and is undone. Roxy has found her way to Eve. Urbandox is trying to reassert the rights of men. I don’t know that there’s enough story left to fill an entire second season, but apparently, it’s been greenlit.
Finally, I finished watching the first season of Silo (Apple +). LOVED! Rebecca Ferguson is fabulous. The whole cast is amazing. Apple + is really producing some of the best SF adaptations around these days. I’ll say no more. Watch this show.
My first audiobook of March was Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The Expert System’s Brother. Except for the title, the novel doesn’t come across as science fiction. At first. It soon becomes apparent that the “ghosts” that inhabit specific villagers are, in fact, expert systems (what everyone wants to call AI these days). The story is set many generations after the initial settlers of a colony planet made specific modifications to their bodies to both accept cohabitating expert systems into their minds and to mitigate the harmful effects of the planet’s biome. That’s all just backstory and setting, though. Hendry is accidentally “severed” from his community (i.e., he is de-modified), and must make his way, alone, in a world that wants to kill him.
Then, I finished Chance Encounters with Wild Animals by Monica Kidd. This collection is a poetic travelogue. It subverts the reader’s expectations, interweaving wanderings and ponderings with concise and revelatory reflections. Kidd’s sketches are composed of lush words. As Kidd explores the world and its denizens, we are most reminded that the wild animals we often encounter by chance are human.
I read Travis Baldree’s lovely Legends & Lattes. Viv’s aches and pains after years of adventuring lead her to seek out a legendary item and a new life in a small town. While she gathers friends and allies, antagonistic forces loom. Fabulous. Loved.
Next, I read I know something you don’t know by Amy LeBlanc. In this collection of poetry, LeBlanc interprets folklore and myth through her body and experience.
I’m again dipping into classic SFF through Audible’s Plus Catalogue. Titles are periodically added and removed, and I try to get through them before they’re no longer accessible.
The first of these was C.S. Lewis’s Perelandra, the second in his Space Trilogy. Dr. Ransom is recruited to travel to Perelandra (Venus), where he encounters that world’s Eve, whom he calls The Lady. Before long, Ransom’s old antagonist, Weston, who abducted him to Malacandra (Mars) with the aim of sacrificing him to the inhabitants of that planet, arrives. But all is not what it seems.
It’s not a bad book, but because of the framing narrative, in which Lewis himself is asked to record Ransom’s story, it is almost entirely narration, and, toward the end, the main topic of the book is religion. Not my favourite topic. Perelandra is a product of its time and of its author, who was deeply interested in religious thought at the time.
I finished reading Lunar Tides by Shannon Webb-Campbell. This poetry collection is written from a mixed Mi’kmaq and settler perspective and framed by the eight phases of the lunar cycle. Originating in the poet’s grief after her mother’s death, this collection is not only a journey to find her mother “in the little space of sky that sleeps next to the moon,” but is also an exploration of colonial legacies, family, and Indigenous resurgence.
Next in poetry, was Beth Kope’s Atlas of Roots, in which the poet tries to decipher her life as an adoptee. She iterates pasts, presents, and futures, some real, some imagined, and determines how to live when so much is redacted or inaccessible.
Then, I finished reading Sotto Voce by Maureen Hynes. The poet explores injustices great and small, from impersonal genocide to a more intimate death. Inspired by the natural world, the poet is disquieted, finds her voice, and then learns to listen.
I read Nnedi Okorafor’s Like Thunder, the second in her Desert Magician Duology. This book focuses on Dikéogu, the storm bringer’s, story. In a world both saved and decimated by the Change, Dikéogu tries to learn how to control his powers, is separated from his mentor, and tries to find his way back to Ejii. Very dark, but very good.
Next, I listened to the Audible Original of John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos. During the “Day Out,” the entire village of Midwich is rendered unconscious. Following the strange occurrence, it soon becomes apparent that every fertile woman in Midwich is pregnant. The narrator of the story is a Midwich resident who was, fortunately, out of town on the “Day Out,” and reports on the events following for a friend in MI. The novel gets its name from the practice of cuckoos to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, forcing them to incubate and feed the young cuckoos, even to the detriment of their chicks.
I read The Chrysalids last year and, though I read it in high school, I’m rereading The Day of the Triffids. I guess I’m on a Wyndham streak 🙂 All of Wyndham’s books are a little different. The Chrysalids was set in a post-apocalyptic world in which children who develop paranormal abilities are considered abominations by their religious extremist communities. The Midwich Cuckoos I’ve described above.
