James Aquilone's Classic Monsters Unleashed

October readin' and dreamin'. James Aquilone's Classic Monsters Unleashed, a who's-who of new stories about famous creatures, from some of the best horror voices in the business. 

Jonathan Maberry's "Höllenlegion", a riff on "The Island of Doctor Moreau", kicks off this delicious autumnal feast. The inimitable Joe R. Lansdale's gobsmackingly good "God of the Razor" caps it. 

Read Lansdale's piece first, I was so excited. Don't do that; it is unfair to all the other great creature stories. Over a year later, I am reading the rest, and enjoying each and every one, from Tim Waggoner's modern werewolf yarn "Blood Hunt" to Lisa Morton's fun "Hacking the Horseman's Code" à la Amazing Stories late 1980's TV incarnation.

Gorgeous cover art, and some stunningly macabre interior story art,  from Colton Worley.

Reading with Amanda Earl & AJ Dolman at the Pump

Had a terrific reading with co-pilot AJ Dolman and Amanda Earl at the the Lieutenant's Pump in Ottawa this Sunday. Monsters abounded in our work—vampires, transphobic parents and shapeshifters, including my  longtime pal John Newman, whom I have had the pleasure to know since high school.

In "John Newman, you'll not catch me", he is pitted against a vile shapeshifter in a race through the forest to save the dreams of the residents of a sleepy small-town suburb. 

What an honour that Amanda made this happen.

Made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Writers' Union of Canada.

Queer Indie Authors at T's Pub

Queer Indie Authors at T's Pub
Featuring:
AJ Dolman
Natalie Hanna
Chris Johnson
Stevie Mikayne
James K. Moran
 
T's Pub or tspub.ca
Ottawa, Ontario.
Thurs., Aug. 21. 
Doors "open", 5:30. 
6:00pm start.
Free event.
Y'all are invited.

That's how the pros do it, true believers. We've got it all—poetry, horror and other speculative fiction, mystery and fab host Eden Moore, to boot! 

AJ Dolman’s (they/she) debut poetry collection is Crazy / Mad (Gordon Hill Press, 2024). They previously authored Lost Enough: A collection of short stories (MRP, 2017), and three poetry chapbooks, and co-edited Motherhood in Precarious Times (Demeter Press, 2018). Dolman’s poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. A bi/pan+ rights advocate and founder of Bi+ Canada, they live on unceded, unsurrendered Anishinaabe Algonquin territory.

Chris Johnson (he/him) was born in Scarborough, ON, and currently lives on unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. He is the Managing Editor for Arc Poetry Magazine and Editorial Assistant at Nightwood Editions. Chris' latest chapbook is 320 lines of poetry (counting blank lines) (Anstruther Press, 2023).

natalie hanna is a queer Ottawa lawyer of Middle-Eastern descent, working with low income populations. She runs battleaxe press, and her poem “light conversation” received Honourable Mention for the 2019 Diana Brebner Prize. She is the author of thirteen poetry chapbooks, including titles with above/ground press and Baseline Press. Her 2021 chapbook, machine dreams (Collusion Books), co-authored with Liam Burke, was nominated for the 2022 bpNichol Chapbook Award. Her first full-length collection, lisan al'asfour (ARP Books, 2022), was a finalist for the 2023 Ottawa Book Awards.

Stevie Mikayne is a queer writer of romantic mysteries. Her work is inspired by that time she was allowed to crash a Private Investigator School, coupled with her natural resistance to being told that she can't blend genres. She is a two-time Lambda Literary Award Finalist as well as a Golden Crown Literary Award Finalist. In her real life, she is a professor of creative writing at the University of Ottawa and a mum to a fabulous almost-teenager.

James K. Moran, a writer of many bi lines, has published speculative fiction and poetry in Burly Tales: Finally Fairy Tales for the Hirsute and Hefty Gay Man, Bywords, Glitterwolf, On Spec, and elsewhere. Moran’s collection Fear Itself and small-town Canada horror novel Town & Train were published by Lethe Press. For over 15 years, he was a freelance contributor for Xtra Magazine (née Capital Xtra!). He reviews for Arc Poetry Magazine, Plenitude: your queer literary magazine and Strange Horizons. Findable at jamestheballadeer.

