DOUGLAS SMITH | Writing the Fantastic

Back in February 2008, I'd blogged about an unpublished novel by the late great Roger Zelazny that had been discovered in Roger's papers by his son, Trent, and was to be published by Hard Case Crime in the US.

I'd forgotten all about until today, so I did a search to see if it had ever come out. Major woo hoo's!! It was published back in February to very positive reviews, and is available here. Try to ignore the trashy cover with the cute brunette, bare midriff, eyes locked on the hero's big blade (not too Freudian, eh?), and instead check out an excerpt from the first chapter.

It is just so cool to be reading "new" Zelazny prose again. This one is on my Christmas list, and when I finally have it in my hands, I'm going to follow Neil Gaiman's advice from that article:

"I am reading this book really slowly. A chapter a month. Because when it’s done, there won’t be any classic period Zelazny novels I haven’t read ... And from what I have read so far, it is classic wonderful Roger Zelazny all the way."

At least this is one more Zelazny novel than any of us could have expected. You are missed, Roger.

I've just posted ever so many updates to the FML, my Foreign Market List, where "foreign" means non-English. Thanks to everyone who assisted with tips and information, but especially to fellow writer, Gareth Jones, in the UK.

This seemed like a good time to check on the number of languages that I've had my stories translated into. Twenty-two, listed below in decreasing order of appearances. Nothing compared to Frank Roger, the Belgian multi-lingual writer, who I had the pleasure of meeting in August at Anticipation in Montreal. Frank (I believe) is over thirty languages and counting. I've also included some of my favourite covers and illos from my translated works below.

English, French, Greek, Russian, German, Portuguese, Spanish (SA), Italian, Hungarian, Finnish, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Lithuanian, Hebrew, Croatian, Chinese, Spanish (Castillian), Slovakian, Romanian, Danish, Bulgarian

Coolness! Here's the final cover (cover artist: Erik Mohr) for my upcoming "full" collection, Chimerascope, which I wrote about here. "Full" with quotation marks, since, much to my surprise, I have more published stories than I could fit into this second collection. The limited edition hardcover is available for pre-order now. The hardcover print run will be based solely on the pre-orders. A trade paperback edition will be available later.

I'm very excited to announce that my new collection of short fiction, Chimerascope, from ChiZine Publications, is now available for pre-order for the limited edition hardcover.

This is my first full collection with sixteen of my favourite stories, covering a range of genres--fantasy, SF, horror, and stories that mix them all. The collection includes an Aurora Award winner, a Best New Horror selection, and nine Aurora finalists.

It will also be available in trade paperback later but the limited edition hardcover will only be available to those who pre-order it, as the print run will be based on those orders. ChiZine Publications has also signed a distribution deal with The Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG), which will see ChiZine's books including Chimerascope available through Amazon and in Chapters/Indigo. I'll post the final cover as soon as I have it.

Here's my schedule of panels and readings for this year's WorldCon (World Science Fiction convention), Anticipation 2009, in Montreal, Aug 6-10. I've added the times when I'll be signing at the SF Canada table. Hope to see you there!

And yet another great review for my first collection, Impossibilia, and its lead story "Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh," this one from Matt Cardin in the review magazine Dead Reckonings (No. 5, Spring 2009). Here's what he says:

On Impossibilia:

"Both thematically and stylistically, these stories sometimes recall the work of better known authors, including Harlan Ellison, Theodore Sturgeon, and Ray Bradbury. But Smith puts such a personal stamp on his stories, and invests them with such depth of feeling, that they transcend the dangers of … imitation and emerge as wholly original. … There is a certain exhilaration that comes from reading the book’s complex and powerfully emotional stories couched in that deft and smooth prose. It is easy to see why PS Publishing considers Smith an author who deserves more attention. … [Smith deserves] to be known to by a very wide audience indeed."

On "Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh":

"This is one of those heady and ambitious stories that throw so many different elements into the narrative mix that one wonders whether the author is going to be able to pull it off. In fact, Smith does so very skillfully, so that the plot arc, character development, and denouement come off feeling effortless and elegant, and quite satisfying."

Both Impossibilia and "Bouquet..." are nominated for the 2009 Aurora Awards.

Here's my schedule of panels, readings and signing for this weekend's annual and excellent Polaris 2009 convention in Toronto (formerly Toronto Trek). They have, as always, a number of great media guests, but they've continued the trend of recent years of including a very good literary track as well. Lots of author guests, of which I'm one. Hope to see you there!

Friday July 10:

• 7:00pm – Panel: "Neil Gaiman, Cultmaster or Literary Phenomenon?"

Saturday July 11:

• 11:00am – Panel: "Time to Get Paid"
• 1:00pm – Signing (Dealer's Room)
• 3:00pm – Panel: "It's a Must Read"
• 8:00pm – Panel: "I Just Saw Alan Moore"
• 11:00pm – Panel: "Return of the Combustible Panel"

Sunday July 12:

• 3:30pm – Reading (Unionville Room)

"Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by van Gogh" is the lead story in my collection, Impossibilia, and like Impossibilia, is also nominated for the 2009 Aurora Awards. Here are some new reviews of "Bouquet":

"the pièce de résistance of the collection and one of the best and most moving novellas I have read in a while. Haunting and evocative... Just astounding. ..." —Liviu Suciu, Fantasy Book Critic, April 2009

"'Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh' is an important story, a story that matters, and I hope that many, many people will read it. … While all three stories [in Impossibilia] showcase admirably Doug's impressive mastery of the short story form, 'Bouquet' stands out as the jewel in the crown … a beautifully written, brilliantly crafted story in which Smith raises the bar even higher than his previous works. Doug's characteristic vivid settings and compelling characters are present, driven, as always, by love, and by a mystery which keeps the pages turning as the reader is drawn ever deeper. 'Bouquet' is a story which begins in tragedy but, ultimately, ends in hope. Don't miss this one!" — Rainbow Dragon Recommends, May 2009

"If you’re human at all, you will be moved by ‘Bouquet of Flowers…’." — Jim Dodge Jr., Mass Movement Magazine, May 2009

You can read all the reviews for "Bouquet" here.

On Saturday, April 25, I was a guest author and panelist at GenreCon, the annual one-day literary genre convention in Sarnia, hosted by the Sarnia Library and organized by Jeff Beeler and Ellen Dark.

This year, Jeff arranged to have some of the GenreCon authors appear on Friday, the night before the con, at Spoken Word, an open microphone event held monthly at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts in downtown Sarnia.

I was joined by mystery writers Vicki Delany (left) and Jean Rae Baxter (pictured here with Jeff and myself). Our hosts were Debbie Okun Hill and Ryan Gibbs.

Spoken Word is "an informal evening of storytelling, poetry readings, sharing and laughter. Anyone may come to read what they have written, share a story or poem by a favorite writer or just be part of the audience."

I had a great time, doing a short reading, signing copies of Impossibilia, and listening to my fellow guests and others do their own readings.

The next day, it was GenreCon, another great time, with fun panels and fun panelists. Hopefully, Jeff, Debbie, and Ryan can continue to make these joint events in future years as well.

What can I say? They really seem to like it. Writer Erik Buchanan adds his thoughts about my collection, Impossibilia in his blog. You can find links to all the reviews for Impossibilia here.