The Day of the Triffids is a bit different again. Triffids are a species of large, perambulatory plants that produce a “high grade oil” but are also carnivorous and have deadly stingers. When a comet blinds everyone who looks at it, the triffids suddenly have the advantage. The novel is about one of the fortunate survivors.
I don’t think that near-universal blindness would be as apocalyptic as Wyndham depicts it. I believe that humanity would be collectively more invested in making the world accessible and adapting to their new circumstances. But in the 1950s when the novel was written, disability was more catastrophic than it is today, if only because assistive technologies and accommodations didn’t exist as they do now.
My next audiobook was Samuel R. Delaney’s Nova. Though the Tarot and the Holy Grail feature prominently in the novel, Nova reminds me of … Moby Dick. Captain Lorq van Ray assembles a crew on a quest to extract illyrion, the most precious energy source in the universe, directly from a supernova. His nemesis is trying to figure out what his plan is and Even the structure is reminiscent of Melville. Introduce a character and their backstory, introduce another character and their backstory, introduce the main character with a huge backstory, and along the way exposit upon net fishers, history, music, writing—yup, there’s a budding author in there—the workings of the ship, Tarot, and the Holy Grail. He does some interesting things with language in there, too.
I finished Vanessa Shields’ Thimble. This poetry collection grew around the poet’s grandmother, her life and loves, and the poet’s visceral reactions as her beloved Nonna slowly disappeared and then died because of the ravages of dementia. It is a complex and gut-wrenching read. Having lost all my grandparents, I walked beside Shields as I read.
Finally, I listened to Falling in Love with Hominids, a collection of short fiction by Nalo Hopkinson. Entertaining and varied stories from the author’s career. Very good.
And that was the month in this writer’s life.
Until next month, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!
February’s the month I emerge from winter hibernation. Yes. I’m a bear.
Life in general
The light is visibly returning. Even so, most of the days are overcast. It’s still unseasonably warm, with a lot of days above zero degrees Celsius and not as much precipitation as I’d like. Yes, Phil doesn’t have to shovel as much, but I’m worried about the coming year.
Not a lot of snow means a dry spring, unless it rains every day, and even then, it may not be enough to prevent forest fires from sparking. Last year was bad. I expect this year to be even worse.
Work is work. I’m back on the albatross of a project (I’ve been working on it since spring 2022) but the end (for now) is in sight. There’s always maintenance, and the wholesale revision of the other modules in the curriculum, but it should be off my plate by the end of March.
I’m taking a self-funded leave from the Victoria Day (May 2-4, we call it, even though the holiday Monday rarely falls on the 24th) long weekend until the Canada Day long weekend in July. It will be nice to have a stretch off. I want to do some gardening. I want to go swimming. I want to see what diurnal cycle my body naturally settles into. I want to just enjoy myself for a while.
I also want to see if I can dive into one or two new creative projects, revise a novella, and see what I can get done when I’m not spending eight hours a day working for someone else. It’s been seven years—well, six and a half years—since I’ve taken a self-funded leave. It’s the first leave of this nature I’ve taken since being diagnosed as autistic and, most of all, I want to learn if I can adjust my life and the routines I’ve established so they support me better.
We’ll see how things go.
The month in writing
I’m still working on Reality Bomb revisions. My focus changed a bit this month, however. I signed up for Suzy’s Developmental Editing Mentorship in February program and continued to revise and under the auspices of that program.
We did meet on February 1st to review my most recent submission. I’m to the point in the novel where I’m basically rewriting the second half of the second and all of the third act. I had expected to have a rough go with this critique, but it was a lot better than I expected. I’m learning!
As ever, though, learning is never a straight line.
I’ve given up on trying to track my revisions on the spreadsheet. Now that I’m in the second half of the novel, I’m completely rewriting most of it. It’s hard to compare a sprawling, meandering draft with the tighter rewrite. I’m eliminating whole chapters, combining chapters, and making the whole more cohesive. I’m figuring out when to show and when to tell.
I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get some interest when I query, later this year.
I paid for my annual membership to the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association and submitted “Psychopomps Are Us” to the nomination list for the 2023 Aurora Awards. I also submitted the story to The Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two, for consideration.
I submitted my final report for the mentorship microgrant I was approved for through The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC).
I applied for TWUC National Reading Program funding and event funding from the League of Canadian Poets (LCP) for my poetry launch.
I tossed my hat into the My Personal Odyssey ring again. I’ll find out some time in March if I’ve made the cut this year.
My associate membership renewal for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) came due in February.
