Category Archives: Journal
Where do the monsters come from?
Earlier today a reader asked me how I choose which monsters to include in my Cross books. It’s a good question, and I don’t think I’ve been asked that before. So I thought I’d answer it here.
First off, I had to decide whether I was going to include monsters at all. When I first dreamed up the character of Cross, I was obviously thinking of Christian mythology, so it was a natural to include angels and the like in the books. In fact, the first book, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, kind of began with my idea to have Cross hunting and killing an angel at the Gaudi church in Barcelona.
But the Cross books obviously have a lot more than angels running around in their world. You can blame Alice for that. I’d been thinking about the character of Alice for years — a supernatural, eerie real-life Alice in Wonderland who lives outside of the Lewis Carroll books. I’d originally been considering writing a book about a professor with magical powers who was friends with Alice, but that book never happened. When I started thinking about Cross, however, I immediately knew Alice had to be his friend.
The world will drown in cut scenes
Whenever I finish a draft of a new book, I generally want nothing to do with it for a while. When you spend months immersed in a world, sometimes you want to go holiday somewhere else. I haven’t been doing a whole lot of writing since I handed in the manuscript for the third Cross book, The Apocalypse Ark. I’ve done a bit of work on another project, but I can’t really talk about that yet, so never mind.
While I’ve been waiting for the edits to The Apocalypse Ark, though, I’ve still been thinking about Cross and his crazy friends. I’ve been making some notes for the fourth book, and I think I know how it’s going to take shape. (I’ve known what it’s going to be about for a while, but knowing that and knowing how you’re going to write it are two different things.) I’ve also written a Cross short story, which is a first for that series.
Why Frankenstein?
I interviewed Ian Weir for a new Book Rogues podcast yesterday. His novel Will Starling just made the shortlist for Canada’s Sunburst Award. I love talking to Ian as much as I love reading his fantastic books! The podcast will be up shortly.
“Hamlet and swords, for fuck’s sake”
I’ve posted here before about how much I love Shakespeare’s Rebel, the literary historical adventure thriller by C.C. Humphreys. I recently had the chance to talk to Chris about adapting the novel to stage for Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach, as well as the challenges of playing Hamlet and the fear factor of writing Shakespeare in your novel. Bonus feature: I even convinced Chris to recite his favourite lines of Shakespeare! Check it out at my Book Rogues podcast.
Shiny!
Hey, my literary agency, The McDermid Agency, has a new website. Check it out if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s got featured titles, the latest in book deals, a blog and more!
Not posting but writing
I haven’t been posting much here lately because, well, summer. Also, I’ve been busy writing while I’m waiting for the edits of the third Cross book, The Apocalypse Ark. I’ve written the first drafts of three new stories, and I’m working on a fourth right now that I’m really excited about. So you will be seeing new words from me in a bit!
If you’re at all interested in my writing process when it comes to stories, I usually write a first draft of something, let it sit for a month or two, then come back to it. Sometimes that time gives me ideas of how to refine or develop things, other times it gives me ideas how to completely rework the story. I think it’s really necessary to look at things with a fresh eye, when you’re not exhausted from the writing process itself, to see the strengths and weaknesses.
And, of course, sometimes those breaks give you time to see how you can turn a story into a novel….
The Mona Lisa Sacrifice is an Amazon Top 100 bestseller!
I woke up this morning to discover my first Cross book, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, had become an Amazon.ca Top 100 bestseller overnight — in both the Kindle and the overall Books category. The book is doing better now than when it first came out two years ago! Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read it and recommend it. #thingsIamgratefulfor
“Everybody has a secret”
I talk to Toronto writer Russell Smith about sex, drugs and parenting in the 21st century. Check out the full podcast!
“One doctor told me that, because I had occasionally been doing cocaine, it could have been coke that caused my retina to fail,” Smith says. “I knew as soon as I heard that, I knew I had caused it. All my years of decadence had caused me to go blind.”
I don’t think I’ve made that much from sales yet….
Hey, there are cheaper versions of my first Cross book available, you know….
Canada Council announces changes to its funding models
The Canada Council has announced significant changes to its methods of funding creators. I’ll likely write up something about this when I’m done with my holiday. In the meantime, check out the CC’s site about the new funding models. See also my interview with Simon Brault, the head of the Canada Council, about the changes.
peter darbyshire 