This is my day

As is pretty evident, I work for these cats:

http://www.chizinepub.com

What do I do for them? Well. Practically anything that needs done. Do I love it? You are damn skippy. This is my publishing family, and the amazing books I am lucky enough to help with getting out there every single day are my babies. I could not have asked for a better job, especially on days like today, when after seeing the book through the whole process, here it is, in all its glory!

Brett is the happiest book panda of all

Yesterday, as you may have surmised from Twitter, we just picked up David Nickle's EUTOPIA: A NOVEL OF TERRIBLE OPTIMISM from Webcom. First off, CZP field trips are always such charmed, ridiculous expeditions. The best reward is when the people in the office proper and oogling and drooling all over the cover and coveting the copies getting passed around from cubicle to cubicle, frightened and in awe. Boyz, that's just how we roll!

All them books are in there, just waiting...

As usually follows these kind of jaunts - review mailing! Oh ARCs, how I love thee. The most unique and smartest thing about CZP is that we shy away from coil bound galley copies. We like to keep really ahead of our printing schedule so that when its time to send review copies, we get to put the real live book into the hands of those sparkly reviewer types. They get to feel the sexy thing in their own hands, test the weight of it, and get the same giddy feeling we booknerds get at the prize of a new novel. Yes. We seduce our readers. No shame here, people.

AHHHH. Nightmares and joy, oh my!

Needless to say, I love my work. I would be an empty shell of a little publishing girl were it not for the love and support and rockin' epic-tude of my bosses Brett Savory and Sandra Kasturi. They let me into their lives and work and passions every damn day, and in return, I will kick the ass of any challenge/deadline/super crazy publishing demon that comes in CZP's path.

It's a charmed life, little chickens.

Auld lang syne

The Isle of Skye

So ladies, gents, babies, and whomsoever else takes the opportunity and time to read this dusty thing, Scotland! A place always near and dear to my heart of hearts, seat of my ancestors (the MacLeod clan--HOLD FAST!) and the jewel of the UK. I have longed to go there for years, and though I've come close--went to England on a ruddy school trip in 2006--I have been either too occupied with school, work, or the ensuing future to fathom going. There's also that money thing that I hear is all the rage with the kids. Yes. I have none. HA HA isn't that MAGICAL.

The Hebrides

But guess what my little babies?! I am finally going! At long, ridiculous last!

Dunevegan Castle, seat of the MacLeod Clan

This trip has kind of evolved quite a bit over the last couple of months. When Peter initially approached me with the idea of a summer getaway to Vancouver Island, I was elated. The sea! How I longed to watch the sun set on it. Birth place of Hey Ocean! and Mother Mother, and, of course, sea food. Whales. Also there were mountains. You know, the usual stuff. I was pumped.

Edinburgh

But after Peter's parents had come home from a jaunt in Scotland, they kind of tossed the idea of doing an England trip to him, and when he blithely asked me, "So, would that be something you'd like to do? I know you had your heart set on BC, but--" what was I to say? Always the gentleman.

At first we were going to go with his parents and the two of us, but as the plans kept evolving, it turned into just Peter and I. Which I think is fine! We will have more chances to do family trips, I think.

And as we started hewing out a plan, we were like, why not do Scotland too?! I mean, we were already THERE. And trains! Trains get you places. Someone told me that. It would be soooo easy! SMUG SMUG SMIRK GRIN. No.

All that travel was becoming complicated and convoluted the more the trip took on its own brain matter. Let's go to Skye as well as Edinburgh! And start and finish in London! Oh. 11 hours by train from Skye to London? Uh. Buses? How many trains is it from Edinburgh to Skye. . . ? Should we cut London? NO, we already cut York! How many days will we go, then? 2 weeks! Um. Maybe 12 days. 10 days? ...9? So that's 3 days in each place. Well roughly 2. I mean, travel days. Right, right. Um. Oh. I need to look at the calendar again. . .

Trips are wonderful things, but are they ever a scream-queen super bitch to plan when it comes down to the niggling details! So as of yesterday we boiled it down to this:

>9 days
>Scotland only (no qualms!)
>Fly into and out of Edinburgh
>Hang out in Inverness/Loch Ness
>Spend a solid part of the trip at the North West point of the Isle of Skye

And as of today, all flights have been booked. The deal is cinched! Now we just need to jump on our B&B's/general accommodations. Here is where we are staying in Skye - The Spooooons!

