November Reads

Christmas carols are floating down the stairs to where I sit in our little living room. Across from me, our Christmas tree is lit, glowing its halogen reminder of what time of year it is. The dogs are dozing peacefully (for now), and the boys are having a bit of quiet time. It’s a quintessential Christmas-season afternoon. The outdoors are a little less on-theme; it’s unseasonably mild and raining steadily.

It’s good weather, in other words, to snuggle up with a book. Or to talk about books!

Last month I only got through about four books, mostly because I’ve been busy writing. I decided to start a new project for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which meant I was effectively juggling four projects (two novels in their rewrite / revision stage, one being prepped for audiobook release, and the new one for ‘Wrimo). This left little time for reading. Still, two of the books I read were incredible. Can’t wait to talk about them. But first…

Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

Welcome to Nightvale is the novel based on the podcast of the same name. I’ve never listened to the podcast, which may have impacted my enjoyment of this novel. But I don’t think so.

Nightvale, the titular town, is a bizarre and isolated community in the middle of the desert. The town is populated with strange people, and strange things happen as a matter of routine. The story is ostensibly about several residents of the town and a strange man who shows up and starts handing out mysterious notes.

At first the strangeness of the town is entertaining and speaks to some great mystery lurking underneath it. Then it becomes clear that the strangeness is largely a coat of paint overtop of an underwhelming story that might have to do with accepting responsibility and something about family. The absurd idiosyncrasies that are at first amusing, quickly become predictable beats smothering an otherwise barely coherent narrative. Anytime something remotely noteworthy is mentioned, it will be surrounded by inane absurdities.

I love bizarre stories and I’m rarely bothered by things being weird for the sake of being weird, but this one rubbed me in many of the wrong ways. Don’t take my word for gospel, though. This book is pretty darn popular and has a solid following.

Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6) by Jim Butcher

If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you might smirk to yourself or shake your head when you read that title. The Dresden Files is sort of a guilty pleasure for me, one that I have a love/hate relationship with.

The books are far from highbrow literature, which is nothing to complain about. They follow Harry Dresden, a wizard-for-hire who operates as sort of a spell-wielding gumshoe detective. The stories are entertaining adventures filled with all manner of monsters and magic. They also contain their fair share of inconsistencies and downright cringeworthy moments.

Blood Rites follows Dresden as he attempts to stop the actresses and female production crew of a pornographic film from being murdered. Monsters, demons, vampires, and fairies all play a role in this latest adventure. Also a puppy.

I can’t bash these books because I keep going back and reading them. So I guess that speaks to their appeal. If you want to give Butcher’s Dresden Files a go, I strongly recommend starting with the first in the series.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This year has been a great one for books, in large part because I’ve finally read some classics that have long been on my list. Early this year I read both The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring (planning on making Two Towers the first book I start in 2024) and I remember feeling glad I got to read them for the first time so late in life, but also a little salty with myself for sleeping on them. I feel the same way about Dracula, probably more given my love of horror.

Stoker’s classic vampire tale is ridiculously good. It’s packed with atmosphere, creepy settings, and truly gothic horror. Of course I already knew it inspired much of what horror is these days, but I had no idea how much. Bram Stoker really was a literary genius, at least as far as this book is concerned.

Right off the hop, we’re thrown into Dracula’s castle, following poor Jonathan Harker into his nightmare. Reading the descriptions of the castle, after being immersed in the horror genre for so long, is like stepping into the halls of a museum.

Dracula’s coming to England is truly epic. I can see now why an entire movie (The Last Voyage of the Demeter 2023) was made based on his voyage at sea. The storm described in the book is terrific.

The whole investigation of Dracula’s reign of terror is engaging and familiar. It’s become the formula for monster hunts across the horror genre.

I could rant for pages and pages about this book. It’s absolutely earned a spot in my very fluid top five books of all time, a list that will likely forever remain locked in my mind, changing to suit my mood from moment-to-moment. The challenge will be resisting reading it again in the next year.

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Christopher Buehlman has been a favourite horror author of mine for the past couple of years, ever since I read his werewolf novel Those Across the River. And while I love his horror novels, this journey into fantasy is my favourite yet.

