Rare Appearances
Oh hello, post-Covid world! Wow, do I feel like a bear in spring-time, all rumpled and sleep-sweaty and blinking at the sun…
So, the weirdest thing about being a “professional writer” is that you spend long periods of time alone, carefully transcribing the strange whispers of people who don’t really exist (we’re all mad here). And when you get really good at listening to the ghosts, you just might get published, and THEN you’ll be asked - you, an introvert who spends a scary amount of time alone - to stand up in front of rooms full of people you don’t know and read those strange whispers aloud. Two tricks I’ve learned about public speaking: go slower than you think you should, and bite the tip of our tongue before you speak so your mouth fills with spit (weird, I know, but it makes speaking easier!).
I don’t know if I’ll ever truly get comfortable with public speaking, readings or author appearances, and I am totally cool with that (sorry not sorry, you extrovert freaks!). But one thing that definitely makes them easier is the other authors you meet at readings, who are mostly excellent people who all feel exactly the same way about reading their mad whispers to strangers!
Last August, I crawled out of my bear cave and read at one of my favourite Toronto events, FanExpo, and in November I read at one of the best indie bookstores in town, Little Ghosts Books, on Dundas West. Both events were organized by the fine folks at the Ontario chapter of the Horror Writers’ Association, and The Great Lakes Horror Company, and you should absolutely buy the books my fellow authors read from - they are all so good!
Anyway, even though my book came out quite a while ago now, I feel like the “Covid years” don’t really count, right?? So if you want me to join you for a reading, just reach out and let me know. Meanwhile, here are some photos from my recent events!
