Now that it's been over three months since the release of The Sun Runners and Tales from the Silence, promotions of these books will ease up, I suspect. But I am pleased to have some more kicks at the podcasting can.
One of the most fun times I've had on a podcast came thanks to Benjamin Gorman, a recent American ex-pat building a new life in Barcelona, Spain. Over on his podcast Writers Not Writing, he and I sat down to a fun and fascinating session talking about fighting fascism, enjoying Star Trek, and even how urban planning contributes to science fiction and fantasy. I had the opportunity to take part in building up a shared fantasy story, and I got to talk about my love for Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. So, be sure to check out Benjamin's podcast, Writers Not Writing (here's the official site). He's a great guy, and his work deserves all the positive attention it can get.
Later today, I'll be taking part in a panel discussion on akaRadioRed, alongside Kim Lengling and Trevor W. Harrison. This podcast, entitled Read my Lips: Cool Conversations with Creatives will be LIVE to air starting at 5 p.m. TODAY on Youtube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The live nature will add an extra frission of excitement, I'm sure, so tune in!
I'm also pleased to have spent time talking with Tricia Copeland, a fellow author who also podcasts and talks up her fellow authors in the industry. That episode will air on April 29, so stay tuned.
While The Sun Runners and Tales from the Silence promotion work may be ramping down, I expect things will be ramping up again as we approach the August 12 launch date for The Night Girl. In fact, that's already happened, thanks to the Picky Bookworm who ran a wonderful review of The Night Girl a couple of years ago, and arranged this podcast and said some really nice things about it. I'm hopeful that I'll turn up again closer to the book's new re-release date. Once again, stay tuned!
Snap Election Called
Years ago, when we had a much stronger and tight-knit blogging community in Canada, I'd be all over this recent election call by our new prime minister Mark Carney. I would likely have put together an election results pool, taking informal bets from all sorts of fellow bloggers across the political spectrum.
That's not happening, now, and that's a shame. The blogging community has largely disappeared, and politics have become much more partisan. Worse, we can now expect a firehose of misinformation from actors home and abroad trying to twist the Canadian electorate into their image -- with some images being particularly ugly and cruel.
That doesn't make this election any less important than the others. All elections are important, but this one is particularly so, as we've been asked to stand up and speak up as Canadians against a player who has no respect for our sovereignty or even our personal health and wellbeing
And yet, in spite of how harrowing the state of American politics currently is, I still feel hope, perhaps because I feel like I'm a part of a bit of a national awakening that's robbed our Trump-like leader of the opposition of their 30 point lead in the polls, and has Canadians everywhere willing to do some hard work forging more independence and connecting with and working with good people at home and abroad. It's a hard thing to resist, but it's harder still to resist alone.
And my country is showing me that I'm not alone.