The Blacktongue Thief follows a—you guessed it—black-tongued thief named Kinch, an indebted member of the Taker’s Guild. Owing the guild money, he embarks on a quest along with a knight named Galva. But while Kinch’s journey is to serve the Taker’s Guild, Galva’s is much more noble.

Coming across all manner of monsters, fighting their way through cities, sewers, and mountains, and meeting tons of interesting folk along the way, Kinch and Galva’s adventure is truly epic.

Buehlman’s imagination is one of the finest out there as far as I’m concerned. From the creatures he comes up with to the characters he breathes life into, his worlds are overflowing with life and magic. The dialogue and first-person narration are snappy and often hilarious.

I’m very excited for the follow up to this one, which I believe is expected next year.

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So that’s it, like I said, just the four. Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments, on Instagram or Facebook @authorchristophersweet, or by shooting me a message using the contact page.

Thanks very much for reading!

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-Chris

October Reads

October, like the smoke of an extinguished candle, has vanished, leaving us with cold, emotionless November. It’s that gunky time of year when, in my corner of the world, the weather can’t decide if it wants to rain or snow.

We got our first official snowfall on the day before Halloween and, in it, I discovered something very cool. The weather was mild leading up to that day, with bugs about in full force; mosquitoes and black flies filling up on my blood to keep them warm over the winter, wasps making a last ditch attempt at finding somewhere warm to nest, and spiders gobbling up the stragglers.

I’m working in the woods a lot these days and October 30th was no exception. Wet, gross snow was falling without any of the grace that makes snow tolerable. I trudged through the trees, surveying which ones would need to come down next and which would make good firewood. As I walked, I noticed threads of spider silk dangling from many of the tree branches. Attached to these threads, as if they’d been strung on, were tiny, perfect snowflakes. It took me a moment to realize I was surrounded by these natural decorations. Everywhere I looked, strands of silk, only a few inches long and strung with snowflakes, dangled and blew in the breeze. It was one of the most magical things I’ve ever come across in nature, like something you’d see in a Disney movie.

Which isn’t a meaningful segue into the books I read last month, but here we are, ready to get down to business. It was a busy month for me in a lot of ways and I had forgotten about many of the books I read right up until I went over them in my reading history (thanks for keeping track, Goodreads). I read some surprisingly great books, and two that were disappointing. So sad, but not all words on pages can please my personal tastes and expectation.

Horrorama by C.V. Hunt (Introduction), A.S. Coomer, Lucas Magnum, Matt Harvey

This is disappointment number one. Not because I expected anything life-changing or super intelligent. In fact, I went for this book because it’s pretty up front about being none of those things. The basic premise behind this anthology is that each of its three entries is inspired by schlocky horror movies, each story readable in approximately the amount of time it would take to watch one of said horror movies.

The first story started off as a neat, if rough-around-the-edged, tale of mysterious goings-on. If there’s a thread to be followed in the story, it’s quickly lost. Maybe there was an effort to tie things together, but this story felt like a six-year-old making up a spooky story on the spot. “This happened, then this happened—oh—and then aliens! Then a monster! And murderers! And fat guys!”

And the first was the only mildly digestible tale of the bunch.

I actively try to enjoy books and movies and make every effort to give things a chance. I could tell early on that this was one of those books I should just put down and move on from, but I held out hope that the next story would redeem the one before.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Werewolves and cults make up the next two stories and, in the interest of not spending excess energy on things I don’t enjoy, I’ll leave it at that.

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

This is more like it.

I think I mentioned before that I’ve been revisiting some of King’s older work, especially books I read in my younger days. This is one I think I’ll read at least a couple more times before I die, if I have my druthers.

I’ve been on a bit of a vampire kick lately, having read Let the Right One In last month and currently reading Stoker’s classic Dracula. Vampires aren’t something I typically go for in horror, but when they’re done well, they can be fertile soil for some of the best storytelling there is.

If you don’t know, and if you haven’t picked up on it already, ‘Salem’s Lot is King’s vampire book and is almost certainly one of his scariest. It tells the tale of sleepy little Jerusalem’s Lot (‘Salem’s Lot, or the Lot to its residents) and the ancient evil that moves in.

