Mostly Reviews: March 2025 Update

February 2025 made up for the previous year’s lack of snow, keeping us busy with clearing efforts. While not busy with that, I managed to make some progress on writing projects. One of them was a review of Arlene F. Marks’ The Stragori Deception (cover at left). The review was published on the Amazing Stories Clubhouse page. Thanks to Graeme Cameron for the opportunity, and to Arlene for arranging a review copy.

 

A lovely review of my speculative poetry collection Cats and Dogs in Space, written by Sandra J. Lindlow,  appeared in the SpecPo Blog:

https://specpo.wordpress.com/2025/02/24/dogs-and-cats-in-space-a-book-review/

 

 

Recent Publications

Cartoons and Illustrations:

“Dragon Reading Material,” Spaceports and Spidersilk February 2024, https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/spaceports-spidersilk-february-2025

Fiction:

“Stealing Time,” Havok: Kytt Windthorn, posted February 4, 2025.

 

Nonfiction:

“Insects work hard to get their liquid-only diets,” Simcoe Advocate, February 27, 2025, https://www.granthaven.com/simcoe-advocate

 

“New Participants Welcome for Great Backyard Bird Count,” Simcoe Advocate, February 13, 2025, https://www.granthaven.com/simcoe-advocate

 

Poetry:

“After the Storm,” Sublimation, Volume 2, Issue 1, “The Heart of Winter,” published February 17, 2025,

 

“At the Spaceport Bar,” Polar Starlight Issue 17, February 2025, published February 1, 2025, https://polarborealis.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/POLAR-STARLIGHT-17-February-2025.pdf

 

“A Dog’s World,” Spaceports and Spidersilk February 2025, https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/spaceports-spidersilk-february-2025

 

“We Could Do Worse,” Lotus Magazine (newsletter for the Norfolk Field Naturalists). February 2025, https://norfolkfieldnaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/February-2025-Lotus.pdf

“Winter’s Heart,” Sublimation, Volume 2, Issue 1, “The Heart of Winter,” published February 17, 2025.

Reviews:

“Bowness’ Book Offers Advice for Freelancers,” a review of The Feisty Freelancer: A Friendly Guide to Visioning, Planning, and Growing Your Writing Business, by Suzanne Bowness, published February 24, 2025, on The Seaboard Review, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/bowness-book-offers-advice-for-freelancers

 

Eat Better, Sleep Better: 75 Recipes and a 28-Day Meal Plan That Unlock the Sleep-Food Connection, by Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, and Kat Craddock, posted on The Seaboard Review, February 3, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/eat-better-sleep-better

 

Dinner on Mars: The Technologies That Will Feed the Red Planet and Transform Agriculture on Earth, by Lenore Newman and Evan Fraser, Interstellar Flight Magazine Best of Year Five, February 3, 2025, https://www.interstellarflightpress.com/best-of-interstellar-flight-mag.html

 

“Finding a Place in the Medieval,” a review of Thinking Queerly, by Jes Battis, Interstellar Flight Magazine Best of Year Five, February 3, 2025, https://www.interstellarflightpress.com/best-of-interstellar-flight-mag.html

 

“Out of the Ordinary: New Poems by Tom Wayman Lives Up to Its Title,” a review of Out of the Ordinary: New Poems, by Tom Wayman, The Seaboard Review, February 17, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/tom-wayman-out-of-the-ordinary-poems

 

The Stragori Deception, Book One of the Sic Transit Stragon series, by Arlene F. Marks, Amazing Stories: Clubhouse Guest Review, posted February 17, 2025, https://amazingstories.com/2025/02/clubhouse-guest-review-the-stragori-deception-by-arlene-f-marks/

 

“Tips for Winning the Travel Game,” a review of How to Win at Travel by Brian Kelly, The Seaboard Review, posted February 10, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/tips-for-winning-the-travel-game-brian-kelly

 

 

What I’m Working On

I’ve been mainly working on reviews and nonfiction pieces, with a few poems thrown into the mix, and expect that will continue.

 

 

"Cats and Dogs in Space" Released

A project I've had in the works for awhile,  a speculative poetry collection titled Cats and Dogs in Space, has been released by Hiraeth Publishing. Available in ebook and paperback formats, Cats and Dogs in Space includes poems inspired by news stories, myths and legends, and the antics of the many dogs (and a few cats) that have tracked their paw prints through my life.

 

As the book's blurb suggests, there's some humour blended in: 

 

Cats in lab coats, running experiments on us. Robot dogs roaming Mars. Space-faring canines who mistake alien vessels for fetch toys. There are just some of the images you’ll find in here. With inspiration from myths, news stories, nursery rhymes, personal experience, and a lifelong interest in science fiction, the poems are written in a variety of styles for your reading enjoyment.

 

Reaching from the distant past to the far future, and points in between, Cats and Dogs in Space invites you to have some fun re-imagining man’s best friend—and whatever it is that cats call themselves.

 

When we beamed the book to the future, here’s what readers had to say:

 

“Purrfectly delightful! Enjoyable for readers of any stripe. Some of these poems are enough to make a cat laugh!” Festus, ship’s cat aboard the Silver Starr Spaceliner Frederika. 

 

“Meaty as a prime rib bone, and just as much fun to chew on! I’d give it two thumbs up—if I had opposable thumbs . . . ” Pepper, K-9 Operative, Galactic Space Services

 

Here's hoping that people have as much fun reading it as I did writing it . . . 

 

 

February 2025 Update: Celebrating Donkeys, and More

I was pleased and surprised when I checked my mail and found a copy of Donkey Drabbles: Very Short Stories About the Long Ears We Love, reformatted and re-issued from the original. Donkey Drabbles was a project put together by The Donkey Sanctuary of Canada, which invited volunteers, staff, and friends (I fall into the latter category) to submit “drabbles,” or 100-word pieces, about the donkeys. 

