NEWS ARCHIVES

pirate party, guelph reading

Get off yer butts and trek through March's rampaging weather to a couple of upcoming events. On Saturday, March 12, Willow Dawson and I will be celebrating the launch of our first of four comic books about girl pirate Violet Miranda with a night of salty fun here in Toronto. But first, I'm reading with a bunch of fabulous women writers in Guelph, on Saturday, March 5. More event info here.
(March 3/05)

violet miranda serialized on strange horizons

Love the idea of girl pirates? Disappointed you can't make it to the Violet Miranda Toronto launch party on March 12? Then you'll be happy it's being serialized online. Strange Horizons, a smart speculative literature webmag, is publishing one page per week. Here's the main page. If you're got $4 burning a hole in your pocket, buy the printed book here. That way you don't have to wait 24 weeks to read the ending.
(February 27/05)

new kiss machine site and comic distro'd

Finally! The new Drupal/MYSQL Kiss Machine website is live: check it out. It's so pretty. I'm sure there are still minor bugs, but it's so easy to update... Oh, and Violet Miranda #1 is flying to your local newsstand as you read this. It was a good week, a week of completion, a week of dissemination.
(February 20/05)

more press for sugar and comic update

I've updated the page for my novel, A Girl Like Sugar, to include a bunch of quotes that have appeared in mags and newspapers lately. Some great stuff. Like, I was called "the new, sleazy Judy Blume"! Ha! Also, I spoke too soon about the first issue of Violet Miranda being ready. We had to get the cover reprinted because the colour was off. The new version should arrive on Feb 15, which really isn't too long from now. Still, it's been with the printer since Dec 3, which means it's taken 2 1/2 months to print the damn thing. Grrr.
(February 11/05)

girl pirates and sugary film rights!

I'm holding a beautifully stinky, inky, fresh from the printer copy of the first issue of Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate! I wrote the comic, and Willow Dawson did the amazing, angular artwork. I have black smudges on my fingers after leafing through it! In other novel news, I just sold a three-year option to produce a film version of A Girl Like Sugar. The woman who bought the rights is really enthusiastic. It would be fun to see Sugar onscreen, as embodied by a real actress, speaking my words, haunting Toronto locales, and having sex with a ghost(!). These two happy occurences come at the tail end of being pretty sick for a few weeks, so they're all that much more appreciated.
(January 27/05)

new year, new inspirations

Sometimes I feel like a robot, an extension of this computer attached to my arms. In order to shake that feeling, I endeavour to stay connected to the outside world by consuming ideas, books, music, films and television. To start off the new year, here's a list of some cultural obsessions in no particular order. Hopefully, they'll inspire you, too. I'll post more as my tastes evolve.

MUSIC: Anything by the All Girl Summer Fun Band (esp. "Later Operator" and "Jason Lee") or Mercedes Sosa, The Smiths ("Girlfriend in a Coma"), Fiery Furnaces ("Don't Dance Her Down"), Broken Social Scene ("Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl"), Hidden Cameras, The Shins ("New Slang" and "Caring Is Creepy"), Magnetic Fields. ART: Shary Boyle, Pheobe Glockner, Lisa Smolkin, Sonja Ahlers. TV: Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars. MOVIES: Garden State, The Aviator. AUTHORS: Sujata Massey, Marge Piercy, Emily Dickinson, Lauren Henderson, Nalo Hopkinson.
(January 5/05)

a coupla february readings

I'm doing two readings in Toronto in February, and I'm excited about both of them. The first one is at This Ain't the Rosedale Library, one of my fav bookstores, and the second is part of the city's best reading series, The Box. In January, I'm also a guest lecturer at two regional universities. See the Events page for more details.
(December 27/04)

violet miranda: girl pirate

The first of four issues of the girl pirate comic that Toronto artist Willow Dawson and I are creating is being ftped to the printer today. It will be hot off the press in January. In it, two girls take control of their lives - and pirate ships - on the high seas. We're having a swashbucklingly good time distorting the romanticized tale of dashing buccaneers and helpless wenches. Click here to see the final cover art, designed by the talented Matt B.
(December 3/04)

reviews and press for sugar

The Globe and Mail's first fiction reviewer, Jim Bartley, called A Girl Like Sugar "wonderfully explicit" and "quietly redemptive." Young People's Press said it's "The refreshing and rare perspective of a troubled youth in a fast-paced city." I've updated the press page with a few pieces written about my novel, and will add more as they appear.
(November 29/04)

home, sweet home

Just back from touring with Sugar. Great reception in all cities. Calgary, surprisingly, brought out the rowdiest crowd. In Edmonton, I had the pleasure of seeing Stephen Notley in action. Winnipeg gave me a sunny day with the talented Chandra Mayor and her fam, and time to check out Mondragon and the G-7 Welcoming Committee. In Vancouver, the lovely Sylvia Hotel welcomed me. I hung with old friends, drank the best sangria ever, and ate yummy veggie food.
(November 23/04)

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