Ben Van Dongen

This and that

/ Christian Laforet / 1 Comment

So, it’s been awhile since I’ve checked in here. My bad. It’s not that I don’t want to update the page, it’s just that things move at such a glacial pace in the literary world that, sometimes, there’s just nothing to report. However, with that said, I do have a few bits to share.

First, I have recently submitted a trio of short stories to various publications that I admire quite a bit. As always, competition is fierce, so nothing is set in stone. I’m very picky about who I submit to (stupid, I know), but I feel that my work has value, and as such, I want a publisher than can properly showcase my talent. When submitting shorts, it is truly a waiting game, as they (the publisher) have a shit-ton of fiction to wade through. These things take time.

Second, there is my novel. This book, which is out in the ether at the moment, means a lot to me; but I am a realist, and so am not expecting anything soon. That doesn’t bother me as much as you may think. You see, I am always writing. I have a second horror novel in the works, as well as a literary fiction novel (both in the second draft phase). My brain may not be good for much, but it loves telling stories. There’s no shortage of ideas floating around in there.

Lastly, I’ve been reading a lot of fantastic novellas recently (The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper, Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling and Break/Interrupt by Ben Van Dongen to name a few) and have been inspired. I’m, as of this writing, almost finished the second draft a horror novella which has been a blast to write. Truly, this story has been the most fun I’ve had in front of my computer in ages. There is a publisher in mind for this one, but they have a very limited release schedule, so it might get shopped around a bit. I will, as always, keep you updated.

Besides that, I’ve been reading a lot. Finally checked out Stephen King’s On Writing. It is weird coming to this book twenty years after its release. It’s so famous, that I’ve heard most of its advice second hand years ago. Still, if there is a person alive who knows what the hell he’s talking about, it’s King, so I was happy to absorb.

Anyway, that’s it from me. Be back soon,

Christian

Fall Update!

/ Christian Laforet / 1 Comment

Hey! I have some news regarding my first book, The Space Between Houses. The 2nd edition will be available in late winter, early spring of 2020 through Adventure Worlds Press. This title has long been sold out, and I’m excited to get it back on the stands. More details on that soon.

In other news, I’ve been asked to do a spooky reading at Biblioasis on October 30th. You may be familiar with the name (Biblioasis), as beside selling books from a physical location, they also publish a plethora of award winning literary fiction. I will be reading alongside my friend, Ben Van Dongen and fellow horror scribe, David Nickle. I’ve never met David, but have read some of his work. He’s a very talented author. It should be a fun night of thrills and chills.

And lastly, but not leastly (is that a word?), I am about 50K into my second novel. It is coming along nicely. At my current rate, I should be done the first draft by the end of next month and be shopping it around by March/April of next year. As for my first novel, it is currently on sub with a publisher (basically, they’ve asked to read the full novel based off my 25 page submission). This publisher doesn’t traditionally release horror, but I heard they were looking to change that. Hopefully I’ll back from them, but in the meantime, I will be sending it to a few other publishers that fell like a good fit as well to hedge my bets.

Until next time,

Christian

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Update!

/ Christian Laforet / 1 Comment

It’s been a while since I’ve done an update on my projects. So, hey, why not now?
First, I did finally finish* my novel. I need to put an asterisk next to that because It is not actually finished (possibly far from it), but it is more finished than ever before. Basically, I finished it enough to submit it to a publisher. I’ve had really good feedback on the book and think it is quite scary. Hopefully I’ll have some publishing news sooner rather than later to share.

Next up, and I already did a post about this, but what the heck, it’s my site so I can do what I want, is the re-release of The Space Between Houses. I’m crazy excited about getting this book back into print. I went through and cleaned up a few of the things that always bugged me about the book (don’t worry, I didn’t go full George Lucas on it or anything), and was also able to add in three short stories that I had written around the same time (or just after) TSBH but were published elsewhere. This means that between TSBH and No Light Tomorrow, almost every short story I’ve ever written that has been published will be in print. Fear not though, I’m not expecting those who already own the book to buy it again. As I said, the three stories have been published online previously, and can still be found over at Adventure Worlds Press.com (you might have to do some scrolling though). And, like the rest of the stories in the book, I was able to give those three stories some added shine for this upcoming second edition.

There is a tentative release date of the fall for the newest incarnation of The Space Between Houses, but an exact date has not been announced. And it will be coming out through Urban Farmhouse Press. I’ve read a number of UFP books, and they are always quality.

On the subject of short fiction, I have a few NEW short stories I’ve put together recently. One is a leftover for an anthology I was going to submit to last year, but didn’t have the time to finish it before the deadline. Another is for an upcoming anthology, but I won’t know if it makes that book or not until at least October, and the third is a short story for a rainy day. I figure it is good to start stockpiling some short stories in case of unexpected opportunities.

And, lastly, I’ve started a new novel (horror, of course). I won’t tell you what it is about because it is in its embryonic stage, but I can say that it is an idea I had about a year ago (maybe less), and as soon as I did, I knew it was the next book I was going to write.

Besides the above stuff, I’ve been doing a few interviews, and will be teaching a workshop on horror and Sci-Fi writing with Ben Van Dongen (co-author of a couple of my books, as well as full author of a couple of his own) in Sept. And then there’s been PlayStation. That sweet, awful source of endless distraction. While on the subject, if you haven’t played the Resident Evil 2 remake yet, do so. It is amazing!

-Christian

All Write in Sin City!

/ Christian Laforet / 1 Comment

I was asked recently to be a guest on the brand new podcast All Write in Sin City (along with writing buddy Ben Van Dongen). Normally, I find interviews for radio, TV or internet, to be a bit stuffy, but the folks running the show at All Write know what they were doing and it was a very pleasant experience.