And I continue to work on the launch, and arranging reviews, readings, and so forth for The Art of Floating.
The venue is booked! It will be in the Studio Desjardins of Place des Arts, at 7 pm on April 6th, 2024. Now to get the livecast details in place so I can start promoting in earnest.
Kim Fahner has agreed to a brief casual conversation about my poetic journey to start the launch. I’m so happy she’s agreed to help me out. She’s been such a central figure in my poetic life.
Now … I have to think about what I want to wear. I don’t have any nice clothes left after I lost weight back in 2021. The prospect of some new clothes is pleasing, but I hate shopping with a passion.
My publisher confirmed a book signing at Chapters on April 13th from 11 am to 2 pm.
On the 23rd, I received a lovely email informing me that my application for The Writers’ Union of Canada’s National Public Reading funding was approved!
My poem, “Time and Tide,” was published in Polar Starlight 13 on February 24th.
And I submitted some more poetry to a themed issue of one of Canada’s best known literary journals. I’m not hopeful, to be honest. They had over a thousand submissions (!)
Filling the well
February 1st was Imbolc, but I was so dysregulated at the time, I didn’t get around to lighting my altar or doing my usual, quiet observation until the 2nd (!)
The new Rowan moon in Aquarius (and beginning of the Year of the Dragon!) was on the 9th. I observed with a guided meditation. It was overcast up here, which it usually is this time of year.
I’m a Rooster and this is what the Year of the Dragon brings for me: Your careful nature and attention to detail will strengthen during Year of the Dragon 2024. You’ll be good at handling difficult tasks with care.
Bodes well, methinks!
The full Snow moon in Virgo was on the 24th. It was overcast, but I got a lovely picture of the moon a couple of days before the full. I again observed with a guided meditation.
As I mentioned earlier, I signed up for Suzy Vadori’s developmental editing course from the 5th to the 29th. Virtual meetups were twice a week, with asynchronous training in between. The course gave me more insight into Suzy’s methodology, and I used the month to once again review the draft-to-date.
I attended the Wordstock and Sulphur open mic night at Books & Beans on the 7th. It was standing room only, but I got to read some of my more recent poetry (i.e., stuff that’s not in The Art of Floating) and promote my launch.
The first Success Series webinar from Free Expressions, “Neurolinguistic Programming for Writers” with Beth Baranay was on the 8th. I was dysregulated and watched the recording. NLP, or neurolinguistic programming is all about changing the connections in your brain to learn, improve, and form and break habits. Beth applied NLP techniques for both authors and their characters. We didn’t quite get to habits, but the grounding is there.
On the 9th, Authors Publish presented a webinar on “The Art of Writing Immersive Worlds,” presented by Cat Rambo. Still dysregulated. Watched the replay. The webinar felt intimate, and Cat is always a good presenter.
I signed up for a Freedom to Read Week event co-sponsored by TWUC and the LCP on the 22nd featuring Farzana Doctor and Gary Geddes. It was a lovely evening.
Then, I signed up for a Black History Month poetry reading featuring Ian Keteku, Asiah Sparks, and Damini Awoyiga. Black poets rock, y’all!
On the 29th, there was another Free expressions SSW, “Character Dynamics” with Damon Suede. Because I opted to go to the poetry reading, I watched the replay.
In non-writing-related events, I attended a Toronto Public Library Black History Month presentation about “Reframing History: Newfoundland and Labrador & the Black Atlantic.” Bushra Junaid, Afua Cooper, and Camille Turner each presented pieces of Black history in Newfoundland and Labrador. Compelling and poignant.
I also had an appointment with my therapist on the 28th. I’m trying to work through the idea that I feel, at least recently, that I’m always on the cusp of burnout. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that it might just be part of life.
What I’m watching and reading
I finished watching the first season of Citadel (Amazon). A second season has been green lit, but I don’t know if I’ll watch it. I was left confused more than anything. Madden and Chopra-Jonas have zero chemistry and even Stanley Tucci couldn’t save it.
Next, I finished watching Little Bird (Crave). Touching and compelling story about a family divided by the 60s Scoop coming together to heal.
Then, I finished watching the third (and final) season of Res Dogs (Disney +). Bear finds his way home after missing the bus. We get some backstory of the Dogs’ parents and elders, and the series ends with Elora meeting her father (Ethan Hawke) and his kids and the Dogs coming together around the funeral of one of their elders before the ancestor says goodbye, Elora heads off to university, and Bear’s mom leaves for a new job. Bear’s in a good place.
