Upcoming Events

I'm stepping into new territory. I'm doing a book signing at Bucknucks Books, and going to a sf/fantasy convention in Vancouver (VCON) to promote Stuff of Legends. What exactly this means I'll be doing, I'm not sure. Okay, I can probably work out the basics involved in the book signing, but self-promotion in general comes about as easily to me as consistently posting blog-content. It's part of the business of being an author, much like auditioning is part of being an actor, but to steal from a bumper-sticker, I'd rather be writing, and if I am writing, I'd rather it be about imaginary places and people far more interesting than myself.

On the other hand, both of these events have the potential to bring me into contact with readers and fans of fantasy, who I've always considered to be some of the most interesting people out there. A voracious imagination is a wonderful thing, and listening to someone talk about what they love, what they hate, and how they are inspired by someone else's fantasies is like a drug to me. No, correct that: it's like a wintergreen candy to me, simultaneously refreshing and causing sparks.

So, come see me at one of these events, I'll do my best to convince you that you want to buy Stuff of Legends (It's funny! It's rollicking adventure! It's got these... words... and things...!), and we can chat about your favourite fantasy stories or whatever fires your imagination.

September 26, 1pm - 5pm
Book Signing at Bucknucks Books
47-1400 Cowichan Bay Rd, Cobble Hill
*Books available for purchase on site, or bring your own copy

October 1, 7pm
VCON Multi-Author Book Launch
Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel, 7571 Westminster Hwy, Richmond
*I'll be around the convention all weekend, if you miss me on Friday.

The Truth and The Trespassers

Freshly back from the dress rehearsal of The Trespassers, by Morris Panych, at the theatre where I work -- blown away by this production. The design elements, the chemistry between the performers, the casting choices -- all top-notch. The script is brilliant in the way I've come to expect from Panych -- fragmented, skewed, and reflective in unexpected ways, like a shattered mirror reassembled into an indescribable three-dimensional object and then put under stage lights.

The Trespassers is a family drama about a fifteen-year-old boy, Lowell, who comes under suspicion during a murder investigation. Lowell tells his story in pieces, and we have glimpses of his relationship with his mother, his grandfather, and his grandfather's girlfriend, as the police try to sort out the truth. Truth is the big theme here -- truth, lies, bluffs, secrets, and how they all relate to each other. Sometimes we get to learn the truth, or think so, as Lowell tips off the audience to what he was really doing when he's told his mother he was staying with a friend (an imaginary diabetic Mexican Jehovah's Witness). Some truths are left for the audience to sort out for themselves from the pieces Lowell provides, knowing that Lowell himself is an unreliable narrator: he has his reasons to tell stories.

The plot is underpinned by a murder mystery, but I didn't care about solving it. I cared about this boy and his family, and the story he so obviously needed to tell me. I wanted to know about these relationships as soon as they were introduced, and in every sense, the script and the performers delivered. Tonight, I was told a beautiful, sad, occasionally hilarious story about four people. I can't wait to hear it again.