Steven Beattie and I had a long conversation about the novel, historical fiction, and my literary obsessions at his blog.
That Shakespearean Rag
Notes from a Literary Lad
Steven Beattie and I had a long conversation about the novel, historical fiction, and my literary obsessions at his blog.
That Shakespearean Rag
Notes from a Literary Lad
This review gives a broad, historical overview and ends with some positive remarks.
The last of my essays in The National Post on the subject of historical fiction and the place of my novel, Underground, within that context.
Here is my latest essay, on historical fiction this time, at the National Post.
My second online essay at the National Post addresses Eastern Europe as John Le Carre Territory.
The first of my series of brief essays on the background of my latest novel and on writing historical literature in general appears online at the National Post today.
Philip Marchand reviewed Underground in the National Post Today.
The hard copy of the newspaper has a large sketch of me labelled “Irresistible”. It’s a page I wish I could send to some of the girls I admired in high school.
To critique the critique, the review does insist that I am not writing humour – it insists a bit too much because I am indeed not writing humour in this novel – it’s about a fight to the death without a lot of laughs, but perhaps some tender moments.
But there is dark humour in the tone, a bit of “what fools these mortals be”.
Where is the writer who will agree wholeheartedly with a critic’s assessment? He also called the novel compelling and layered, and that’s pretty good.
See a preview of my novel, Underground, in the National Post.
Underground is a historical literary thriller with elements of espionage and romance.
It’s set a very short time ago, just after the second word war, but in a part of Europe whose stories are untold and whose geography is obscure to most of us on this side of the Atlantic.
What are lovers in this place and time to do when history crashes into their personal desires and private lives?
I’ll be on a blog tour for the next couple of months, being reviewed and interviewed, so look for me and for talk about the book at the links down below. Some of the dates will follow later.
And on a final personal note, I wrote this novel trying to make it something a reader could easily fall into and live happily with for a few days, so I hope that turns out to be the case for you.
To start you off, se Eva Stachniak’s detailed interview at the first link below. I have the first three linked – the others to follow.
Eva Stachniak – currently available
The Afterword – The National Post, March 28 to April 1
That Shakespearean Rag – currently available
Open Book Toronto – currently available
Rob McLennan – forthcoming
I’ve been posting on creative writing and gossip about literary events at my Humber School for Writers blog. Come on over and see what I’m up to over there.
At the moment, June 2016, I have completed the edits on my forthcoming memoir (May 2017) with ECW Press, The Barefoot Bingo Caller, and I am working hard on rewriting another novel before resuming work on The Rhyming Assassin. There is plenty to do.
This August I will be speaking in Palanga, and then in the fall I’ll be with Humber at Word on the Street in Toronto, The International Festival of Authors, and the Assembly Hall reading series.
See my post about the Associated Writing Programs Conference in Washington.
(This is an association of writing programs whose conference pulls in thousands of writing teachers and students – the last one in Washington in February of 2011 pulled in about six thousand. )