I finished watching the first (and only) season of First Kill (Netflix). It was inspired by a short story by V.E. Schwab and is essentially a modern, queer, and supernatural retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Juliette is the youngest daughter of a legacy vampire family who are pressuring her to make her first kill. In fact, she’s on medication to “take the edge off” her bloodlust and the last thing she wants to do is kill anyone. Calliope is the youngest daughter of a monster hunting family and eager to make her first kill. When Juliette and Calliope fall in love…a whole bunch of people die. The series ended on a weird cliffhanger and wasn’t renewed, so we may never find out what was going to happen. Unless Schwab wants to turn it into a comic or something?
Then, I roped Phil into watching The Marvels (Disney +) with me. It was fun. I loved Goose and the flerkin kittens. I loved Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. The rest was okay. It wasn’t as bad as reviews led me to believe, but it was like everyone was too tired to make the film as good as it should have been. I mean, it has the name of the studio in its title. You’d think someone would have cared enough to make it at least as memorable as Iron Man.
When I watched Captain America and The Avengers (each for the umpteenth time) shortly thereafter, I was reminded of the kind of story Marvel is capable of telling. Neither is perfect, but they were both so much better than recent Marvel efforts.
Then, I finished watching the adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix). Loved! Even though it’s a WWII story, the series (and therefore Doerr’s novel) offers a unique perspective. Marie, a blind Parisian girl, and Werner, a German orphan, are bonded through their love of “The Professor,” who broadcasts educational radio programs. During WWII, the two meet in Saint Malo, a coastal French town, where Marie now broadcasts for the French resistance and Werner is a radio operator in the occupying German army. The Americans are coming to liberate the town, but can they do it before Werner is forced to track down Marie for his commander, who has a sinister motive for finding Marie?
I watched The Hate U Give (Amazon). It was a gut punch, but in the best way. Starr Carter is in the passenger seat when her friend Khalil is shot and killed by a police officer. The movie and the book it’s based on by Angie Thomas are a good reminder that systemic racism kills tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Black people a year. Black lives matter.
I finished watching (most of) the first season of The Irrational (network). Alec Mercer is a behavioural psychologist who helps solve crimes. This season focused on Alec’s backstory of being caught in a church bombing. As the season progresses, the man convicted of the bombing proves to be innocent, uncovering a conspiracy that Alec has to unravel to serve justice and gain closure.
Then I finished watching the second season of the new Quantum Leap (network). The third season is still up in the air. I wasn’t too certain about the 3-year time jump after the first season finale. The Quantum Leap project has been shut down, Ben is thought to be dead, and Addison moves on. But Ian hasn’t given up, and when they find Ben, the team regroups, including Addison’s new love interest. Things get sorted out in the end, but I think the uncertainty of the network series machine means that they had to have a self-contained story arc, just in case. Things felt contrived. I’ll leave it there. Still enjoyed it and will watch season three if it comes to fruition.
My first read of February was Zen Cho’s Black Water Sister. Closeted and broke, Jess returns to Malaysia with her family after living in the US for most of her life. She has a degree from Harvard, but that hasn’t translated into success, or even a job. Then, she starts to hear a voice in her head, her recently dead grandmother, Ah Ma, who’s set on getting her revenge on a mob boss. Dark, but very good.
Then, I finished William Gibson’s The Peripheral. I realized I had the ebook after I watched the Amazon series. Once again, it’s an interesting exercise to compare a novel and its adaptation, to see what creative decisions were made and why. Having said that, I enjoyed both equally, though I must say that I’m not as fond of book Flynn as I was of series Flynn. And, of course, Amazon cancelled the series.
Next, I read The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco. As a child, Tea (pronounced tee-ah) accidentally resurrects her brother and discovers she’s a bone witch, or necromancer. Feared and ostracized by her family and community, Tea is taken under the wing of a more experienced bone witch who whisks her and her brother away to a foreign land to be trained as an asha. This book is the beginning of a trilogy and is very much just the set up for the rest of the series. Although there is a framing narrative told by a bard, whom Tea has asked to tell her story, it doesn’t give much away. One thing is clear, though; The Bone Witch is a story of revenge.
I finished reading Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon of the Turning Leaves. In this sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow, Nangohns, daughter of Evan Whitesky, begins to see the signs that her people are beginning to exhaust the natural resources around their isolated northern community. She then embarks on a long journey south with her father and several other members of the community. They need a new place to settle. Or an old place. Their ancestral home on the shores of Lake Huron. The problem is, they still don’t know what happened when the lights went out over a decade ago. And the last scouting party they sent south four years ago never returned.