The way King wrote this book is truly masterful. As you read, you’re learning about this little town and its inhabitants, all while, just off in your peripheral vision, vampires are moving in. Then, before you know what’s happening, the vampires take over. It’s insane and terrifying.

I think there’s a remake of the movie coming out (probably by Mike Flanagan, who is making it his mission to remake every classic horror tale out there—and to do it better than the first guy) but I honestly have lost track of all the King re-adaptations and remakes that are on the horizon. I have to confess that I still haven’t seen the original film but after re-reading this book, I’m eager to.

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

Ted Chiang is the genius who wrote the short story that inspired the 2016 film Arrival. If you haven’t seen it, please do yourself a favour and watch it…twice. You’ll probably need to. The film is inspired by a story from his collection Stories of Your Life and Others, which is what I had set out to read. Exhalation was available instead, so I went for it. And I’m glad I did.

I don’t know enough about Chiang to tell whether he is a brilliant thinker or just an incredible storyteller or both. After each of the stories in Exhalation, which is a collection of short stories, Chiang provides a short note talking about where the inspiration for the story came from. In many cases, he credits the concept to some other thinker or genius. Either way, he weaves some incredibly high-concept ideas into touching, imaginative stories that make the reader think about their own life and the world around them.

The stories range from tales of time travel to stories about zookeepers for AI creatures, but they all zero in on philosophical issues, often as they relate to technology.

Fair warning: reading Ted Chiang’s work will make you think.

Agent of Chaos (The X-Files: Origins, #1) by Kami Garcia

If you know me, you probably know I’m a bit of an X-Files nerd. I’ve watched the entire series enough times through to feel slightly ashamed by it. I watch it these days for comfort more than anything, but the show is a huge influence on many of my interests. I can vividly remember watching many of the episodes as they aired, the only thing close to horror I was actually permitted to watch as a kid.

I’ve long been curious about novel tie-ins to intellectual properties that started off in other mediums. I read my first one, Batman: No Man’s Land, which I absolutely loved, last year. So when I heard about the X-Files origins books, I had to check them out.

There’s nothing brilliant or franchise-shaking in this first instalment of what I assume will be a broader series of books. It tells the tale of seventeen-year-old Fox Mulder investigating his first crime and feeling the first pulls towards a career in criminal behavioural psychology.

This book is 90% fan service. The characters familiar to fans of the show are well written and read like their on-screen personas sound. The book is filled with references that I admit I got a bit of a thrill from any time I recognized one. Beyond that, there really isn’t much to it. The story itself is a mix of procedural crime investigation and kids-on-bikes adventure.

The coolest part for me was reading about the early days of “X”, Mulder’s secret source and occasional protector in the television series. Fun book overall.

The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht

Yes. Bill Watterson. The guy responsible for Calvin & Hobbes, which aside from the above mentioned franchise may have been one of the strongest shapers of my thinking and interests. I read all the Calvin & Hobbes I could get my hands on as a kid. When I was twelve and thirteen all I wanted to do was play Calvinball or jump into my own transmogrifier. The comic was, and still is, utterly brilliant.

So when I heard Watterson was putting out a brand new, non-Calvin-and-Hobbes book, my heart rejoiced. I pre-ordered it almost a year ago and eagerly awaited it to show up on my doorstep. And it finally did, a couple of weeks ago. Ten minutes after opening it, I closed the book again, having read the entire thing and taken my time admiring the gloomy, minimalistic illustrations.

My first impression was complete disappointment. This is not the writings of the Bill Watterson who wrote some of my favourite adventures and who waxed philosophical from the mouth of a child and his imaginary tiger. This is the work of a tired, bitter person.

One review I read about this book is that it’s a big joke, a giant middle-finger to the masses, to corporate America, to our constant need to know everything and uncover every dark corner of reality we can get our mitts on. The message within is so blatant and rehashed without any spice whatsoever that it can’t be an honest attempt at whatever it’s pretending to be an attempt at.

I’m disappointed and feel a bit like I wasted my money, but that’s life. Not everything is tailor-made to please me. And I want to believe ol’ Bill (and the other guy) had something brilliant in mind when he (they) came up with this idea.