And with the help from some epic friends and advice from family, this is sure to be a most epic trip. I am so excited to spend time with my Darling in what I consider the seat of faereality and all things magical in this world. I also feel like being humbled to death by ancient landscapes and gratuitous amounts of scenery. With a dash of romance. As always.

Now, off to paint and draw, and perchance write. I hear that's what I do.

Lumiere!

"The question is not whether they lived happily ever after. The point, gentlemen, is that they lived."

There is magic, still

As of this moment, I am laying sprawled on the carpet of my expansive, sparsely furnitured livingroom, staring blankly into the ceiling after being berated by my parents and my uncle about my lack of employment and the uncertainty of my future.

As if it were something that didn't already consume my thoughts DAILY.

I've now lived completely on my own for three months. It has been a lonely life. But thankfully I have friends and ChiZine work to keep me busy, as well as an epic 2 week jaunt back to Winnipeg for probably the best holiday I have ever had, bar none. Falcon lake cabin excursions, romantic Christmas gatherings, food, friends, laughter, and family. Funny gifts, heartwarming promises, fireworks on Lake Winnipeg with ice shacks speckling the horizon. Snow wrestling. Puppies and ponies. Yes. It was good.

And yes. It came to an end. And now I'm back home. It is so quiet here. And so lonely.

There's the upcoming book, yes. And then there's the new project clunking along. And the constant stream of my ChiZine work, coupled with the knowledge that the man I love/adore/have devoted myself wholly to will be coming to see me post-block 2 Med exams. All this keeps me getting up and going.

But holy God. I've only been home what, three days? How is the melancholy and hopelessness so thick already?

Anyway.

Let's talk get away from reality. I'm tired by it. And I do not have enough chocolate in my house to satiate myself from this steady growing crankiness.

Fantasy. Lovely things. Let's talk about those.


I grew into this literary world fed on a strict diet of faery tales, mythology and a reality set outside reality. From the bright worlds of Brian Froud, David Ellwand, and Hans Christian Anderson, to the elegant shadows of Brom or Neil Gaiman. It is these worlds my imagination was raised in. It is these in which I'd very much like to stay.


Writing young adult fantasy/general fantasy. To the hundreds of authors and artists that inspire me daily, published or otherwise, I realise that to live in this world is possible, but takes time and commitment and sheer bloody willingness to delve into indelible, self manufactured worlds beyond your own. And while all that is fantastic is truly epic to experience on a day to day basis, I've learned, in recent humbling years, that reality boasts an experience that faery tales cannot compare to. Even if, in terms of my current state, reality feels crushing and impossible and just blegh, there is still so much more to it than dreaming your way out of it.

With The Lake and the Library, I hope I can somehow achieve and convey the harmony of the two. And also set the stage for whatever projects manage out of my future endeavours. Fingers crossed.

I have so many stories to tell, and in what I'm deeming a fortunately unfortunate break between jobs, which is a stressful place to be, I'm going to try and work as hard as I can on the next book The Stars of Mount Quixx. I don't think I'm going to have a huge chunk of time available to me for my leisure for a long, long time. Should probably make the most of it, if I were smart. And, at the very least, it'll keep me positive in the very tough days to come, where I'm sure you can find me calling up min wage places begging for work in order to just get by.

Can the writing be a fulfilling way to fulfill my life? I've been told by the many writers and publishers I've encountered over the last 8ish months a resounding NO. Does it stop me from dreaming, rather fantastically, that such a thing could be real. NO. With book one actually signed up, there's that irritating glimmer of hope. But that's too far down the line to even tell.

Grumble, mutter, sigh. Anyway. I'm grousing again.

For a peek into my next literary whirlwind-quest into the strange, it's going to go something like this:

Infiltrate

She had not become accustomed to the twilight cold. Not yet. Fall here infiltrates the pores and the soul, not like the clime she'd just landed from. Her bare feet hesitate at the soggy grass, and without a word, he comes to her side, bends down, and picks her up. Prince charming magnificent. This moment is the memory of a thing she dreamed of in the midst of the rage and fury and misery of a past she'd sooner forget. She is unsure whether or not she is dreaming now.