Then, I turned to poetry. Kim Fahner lent me a stack of collections she thought might be in my poetic wheelhouse. I started with Bernadette Wagner’s this hot place. The sections of the collection are named Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and Wagner recounts her life on the prairies in verse. She has a talent for lovely subversions. Verra nice.
I also finished The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. A retired pirate captain is lured back into the world of supernatural high seas adventure when a northern sorcerer abducts a young scholarly girl. Nothing is as it seems. I’ll leave it there. You should read this.
Next, I listened to Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury. A brilliant supernatural mystery told in dual timelines. Daisy can see the dead. When her mother inherits a mansion just outside of Timmins, they both see it as their opportunity for the life they want. For Daisy’s mother, Grace, it’s to finally be free of the ghosts (figurative and literal) of her past. For Daisy, it’s the chance to escape from her mother’s narcissism. But the mansion is haunted. And now people are dying. Ten years in the future, Brittney, co-creator of the podcast “Haunted,” wants to uncover the secrets of the mansion, which her abusive mother calls the “miracle mansion.” She wants to tell the story of a forgotten Black girl but gets more than she bargained for. LOVED.
Finally, I listened to C.S. Lewis: Writer, Scholar, Seeker, an Audible Original based on The Great Courses series of lectures by Sorina Higgins. Interesting insight into one of my favourite authors.
And that was the month in this writer’s life.
Until next month, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!
Sweet Lord, but January’s a hard month to get through.
Life in general
The month started out fine. Daylight hours are growing longer. I’m starting to feel better, come out of my winter shell, but then, I was presented with the prospect of ALL THE THINGS I have to do to prepare for and promote my poetry launch and …
Let’s just say I’m dysregulated now. Meltdowns abound.
I attended my union’s AGM virtually on the 24th.
The month in writing
I was once again focused on Reality Bomb revisions.
I revised and submitted a piece of short fiction to one of my dream markets.
I started revising an old story for an anthology call in April. I know, it’s a ways off, but the story basically needs to be rewritten in its entirety.
I met with Suzy on the 11th. I’m back to struggling with grounding the characters in scene, not giving my disembodied protagonist enough agency, and not providing enough detail. My strengths remain dialogue, clean writing (which makes all my other problems so much easier to find), and my premise, which is complex, but compelling (and therefore incredibly challenging to write).
Our next meeting is scheduled for February 1st.
In other business-y news, I’m working on securing the venue for my poetry launch! While my publisher does have a budget for the launch, I’m hoping to receive some funding from the League of Canadian Poets (LCP) or The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) to cover part of the rental cost and webcasting for the event(!)
Yes. The launch will be in person, but broadcast for those of my family and friends who are in other places in Ontario and unable to make the journey up.
Now, I’m playing with ideas for making the launch a little different/special. I met with my publisher on the 30th to discuss and came away with a list of things to do. I contacted friend and networker extraordinaire Kim Fahner (also former poet laureate of Sudbury and current vice-president of TWUC) and I have several balls in the air with regard to reviews, readings, and one interview.
I’m tempering my expectations. Debut poets generally don’t get a lot of attention.
My publisher has also secured my first reading with The Conspiracy of 3 in North Bay on May 14th at the North Bay Public Library at 7 pm.
Unfortunately, that conflicts with the launch of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild’s Superstack Stories anthology. Can’t be in two places at once (!)
I’m going to have to put up a new page on my web site for appearances and readings!
Eeeeee! Things are happening!
At the SF Canada AGM last month, I joined the board of directors. Our first meeting was on Jan 23rd at 8 pm. We sorted ourselves and I have a better idea of the issues facing the organization and board at this time.
Filling the well
The new Birch moon in Capricorn fell on Jan 11th. Unfortunately, I was working toward a deadline and totally dysregulated after work. Moon did not cross my mind 😦
The full Spirit moon in Leo was n the 26th. I was able to work in a guided meditation.
I signed up for the DAW Fantasy Book Buzz on January 11th. It was a great preview of the coming season and John Wiswell was one of the featured writers.
I took part in the Free Expressions Success Series … on the 18th. I decided to purchase a few webinars from the series.
Back in December, I registered for a workshop called Poetry and Prose: crossing genre boundaries to strengthen your writing with Kate Heartfield and Amanda Earl on the 20th. It was a great session. And I drafted a new poem.
Finally, I attended a three-day virtual writers’ retreat with Suzy from the 25th to the 27th.
