Based on The Truth?

Writers always weave their personal stories in with their fiction. It's one of the things that makes each author different (and bad authors that much easier to spot). Be it a person, a place, a thing or an event, not a single experience in a writer's life is ever wasted - not when it can be used to make their work feel more real.

My recent short story,Walk of Evil, and my upcoming The Cupid War: Fallon's First Couple, are great examples of my fiction combined with my life. My Cupid War short story, due to be released here on November 1, is a fictional retelling of how I met my wife. Not all the details are exactly the same, but Violet and I did meet at a spoken word event hosted by a mutual friend, and we each saw the other perform on stage before we'd been introduced.

Walk of Evil combined a number of things, such as my familiarity with Orillia and my love of Tim Horton's. The reason the story came to be was my chance meeting with a very devout woman at a church service attended by my cousins. This woman gave a talk about some of the things she'd done, including her 'faith walks' around mosques (with the intent of opening Muslim eyes to the Truth), and her efforts to cure gay people. Taking that brief impression and molding it into the character of Meredith (Walk of Evil's antagonist) was as easy as it was rewarding. If I see her again, I should thank her. Maybe. She did, after all, give me so much material to work with.

People often ask me if they're going to end up in a story of mine someday. The answer isn't no, but it's not exactly yes, either. Not all people are as ripe for spoofing as that faith walker was. I get bits of character from all over, and work them in when I need them. When it came to Meredith, the bit I took was bigger than most.

In the end, of course, it's all fiction. There is truth in fiction, however - each author presents the world as they see it in their work. That's what makes fiction feel true, which is important for drawing readers in. And, when you write supernatural fiction as often as I do, you need all the truth you can get!

Polaris 2012

Once again, Polaris was a fantastic experience for me. I sold 12 books, including five copies of The Cupid War, and I also sold off a large number of toys from my collection. Good thing, too, because I spent over a hundred dollars on Doctor Who toys! I felt a little guilty about that, but luckily my toy sales covered that bit of splurging.

My panels, for the most part, went very well.

I did six, five of them fandom-related and one of them focusing on Internet communication and social media. I would have liked to have done more professional panels and writing panels, but I’m still very grateful for the schedule I had. Along with the Internet panel, I did two Star Trek panels (Defending Voyager, remembering TNG), two Doctor Who panels (Madman With A Box, 50th Anniversary Approaching), and one on the 15th anniversary of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The Star Trek and Doctor Who panels were lots of fun, with lots of interesting points raised, friendly disagreements on the quality of certain episodes, and plenty of fond memories remembered.

The Buffy panel, on the other hand, was very difficult. I was moderator for that one and the room was packed, making the juggling of speaking time and audience questions tricky.

That I could have handled without much stress, but I also had to contend with a live, in-the-flesh embodiment of The Simpson’s ‘Comic-Book Guy’. He called me an idiot in front of the entire room because I liked something that he did not. I was taken aback – that is not appropriate panelist behaviour, to say the least - and I did not let it pass. I told him if he insulted me again, I’d have him removed. Good for me for standing up for myself, I say. Still, I’m grateful the guy did not choose to challenge me on the point. I’m not sure what I would have (or could have) done then. He continued to be difficult, and showed no respect for my role as moderator, but I made it through the panel with most of my dignity intact.

On a much more positive note, I made some new friends and cemented a few old ones.One fan and Facebook friend sought me out on Sunday to have her copy of The Cupid War signed. And she’d made a booklet out of Walk of Evil, complete with cover! That was extremely cool. Another friend I made that morning on the bus ride in picked up a copy of Section K. One of my fellow panelists, Graeme Burk, co-authored a book on Doctor Who, titled Who Is The Doctor? I look forward to reading it (even if he didn’t like A Good Man Goes To War!).

And I saw my favourite group of Doctor Who-costumed ladies – always a highlight of the con.

And there were Daleks! Woo-hoo! I mean, Ex-ter-mi-Nate!

When it was over, I left without feeling the usual crushing post-con depression. Instead I was simply content. Another good con. Let there be more!


I’ve heard there may not be a Polaris con next year. Things are changing – there’s talk of a different event in November – and nobody’s entirely sure what will happen yet. Time will tell.

