Author Archives: Peter Darbyshire
ffffff or eeeeee?
I tweaked the look of the site a little. I liked the minimalist theme from before, but a few people thought my newer work was sort of buried. I added the sidebar and some widgets to try to make my different projects more visible. And that’s probably the end of that for now. Until the next time I run out of things to do.
Breathe
I’ve mostly finished the edits for my new Cross book, The Dead Hamlets. Just waiting for the proofreader’s edit now, and then that will be it.
In other news, I’m reading the books that have come in for my two panels at this year’s Vancouver Writers Festival. Great books so far by Jacqueline Baker, A.M. Dellamonica and Russell Wangersky. It’s going to be a fun weekend.
I’m at that stage where I don’t know what to do with myself because I feel I should be working on something, but I’ve done all the work I can do and I’m not ready to move on to the next project yet. I just don’t know what to — wait! Halloween decorations!
Word Vancouver this Sunday
Just posting a reminder that I’ll be hosting a couple of reading events this Sunday at Word Vancouver, in the Canada Writes tent.
From 2-3 I’ll be introducing
- Grant Buday
- Margaret Thompson
- Brian Payton
- C.C. Humphreys
Then from 4-5 I’ll be hosting
- Kim Fu
- Caroline Adderson
- Geoff Berner
- Nathaniel G. Moore
It’s going to be a fun day – even if it rains. Hope to see you there!
On deadlines
I’m rushing to finish the edits for my new book, The Dead Hamlets, before my next deadline: a baby tentatively scheduled to arrive Oct. 10. So things may be a bit quiet around here for a bit. But not for long!
Mandatory selfie time
If I hike to the top of a mountain, I’m going to post a selfie of that. Here I am on top of the Chief in Squamish.
Also, it turns out I have a mild case of vertigo.
The evolution of a cover
Quill and Quire has posted an interesting look at the design process of Erik Mohr, who designs the Cross books over at ChiZine. He’s my favourite designer out there, so I’d love to see more!
A real-life devil in Vancouver
So in my other job I wrote a piece about a horny Satan statue that was erected in a Vancouver park. Fun times.
Commuters in Vancouver yesterday were greeted with the sight of a large, red Satan flashing the salute and, um, parts of his anatomy, as the statue mysteriously appeared in a park near Grandview Highway. The statue was visible to SkyTrain commuters nearby, who may not have noticed because they were thanking God for the fact that the SkyTrain had miraculously not broken down.
The writing life
A couple of weeks ago, I was desperate for vacation. I couldn’t write another word and wanted to do nothing else but binge watch Netflix for two months. I did manage to get some hiking in with the boy, though. Two weeks later, the boy is back in daycare and I’m bored out of my mind and want to do nothing but get back to writing.
It’s Word Vancouver time again!
It’s September and you know what that means. It’s back to school time — and back to Word Vancouver! I won’t be reading at any of Canada’s annual litfests this year, but I’ll be hosting a group of writers at the Canada Writes tent for Vancouver’s street fest of all things literary. Details:
Sunday, Sept. 28
4:00 pm Kim Fu
For Today I Am a Boy (HarperCollins Canada $19.99)
4:15 pm Caroline Adderson
Ellen in Pieces (Patrick Crean Editions $22.99)
4:30 pm Geoff Berner
Festival Man (Dundurn $17.99)
4:45 pm Aaron Bushkowsky
Curtains for Roy (Cormorant Books $21.00)
Get all the full details at the Word Vancouver site.
The travelling music show
For a couple of years now, I’ve been trying to get together with Victoria writer Robert Wiersema for a coffee. He lives on Vancouver Island and I live in the Vancouver area, but we rarely manage to synch our schedules. That’s a shame, as he’s a great writer and a great guy to hang out with and talk books and music. Strangely, we found ourselves in St. John’s, Newfoundland, recently at the same time. It was rather random. But we managed to have lunch at a great restaurant! We talked a little about books and a little about music. I sang the praises of The Wooden Sky to him and promised to send him a song taster. I thought I may as well post it here because I do love The Wooden Sky and want everyone to experience them. So here you go, Rob and others.
peter darbyshire 