Blog Archives
Doorways to awesomeness
I think I’ve talked a few times on this blog about how much Roger Zelazny‘s writing has meant to me. I don’t know how many times I’ve reread the Chronicles of Amber in my life — the only other books that come close are Steven Brust‘s Jhereg series, which have a similar feel. And maybe Lord of the Rings, which I read dozens of times in my early school years, although LOTR mostly has nostalgia value for me now. When I first started writing, I wanted to create unique, visionary worlds like Zelazny had, and I really wanted to blend genre fiction with literary style in the same manner. Not easy feats at all, as it turns out. But you do what you can.
I never expected to be compared to Zelazny, any more than I ever expected to be compared to Neil Gaiman. So it’s been a complete surprise and honour when that’s happened in reviews and such. And it was also a complete surprise and honour when a reader sent me a pic of two books she’d recently ordered — The Warhol Gang, which I wrote a few years back, and Doorways in the Sand, by Roger Zelazny. Thanks, Shara!
If my childhood self could see this pic, I think I know what he would say.
Cool!
But who will moderate me?
This should be fun. I’ll be moderating the Weird Fiction panel at this year’s Vancouver Writers Fest. Starring Kelly Link, Jeff Vandermeer, Neil Smith and Robert J. Wiersema. Here’s the official description:
Normally, “weird” is an insult, but not for these authors. “Weird fiction,” says Robert J. Wiersema, “isn’t so much a genre in itself as a stripping away and blurring of conventions to create something entirely new.” Jeff VanderMeer describes weird fiction this way: “Just as in real life, things don’t always quite add up… and in that space we discover some of the most powerful evocations of what it means to be human or inhuman.” In Kelly Link’s short stories, it’s perfectly fine to encounter two lovers who reunite after death in a nudist camp. Their deep human sentiment is true, even if all else is fecund imagination. Neil Smith’s debut novel delves into the minds of 13-year-olds in an afterlife. Come tour worlds slightly askew, guided by some of their creators.
Come and get your minds melted!
Can I have an amen?
Over at The Province, I talk to Victoria author Robert J. Wiersema about the writing life, literary tattoos and why he loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer so damned much. We also talk about his new novel, Black Feathers, which is his most Stephen King-like yet!
From barista to plumber!
I had a great conversation with Vancouver fantasy writer Sebastien de Castell about his new blockbuster book deal — eight books over four years! — and how he’s finally earning plumber money. Seriously, Sebastien is a great writer and a fun interviewee. Check out the article and the podcast!
Feverish dreams
I’ve been sick with a norovirus that swept through my household recently like, well, like a plague. I tried to avoid it by wearing a medical face mask and gloves while I tended to sick children and a spouse but eventually it claimed me. The unexpected bonus to lying in bed alternating between fever and chills and other such delights was that I had some crazy visions of new Cross adventures that would make awesome short stories. Very strange, very hallucinatory Cross short stories. So I’ve been working on those. I’ve written a story and a half so far, with notes for two other short stories. So there may be a Cross story collection at some point in the future.
Or maybe I’m still sick and just imagining all this writing stuff.
CanLit’s $100,000 controversy
The CanLit community recently went crazy over a publishing exec’s comment that he wasn’t interested in publishing books that earned less than $100,000. Of course, it’s a little more complicated than a publisher just being about the money. I talked to a number of writers and publishing professionals about their reaction to the controversy over at The Province.
“A blasphemously good time”
I am thrilled to be included on this list of awesome reads by Corey Redekop. Clive Barker and Nick Cutter for neighbours? Well, let’s just say if I go missing you know who to question first.
Tell me again how piracy isn’t a problem
Author Silvia Moreno-Garcia woke up this morning to find someone has pirated one of her stories and is selling it on Chapters online — under Silvia’s own name. It’s a pretty devious act of piracy, as it looks like a legit book from the writer, but I’m pretty sure Silvia will never see any of the money from the sales of her own pirated work. And people wonder why most writers can’t quit their day job….
Tales from the Beermat
Hey, I’m one of the judges in the Storm Crow Tavern’s Tales from the Beermat contest. Write a microfiction story (250 words or less), and it could wind up on a coaster in the Storm Crow Tavern, to be soaked in beer and sacrificial blood by thousands of victims, err… patrons! Plus, there are prizes of cash and gift cards to the Storm Crow!
If I wasn’t a judge, I would totally enter this myself.
The other judges include Kristi Charish and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
The only catch is you have to be a Canadian citizen, although they may waive that if you write your story in blood. I don’t think it matters whose blood it is, but you may want to check the rules.
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.
peter darbyshire 