Autumn is here in the northern hemisphere, the most noticeable signs
being the first few trees trading their green foliage for orange, the vees of
honking geese passing by in early evening, and the way twilight creeps in a
little earlier each day. The arrival of cooler weather generally means, for me,
more indoor time, which is maybe a good thing considering the backlog of
projects I’ve been meaning to get to.
Recent Publications
I’ve been a long-time supporter of the Donkey
Sanctuary of Canada, located near Guelph, Ontario, so when they sent out a call
for drabbles (100-word pieces) for an anthology about donkeys, I was all in. I
opted to describe an encounter with a donkey called Danny that occurred years
ago during one of my first visits to the Donkey Sanctuary. I was fortunate
enough to have my story selected for inclusion, and in turn received a copy of
the donkey drabbles book.
The 76-page anthology, approximately 5 inches
x 7 inches in size, is a handsome collection of donkey tales printed on glossy
paper. The drabbles are printed on the right-hand pages, with an accompanying
photo printed on the left-hand page facing each drabble. Proceeds from the book
go to support the donkeys, and it’s one of a number of items on offer at the
Long Ears Boutique.
My review
of Timothy S. Johnston’s The War Beneath: The Rise of Oceania appeared
on The Future Fire September 7, 2019. The War Beneath depicts a
future (2129) society where humans have established undersea cities on the
Earth. All of the action takes place underwater. Johnston’s imaginative and
believable novel has plenty of action but also delves into the politics of
under-ocean cities vis a vis their counterparts, and their “parent” countries.
Interesting stuff. You can find the review at:
My poem
“From Cat, To Fiddle” appeared in New Myths, Issue 48, published
September 15, 2019. New Myths is accessible free of charge. The link is
below:
Poems
also appeared in Polar Borealis, September issue (“Drawing Parallels”),
the August 2019 print edition of Scifaikuest (“Crossed Signals,”
“Departure Day,” and “[the colonists need]”), and Third Wednesday’s fall 2019
edition (“A Message Home”).
What I’m Working On
Still working through my backlog of book
reviews, with a review of Edward Willett’s Master of the World in the draft stage.
Willett’s second book in the Worldshapers series, which picks up where Book One
left off, whisks us off to a Jules Verne-inspired world. Interesting.
I’m looking forward to getting review copies
of The Library of the Unwritten and How Rory Thorne
Destroyed the Multiverse (the titles alone were irresistible).
More on those books later.
Not so much action on the fiction front
lately, but I hope to rectify that in the coming months. Until next time.
