Category Archives: Journal
Arrived home safely if not sanely
I was sorry to see the end of Ad-Astra. I had a great time on the panels and the ChiZine reading I took part in — pretty funny to see six authors try to read in an hour, but we pulled it off with time to spare! It was lovely to see some old friends and meet some new ones and just to generally soak in the amazing creativity that was everywhere — the events, the costumes, the questions and answers, the readings, the games, the dealer booths, etc. I’ve actually been trying to do less events as I focus on my writing and family, but damn, Ad-Astra kind of made me want to do more!
The airport part drained me, though. The pic above is from the underworld of Pearson airport, where I found myself wandering aimlessly for a time while searching for a flight. I felt like Sisyphus….
The Ad-Astra is strong with this one
Having a great time at Ad-Astra checking out the fun panels and hanging out with the likes of Robert Wiersema, Alyx Dellamonica, Kelly Robson, Peter Watts, David Nickle, Robert Boyczuk, the great crew at ChiZine and so many more. On to Day 2!
The Apocalypse is here!
The author copies of The Apocalypse Ark arrived today! They are strangely wet and smell of Kraken rum, but they are here!
Canada Council is set to transform the creation of Canadian culture
I talked to Canada Council head Simon Brault about the future of the Canada Council,which funds many Canadian artistic projects. If you rely on grants for your creative endeavours in Canada, you may want to read this.
Here’s my schedule for Ad-Astra
I’m off to Ad-Astra in Toronto this weekend. Here’s my schedule:
ChiZine Authors Reading
Saturday, April 30, 4 p.m. Oakridge Room
I’ll be reading from my new book, The Apocalypse Ark, alongside Adrian Van Young, Gemma Files, and Robert Wiersema — some of my favourite writers! Come out and witness us read from all the forbidden books and crack open the seven seals.
How to Go Beyond Getting Started and Get Something Finished
Sunday, May 1, 11 a.m., Markham B
I’m really hoping to learn something here! With Amanda Sun, Erik Buchanan, Gregory A. Wilson and Stephanie Bedwell-Grime.
Reviews: How to Write Them and How to Read Them
Sunday, May 1, 2 p.m., Markham B
I suspect my talk will go something like “Review my book pllllleeeeeeeaaaaassssseeeeee.” Or maybe I’ll just talk about it from the perspective of a newspaper editor. Come and be surprised!
At Ad-Astra this year
I’ll be appearing at Ad-Astra in Toronto April 30-May 1. It looks like I’ll be doing a reading and a couple of panels. I’ll post more details when everything is finalized.
Come see me if you’re around!
Hey neighbour, can I borrow a cup of kickass fantasy?
I’ve long been a fan of Sebastien de Castell and his Greatcoats series, which started with Traitor’s Blade, so I got a kick out of sharing some Amazon bestseller space with him. He’ll never let me live it down that he beat The Apocalypse Ark, though….
If you want to learn more about Sebastien and his kickass fantasy series, check out the interview and podcast I did with him at The Province, where he talks about moving from the barista lifestyle to the rich and glamorous life of a plumber after signing an eight-book publishing deal (it’s all explained in the interview).
Deadpool and me
Hanging out with Deadpool at the Storm Crow Alehouse in Vancouver. What could go wrong?
The girl is in the ice cream truck! The iiiiccccceeee ccccrrrrreeeaaaaammmm trrrrruuuucccckkkk!
Late in The Apocalypse Ark, there’s this real twist where….
Yeah, this is probably the point I should talk about spoilers.
I have a spoilers story I always like to tell people.
A couple of years back, I was watching a season of The Walking Dead on Netflix. I have two children, a full-time career in the media, and I try to write when I can, so I don’t tend to watch things when they first come out. I usually get around to it a year or three later. So I was catching up on the episodes of The Walking Dead that everyone else in the newsroom had already watched.
You can see where this is going.
I mentioned to the photo editor that I had just started Season 2, which focuses in large part on the survivor group’s attempts to find a girl who was separated from the others by walkers early in the season.
“Oh, that moment where she drives the ice cream truck into the house had me crying!” she said.
OK, that’s not really what she said. I’m not going to tell you what she said, because spoilers. Some of you may not have seen it yet, like I hadn’t when she told me what really happened with the missing girl.
A great deal of the season’s drama arises out of the characters’ search for the missing girl. Where is she? Will she ever be found? Did the walkers get her? Etc. The whole season, as I watched the drama build, I could only think: “She’s in the ice cream truck. Just listen for that unholy jingle and track her down.” Well, that’s not exactly what I was thinking, but you know what I mean. All the anticipation and excitement and anxiety and everything else of the season was lost for me because of that one slip by a colleague.
Of course, when I mentioned that to my other colleagues, they thought the situation was quite funny and now they openly discuss plot twists and turns around me whenever they can. It’s enough to make me watch House of Cards instead. There are no surprises there, right?
Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying I have a new book out and please don’t give away the secrets. No spoilers! Unless the person you’re talking to wasn’t going to buy the book anyway. Then they deserve to have their day ruined.
peter darbyshire 