In personal events, I finally got into a meeting of my autism support group. It’s been months since I haven’t been put on a waiting list. It was a good session.
I had a massage on the 17th. Much needed.
A friend celebrated her retirement on the 21st. It was a nice afternoon and I got to catch up with some colleagues from my old team.
On the 22nd, I attended a guided meditation with Pat Tallman. It was relaxing.
I booked a virtual appointment with my doctor on the 24th to get some annual insurance referrals, including one for therapy. I’m starting up again. I have more work to do. Then, I booked a follow up, an appointment for bloodwork, my first therapy appointment, and tried to figure out how to get my emailed referrals to my insurance.
Torvi went for her first Furminator of the year on the 27th. The house is still full of fur bunnies, but Torvi’s all a-floof.
I won a year’s free subscription to the Beeja meditation app. I’m hoping it will help me regulate.
Finally, I met with my therapist on the 31st. We decided to stop meeting back in 2022, by mutual agreement. At the time, I was in a good place and didn’t need a lot of support. But winters are hard and I’m realizing in retrospect that I could have used her support when Phil broke his shoulder last year and again when I went on strike. I reverted to my default mode of bulling through the difficulties. Now, I’m paying for that decision.
And I had some well-earned annual leave from the 29th of January to the 2nd of February.
What I’m watching and reading
Phil and I finished watching the first season of Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix). Amazing story of a complex character and absolutely gorgeous animation. The voice cast is great. Hyper-realistic, violent, and mature content, though.
Then, I finished watching The Last Thing He Told Me (Apple +). A good thriller with a bittersweet ending.
Phil and I also watched the second season of What if … ? (Disney +). There were hits and misses among the episodes, but we enjoyed it. It remains one of the better Marvel series.
Next, I watched Bottoms (Amazon). It’s been on my list since Amanda the Jedi reviewed it. Hilarious. Absurd in the same way as Polite Society. Loved.
Then Phil and I watched Echo (Disney +). Echo’s story was great, but we wanted more of it (and less of Fisk). Five episodes wasn’t enough.
I roped Phil into watching The Brother Sun (Netflix) with me. He was reluctant at first, but by the end of the season, he was invested despite himself. A story about a triad family reunited in LA after a lifetime of living apart is going to be dark and bloody, but it also has a lot of heart. I enjoyed it.
My first audiobook of 2024 was Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines. An entertaining tale of a goblin named Jig and his pet fire spider and how they are captured by and pressed into service by a party of adventurers.
Next, I listened to Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal. A delightful collection of short fiction including the three stories that gave birth to the Lady Astronaut series. Fidel and Mira’s tragic love story touched me, even as Fidel worked to redirect the asteroid that would crash into the easter seaboard. This was followed by a light story about a fireworks display on Mars that almost goes wrong. And then, the original Lady Astronaut of Mars novelette. Also touching. Kowal is so good at writing strong but complex relationships.
Then, I read Dreams Bigger than Heartbreak, the second book in the Unstoppable series by Charlie Jane Anders. I followed that up with Promises Stronger than Darkness. The whole series is a fun YA, neurodivergent romp. And the worldbuilding is wacky. Terrible things happen, but everything works out in the end because people choose to care about one another. And I’m stealing the phrase, “I’m a slow cooker.”
And that was the month in this writer’s life.
Until next month, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!
How has your week been, my writerly friends? Good news: it’s thoughty Thursday and that means tomorrow is Friday 🙂 It’s time to get your mental corn popping in time for the weekend.
Where did the blind and Black musician trope come from? Historian’s Take | PBS Origins
Catherine Bush wants us to become Earth’s aunties. “What if … we cared for the world’s future inhabitants like aunts? As if the people-to-be and the more-than-human are not ours — because they are not.” Noema
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.
Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!
Britt Julious wonders, who are Christmas movies for? On diversity and gender equity in romantic holiday movies. Harper’s Bazaar
Do CIS boys just wanna have fun, too? Gender policing. Khadija Mbowe
Kim Fahner shares her experience with breakthrough covid on Morning North. And here’s the print version. She’s not brave and strong because she shared her story. She shared her story because she’s brave and strong. CBC
Kim Fahner documents her experience with a breakthrough case: a covid diary. So, so important. You can still get covid, even if you’re double-vaccinated. The vaccine simply gives you a better chance of not going to the hospital or dying of the virus. Getting covid can still change your world, though. Please get vaccinated, get your booster when you can, and make sure your eligible children get vaccinated. More important than ever as cases rise again. The Republic of Poetry
Always Looking Up 