Here's where you can find me at Ad Astra!
Fairytale Inspiration
Fri 8:00PM
Salon 241
Panelists: Leah Bobet, Ken Lillie-Paetz, Miriam Harrison, Marie Bilodeau
Description: Why retell stories that many people already know, and likely grew up with? How do you use elements of fairytales effectively? What can they bring to your story?
The East Block Irregulars
Sat 3:00PM
Crowne Room
Panelists: Hayden Trenholm, Derek Kunsken, Matt Moore, Elizabeth Westbrook-Trenholm, Marie Bilodeau, Peter Atwood
Description: Ottawa’s newest speculative fiction writers’ group does more than just provide critiques. We share market information and help each other promote (and sell) our work. We write and even blog together. Come meet the members of EBI and find out how a small writers’ group works, and how we went from being unpublished to published authors.
Stories That Inspire the Genre
Sat 6:00PM
Wynford
Panelists: Marie Bilodeau
Description: Storytelling show on stories that inspire fantasy genre! Warriors, elves, dwarves, zombies... there will be a bit of everything for everyone! Um, not a kids event. Kids can come, but it's more adult focused. There'll be lots of death, you see.
Cold Magics Book Launch
Sat 10:00PM
Con Suite
Description: Okay, this is a friend's launch, but it'll be worth checking out! Erik Buchanan is a Dragon Moon Press author who will be celebrating the release of the sequel to his last novel, Small Magics. I'm gathering chocolate for the occasion, and trust me, it'll be good variety!
Reading
Sun 2:00PM
Anton's
Reading: Hayden Trenholm, Marie Bilodeau
Description: Hayden is a great author, nominated three times for Aurora Awards, bringing one of those sharp babies home. He's also part of my writing group and a great guy all around, and I'm honoured to share reading time with him! I'll be reading from my upcoming Dragon Moon Press release, Destiny's Blood.
That's it for now! Otherwise I'll be hanging around at the Dragon Moon Press and Edge Sci-Fi/Fantasy tables, generally running around and enjoying the fun times at Ad Astra. Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Monday, 15 March 2010
A Pint to Prophecy
I'm excited to re-post the first podcast for Stories Retold. I started off with one of my favourite stories to tell, "A Pint to Prophecy," which is a modern retelling of Ragnarök, the Norse end-of-the-world myth.
Ragnarök is always told as a vision coming to Odin, since it obviously hadn't happened in the time of the myth, so I kept the same flavour in this telling. My main sources were two of the oldest texts recording Norse mythology: The Poetic Edda and The Prose Edda.
This story is also going to be included in a podcast anthology slotted to come out from Dragon Moon Press in April. More news to come soon!
I had fun recording this and I hope you'll enjoy it! A word of warning: I am a fairly well assimilated French Canadian, but my H's wander here and there. I try to keep them in check, but I fear they're wild and free.
Listen to A Pint to Prophecy.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Thieves & Scoundrels
On the Reviewing Process
Absolute XPress threw down the gauntlet once again with its third flash fiction challenge. This time, writers everywhere were challenged to write about thieves and scoundrels in the genres of horror, science-fiction and fantasy. And many fine writers answered that call.
Let’s face it – deep down inside we all love scoundrels. A little piece of us would love to be as wild, free and uncaring as they are, able to move without fear of repercussion or worry of society’s reactions. To just be your insane self, with clear purpose and direction, and the tools, skills and lack of inhibitions to get you there – come on, that just sounds like fun!
The theme, however, proved more of a challenge than we could have imagined. Not on the writers’ parts – they certainly tackled the theme with unscrupulous ambition. It was the reviewers who had a tough time. So many great stories and so many different perceptions of scoundrels!
The authors gave us a lot to chew on. As reviewers, we had to analyze what we felt best represented scoundrels. It was tough. As it turns out, there are lots of ways to break laws and freak people out. There was so much potential in all of the stories that it took us an extra week of debate to get it down to the final 20.
Those who didn’t make it in this anthology, take heart.
Your stories were not bad. Some had vital flaws that might have been caught with careful re-reads and test readers. Others needed some refinement and growth, and a good copy editor. Some just had too much crammed in there for a thousand-word long story. As readers, we need some familiar footing to find our way to your characters and plot. I was personally pissed off with some stories – they were so good, but those fundamental flaws lowered their ranking. So I hope you all stick with it and try again, or try somewhere else, write something completely different – it doesn’t matter, just stick with it and keep increasing your skills. It’ll be worth it to catch your publication prize. After all, like most thieves and scoundrels teach us, half the fun is the thrill of the hunt.
