Category: Writing

Escapist Entertainment — More Important Than You Might Think

Escapist Entertainment — More Important Than You Might Think

(Originally published 1 December 2022 at Crime Writers of Canada.)

Remember when your parents complained that you weren’t working hard enough? When they told you to get a job, do your school work, or wash the car? Or they piled pressure on you to get better marks, win awards, and get accepted into university? And while the stress mounted, you could only sit in your room, in the dark, wondering why no one understood that you were on the verge of cracking?

THE SAVAGE DEEPS is a 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist

THE SAVAGE DEEPS is a 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist

This book previously won the 2020 CYGNUS Award in the Climate Fiction Category. 

The Fifth Recipient of the Timothy S. Johnston Future Writer Award

The Fifth Recipient of the TSJ Future Writer Award, 2021/2022

Each year I sponsor a creative writing award in the Thames Valley District School Board in London, Ontario.  Find more information about the award here.  It recognizes special achievement and skill in the following genres: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Science Fiction, and Horror.

Pre-Order The Shadow of War by TSJ!

Pre-Order The Shadow of War by TSJ!

The Shadow of War is now for sale online.  My newest technological thriller is due for release in the Fall, from Fitzhenry & Whiteside.  Read more below …

TSJ Talks Inspirations for The War Beneath

TSJ Talks Inspirations for The War Beneath

When I was a teenager, I read a lot of 1950s Science Fiction. It was the tail end of the “Golden Age of Science Fiction.” Asimov, Pohl, Heinlein, del Rey and more. I fell in love with the genre because of those books. They sparked my imagination and took me to fascinating locations in futuristic settings. The stakes were always huge. It’s those books that really taught me how important YA Science Fiction is. Readers get hooked on the genre early; it’s what happened to me.

My First Book Signing in Ages

My First Book Signing in Ages

On Sunday, I made the long voyage to Indigo/Chapters London North in London, Ontario for a book signing to promote my newest books, Fatal Depth and An Island of Light.  I say this tongue in cheek, because the store is in the same city in which I live:  London, Ontario.  Usually I’m driving hours to a signing … this time, it was only twenty minutes.  It was heaven.