Sigh.

Noose by Brennan LaFaro

This is the third book I’ve read by LaFaro and I’ve gotta say, I like his style.

Noose is a horror-western and tells the story of Rory Daggett, a young man who was orphaned as a boy by the notorious outlaw Noose Holcomb, seeking out revenge on his parents’ killer. The book starts right in on the bloody action and doesn’t let up.

This is an imaginative novel full of black magic, weird science, and murderous berserkers. It’s short and sweet and a lot of fun.

Dark Tales for Dark Nights by Angella Cormier and Pierre C Arseneault

Writing duo Cormier and Arseneault combine their powers to bring you a collection of six tales featuring strange creatures in the night, vicious bigfoots (bigfeet…?), and Faustian competitions.

Several of these stories feature twists that I don’t want to give away, so I’ll say little here.

I will say that my favourite story of the lot is by far the first one, “Sometimes They Come at Night”, which tells the story of a man haunted by dark creatures who surround his secluded house each night. The story takes its reader down a twisted rabbit hole of terror, and provides a satisfying, clever conclusion.

Wildfire Ridge by Mary Lee Soop

Wildfire Ridge is a middle-grade novel about, you guessed it, a wildfire. It’s an adventure story about thirteen-year-old Ouzel, who finds himself trapped in the midst of a raging wildfire with seemingly no way out. This is a lovely story of heart and learning to do the right thing, delivering a solid message in an entertaining way.

The story behind how I came to read this book is one I enjoy telling. Wildfire Ridge is not a book I would normally gravitate toward. I occasionally read middle-grade fiction, usually if it’s something super unique or, more often, if I know the author. Even in those cases, the story of someone trying to escape a wildfire is not something that would typically grab my interest. So how did it come to be on my bookshelf?

I was working in the store at our campground one day this past summer when a woman came bustling through the door and demanded to know if I was “the author”. I confessed that I was while, inwardly, I was beaming at being sought out for my storytelling.

She proceeded to introduce herself as Mary Lee Soop. She told me she is also an author and that she brought me a copy of her book. Touched, flattered, and delighted to meet a fellow scribe, I insisted on returning the favour and shoved a copy of The Boy in the Canvas into her hands.

I’m very happy the book turned out to be as enjoyable as it was to meet its author. I highly recommend it for young readers. It would make a great first “chapter book” for kids interested in taking the next step in their reading journey.

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And that’s the end of that for another month. What interesting books have you read recently? Any of these? Thoughts? Let me know in the comments, by shooting me an email at chris@authorchristophersweet.com, or by hitting me up on social media. My handles on Facebook and Instagram are @authorchristophersweet and on TikTok, just to be confusing, it’s @christophersweetauthor. I don’t often use Twitter / X, but my handle on there is @thischrissweet if you feel like following me there, on the off chance I have something cool to say in 120 characters or whatever the limit is now.

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That Which Frightens You

There is a lot of writing advice out there, much of it repeated in texts, lectures, tutorials, workshops, and the like. For the most part, you’ll hear a lot of the same lessons phrased in different ways. This can be great because it may take several different outlooks for a valuable lesson to truly stick, at least if you’re anything like me. It also means a lot of substandard or downright bad lessons are repeated, creating poor habits or, worse, issues of confidence with writers who might otherwise soar.

One of the most common, and maybe one of the most misunderstood pieces of advice is to write what you know.

On the surface this makes sense. How can you write something you don’t know, right? What about sci-fi and fantasy writers though? I won’t swear to it in court but I’m confident George R.R. Martin has never actually seen a dragon, just as I’m sure Michael Crichton never visited an island of dinosaurs, and Stephen King has never…well…take your pick.

Taken literally, write what you know is a bit of a fallacy.

What I think the advice is meant to convey, or what it should convey, is to write the truth, or what you know to be true. Don’t lie to yourself, your audience, or your characters in the context of the story. On its surface, fiction is confabulation. Many of us know however that fiction can tell deep, ancient truths. Fellowship of the Ring may be filled with literal malarkey (I say this with the utmost respect for Tolkien’s work and only to make a point) but profound truths can be gleaned from its pages.