The success of this contest is increasing, so expect another one soon. Thanks to all of the authors who sent in a story, and those of you who didn’t make it in, please try again! I personally can’t wait to read more from all of you.
Merry hunting!
Marie Bilodeau
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Sorceress of Shadows Release Date
The plan was to release Sorceress of Shadows, the last book in the Heirs of a Broken Land series, in March. It's gonna be close, but it's not gonna happen.Instead we'll be taking it out in April, just one short month late of its original publication date. Not bad, eh?
I'm really jazzed about this book. Not only does it conclude the stories of Cassara, Avarielle and Shirina, with Shirina taking the helm for a lot of this book (as the title betrays), it also wraps up a bunch of other questions. It was great fun to write, but also left me quite nostalgic. You don't spend three books getting to know your characters and then let them go without falling into some sort of emotional pit.
I have other stories planned for the worlds of Elihor and Graydon, which I'll pitch to my publisher some time soon. In the meantime I can't wait for Sorceress of Shadows to hit the bookstore shelves!
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Why Write?
With the fun of finishing up edits for both Destiny's Blood and Sorceress of Shadows (last book of the Heirs of a Broken Land series), being the guest reviewer in Absolute XPress' third flash fiction contest AND preparing for Fireborn in March, my poor little blog has, once again, fallen to the wayside.
Yesterday a good friend e-mailed me something her co-worker's son wrote for Grade 12 Writers Craft class, and I loved it so much I wanted to share it. It's full of passionate wit, which I adore.
... Kudos to Creighton - I hope you keep on writing!
Yesterday a good friend e-mailed me something her co-worker's son wrote for Grade 12 Writers Craft class, and I loved it so much I wanted to share it. It's full of passionate wit, which I adore.
Why Write?
by W. Creighton Friedrich
by W. Creighton Friedrich
Why write? In the age we live in what purpose could it possibly serve? All the hours one can spend mindlessly pecking away at a keyboard, or scribbling away with an unforgiving pencil, what good can they bring? How many television shows do we miss while we pen away our lives? How many video games are left lonely and unplayed? How many times could we have checked our facebook while we waste time allowing our creativity to create something unique? It seems to me like while we slow our lives down to reflect, and think, and indeed, to write, we disconnect ourselves from the thousand mile-an-hour world around us. Slowing down the pace seems rather unproductive and counter-cultural, doesn’t it?
After all if we’re all projecting our thoughts and feelings and lessons onto paper we miss out on the fun of repeating our colourful history. It’s like a roller coaster. The fun of history is doing the same loop-to-loop over and over again. Historians and academics would have us progress, like a train, towards some strange, unknown destination by writing down what we have learned and reflecting on its circumstances so as not to put ourselves through something similar again. Where’s the cyclical fun? Where’s the monotonous ecstasy? I only see the dangers of betterment, progress, evolution of our awareness; for if we are not chained to a repeating track we are left blazing mysterious trails.
Furthermore, while we pen our thoughts and ideas we run the risk of enlightenment. For you see, wisdom is the sun of our world today. We may bask in its warmth; enjoy its presence; but only from a distance. Those few who venture to learn, to experience, to better themselves fly too close in their selfish quest and, like Icarus, they collide. Can we not settle for superficial understanding of the wonderous world of wisdom? Why must these few ‘philosophers’ spend their days flying away with their ideas, questions, and aspirations trying to inspire the ignorant world of Pizza Pizza, PlayStations, and Paris Hilton? Everyone knows that progress comes through conformity. Men weren’t meant to fly so let’s stay happy on the ground.
Finally, I must affirm, writing never changes anything. Authors poke, prod, and waste their time with endlessly incomprehensible truths, messages, and perspectives with little to show for it. Surely there isn’t a document in the world that could contain any (let alone enough) substance to bring about spiritual illumination, order and governance a country, or allow for any beneficial personal change to an individual. Why bother with books, and notes, and essays when we all know that the authority in this soft world is eye-appeal, buy-appeal? Let the world sleep blissfully, unconscious and unconcerned, without the clanging cymbals of individuation or shouts of awareness from these ‘writers’. Let us dream unhindered without the nightmare of dealing with anything genuine.