Cornwall book launch a smash success: Fear Itself and Queers Like Me with Michael V. Smith

Photo: Francis Langevin

Had a brilliant October 29 Cornwall launch for my Lethe Press collection Fear Itself with Michael V. Smith launching his new Book*hug Press poetry book Queers Like Me. It was a double-threat book launch, two local queer boys who made good. 

This one was a milestone—

Photo: Francis Langevin

my first reading from one of my books in in my home-town. While I have promoted my books at CAPE (Cornwall & Area Pop Event) on and off for years, I have never done an event for my writing there. It was a doubly pleasant reading as Michael and me have never done an event together before. While we have supported each other throughout the years as our writing vocations have taken on unexpected trajectories (he is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC, for example), this was our first opportunity to perform together. 

But the timing was right. Fear Itself my first horror, sci-fi and fantasy collection, came out last year. In Queers Like Me, published October 24 this year, Smith examines growing up queer in Cornwall. Luckily, with the tight publication, Book*hug provided him with advance copies for the intercity tour he is doing while on sabbatical.  Michael was also in town October 28 to attend a gala to be inducted into the Cornwall and Area Hall of Fame for the Arts. In short, Michael was in town and I was not far away. Years back, we also attended Saint Lawrence High School and the original Central Public School together. While Michael is a few years ahead of me, our history and friendship run deep. Small-town roots deep.

Photo: AJ Dolman

I liked Smith's 2002 novel Cumberland from Cormorant Books so much that I asked him permission to use two of his characters in walk-on cameos in my first novel Town & Train. Cumberland features Earnest, a closeted mill worker navigating the small-town milieu as much as his own sexual identity and awakening. Like myself, Michael also used a fictionalized Cornwall in his novel (Cumberland), whereas I called it Brandon in my horror novel Town & Train. He touched on some of the same local landmarks as settings, the gay cruising area down by the waterfront, the international bridge and even an RCAF jet in Lamoureux Park. Michael graciously granted me permission to use two of his characters (one of whom I name), and continually encouraged me to get the book published instead of leaving it in a drawer, as he said (back when we kept manuscripts in drawers and not on hard drives or ethereal clouds).

On top of the significance of getting together to read from our books with our shared history, we had a strong crowd of about 25 attendees at the fine venue of Carrots N' Dates and sold a stack of books each. You can't really ask for more at any reading, much less one at 2pm on a Sunday in grey, leafy late October in the Seaway Valley. One of my friends, who I was in Beavers with as a kid, was there on a first date with a young woman who made the hour drive from Montreal. In signing a book for her, I thanked her for making my launch her hot date.

Often, at a well-attended reading, you  might only sell a few books. Alternatively, sometimes with only a few in the audience, you might just sell quite a lot. Here, we were lucky enough with seats filled and phenomenal sales. I'm grateful, but even more thankful with all the hometown connections such as Councillor Elaine MacDonald, who saw the baby second draft of my novel-to-be Town & Train in grade 13, and even my high-school drama teacher (now retired) Barb Mallette and several friendly faces I knew from grade school, and high school.

Thank you, everyone who showed up, friends of many years; high-school peers and best pals. Thank you, Carrots N' Dates, for the Hallloween-errific space.

Thanks, all!

To find more about Queers Like Me, or buy a copy, here's a link to publisher Book*hug press. 

For more about my new book Fear Itself, purchase it, go here, the Lethe Press site.  

Both books are available through the amazons and independent bookstores.

Photo: Francis Langevin

Fear Itself collection is spooky reading

Just another spooky-season PSA as we enter Ray Bradbury's October Country. Fear Itself, my new Lethe Press short story collection, is a blend of horror and SFF, which Publishers Weekly called "unsettling". 

Audible version narrated by the inimitable and talented Gavin J. Annette. 

Don't be afraid to snap it up. 

amzn.to/3PGsMEb

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bit.ly/3WAi3O8