He carries her with ease across the lawn. She is the air he breathes. He does not need anything more. Not now, anyway. When they are inside the cottage, he dips her down on the sofa like a precious thing, and sets her on top of him.

They are quiet for some time. His fingers trace her hairline and memorize it. Her brow-bone, her little jaw.

Yes. It is all he needs. She eases into him.

He is all sinew, bone and strength. He holds her like she will break, there, on top of him, and for the world he would not risk that. There is so much power in that chest, a calm and wonder. He is lean, he is man, he is sure of himself. And yet he shakes.

"Can I kiss you?"

The question is shy, hovering through the cottage and past the heat of their bodies.

She smiles as though she never has before. Her heart is a stirring bird, midwinter, plumage out and trilling. She winds her fingers into his dark curls.

"Yes."

Yes. It is enough.

Ever onward

My delicious reading chair

So.

Hello blog. Gee, I haven't touched you in so long. How have you been? How's the family?

Listen. Things have changed. Lots of things.

First of all, I am an intern no longer. I work for ChiZine on a pretty routine basis, on basically everything from editorial, publicity, acquisitions, design, and proof reading. I love my bosses, I love our authors, and I love our books. Still.

Toronto has been kind to me. I graduated from my Creative Book Publishing program with Honours a couple of weeks ago. Russel Peters was our keynote speaker. Of course.

I still see my friends on a fairly regular basis. They are all that keep me grounded in this whirlwind city.

And as for life in general -

Life is now a one bedroom apartment in Forest Hill at Bathurst and Eglinton. It is beautiful, it is full of light. . . but I am here by myself. Plans changed. Hearts changed. And though difficult at first, it was for the best. And time moves us ever on. It is strange for sure; I have never lived alone! But I have an antique radio to keep me company, and the comfiest bed there ever was. And I have love in all the right places. The future seems so bright.

And that little book I mentioned I had written so very long ago?

I just received my final contract and offer for the publication of it with ECW press. I am still in humbled shock. More to come from this fumbling author at a later date.

Stumble, trip, fall, get back up again. I work 12 hour days and sleep little, but I am doing what I love, and working toward everything I could have hoped for, and it can't get any better than that.

So where's my snow?

Winnipeg on December 20 : ) Christmas here I come! 17 days.

Everybody's all right, everything is automatic

Just finished this last night. F*cking. Amazing. Nicholas Kaufmann, have my dragon babies. And then slay them.

In what other job would I be able to spend my evenings sourcing crime scene photos, as well as researching sci fi/fantasy/horror/steampunk conventions? Where I get to read the most fabulous books JUST as the ARCs are coming out? Where I get to draw caricatures of convention attendees at Polaris in a few weekeneds? Only in publishing! Only with ChiZine!

Speaking of Nicholas Kaufmann, check out this review of Chasing the Dragon.

Other things:

**E-Books now available on ChiZine Pub dot com!**
GO GO GO!

**Interview with Co-Publisher Sandra Kasturi**

**Polaris Sci Fi Convention in Toronto - I'm going to be there drawing stuff!**

Party!

And we all float on

ChiZine Publications

By some fortuitous turn of events at Book Summit, and some please please let me help you with your epic publishing venture, I seem to have found myself an intern at ChiZine Publications, located here in Toronto.

First of all, how excited am I? I am absolutely blown away that I am able to help out, in whatever small way, with Brett Savory and Sandra Kasturi's shot AT the dark...Dark fiction, that is. Dealing with principally horror and all things of the surreal, coupled with Sci Fi and Fantasy, these two have made for themselves a really tight catalogue filled with amazing, unique stories that I didn't expect. Although their magazine which originated the name was founded in 1997, the actual publisher has been putting out tremendous works of literary art for two years and going strong.

Check out their catalogue for yourself. Throw down the fliff for these amazing books and keep your eyes peeled - distributing in both Canada and the US, as well as the UK, ChiZine is going to explode in very little time at all. There are also going to be a variety of events/contests going on, so don't forget to check their site, or my blog often for that kind of info! I am so pumped.

Limited edition, author signed hardcover copies of Hair Wreath and Sarah Court are still available for pre-order from HORRORMALL. Get yours while you can!

Lumiere~