Met with the publisher of Laksa Media today and the next anthology is coming along really well. The stories are shaping up to be awesome and the edits are going well. I think we will be following up Strangers Among Us with an equally wonderful Sum of Us!
Love the gym
Exercise is excellent for creativity. At the gym this week, I got three new ideas for stories. None of them is fully fledged, so I can’t say how many will actually take flight, but I really believe that getting oxygen to the brain, as well as exercise-generated good brain chemicals feeds creativity. Also, I think repetitive motion tends to shove stress/anxiety-thoughts away, too, leaving room for creative ideas.
First Three Chapters
I am teaching a course at the Alexandra Centre called The First Three Chapters, and had my first class this week. Awesome group of students–7 out of 8 of them have a very clear idea about the novel they want to write. And a new student enrolled this week, so I will have 9. This should be tons of fun!
Query Workshop
I had a ton of fun today, working for the Alexandra Centre, doing a drop-in query workshop. Actually, I had two clients booked, but saw five in 3 hours. Each brought a query letter and I did a “blue pencil” style critique and talked to them about various strategies for getting an agent, writing a synopsis, and other elements of the business of writing. An awesome day!
Can*con
A weekend in Ottawa for Can*con was time well spent. Caught up with old friends (breakfast with Sheila Williams, coffee with Sam Morgan, partying with Mark Leslie), met new people, sat on some panels, launched Strangers Among Us (and sold out every copy there, thanks to Bundoran Press, who allowed us to put our books on their table), saw a light show at the Parliament Buildings, toured the National Gallery, saw a boat make its way through the locks on the Rideau canal…and more! Thanks to Derek Kunsken and Marie Bilodeau for organizing!