If you want to hear me talk about various topics like: writing horror, attending conventions, and the importance of selling in person, then give it a listen. Oh, and as a bonus, the podcasters (not sure if that is what they are called, but oh well) recorded me doing a reading at Biblioasis (a local bookstore for those not in my neck of the woods).

Listen here.

Enjoy!

-Christian

 

SPCS and the Windsor Small Press Book Fair!

/ Christian Laforet / 2 Comments

This weekend I’ll be pulling double duty (with writing chum Ben Van Dongen) as I head out to a couple of different events.

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Up first is the Windsor Small Press Book Fair. This event showcases various local publishers (including Biblioasis, Palimpsest Press and Mirror World Publishing to name a few) and is a great way to meet both authors and publishers! The event is this Saturday (April 13th). For more info regarding times and location, check out their event page here!

Next up (the very next day. April 14th) is the Sarnia Pop Culture Show. I’ve been a guest at this convention in the past and it is always a great time. If you are in the area, swing by and check it out, there is a ton of awesome stuff, and some great guests. For more about all that, head over to their event page right here!

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I hope to see you at one (or both??) of these great events.

-C

Monsters! Aliens! Short Stories! …& Friends!

/ Christian Laforet / 1 Comment

A couple months ago, I was asked (along with my frequent collaborator, Ben Van Dongen) to host a writing workshop. I said yes, of course, but truth be told I did have some reservations. You see, I’ve been lucky enough to take part in all sorts of writing and literary events since the release of my first book, The Space Between Houses (which turns 5 this year!), but have never hosted a workshop.

What would we speak about? And, more importantly, would anybody care?? After some discussion with Ben, I can say that at least one of these questions has been answered. We’re going to focus on what we know best: short stories and genre fiction.

We’ve since mapped out a series of sub-topics and writing exercises for those attending. It was while doing this that I had an interesting revelation. If such a workshop as the one I myself was going to be hosting existed five or six years ago, it would have taught me how to avoid a lot of the obstacles which plagued the embryotic days of my writing career. Which then made me realize I need to build a time machine.

The workshop itself will be held at Gertrude’s Writing Room; a cozy space with a ton of charm. Ben and I sat in on the last workshop held there (to see what we were in for) and fell in love.

For anyone that is interested, there is a link to the website to register HERE and one for the Facebook event page HERE.

The workshop, now titled Monsters! Aliens! Short Stories! …& Friends! will be a 3 hour class, and it goes down January 19th. The cost is $50

-Christian

P.S. All those who attend will receive a signed copy of our short story collection, No Light Tomorrow.

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Shock Stock 2017 & ChiSeries Windsor

/ Christian Laforet / 2 Comments

About a month ago, I (along with super pal, Ben Van Dongen) was invited to attend the 2017 Shock Stock event in London, ON. Basically a love letter to horror (with a big emphasise on film, hence the name), Shock Stock is my kind of event.

For three days, the freaks and ghouls descended on the Ramada Inn. There were horror movie icons, various artists, fresh coffee and even a few porn stars to keep everybody in line. Needless to say, fun was had by all (except for the comedian who pissed off the porn stars with one of his jokes and got thrown out. He probably did not have fun).

The highlight of the event for me was, like always, meeting people. Lots of cool folks! Also, extra big bonus, our table was right next to the Miss Shock Stock table (shout out to eventual winner, Aly Goo)!!

Normally, I would have only a few crumby cell phone pics to show, but thankfully, one of those cool new friends I made happens to be Allison Knight (she’s a filmmaker, check out her IMDB) and she was snapping pictures with a real camera all weekend. Even better, Allison said I could share them (thanks Allison!), so enjoy.

On to ChiSeries Windsor!

Back in Feb. of this year, Ben and I were invited to do a reading at an event called the ChiSeries. It was in Toronto and was a ton of fun. Anyways, long story short, the organizers asked Ben and I if we wanted to start hosting the Windsor edition of the series. We of course said yes and here we are.

For the kickoff show (a couple weeks ago), we had three great writers lined up. First was bestselling horror author and all around cool dude, Craig Davidson (AKA Nick Cutter). I first met Craig a couple years ago when he stopped in Windsor for a book tour. His books include The Troop, The Deep, Little Heaven and my personal fav, The Acolyte.

Next up, another best seller, we had Michael Rowe. This fine gentleman bought me a beer when I was in Toronto for the Feb. reading. As you all probably know by now, the best way to become my friend is through alcohol! His books include Enter, Night, and the creepy ghost story Wildfell.

Last but certainly not least, we had local writer and publisher, Justine Alley Dowsett. Justine owns Mirror World Publishing (of which Adventure Worlds Press in an imprint of) and has a slew of books she’s written. Her titles include Unintended, Uncharted, Mirror’s Heart series and Neo Central.

In between each reader, we had music from Brendan Scott Friel. Brendan made a bunch of new fans that night. He’s no joke, that guy is talented! Check out his Spotify page.

As an extra cool bonus, the ChiSeries head honchos, Sandra Kasturi and Brett Savory came down for the event. Sandra even delivered a great introduction for Ben and myself.

The next reading will be at the end of August. But for now, here are some pics of that awesome night.

-C

Sarnia Pop Culture Show!

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Last year, Ben and I, had a table at the Sarnia Pop Culture Show. It was the first time I’d left town (Windsor) for a show.

The event was a lot of fun (I even got to participate in my first panel) and we sold a ton of books.

Because of that, I made sure to inquire (pester) them about being a guest this year, and it worked! This Sunday, April 9th, I’ll be a guest at the Sarnia Pop Culture Show.

If you’ve never been to the show, it is a riot. Lots of great geek stuff going on.560212_714078462042629_3990009216739900439_n