Blog Archives
Turning pages with The Mona Lisa Sacrifice
I had a lovely conversation with Michael Elves about The Mona Lisa Sacrifice over at the Turning Pages radio show on 101.5 UMFM. We talked about the origins of the series, how difficult it is to write characters like Cross and his friends (namely Alice!), and the importance of knowing when to research the hell out of something and when to let the imagination run wild. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
YouTube version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ShO9CtDTv0
A conversation on the writing life with Michelle Berry
When I was a young writer in Toronto, Michelle Berry was very much one of the authors that inspired me. She writes fantastic, weird fiction set in a world that is all too familiar, she’s prolific as hell, and she’s an all-around lovely person. She was kind enough to mentor me a bit, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.
So I was delighted to be able to have a conversation with her now about the writing life, secret tricks of the trade and the importance of community. Check it out today — and check out Michelle’s latest book, Satellite Image! (I also mentioned Satellite Image in my August edition of the Bibliofiles.)
Grey work – The October 2024 Bibliofiles edition
Killer angels, 1950s Hollywood intrigue, the power of deep work, haunted pirate ships and more. Check out my recommended reads from the past month!
Fiction
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Two women vie for the same starring role and the same lovers in a 1950s swords and sandal Hollywood production. The Seventh Veil is a complex dark romance that turns its camera lens on issues of race, gender and socioeconomic status, all while building to an inevitable clash. Rich with intrigue and historical detail, it’s one of Moreno-Garcia’s best books yet.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199927990-the-seventh-veil-of-salome
Genre Fiction
Grey by Ian Rogers
The last human soul has been stolen, which means the end of humanity is near. The angels seem powerless to do anything about it. So who do you turn to when the angels aren’t up to the job? Grey, a dangerous soul caught in Limbo somewhere between Heaven and Hell. Think John Wick pulled into a battle between God and the Devil, and you’ll have an idea where this novella will take you.
Link: https://www.ian-rogers.com/grey/
. . .
Hunt for the Grey Lady by Chris Willrich
I’m always delighted to see a new Chris Willrich tale, and “To Hunt the Grey Lady” in Beneath Ceaseless Skies is no exception. An enchanting story of a pirate captain’s attempt to capture the elusive ship Grey Lady, it features magic sea battles, enigmatic krakens, a sentient ship or two, some very complicated relationships and utterly fantastic prose. I read this one in pretty much one sitting but it’s so rich and layered that I can’t wait to read it again.
Link: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/to-hunt-the-grey-lady/
. . .
Five Views of the Planet Tartarus by Rachel K. Jones
Only 600 words or so, but what a payoff.
Link: https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/five-views-of-the-planet-tartarus/
. . .
Nine Tenths of the Law by KJ Parker
KJ Parker is one of my favourite living fantasy writers because his tales are so unlike any other fantasy stories out there. They often feature unlikely protagonists — clerks, engineers, battlefield salvage experts and the like — and are less traditional three-act structure and more elaborate twists and double-crosses, followed by more twists. “Nine Tenths of the Law” is no different and stars a lawyer possessed by a demon who helps possess others so they can carry out various crimes. What happens when one of his clients double-crosses him? Ah, well, that’s why you’ll want to read the story.
Link: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/nine-tenths-of-the-law/
. . .
Unfinished Basement by A.R. Capetta
In a housing market where every place is haunted by ghosts, what happens when a couple move into a home that has ghosts but is somehow worse? A delightfully weird and unsettling story by A. R. Capetta.
Link: https://www.sundaymorningtransport.com/p/unfinished-basement
Non-fiction
Deep Work by Cal Newport
We live in a world of constant interruption and distraction — emails, status notifications, TikTok trends, news alerts, you name it. Is it any wonder then that we’re all perpetually stressed and feeling as if we can never catch up on all our work? So what’s the antidote? Newport argues it’s deep work – finding ways to turn off all those distractions and focus deeply on one thing at a time. It’s the only way to do something meaningful, Newport suggests, and our only true path to fulfillment in a world that fragments our attention so ruthlessly that we often lose our very sense of self.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work
. . .
The Jack David Master Class: What it Takes to Survive Fifty Years as an Independent Bookseller
Canadian publishing: A house of cards where banks call in loans at the worst times, distributors collapse, printers print books on promises to pay — and a single title can mean the difference between bankruptcy or living to publish for another season.
Link: https://shush.substack.com/p/the-jack-david-master-class
. . .
Live Like an Artist – The Why by Shawna Lemay
“In the end though, it always come back to the why. If you can make delight the why of your art making process, if you can delight in the work of it, this helps make everything make sense. If you can remember that you get to do this, in whatever slivers of time you’ve made work for yourself, that helps. If you can remember that this is what makes a good life, a rich life, this helps. If you can go on being curious and delighting in these things you make, and create a few sparks and delight others, that’s a bit of gravy, isn’t it?”
Link: http://transactionswithbeauty.com/home/thewhy
. . .
Against Rereading by Oscar Schwartz
As a lifelong rereader, I am offended by the very existence of this essay. So much so that I read it twice.
Link: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2024/09/04/against-rereading
Under the Cover: Behind the scenes of the Cross books
All Lit Up has published my “behind the scenes” account of creating my Cross series of supernatural thrillers. Learn about the ancient poem that was the inspiration for Cross and the first book, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice; why the second book, The Dead Hamlets, had to be a ghost story set in the theatre world; and why the third book, The Apocalypse Ark, is literary chaos.