Back To The Mastery

Back in November I took part in a weekend workshop/seminar/life-changing experience known as the Mastery. Details of that event are posted here. Once someone participates in such a weekend, they can drop by any other Mastery event anywhere in the world, to help out or just observe. Last month, that opportunity came up for me when the Mastery returned to Toronto. At first, I wasn't overly enthusiastic about visiting. I would have to give up three hours of Saturday or Sunday in order to have an hour-long visit, once you factor in the transit time. Saturday is the one day in the week when I can spend quality time with my wife Violet (our work schedules don't work well together), and most weekends I make an effort to be as lazy as possible. Nevertheless, I chose to go. I'd made some good friends during my Mastery weekend, and many of them would be there helping out. Plus, the facilitators for the weekend were none other than Larry Gilman and Tammy Cunningham, the dynamic duo of fearless leaders from my November experience. Larry lives in Los Angeles, so a visit from him is a rare treat. While I was there that Saturday afternoon, I could not understand why on Earth I'd been reluctant. Friends surrounded me, and there were hugs and kisses aplenty. It was like visiting family; I was welcome. When I arrived, the new students/participants/fresh meat were in the middle of an activity. I threw myself into it, delighted to take part. I genuinely wanted to help these people whom I'd only just met. The Mastery breeds instant love, with very little room for negativity. Tammy and Larry were in their element, doing what they do best, and it was a joy to see them in action once more. I felt inspired and energetic - more alive - just being there. What is the Mastery? Still can't tell you. As I said before, it's really something you'll have to discover for yourself, should you so choose. It might just be your next step, the thing that puts you back on your true path. I know it was for me.

Titanic - 15 Years Later

A few weeks ago, I saw Titanic 3D with my friend Farrah and her friends. It was a film that had meant a great deal to me when it first came out; I'd been a huge fan of James Cameron's work, and I'd closely followed the progress of Titanic when I'd first heard it announced. Back in 1997, I saw Titanic on opening night with a girl who was very nearly interested in me. The trailer had left me in a frenzy of anticipation, even more so than for the James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies, opening that same day. I had read every article, commentary and review I could get my hands on. I loved it. Truly, madly, deeply loved that movie. Yes, it was corny. Yes, Leo-mania was annoying. Yes, they played that damn song way too many times on the radio. There were flaws, some of them glaring. And if the love story had happened on board a less-famous ship (one, say, that hadn't sunk), it would have been a fairly standard rom-com. Yeah, yeah, so what? To me, Titanic was a great movie. I stood up and cheered when James Cameron won the Oscar for best director and best picture (in your face, LA Confidential!). I bought the soundtrack. Both of them. And then I went back and saw it again. Seven more times. At each screening, I felt something that I can't quite quantify, something with tremendous meaning for me. I read a lot into that movie, and got so much out. I saw that life is full of unexpected events, and our time alive is not fixed. Each day, therefore, each hour, each minute is important. Every time I've walked out of the cinema after seeing Titanic, I've felt better about my life, and had a strong desire to live it well.

After my eighth time seeing it on the big screen, however, I'd more or less had enough. Several months later, I got the VHS copy for Christmas (in widescreen, of course), and watched it with my brother and sister. It was... different. Less affecting, somehow. And it didn't help that my siblings absolutely reveled in pointing out the film's flaws. I didn't pick up the DVDs, not even the 10th Anniversary Special Edition. Part of the reason was that the film was split onto two disks (why, James, why?). But mostly, seeing it on the small screen just couldn't compare to the experience of the cinema. The magic wasn't there. My heart had gone on. When I heard that Titanic was coming back to cinemas in 3D, I thought, "That's nice." I didn't go on opening day. Or even that week. When my friend Farrah insisted on seeing it as part of her birthday party, I wished she could have picked The Hunger Games instead. When the lights went down, I put on my polarized glasses and prepared to lose three hours of my life. The 3D did absolutely nothing for me, unfortunately; a few scenes had a bit more depth, especially those involving height, but that's it. But I didn't care about that. Five minutes in the magic was back, and I felt like I was visiting old friends. I let it all come back - everything I'd felt the previous eight times. And, because I was so familiar with the story, I had the opportunity to take in more of the smaller details. Like the look on old Rose's face when Lovett (Bill Paxton) tells her the diamond must have gone down with the ship. Or James Cameron's fingers, drawing the portrait of Rose. Or the scene where Rose points out people to Jack, and says "his little wifey's half his age and in a delicate condition. See how she's trying to hide it? Quite the scandal." This time I realized the delicate half-aged wifey was married to John Jacob Astor, played by that guy who was Victor on that soap. I cried, more than once. After the 3D screening, my friend asked me if I was having an allergy attack! Nope. I'm a sensitive guy, and those tears represented genuine emotion. I didn't cry because Jack died. I cried because of all the things Rose had done with her life, without him. It's both beautiful and tragic, just like the movie. And the ship itself.

I'm so grateful my friend Farrah insisted on Titanic that day. Nine times is a lot, but I could still see it on the big screen again. The film is timeless, as relevant now as it was when it was first released. And, for me, it is still just as powerful. Well done, James Cameron. Thank you.