Hanging in a Steaming, Spitting Underworld

Yep.

That's where I've been.

Of course, I haven't had to leave home to be there. But I have had to avoid my email and the time-sucking internets as much as possible, hence the paucity of posting here.

I can say, though, that the new book is tripping along. Hope to be finished any day now. [Actually, if I can have something tangible to present to my agent and a few compatriots by next month sometime, I will be Very Happy.] It was supposed to be finished with 2009, but as you know, sometimes Life Interferes. I actually started researching this book four years ago next month, with my trip to Edinburgh during the Turin Games.

And then... *Bang!* Flash!*... it's suddenly time for the Vancouver games. So I guess I'd like to finish the book before that actually happens.

So while I spend my time digging through the Victorian undergrowth for rusty cogs and a watch chain, here are a few interesting things to keep you busy...

To begin, my buddy the very talented [and creepy] Michael Slade has a new book out, just in time for a decent slaughter at the Olympics. It's called RED SNOW.  Details HERE. And please ignore the minor detail of the main slaughterer's name. I would like it to go on the record that she was NOT inspired by anyone you know. And for all you Sladists out there, you know there's got to be blood in the snow. You've been warned.

I'll be speaking at the North Shore Writers' Assn meeting this month -- the evening of January 18th. Come by and heckle, if you'd care to! Details HERE.  

Also, later in the year ... I'm going to be a featured speaker at the Canadian Authors Ass'n CanWrite 2010 in Victoria this summer. More details HERE, and as anything new emerges, I'll keep you updated.

And to finish -- a very cool initiative... with a great beat:



~kc

Gung Haggis Fat Choy

A weekend that includes Rabbie Burrrrn's 250th birthday AND Chinese New Year? Happy lunar new year -- the year of the Ox. Hope your celebrations were (and are!) safe and wonderful.











Am feeling very bummed, as I totally forgot about Toddish McWong's Gung Haggis Fat Choy celebrations on Saturday night. I'm sure a good time was had by all!

A shout out to my buddy thriller-writer Michael Slade who has a freshly re-designed website now up and running, set to horrify and edify in equal measures. Check it out!


~kc

Quick Round-Up

Gosh -- one sick kid and my blog posts just fall off the map.





A quick one tonight, then -- yesterday I spent the day with my trusty sidekick Dale McGladdery as we interviewed two of the presenters for SiWC 2008 -- Lee Edward Fodi and Michael Slade.







Both these guys are charming and the interviews went very well. As a bonus, Slade has agreed to let us do a special-edition video-blog (to be shot in September) of him telling a couple of his favourite stories. Should be a lot of fun!











In other news, Silas had a go at my camera tonight when I turned my back for a minute, and upset his owner _severely_. He is now the proud owner of three separate jail cells -- one in my bedroom, one in my office and the latest in the back of the car, but he still manages to find a way to leave a toothmark or two.

The camera survived, but it's lost its just-like-new sheen and now fits in with everything else I own -- battered, but well-loved.




~kc

Slade and the Case of the Mysterious Floating Feet

My buddy Jay Clarke, who writes as Michael Slade, has been all over the news lately with his thoughts on the rash (if one can call it that...) of floating feet along the BC coast.

See... the interesting thing is that Michael Slade wrote a book with a very similar series of occurances just a few years ago. It's called DEATH'S DOOR and you can read all about it here.

A little tidbit from the Cemetery Dance website:

A mummy has been stolen in England. Authorities believe the motive is the treasure hidden in its fetid wrappings. THEY'RE WRONG.

Mutilated bodies of missing Hollywood stars are discovered washed ashore on West Coast beaches. Authorities think they're victims of a random serial killer. THEY'RE WRONG.

When Chief Superintendent Robert DeClercq and his team follow a clue to an underground snuff film operation, they believe they've encountered man's sickest desires. THEY'RE WRONG.

Something even more cunning, even more depraved is waiting for them. If they have the guts to follow the clues through Death's Door...


Here's the Vancouver Sun's take on it...

While some people have mooted a theory connecting the feet with a plane crash from a few years ago, but in spite of that line of investigation, the recovered DNA has not been matched.

Is life imitating Art?

What do you think?


~kc

New and Cool in the City...

A huge supporter of the writing-for-kids community in Vancouver is embarking on a new venture. Dr. Christianne Hayward, who has worked for Vancouver Kidsbooks for years, has also headed their Book Club programs since way back in 1996. She has a dream coming true these days in the form of her new Lyceum of Literature and Art -- a new site for Book Clubs and more literary events than you can shake a stick at. She's having an open house tomorrow at the new location: 3696 West 8th Ave., Vancouver.
I'll be there.

And now -- the feature SiWC presenters of the day...

This shadowy figure belongs to the nefarious writer Michael Slade, a crafter of strange fiction and amazing tales. This man can tell a story like no other, and his voice is a welcome one in the halls of the SiWC. This year, attendees will get a special treat, for not only will Slade be pairing with Diana Gabaldon to do a workshop, but he will also make a special appearance with the even shadowier Pink Slade -- his collaborator in all things fiction.

All things Slade can be discovered at www.specialx.net

New to the conference this year is Kelley Armstrong. This amazing author is a wunderkind in the genre of paranormal suspense, and will be a natural when she pairs in a panel with the shadowy Slade to talk about putting the Fear into contemporary Fantasy. Kelley's first book BITTEN appeared in 2001, and she has produced seven more books since then -- an astounding output from a talented new voice. Check out her website at www.KelleyArmstrong.com

More on other SiWC 2007 authors and presenters coming soon to a blogspot near you.

~kc

Caution: Busy Summer Ahead...

It was a gorgeous day in my part of the world today -- sorta looked like this: A day to remember how lucky we are to live here and now. Important to remember these things once in a while.

Two great meetings tonight. The first was over my first Korean dinner (vegetarian, too!) with Joon Park and the teachers of CWC -- Creative Writing for Children, a creative writing program that has been developing over the past five years in Vancouver. I will be teaching at their summer school this year, with my CWILL BC buddies James McCann, Lee Edward Fodi, Kari-Lynn Winters and two other wonderful instructors -- Lori Sherritt (who is Kari's partner with the Tickle Trunk Players) and Shelley MacDonald, another amazing drama teacher.

We'll be teaching somewhere around 50 kids at the Summit Pacific College in Abbotsford for three days in July, and it sounds like it's going to be a great time. More details as they become available, but I think it's safe to say we'll be running away to the circus this summer.

After dinner, James and I went for coffee to sort out the details of our upcoming book launches. We have big plans in the works as soon as some of the finer details are confirmed -- like book completion dates!

My DEADLINE deadline is this weekend. DEADLINE or bust.You read it here first.

Finally, I had two conversations today with amazing writers -- Jay Clarke known to the world as Michael Slade, (http://specialx.net/)and Jack Whyte, (www.camulod.com) writer and raconteur extraordinaire. They will both be a part of the Surrey International Writers' Conference this year, which is rapidly evolving into the Go-To Event of the fall season.

I'm done for the day. Time only for a few words of The Chamber of Secrets to take me away...

~kc