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Learning to Breathe

My life was abruptly altered. It started in June 2014, when, at the end of the month, my father died. roughly three and a half years after I had lost my brother to cancer. My sister and I hastily arranged both their funerals, with the greatly appreciated assistance of our cousin, a retired Anglican priest. My brother was only a bit older than I am now when he died. But my father was old - nearly 98 - and so, while unexpected, his passing was not unanticipated. My emotions around his death were conflicted. I had only visited occasionally in the last 15 years or so because my family and I lived about 3000 km from my parents, who never traveled. Work, budget, and selfish lack of interest on my part all contributed to reduced visits. We were not distant from each other, but we weren't close, either. We never had easy conversation. We never really "got" each other, even though we understood each other reasonably well. My mother's passing, in 1998, had had a more direct
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The Hunger and The Thirst

August was a bit strange, winding up with vein surgery on the 30th. It was the first time I'd had a general anesthetic since I was eight, and I found that quite a fascinating experience, specifically because having your consciousness simply switched off is like nothing else you might experience. You experience - nothing .
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The Opium Eater

I'm really happy to report that my short story, The Opium Eater , has been accepted by Grim Corps Magazine , and should appear in Issue 2 later this year. I wrote The Opium Eater  in 2008, shortly after completing Trajectory . I picked up a small volume of De Quincy's essays from my bookshelf that I had purchased from a used bookstore in Toronto sometime around 1970. I read a good portion of his essay The Spanish Military Nun and then wrote the story. I wanted to work in some historical family details as well. As an example, my great-grandmother, Agnes Blizard, founder of the YWCA in Canada, makes a brief appearance. It's a dark, twisted tale with elements of horror and ghost stories in it.
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Visiting Time

I'm a bit late posting this, because I've been tremendously busy, working 50-60 hour weeks. A bit worn out now, with still a couple of weeks remaining in the contract. No rest for the wicked, as they say. Having said that, my short story, WHEN MAMMA COMES TO VISIT is in Grim Corps Magazine 's debut issue. It's available in both print and e-formats. This was a lot of fun to write - a fairly traditional "return of a dead family member" story, but focusing on the strange relationship of a brother and sister long-grappling with what to about Mamma, who must be very wicked indeed. You can buy a copy here , or on Amazon. Shortly after it came out, I became an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association , that fine organization of horror authors from around the world. Once the big work-push is over, I'll be taking off on a two-week spring break, where I plan to do not much other than read and eat.
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Killing Him Not So Softly

Happy New Year! I'm pleased to announce that Morpheus Tales #19 is now available. This issue contains my story Killing Wallace Crawton . You can buy it in a variety of formats. Check out the free preview on Issuu.com. The ebook in various formats is available on Smashwords , or at Amazon for the Kindle. The printed digest size edition is available here , and the printed Large Format Collector's Edition is available here  (both 10% off until 1st of February).
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The Mayan Long Count and the End of the World

I have two questions only, today. One: Why do people give credence to future predictions from ancient civilizations (if, in fact, those civilizations can be said to predict anything at all), but not science? Two: Why do people not understand that the end of one Mayan long count cycle is immediately followed by the start of another, much as December 31 is followed by January 1?
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Visiting Time

My short story, When Mamma Comes to Visit , was just picked up by Grim Corps Magazine , a new speculative/dark/horror fiction magazine (print and epub). Mamma is one of those classic tales of a very bad relationship with a very dead relative. I wrote it in January of this year, and went through a touch-up re-write after each rejection (seven altogether), taking the many editorial remarks to heart. It's also a story that continues the Mill Town world which is the focus of Killing Wallace Crawton (coming January 2013 from Morpheus Tales) and The Downstairs Man . Mill Town is a blend of the many places I've lived, but I don't think I've ever come across anyone like Allison and Stanley, the odd brother-sister pair who deal with their mother in very different ways.
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