Gareth S. Young - - 1000 Trillion Suns

Howdy amigos!  Very soon, I should be posting some regular updates to my blog. I have more interviews on the way and I'll be blethering about movies quite a bit. First though, I'd like to mention a new Flash Fiction contest being hosted by Regina West  over on her  blog  called Flash In The Pen. (Catchy title, no?) I've been struggling to write new stuff lately, getting caught up in the never ending cycle of editing, so I decided to have a go and write 500 words. Head on over, check out the entry by  @SpartaGus  and let me know what you think. And, by all means, join in. The more the merrier. That's all for now. I'll let you know if I place in the contest. Check back soon for more. UPDATE!!!! I'm shocked and surprised! Despite very stiff competition I managed to snag 3rd Place. WOOT! And I get a shiny little medal for placing... Very happy about placing. Congratulations to all who took part. If you want to go read the entries check...

Back in the days of the woolly Mammoths, when tribes of humans wandered the land, one small group of people (or monkey-people like in the movies) surveyed the unending forests and snow fields of the North and said, "This will do nicely, eh?" These people are called Canadians. A common misconception about Canadians is that they all love hockey, but I'm here to...wait, what? Oh. Never mind. They do all like hockey.  Anyway, what is not so well known is that they write stories. Authors come from Canada too! Yes! If you recently perused a copy of The English Patient, Anne of Green Gables or The Life of Pi, you were looking at Canadian stuff. All joking aside, today I have another fantastic Canadian author visiting my blog. AJ Aalto comes armed with an acerbic wit and side order of snark. I asked her to stop by and talk about the adventures of her psychic detective, Marnie Baranuik.  AJ Aalto Q - Hi AJ, tell me a little about your new book. Death Rejoices is the se...

My recent participation in the Orange Karen Anthology once again highlighted the changing face of book publishing. It brought together experienced writers with first time writers and imbued everyone with a sense of togetherness. After publication, I expected the various members of #teamOrange to fade back into their own worlds, but the group has remained united, supportive of one another through social media forms and even *gasp* the real world. So, over the next couple of months, I've lined up a bunch of new interviews with members of #teamOrange . Andrew F. Butters is Canadian, so he enjoys watching burly skaters fight with sticks. (I believe the locals call it HOCKEY). And, despite being being blessed with some brains, he accidentally set fire to himself with such flair, he got to write about it in a Darwin Awards book. Fortunately, he's still here and he's still writing... Andrew F. Butters Q - Hi Andrew, your short story "Losing Vern" was recentl...

Two things every writer needs to do: 1) Write. This is a no-brainer. 2) Find your own voice. And what I mean by this is, don't write for the market. By the time you've finished your "Barry Popper and the Wizard's rock" story, Vampires are the new game in town. Or, Hunger Games. Write for yourself and to your own strengths, then have some faith that your audience will find you. My next victim on the blog is Dan Dillard and he embodies these two important traits. A prolific writer, Dan has several books already available, with a new one coming out on June 1st. He also found his own voice, writing in a genre that he loves. And while he writes, he waits for his audience to find him...by following the blood trail... The Dude abides... Q - Hi Dan, tell me a little about your newest book. The new novel is called "Giving Up The Ghost" and it will be available on Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/author/dandillard ) June 1st... It's part love...

Gina West: Questionatrix and goofball Read the first part of the interview here: PART ONE ...and now, the conclusion... 18. I know you love comics. How have they influenced your writing? Look out…here comes the boring… Comic books are deceptively complicated. Okay, perhaps not every story, but to create a story in around 26 pages takes a lot of work. The writer has to write as if this is your first ever issue of the comic you’ve just picked up while not boring the guy who’s been following it for a thousand years. Much like a television writer, they have to write to beats so that they end in a way that will make you pick up the next one. They also have to write to the strengths of the artists they work with. And it all has to fit into a picture or a speech bubble. I’d liken individual comic books to the chapters of a story, a long ongoing story, except in each chapter you have to introduce your main character over again and the chapter has to be a stand-alone story while...