My young son was excited to make out the constellation of Orion for the first time this winter. Unfortunately for us, we live right downtown and can barely make it out, thanks to skyglow. The image above is a terrific side-by-side of Orion with and without the skyglow of Orem, UT. Here in Ottawa, Ontario, all we can see of Orion is the 7 brightest stars: the belt, shoulders and toes. I was inspired to write a short piece on skyglow for kids.
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Local Author Wins Prize For Great Story
Today I had the pleasure of meeting one of this year’s Writers of the Future winners, John Haas. John’s a talented author and a published novelist. His debut novel, The Reluctant Barbarian, was published by local small press Renaissance Press. His fiction has also appeared in numerous anthologies & magazines.
I’m really looking forward to seeing John’s story in Writers of the Future 35. Congratulations, John!
New story up in Flash Fiction Online
I’m very excited to have a story appearing in Flash Fiction Online’s January 2019 food-themed issue.
The editor, Suzanne Vincent, on this month’s issue: “This month, we invite you to experience a gamut of emotions—grief, longing, frustration, humor, and one very disturbing peek into codependency–all revolving around our favorite subject—FOOD!” My story, Salt, Spices, Fat, Honey, is the “very disturbing peek.”
Update: Charles Payseur reviewed “Salt, Spices, Fat, Honey” in his review of the issue on his site, Quick Sip Reviews. Thank you for the thoughtful review, Charles!
The science inside the story
My winning science fiction story for Writers of the Future vol. 34, “A Bitter Thing,” was inspired by hard science. In the story, an intergalactic traveller falls for Ami the moment he sees her. It seems to be love at first sight, but can she really trust her understanding of his alien emotions?
The story revolves around the intergalactic traveller, Teese. His alien emotional system was inspired by two disparate pieces of real, Earthly biology. The first is the biology of cephalopod skin, and the second is known as mirror-touch synesthesia. Continue reading “The science inside the story”
Three terrific stories in WotF
Today I’m showcasing three stories from Writers of the Future Vol. 34. Continue reading “Three terrific stories in WotF”
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Writers of the Future vol. 34 got a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
N.R.M. Roshak’s “A Bitter Thing” packs a visceral punch in its exploration of the illusions of love and bigotry.
Advance Reading Copy
Galaxy Press sent out a PDF Advance Reading Copy of my story and others in WoF 34. Anyone want to be an Advance Reader? Copies are free but Galaxy Press kindly asks that you leave an honest review wherever you buy your books (or otherwise post your reviews… goodreads, blog, etc) when the book comes out in April. Message me via FB, Twitter or the comments section if you’d like a copy.
WOCA interview
On Feb 9th I was on daytime radio in Ocala, FL. WOCA is a radio station — “the Source 96.3FM and 1370AM” — and I was on AM Ocala Live with Larry and Robin. I had a blast. Larry and Robin were terrific fun to talk with. And as a bonus, there’s a recording here.
Interview on Daytime Ottawa
Yesterday I was on Daytime Ottawa with host Dylan Black.
I was incredibly nervous, which probably shows. Dylan has a gift for putting his guests at ease, though, so I managed to get through the 5 or so minutes without sticking my foot in my mouth too seriously.
The best part was meeting the other guests, including a candy store owner who brought a Japanese whistle candy and a prominent local doctor, Dr. Lise Bjerre, publicising a report by her working group Rational Therapeutics.
Dr. Bjerre was very interesting to talk to: she’s both an epidemiologist and a family physician. But if I were watching the show at home, I don’t think anything would’ve topped that whistle candy.
Publicity!
I sat down with a cup of tea and the latest issue of our community newspaper–and was pleasantly surprised to find an article about me! The paper is The Centretown Buzz, and the article is aptly titled “Centretown writer wins award that could kickstart career.” Continue reading “Publicity!”