Reminder: Devouring Tomorrow Anthology Coming in March!

 As I mentioned just about a year ago, I have a new short story, called "Unlimited Dream," forthcoming in a speculative fiction anthology Devouring Tomorrow, edited by Jeffrey Dupuis and A.G. Pasquella. Built around the theme of "food of the future," this book is out in March (not in the fall as previously reported) and is already getting some buzz, including a writeup in last weekend's Toronto Star. I'll provide more updates about this delightful book as they become available, but in the meantime check out its snazzy cover and a fantastic blurb by Chris Turner, author of How to Be a Climate Optimist. Pre-order your copy of Devouring Tomorrow - today!

Guest post on the Wolsak & Wynn blog

So I've got a guest blog post on the Wolsak & Wynn website today, in which I pair some books and cocktails to help you unwind during this festive season. My choices include books from Gerald Arthur Moore, Shashi Bhatt, Daniel Tysdal and others, and the cocktails include the Irish Maid, the Boulevardier, and the Chelsea Sidecar. Don't forget to add a comment and share some picks of your own. Enjoy!

Another Guest Post for My Wife's Newsletter

So apparently there's some demand for "more Mark content" over on my wife's newsletter. Who knew! If you've read Rebecca's 2023 pandemic memoir, These Days Are Numbered, you know that recreated dialogues with me featured prominently in the Facebook posts that comprised that book, and these tend to be what readers have reacted to the most. (Not bragging, just a fact.) Now that love has followed Rebecca to her recently launched newsletter as she tries to wean herself off the algorithmic hellscape that Facebook has become. But recreated dialogues are, it seems, not enough (man, I wish I were this popular IRL), so Rebecca asked me to pull together another essay instead.

This one is called Why 4:30? and discusses a subject near and dear to my heart: my relatively insane writing process whereby I rise at 4:30 am five days a week to write for two and a half to three hours before toddling off to my day job. This has been a topic of fascination, bafflement and annoyance among friends, family, acquaintances, former roommates, and ex-girlfriends across the 30+ years I've been doing it. So Rebecca suggested I talk about why this is part of my process, what are the creative benefits of writing that early, and whether it's a routine I think I can maintain forever. Anyway - enjoy!

And ICYMI, here is the previous essay I wrote for her, called In Praise of Writing Manuals.  

My Review of National Animal, by Derek Webster, for Canadian Writers Abroad

 

I've done another review for the lovely and eclectic Canadian Writers Abroad magazine, this time of Derek Webster's new poetry collection, National Animal. This is a wise and warm book of verse, and I'm not surprised that it's also gotten some recent love from the Quebec Writers Federation Awards. 

Here's an excerpt from my review:

The nation in National Animal is, for the most part, Canada, with riffs on everything from Joni Mitchell to the surprisingly evocative line “palm tree in a Lotto Max sky” in the piece "The Writing on the Wall.” But Webster, despite his book’s title, does not limit these poems to our nation’s boundaries or the project of nationalism, as CanLit has defined it in the past. His reliquary is more inclusive than that. This is verse that travels widely and blurs borders wherever it likes. 

Anyway, check it out!

Guest Post on My Wife's Recently Launched Newsletter

If you're Facebook friends with my wife Rebecca Rosenblum, you know she's launched a newsletter. If you haven't subscribed to it yet, you should - it's loads of fun! At her behest, I have written a guest post for it, called In Praise of Writing Manuals, adapted and updated from a (much longer) essay I wrote 10 years ago for an anthology about creative writing, which was initially accepted into the book but then cut, along with a number of other essays, from the final line up due to length. Anyway, I'm very passionate about writing manuals - enjoy!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Forthcoming New Novel - Lowfield!

 

Well, I've got some VERY exciting news to share. I have a brand new novel coming out next year!

The book is called Lowfield, and it's a tale of horror and suspense set on my native Prince Edward Island. It is forthcoming in the spring of 2025 from Vancouver's Now or Never Publishing, the same press that released my short story collection The Secrets Men Keep. 

Here is Lowfield's official blurb:

"Riley Fuller, a police officer sidelined by the devastating loss of three colleagues in a tragic shooting, seeks solace in rural Prince Edward Island as he lays claim to his family's ancestral property - an ancient, dilapidated house known locally as Applegarth. Eager for a fresh start and relief from his traumatic past, Riley's hopes are soon dashed as he uncovers the dark secrets hidden within the very walls of the Victorian-era mansion. Soon, he realizes that Applegarth is merely a harbinger of something far more sinister - a malevolent force lurking within the nearby abandoned village of Lowfield, its ominous presence intricately entwined with the rich history of PEI itself."

I read and wrote a lot of horror and dark fantasy as a teen and have always wanted to return to the genre as an adult. I began this Lovecraftian tale waaaay back in 2019 and finally secured a publishing contract for it last year. I remain grateful to Chris Needham and his team at NoN for taking this book on.

While the novel isn't out for another eight months or so, it's already available for pre-order from the usual suspects, including:

• Amazon.ca
• Amazon.com
• Chapters-Indigo
• Barns & Noble

Pre-orders really help me and the publisher out, so if you're interested please put one in today!

I'll be posting more news about Lowfield in the coming months as we inch toward its publication date, so stay tuned. In the meantime, drop me a comment below if you're so inclined - these are always good for morale!

M.

The Fiddlehead #300 Is Here!

... and I have a short story in it! My piece, "Fall Back," appears in the pages of this long-standing, illustrious journal, alongside works by Grant Buday, Jennifer Houle, and my pal Glenn Clifton. 

As mentioned, I've been reading and submitting to The Fiddlehead for many years, and have had a few book reviews published, but this marks the first time I've had some creative work accepted by the magazine. I'm incredibly proud of "Fall Back" - it's one of those stories that just seemed to come very naturally during its composition - and I hope others like it too!

Anyway, very excited to see this story out in the world. You can find The Fiddlehead's summer issue wherever better magazines are sold.

M.