I contributed a drabble titled “Grooming Danny,” which recounted my experiences with one particular donkey during a visit to the Sanctuary on one of the Open Days. The reformatted book is larger than the original, and attractively laid out. The book is available through the Sanctuary’s Long Ears Boutique, which can be browsed online.

Recent Publications

Cartoons:
“Getting Older,” posted on Little Old Lady Comedy, January 21, 2025, https://www.littleoldladycomedy.com/all-works/getting-older

“Tortoise and Hare,” posted on Little Old Lady Comedy, January 7, 2025, https://www.littleoldladycomedy.com/all-works/tortoise-and-hare

Nonfiction:
“Visiting Strange Futures Through Compact Storytelling,” an interview with Stewart C Baker, author of The Butterfly Disjunct and Other Stories, published on Interstellar Flight Magazine, January 17, 2025, https://magazine.interstellarflightpress.com/visiting-strange-futures-through-compact-storytelling-51fdf55d99b7

Reviews:
Chrystia: From Peace River to Parliament Hill, by Catherine Tsalikis, posted on The Seaboard Review, January 20, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/chrystia-from-peace-river-to-parliament-hill

“Feeling Stuck? Dan Heath’s Reset Offers Help,” a review of Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working, by Dan Heath, The Seaboard Review, posted January 27, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/reset-by-dan-heath

The Infinite Heist, by Stephen Graham King, posted on Amazing Stories: Clubhouse January 13, 2025, https://amazingstories.com/2025/01/clubhouse-guest-review-the-infinite-heist-by-stephen-graham-king/

“McDonald’s Memoir Reflects on the Power of Yes,” a review of Just Say Yes by Bob McDonald, appeared on The Miramichi Reader site January 12, 2025, https://miramichireader.ca/2025/01/mcdonalds-memoir-reflects-on-the-power-of-yes/

“Selecky Helps Writers Fine-Tune Their Mindset: Story is a State of Mind,” a review of Story is a State of Mind by Sarah Selecky, published on The Seaboard Review Substack site, January 6, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/story-is-a-state-of-mind-sarah-selecky

Starter Villain, by John Scalzi, posted on Goodreads, January 16, 2025, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7221930499

The Storm of Progress, by Wade Rowland, The Seaboard Review, posted January 13, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/the-storm-of-progress-by-wade-rowland

“Through the Portal Offers Hope Amid Dystopia,” a review of Through the Portal: Tales from a Hopeful Dystopia, edited by Nina Munteanu and Lynn Hutchinson Lee, posted on The Seaboard Review, January 13, 2025, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/through-the-portal-stories

What I’m Working On
For my own writing, I’ve declared 2025 as “the year of nonfiction.” Book reviews, news stories, articles, and a couple of projects I’ve had on the back burner will be the focus, though I’ll still work on the occasional poem or fiction piece.

Coming Soon
My flash story “Stealing Time” will be published on Havok February 4. “Stealing Time” will be free for viewing on February 4^th only on the Havok site. I also have work scheduled to appear in the February 2025 issues of Spaceports and Spidersilk and Scifaikuest.

 

 

January 2025 Update: A Chance to Hit Reset

A new year brings a new opportunity to hit “reset.” While I don’t engage in “resolutions” per se, for the past few years I’ve started out with a set of goals for the year. For my writing activities, this includes targets for submissions and acceptances of various types of writing (poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, and book reviews) as well as any projects I’m considering, such as submitting short story collections or working on a nonfiction book (both of which might be in the mix for 2025).
 
For my nonwriting activities, it’s a chance to review what’s important to me and how I plan to achieve it, like staying healthy (which in turn means certain types of activities, like regular exercise, are important). This year’s non-writing focus items will include gardening (so fresh, organically grown vegetables are available), exercise (which our dog, shown at top left, is all too happy to support when he’s not napping), and activities to help bolster brain health.
 
On a different note, after pondering for awhile, I’ve finally joined Bluesky. Looking forward to an additional way to connect with other writers, and to let people know what I’ve been up to. So far, so good!
 
Recent Publications
Fiction:
“The Mitten Caper,” Havok, “Remember December,” December 23, 2024.
 
Nonfiction:
“Exploring the Future, Close to Home,” interview with Timothy S. Johnston, published on Interstellar Flight Magazine, December 2, 2024, https://magazine.interstellarflightpress.com/exploring-the-future-close-to-home-230bbe392295

“Outlook brightens for Humane Society, help still needed,” Simcoe Advocate, December 19, 2024, https://www.granthaven.com/simcoe-advocate

Poetry:
“Sometimes Size Matters,” Solstitia, Issue 2, Creepy Crawlies, December 21, 2024, https://www.fictionfanspodcast.com/solstitia
 
Reviews:
Lost and Found, by Jane Glatt, The Seaboard Review, posted December 1, 2024, https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/lost-and-found-jane-glatt
 
The Rainfall Market, by You Yeong-Gwang, posted on Goodreads December 8, 2024, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7067293483
 
“Small-Town Gays and Triple Axels: A Review of I Hate Parties by Jes Battis,” Plenitude Magazine, December 19, 2024, https://plenitudemagazine.ca/small-town-gays-and-triple-axels-a-review-of-i-hate-parties-by-jes-battis/
 
What I’m Working On
As usual, I have several book reviews lined up. I’ll also work in some time for short stories and poems. January also tends to be a busy month for making various venues aware of work published in 2024, for consideration for anthologies and/or awards.
 
Coming Soon
I have a number of reviews pending publication, so some of those will undoubtedly make an appearance through January.