Why write? Why analyze, scrutinize, theorize, realize, or hypothesize when we can lay back, comfortably conforming to the system? To our trite traditions? Why write when we can readily relive the mistakes of the past? Or enjoy the ecstasy of superficiality? Let writing peacefully pass on, for it is a method that has clearly outlived its purpose.
After all if we’re all projecting our thoughts and feelings and lessons onto paper we miss out on the fun of repeating our colourful history. It’s like a roller coaster. The fun of history is doing the same loop-to-loop over and over again. Historians and academics would have us progress, like a train, towards some strange, unknown destination by writing down what we have learned and reflecting on its circumstances so as not to put ourselves through something similar again. Where’s the cyclical fun? Where’s the monotonous ecstasy? I only see the dangers of betterment, progress, evolution of our awareness; for if we are not chained to a repeating track we are left blazing mysterious trails.
Furthermore, while we pen our thoughts and ideas we run the risk of enlightenment. For you see, wisdom is the sun of our world today. We may bask in its warmth; enjoy its presence; but only from a distance. Those few who venture to learn, to experience, to better themselves fly too close in their selfish quest and, like Icarus, they collide. Can we not settle for superficial understanding of the wonderous world of wisdom? Why must these few ‘philosophers’ spend their days flying away with their ideas, questions, and aspirations trying to inspire the ignorant world of Pizza Pizza, PlayStations, and Paris Hilton? Everyone knows that progress comes through conformity. Men weren’t meant to fly so let’s stay happy on the ground.
Finally, I must affirm, writing never changes anything. Authors poke, prod, and waste their time with endlessly incomprehensible truths, messages, and perspectives with little to show for it. Surely there isn’t a document in the world that could contain any (let alone enough) substance to bring about spiritual illumination, order and governance a country, or allow for any beneficial personal change to an individual. Why bother with books, and notes, and essays when we all know that the authority in this soft world is eye-appeal, buy-appeal? Let the world sleep blissfully, unconscious and unconcerned, without the clanging cymbals of individuation or shouts of awareness from these ‘writers’. Let us dream unhindered without the nightmare of dealing with anything genuine.
Why write? Why analyze, scrutinize, theorize, realize, or hypothesize when we can lay back, comfortably conforming to the system? To our trite traditions? Why write when we can readily relive the mistakes of the past? Or enjoy the ecstasy of superficiality? Let writing peacefully pass on, for it is a method that has clearly outlived its purpose.
... Kudos to Creighton - I hope you keep on writing!
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Shadows
A few people have asked me why I’m concluding the series with “shadows,” and not “light” or “darkness.”
I’m ending there because, as the series draws to its conclusion, I wanted to put Shirina, the Sorceress of Shadows main point of view character, in the worst possible place she could be.
You can tread fully in light or darkness and those people are often remembered for bringing wonderful or terrible change to our world. Most people, however, tread in shadows, lacking either conviction, determination or faith to pick a side. And that's hardly a bad thing.
If everyone was certain that they were right at all times, if no one could be talked into one side or the other, our world would be so inflexible that it would crack under the pressure.
The determination and conviction to pursue light is great, but not always right. There is no 100% right in our world. You take a stand, you hurt someone, somewhere. It doesn’t mean you want to, or hope to, but it happens, simply because you’re shifting reality a bit. If you’re successful in your crusade, no matter how righteous, and perhaps even if more righteous, than effects will ripple down throughout the world. That can be sometimes wonderful. Sometimes, not so much.
People have always associated pursuing the light with heroism. I don’t disagree, but I don’t think it’s the most heroic act either. Those who walk almost exclusively in the light or darkness lack something most of us have: doubt. Doubt is what makes us stay in the shadows. Doubt makes us second-guess ourselves, our actions and our ability to affect change.
But doubt is not all bad. Doubt makes us stop and think about consequences before acting. There are those who never act, who become paralyzed by the shadows, and then there are those who reach the light or the darkness for a moment before retreating back into shadows, or claiming new belief in the extremes.
Shadows are difficult to live with. You don’t have the self-assurance of always being right. Of always knowing what’s best. There’s no clarity of vision or unflinching belief.
