Category Archives: Journal
“An appropriate apocalyptic pulpy cover”
Interview from the archives: All Lit Up talks to designer Michel Vrana about the design process for my book Has the World Ended Yet? I still think this is a beautiful cover, and the retro images inside are just a bonus.
A Beholder balloon on a string
The Broadsword Bandits are back for more sessions of Dungeons and Dragons! Join myself and writers James McCann, Arthur Slade, Adrienne Kress, KC Dyer, Kevin Sylvester and guest star Susan Juby as we try to return a wayward Beholder to its retirement ranch. Of course, it’s never that easy when Beholders are involved. Or writers….
Have you downloaded the apocalypse yet?
As we head into the season of endless night, it’s important to make sure you have enough reading material to keep your mind occupied so you don’t notice what the shadows are doing. Here’s a friendly reminder that my latest book, Has the World Ended Yet?, is available in ebook format so you can download it and immediately start reading its tales of travelling deity salesman, Craigslist miracles, angel invasions, elder god job placement agencies and more.
Buy Has the World Ended Yet? on Kindle | Kobo | iBooks
And if you’ve read Has the World Ended Yet? and liked it, please leave a review in your preferred Book of Judgement (Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com). If enough people demand it, we may be able to release the Has the World Ended Yet? expansion pack: My Pandemic Superpower Is….
(Image taken from Has the World Ended Yet?, which has many retrofuturish images for your nightmarish pleasure.)
Who let the gnomes out?
The Broadsword Bandits are back with another instalment of Dungeons & Dragons! Join myself, Adrienne Kress, Kevin Sylvester, Arthur Slade, KC Dyer and guest gnome Lee Edward Fodi as DM James McCann takes us through his Beholder Ranch adventure!
Reintroducing Poplar Press
“The new vision for Poplar Press is to be a place for untraditional takes on the speculative.”
Wolsak and Wynn, who published my book Has the World Ended Yet?, has some exciting news for speculative fiction writers and readers. They are dedicating the imprint Poplar Press to spec fiction, with the first books to come out in 2023. I’m thrilled about this news. They did a great job with Has the World Ended Yet? and they are fantastic people. Canada certainly needs more homegrown presses like this. To the future!
The angels of inspiration
It’s quite lovely to see my book Has the World Ended Yet? included in a list of recommendations from the Edmonton Public Library and Shawna Lemay. Some of these creators have been an influence on my own writing, so it’s both gratifying and humbling to be on this list. Shawna talks more about influences and her forthcoming book, Everything Affects Everyone, over at Transactions with Beauty.
What happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon
Unless of course you upload it to YouTube….
The Broadsword Bandits are back for another episode. Watch authors KC Dyer, Arthur Slade, Adrienne Kress, Kevin Sylvester and myself blunder our way through a James McCann dungeon, falling into pits and wandering into medusa rooms, all the while trying to find an answer to the eternal question: “Where do I find that on my character sheet?”
How many writers does it take to escape a dungeon?
The Broadsword Bandits return for an epic fantasy battle with…. a rug…? Yes, that’s right — in my first foray into Dungeons and Dragons in a legendary amount of time, I decided to go check out a suspiciously nice-looking rug in a room full of ghosts. We all know what nice rugs in a dungeon are….
Anyway, watch how writers Arthur Slade, Adrienne Kress, Kevin Sylvester, KC Dyer and myself figure out how to escape James McCann‘s Rug of Doom!
Episode One Part Two:
Episode Two:
Free mead, you say?
The first instalment of the online D&D game I recently joined with a bunch of fine writers is now live. In typical D&D fashion, we head straight for the tavern and try to get in a bar fight with a quest giver….
Back to the Beholder Ranch with the Broadsword Bandits!
What happens when a bunch of writers get together to play D&D? I don’t know but I’m sure we’ll all have interesting back stories…. Watch it live Monday, April 26! (Link for livestream.)
If you want the meta back story, this whole project came out of James McCann’s Dungeons and Dragons Resource Guide and the Beholder Ranch.
peter darbyshire 