Alan Parsons Project fans will recognize that line from their Vulture Culture album. That one came out when I was a grad student and before I had a car, so I had a 20+ minute bus ride from my apartment on Cowie Hill in Halifax into the Dalhousie University Department of Chemistry. I had a Walkman and I remember vividly listening to that album on several of those trips. I don’t readily pick favorites of anything, but that record will always have a fond place in my memories.
In a different world, I might have been at StokerCon in Denver this weekend, but I’m still not ready to spend long stretches of time indoors with hundreds of people. COVID is still out there in full force and even if everyone was masked it would still be a greater risk than I’m willing to take, even with four doses of Moderna training my immune system. I’m probably not going to make NECON this year. I’m holding out hope for Bouchercon in September—that was the last convention I attended before the plague and I really enjoyed it. Plus, I have the added incentive in that I have a story in the annual anthology and it would be fun to meet up with the other contributors and promote the book.
Promotion is part of the writing biz. It comes easier to some people than others. As a Canadian, talking about myself and my work isn’t in my nature, but it’s necessary to overcome that reticence. Other people’s livelihoods can depend on the success of a particular project, especially when that project is an anthology. As contributors, we have to band together and get the word out—it’s for everyone’s benefit. So, deep breath, prepare yourself for some promotion!
My story “Kane’s Theory” appears in Low Down Dirty Vote, Volume III: The Color of My Vote, which drops on May 15. This charity anthology is raising $10,000 for Democracy Docket, an organization that is successfully fighting against voter suppression in the United States.
Today over on Writer Unboxed, several contributors offer behind-the-scenes looks at their stories and the anthology’s theme, in a blog entry called Writing Wrongs: The Color of My Low-Down Dirty Vote. Comments are welcome!
Then, on Sunday, editor Mysti Berry and a selection of authors will be launching LDDV3 on Crowdcast. We’ll each spend a few minutes talking about the anthology, our inspiration, and/or reading from our stories. Session one features Katharina Gerlach, me, Sarah M. Chen, Travis Richardson, Camille Minichino, Ann Parker, and David Corbett at Noon PDT | 3pm EST, while Session two features James McCrone, Tom Pluck, Jackie Ross Flaum, Miguel Ramos, and David Hagerty at 3pm PDT | 6pm EST. Click the links to register for this event. The book is available for pre-order now from all the usual places.
A week or so back, I spent an hour with David Agranoff and Marc Rothenberg discussing my publishing history and experiences for the Postcards from a Dying World podcast. That interview went live today. You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts or watch us on YouTube.
I finally finished my rewatch of The Shield. Man, that finale is still as powerful as it was nearly fourteen years ago. Moving on to We Own This City, the new HBO Max show from David Simon and George Pelecanos, felt like a natural transition. This show feels like a cross between The Shield and The Wire. Corrupt cops being chased down by not corrupt cops.
The last two episodes of this season of Call the Midwife were really exciting! I finished Killing Eve. A quirky show. Not quite sure what I think about the way it ended. Similarly, I have a lot of thoughts about the way Ozark wrapped up. Certain things seemed staged to appeal to the audience rather than to serve the story. I won’t say more here, but I’d love to discuss it with someone!
We enjoyed the last episodes of Picard and the first of Strange New Worlds. I’m also into Barry S3 and we’ll probably dip into Hacks S2 soon. Also on my radar: Russian Doll, The Lincoln Lawyer and Bosch: Legacy.
During my interview with David Agranoff, a Philip K. Dick expert, I confessed that I’d never seen Blade Runner. That situation has been rectified—we watched the Director’s Edition last weekend. It was pretty good but I’m not sure why it has been elevated to the status its achieved. Maybe I was watching it with its reputation in the back of my mind and it had a lot to live up to. Maybe I should have watched the version with the narration. I have no idea why people think there’s a chance Deckert was a replicant.
We also watched The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Toby Jones and Olivia Colman (as the narrator). It’s the biopic of a Victorian guy who became briefly famous for his drawings of cats. Charming and quirky.
I have an unaccustomed Friday evening to myself and I was thinking about signing up to Peacock for a month to watch Firestarter, but after seeing the barrage of negative reviews, I think I’ll watch something else instead. The Lincoln Lawyer, maybe. If nothing else, the “fire” metaphors reviewers are using to pillory the film are entertaining.