Shadows can betray easily since you can’t see what’s coming next. Shadows are not clear. They have different nuances, and salvation or destruction is not easily spotted in them.
Shadows are tricky to travel. They offer little assurance or comfort. Even darkness, in its own twisted way, offers those.
Shadows don’t offer promises. Light tends to promise salvation and a righteous path. Darkness offers power and self-assurance. And both a greater goal, something to strive towards, no matter how good or evil.
Shadows have none of those. They skirt both light and darkness, with none of the promises or assurances. There are no guarantees in shadows. I don’t mean to say light and darkness offer those as well, but they offer a clear goal. And both, in their very different incarnations, offer power. The power to affect change.
Which is why Sorceress of Shadows, for me, is both the most intriguing and difficult book to write of the series. Cassara had doubt, but also a clear goal. Avarielle isn’t acquainted with doubt and indecision never had tea with her.
But Shirina is trapped in a land of shadows. Where she had believed to be championing the light all of her life, she’s now surrounded by the shadows left by Ravenhold’s fall.
And, let’s face it, for an ambitious, confident and powerful sorceress, shadows are a sucky thing to be surrounded by.
(It’s a magical thing too, but that would take too long to explain. Read the series and find out! Mwa ha.)
I’m ending there because, as the series draws to its conclusion, I wanted to put Shirina, the Sorceress of Shadows main point of view character, in the worst possible place she could be.
You can tread fully in light or darkness and those people are often remembered for bringing wonderful or terrible change to our world. Most people, however, tread in shadows, lacking either conviction, determination or faith to pick a side. And that's hardly a bad thing.
If everyone was certain that they were right at all times, if no one could be talked into one side or the other, our world would be so inflexible that it would crack under the pressure.
The determination and conviction to pursue light is great, but not always right. There is no 100% right in our world. You take a stand, you hurt someone, somewhere. It doesn’t mean you want to, or hope to, but it happens, simply because you’re shifting reality a bit. If you’re successful in your crusade, no matter how righteous, and perhaps even if more righteous, than effects will ripple down throughout the world. That can be sometimes wonderful. Sometimes, not so much.
People have always associated pursuing the light with heroism. I don’t disagree, but I don’t think it’s the most heroic act either. Those who walk almost exclusively in the light or darkness lack something most of us have: doubt. Doubt is what makes us stay in the shadows. Doubt makes us second-guess ourselves, our actions and our ability to affect change.
But doubt is not all bad. Doubt makes us stop and think about consequences before acting. There are those who never act, who become paralyzed by the shadows, and then there are those who reach the light or the darkness for a moment before retreating back into shadows, or claiming new belief in the extremes.
Shadows are difficult to live with. You don’t have the self-assurance of always being right. Of always knowing what’s best. There’s no clarity of vision or unflinching belief.
Shadows can betray easily since you can’t see what’s coming next. Shadows are not clear. They have different nuances, and salvation or destruction is not easily spotted in them.
Shadows are tricky to travel. They offer little assurance or comfort. Even darkness, in its own twisted way, offers those.
Shadows don’t offer promises. Light tends to promise salvation and a righteous path. Darkness offers power and self-assurance. And both a greater goal, something to strive towards, no matter how good or evil.
Shadows have none of those. They skirt both light and darkness, with none of the promises or assurances. There are no guarantees in shadows. I don’t mean to say light and darkness offer those as well, but they offer a clear goal. And both, in their very different incarnations, offer power. The power to affect change.
Which is why Sorceress of Shadows, for me, is both the most intriguing and difficult book to write of the series. Cassara had doubt, but also a clear goal. Avarielle isn’t acquainted with doubt and indecision never had tea with her.
But Shirina is trapped in a land of shadows. Where she had believed to be championing the light all of her life, she’s now surrounded by the shadows left by Ravenhold’s fall.
And, let’s face it, for an ambitious, confident and powerful sorceress, shadows are a sucky thing to be surrounded by.
(It’s a magical thing too, but that would take too long to explain. Read the series and find out! Mwa ha.)
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Next!
So Warrior of Darkness is out and another cool book launch took place (pictures and details forthcoming). Now’s the time to buckle down and finish up the trilogy with Sorceress of Shadows, due out from Absolute XPress in March 2010.
I’m in the planning phase, which is both exciting and frightening. March 2010 seems far away, but the manuscript is due at my publisher’s by end of year. So that gives me just over four months.