Related
Publication day for The Mona Lisa Sacrifice!
It’s publication day for The Mona Lisa Sacrifice. I am absolutely thrilled to see the first book of my Cross series of supernatural thrillers back in print with a special new edition from Poplar Press, an imprint of Wolsak and Wynn.
The early reviews have been positive, and it’s been gratifying to see all the love and interest in the book on social media. I’ve particularly enjoyed the podcast conversations I’ve had around the book — it’s always lovely to be able to talk about books and the writing process. Here are a couple that have gone live so far:
If you’ve read The Mona Lisa Sacrifice and enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review on your platform of choice and/or spread the word about it on social media. Positive word of mouth is how most people discover new reads now, and it’s incredibly important to writers such as myself. The more people that learn about a book, the more potential readers it has. That means a greater chance of future books by the same author!
If you haven’t read The Mona Lisa Sacrifice yet, here’s a brief summary:
For thousands of years, Cross has wandered the earth, a mortal soul trapped in the undying body left behind by Christ. He’s been a thief, a con man, a soldier and a drunkard. He’s fought as a slave in the Colosseum and as a knight at King Arthur’s side. But now he must play the part of reluctant hero, as an angel comes to him for help finding the Mona Lisa—the real Mona Lisa that inspired the painting. Cross’s quest takes him into a secret world within our own, populated by characters just as strange and wondrous as he is: gorgons and dead gods hidden away in museums; faeries that live in countryside pubs, trapping and enslaving unwary travellers; and super-rich collectors who trade magical artifacts among themselves. He’s haunted by memories of Penelope, the only woman he truly loved, and he wants to avenge her death at the hands of his ancient enemy, Judas, a forgotten god from an ancient time. The angel promises to deliver Judas to Cross, but nothing is ever what it seems when Judas is involved, and when a group of renegade angels looking for a new holy war show up, things truly go to hell.
Anyway, I hope you like(d) the book. As always, thanks for reading!
Peter
From inspiration to The Dead Hamlets
I had a wonderful time talking to Ruff Radio about my book The Dead Hamlets and all things theatre — Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, performance vs. text, representation, the creative process, Ur-Hamlets and more. I actually worked in theatre a little in the past, and The Dead Hamlets is very much a love letter to those days. Many thanks to Christine Horne of Shakespeare in the Ruff for her thoughtful questions and theatre insights! I’d appreciate it if you give the interview a listen.
Here’s a bit of background to The Dead Hamlets if you’re not familiar with the book:
Something is rotten in the court of the faerie queen. A deadly spirit is killing off the faerie, and it has mysterious ties to Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet.” The only one who can stop it is the immortal Cross, a charming rogue who also happens to be a drunk, a thief, and an angel killer. He is no friend of the faerie since they stole his daughter and made her one of their own. When it appears she may be the next victim of the haunting, though, he must race against time to save her. He encounters an eccentric and deadly cast of characters along the way: the real Witches of Macbeth, the undead playwright/demon hunter Christopher Marlowe, an eerie Alice from the Alice in Wonderland books, a deranged and magical scholar – and a very supernatural William Shakespeare. When Cross discovers a startling secret about the origins of “Hamlet” itself, he finds himself trapped in a ghost story even he may not be able to escape alive!
I’m delightful – and unsettling!
I’m grateful to see my book Has the World Ended Yet? included in 49th Shelf’s roundup of Story Collections to Delight & Unsettle. My goal in life is to be delightfully unsettling, so this is perfect!
What happened next
I recently had a great conversation with writer Nathan Whitlock on the What Happened Next podcast about the writing life, crises of faith, the madness of the pandemic and my new Cross books. Link is here or listen on your podcast app of choice.
Making CanLit a little more CanFantastic
Space vampires, murderous monks, Vancouver valkyries, zombie actors and aboriginal superheroes? This isn’t Susanna Moodie’s CanLit.
I’ve published a roundup of Canadian writers that have taken CanLit into CanFantastic territory over at the Wolsak and Wynn blog. Give it a read and share it with those you think may be interested. And suggest your own additions to the list! I’m always looking for new CanLit reads, so I’d appreciate any tips.
Thanks for reading!
– Peter
Last chance to save on Cross pre-orders
Last call for discounts! A reminder that my Cross series of supernatural thrillers is 25% off until the end of August if you order directly from the publisher, Wolsak and Wynn. If you’re into books with immortal antiheroes that hunt down angels while solving literary mysteries AND you like discounts, then this is the series for you! https://bookstore.wolsakandwynn.ca/collections/cross-books
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it’s quite helpful for authors when you pre-order our books. The publishing environment is getting more difficult by the day (what isn’t?), and initial sales of a book can mean the difference between it reaching readers like you or disappearing without a trace. The more pre-orders a book gets, the more likely it is to get decent orders from bookstores and better placement, as well as higher rankings online. All of this ultimately translates into more readers, which in turn translates into more books by me or your other favourite authors. So pre-orders actually matter.
Also, Wolsak and Wynn says they’ll throw in some goodies like special bookmarks and such for pre-orders. I mean, who can possibly resist custom bookmarks?
Anyway, I hope you’re looking forward to the new editions of the books as much as I am. As always, thanks for reading.
– Peter
peter darbyshire 