As with all things, this year’s COVID craziness has affected people differently. Some of my friends have barely managed to read anything. Some people have concentrated on rereads and comfort found in familiar words. Before I did the tally, I thought I’d read a lot more this year than last, but it turns out the […]

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My good friends at The House of Pomegranates Press have started to produce amazing editions of classic titles with the feel of old books. As it says on their website: “Whenever we would find ourselves wandering in book shops, dusty antique or junk shops we are always drawn to the back where the stacks of […]

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I’d mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve recorded seven short readings and that my husband has been composing background music for them. Now he’s discovered imovie and has made the jump to adding moody and evocative visuals to his compositions. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to come up with the […]

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Just put the (almost) finishing touches on the new material being added to the upcoming reissue of my Discovering Japan short story collection, due out in December. This new version features a new cover, one additional unpublished short story, and THREE (count ’em, three!) sections from the Work In Progress, aka “The Witch Novel”. Stay […]

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The annual two weeks up north was the usual balm for the soul, despite rainy weather the first week. I went swimming twice (given that the second time was on September 15th, I thought that was pretty good. It was … not warm). I did my one annual ride on the rail trail. I got […]

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What is there to say on any of this anymore? The days come and go, I write a bit or I don’t, I practice flamenco or I don’t, I garden or I don’t. None of it is very interesting. This is not to say there haven’t been good moments. Socially distanced picnics and cocktails have […]

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year… tra la la. I mean Hallowe’en, of course. To make sure you never run out of appropriately scary things to read during this best of seasons, the good folks at Storybundle asked the amazing Sandra Kasturi to curate a special package of spooky stories. For just $15, […]

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This is definitely my year for reading books by musicians.       My Own Devices: True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love by Dessa (one of my favourite musicians ever) is about love, about trying to cure love with science, about family, about writing, and about the life of being a […]

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Halloween may be over but you haven’t missed your chance to score this incredible Story Bundle offer.  Seriously, you can’t go wrong.  Just $15 gets you: Experimental Film. Gemma Files’ Shirley Jackson award winner. One of the most highly praised horror novels of the last few years. October. A novella by Michael Rowe about the […]

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Last week was a banner week for my good friend Sandra Kasturi and ChiZine Publications.  Both the Aurora and Sunburst Awards were announced and the tally for CZP and friends was impressive. Sunburst Awards 2018 Best Novel:  The Bone Mother by David Demchuk (published by CZP) Best Short Story:  “The Beautiful Gears of Dying” by […]

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