I know the characters, I know where they’re headed and I know what’s going to happen, so it’s do-able. As long as there’s a plan, keeping in mind that I work full time, have a couple of storytelling shows left this year and I don’t want to eradicate all social contact. Social contact is important.
So let's think about this plan, working backwards from December 31.
I like test readers to read through to make sure I’m not doing anything way out in left field, that the characters and plot work and are ringing true to the other two books. I plan on giving test readers three weeks to review Sorceress of Shadows. And then after I need about a month for mulling and implementing final changes.
Ok, so keeping that in mind, I have until November 8 to get something together. But I need some time to edit my own stuff once I’ve pumped out draft 1, and make it all nice and sleek for the test readers. They need a coherent and cohesive story to judge it appropriately.
I like to give myself a month to do this. Edits are slower for me than straight writing. So now I’m looking at, um, October 11 to get the first draft done.
Sundays are my most productive days (I take them off for writing). Weekdays are not bad - I can usually pump out 1,000 words. I’m re-reading Princess of Light and Warrior of Darkness now to prepare myself for the fun ahead, so I’m going to officially begin Sorceress of Shadows on Monday, August 24. (I'm cheating, as I already have about 5,000 words. Mwa ha.)
So, knowing all of this, and estimating Sorceress to be complete at 90,000 words, this is what the rest of the year looks like for my writing:
August 24 to October 11
~13,000 words/week. (1,000 each day Monday to Saturday and 7,000 on Sunday)
October 11 – November 8
Review, revise, make sense, clean up, edit, double-check names, and do all the fun things that make novels make sense.
November 8 to December 1
Off to test readers. I sit back and wait with bated breath. Question everything I’ve written and done. Try to distract self with short stories, videogames and throwing multi-coloured jelly beans at neighbourhood kids.
December 1 – December 31
Changes are in. Go through each copy and note changes that must be incorporated. Attack manuscript with vigor, fix problems, edit once more.
January 1, 2010
Take a deep breath. Begin next project while waiting for editorial feedback from my publisher.
A good way to start a new year!
I’m in the planning phase, which is both exciting and frightening. March 2010 seems far away, but the manuscript is due at my publisher’s by end of year. So that gives me just over four months.
I know the characters, I know where they’re headed and I know what’s going to happen, so it’s do-able. As long as there’s a plan, keeping in mind that I work full time, have a couple of storytelling shows left this year and I don’t want to eradicate all social contact. Social contact is important.
So let's think about this plan, working backwards from December 31.
I like test readers to read through to make sure I’m not doing anything way out in left field, that the characters and plot work and are ringing true to the other two books. I plan on giving test readers three weeks to review Sorceress of Shadows. And then after I need about a month for mulling and implementing final changes.
Ok, so keeping that in mind, I have until November 8 to get something together. But I need some time to edit my own stuff once I’ve pumped out draft 1, and make it all nice and sleek for the test readers. They need a coherent and cohesive story to judge it appropriately.
I like to give myself a month to do this. Edits are slower for me than straight writing. So now I’m looking at, um, October 11 to get the first draft done.
Sundays are my most productive days (I take them off for writing). Weekdays are not bad - I can usually pump out 1,000 words. I’m re-reading Princess of Light and Warrior of Darkness now to prepare myself for the fun ahead, so I’m going to officially begin Sorceress of Shadows on Monday, August 24. (I'm cheating, as I already have about 5,000 words. Mwa ha.)
So, knowing all of this, and estimating Sorceress to be complete at 90,000 words, this is what the rest of the year looks like for my writing:
August 24 to October 11
~13,000 words/week. (1,000 each day Monday to Saturday and 7,000 on Sunday)
October 11 – November 8
Review, revise, make sense, clean up, edit, double-check names, and do all the fun things that make novels make sense.
November 8 to December 1
Off to test readers. I sit back and wait with bated breath. Question everything I’ve written and done. Try to distract self with short stories, videogames and throwing multi-coloured jelly beans at neighbourhood kids.
December 1 – December 31
Changes are in. Go through each copy and note changes that must be incorporated. Attack manuscript with vigor, fix problems, edit once more.
January 1, 2010
Take a deep breath. Begin next project while waiting for editorial feedback from my publisher.
A good way to start a new year!
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