Reading November 12 with Jennifer Rahn

I am going to be holding a reading on the evening of November 12 at the Strathcona County Library, together with Jennifer Rahn. My novel, Dominion, was released by DragonMoon Press two years ago. DragonMoon had just released a terrific new book by another Alberta author, who happens to share my first name. Jennifer Rahn currently lives in Calgary, but grew up in Sherwood Park, and is coming back here to promote her first novel, The Longevity Thesis. We will both be reading from our respective books, and will also provide refreshments. We are hoping that this will be a fun evening, with plenty of opportunity for us all to visit and get to know each other better. We will begin at 7:00pm, and continue until 8:45.

I have read The Longevity Thesis, and found it really absorbing. It is not your typical fantasy, by any means. The story centres on a university campus in an underground land, where the inhabitants have so long avoided the desert above them that many now regard the stories of its magic as mere superstition. Antronos, who has been touched by that magic, knows better. But even he does not suspect what ancient and unnatural beings are at work within the University itself, until his desire to study longevity places him in their power. The Longevity Thesis is at turns darkly primeval and disconcertingly modern, grimly macabre and life-afirming: compounded together, these ingredients create a powerful and unsettling tale.

I enjoyed meeting Jennifer R. in Calgary last year, and am looking forward to seeing her again, and hopefully some other new and familiar faces too.

Spooktacular

This Friday and Saturday, I'll be telling scary stories at Fort Edmonton Spooktacular with Marie-Anne McLean and Jennie Frost. It is a couple years since I have taken part in this event and I am looking forward to doing it again. Basically, we spend the evening in a creepy old building taking turns telling the scariest stories we can come up with. No one under 13 is admitted - there is a separate kids' storytelling area, but for some reason they only ever let me tell stories there once.

Most of the stories we tell are based on traditional tales or urban legends, but I have invented a couple as well. Last year I wrote up a more literary version of my Spooktacular story 'The Fatality Sign.' The story actually didn't go over very well at Spooktacular (not scary enough) but it did get published in the anthology In The Dark: Stories from the Supernatural . More information about that is available at the publisher's website www.tightropebooks.com . The book has quite a variety of stories, many of which explore the creepier aspects of modern life.

About Pure Speculation

Well, Pure Speculation was last weekend, and once again I had a great time. There were some fascinating discussions at the panels, and I was certainly impressed with the collection of intelligent, and somewhat strange minds that we gathered together - both panelists and audience members. I also would like to thank the organizers, and especially Diane Walton for all her work in putting the writing sessions together. I only hope that this convention can grow into a bigger event without losing the hometown feel which it has for me right now.

Here is the blurb which I wrote up for the DragonMoon Press newsletter:

On October 13 and 14th, I attended the Pure Speculation convention in Edmonton. The Alberta SF scene seems to mostly centre around Calgary, and this convention is a pretty modest affair, but friendly in a way that bigger cons seldom manage. It was held in a community hall, with the main area devoted to vendors and gaming, and two smaller rooms for panels. So far, more of those panels were devoted to games and comics than fiction, but there was a strong attendance at the writing panels. The guest of honour, Peter Watts, was interviewed by Barb Galler-Smith on Saturday to a packed room, and a large proportion of the crowd stayed afterwards to hear Robert Burke Richardson, Edge author Amber Hayward and me give some hints for aspiring writers.
On Sunday, we had our 'Writer's Jam.' Ann Marston joined Peter, Barb, Robert, Amber and I for an interesting discussion in which we delved into dreams, taboos, and other sources of inspiration. Susan MacGregor and Diane Walton of On Spec Magazine also joined us for a while, before leaving to run another panel.
Brian Hades of Edge SF was in attendance with a large display of books, including many Dragon Moon Press titles.

I have a website. . .or a blog, anyway!

Well, after several years of being told that I need to get a website to promote my writing, I have finally done something about it. Welcome to my brand new blog page!

I hope to be posting lots of information on here about my work, and perhaps even the odd story or rant if the mood takes me. I write mostly science fiction and fantasy, but I am also an oral storyteller, and sometimes write up my own retellings of traditional tales. I will post more about my first (and so far only) novel, Dominion soon, but in the mean time you can read all about it at www.dragonmoonpress.com

For now, the big news is that I will be at Pure Speculation in Edmonton on October 13th and 14th 2007, participating in the Writer's Jam and a panel for new writers. Pure Speculation is a small con, but I had a lot of fun last year, and was really impressed with how much the organizers manage to do with what they have.

If you would like more information check out www.purespec.org