One of the best, and toughest, pieces of writing advice I’ve been given is to write what scares you. I believe effective writers of every ilk do this in all their best works.

Let’s look at Mr. King again, inarguably the modern master of the horror genre. He may have legitimate concerns about obsessive fans, but I’m reasonably confident he doesn’t lose sleep at night for fear of waking up in Annie Wilkes’ guest bed. Nor do I believe he’s frightened of an ancient cosmic being dressed up as a clown who lives in the sewers. But perhaps he does have some real concerns about obsession, addiction, alcoholism, vulnerability, the unknown, abuse. The reason he’s such an effective writer isn’t because he makes clowns or fans or cell phones scary, but because he uses these devices to deliver deeper truths about the human condition and the state of our world.

If nothing else, writing provides an effective outlet for confronting things we may otherwise be too scared, anxious, or nervous to face. It’s a hard thing to do, writing what scares you, confronting your fears. Not only that, it’s hard to do in a manner that is relevant to other people. I have a litany of concerns and fears, especially as a husband and father, but very few of them would make an interesting story to the average reader, at least the way I might tell it. But the essence of those fears and the potential they hold is what makes them effective story devices.

If you’re not a writer, or not someone who wants other people to read what you write, journaling can be an effective way of confronting your fears. It’s not even about putting the pen to paper, but more about admitting the concern exists. It’s about acknowledging the monster under the bed, understanding why it lives there and what it feeds on, and depriving it of everything that supports its existence. That goes far beyond writing of course and more into self-analysis and actualization.

Write what scares you is not only some of the best writing advice I’ve ever received, especially as a horror author, but also some of the best life advice I’ve ever received.

As always, thanks for reading. Your likes, shares, subscriptions, and greetings are always appreciated. Please consider signing up for my newsletter if you’d like to receive news, updates, special offers, and more regarding my upcoming novel The Boy in the Canvas.

Have a great week!

Back at it

Forty-one days we’ve been here and it feels like we’re starting to hit our stride.

We’ve been working pretty steadily on a daily basis making improvements to the campground and performing general daily maintenance. Some days this means clearing brush, some days it’s chopping wood, other days it’s moving furniture. One consistency is that, at the end of the day, we all feel like we’ve accomplished something. We all earn our supper and rest comes easily because of the work we put in, with is both satisfying and validating.

I’ve yet to figure out a consistent writing time and routine but I’m back to hitting my daily word quota, which is what really counts.

The big challenge is making time for the things I’m less excited about, mainly the whole marketing and publishing process for my upcoming novel. Don’t get me wrong, I am, of course, very excited for the release of my first-ever novel. Like a lot of writers, though, I’m not super comfortable with self-promotion. Nor am I very enthusiastic about maintaining a presence on social media. Blog posts are a different story, probably because they require less finesse, less sculpting of the message. I can just let me brain go on this platform and post what comes out with relatively little editing.

Social media on the other hand, well you know how that can be. Just the word “algorithm” makes me anxious. There are so many things to consider when posting for a platform, it can be overwhelming to the point of exhaustion. Thinking of something worth posting is tough enough without having to worry about how it’s phrased, the placement of keywords, hashtags, the time of bloody day that is most conducive to receiving an optimal amount of views. It’s the way of the world, I know. But I’m allowed to whine a little bit here.

These things are integral to the process though, especially since I’m going the indie publishing route. And the rewards are rich. This past week has been full of little achievements that contribute to the whole: The Boy in the Canvas has been sent to the printers and I’ve ordered proof copies, the first of which I received this afternoon! I also received word that I’ve been approved as a Goodreads Author, something that feels almost as good as the upcoming publication of my book. And I became a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors - my very first alliance!

As they say, nothing worthwhile comes easily. I think they say that. Do they? Someone should.

More book news on the way in the weeks and months ahead. Best way to stay up to date? Sign up for my newsletter. I promise I won’t spam you.

Thanks for reading. Share, like, comment, or just say hi if it tickles your fancy. I enjoy hearing from you.

Talk soon,

-Chris