brenth

Notified this week that TFMD is nominated for a Bookie award! In the running with some heavy hitters. When I first checked, I was dead last. Now I'm gaining. The voting closes on March 31st. Here's the link:

http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/03/the-second-annual-cbc-bookie-awards.html

In other news, Mountains continues to grow, yet ever-so-slowly...

Musically, it's all Tim Hardin and Bill Fay these days. As the man says, be not so fearful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJfca3ImjKc&feature=related

In a recent goodreads review of an anthology featuring a story of mine, in which the reviewer railed against unresolved mystery in fiction, my piece was singled out as 'the worst offender'. I can live with that: I certainly likes me some unresolved mysteries, unreliable narrators, open ends. But then the story was called 'sloppy'. This stung. Since I (like most writers, I'd like to believe) labour over every word and sentence and semi-colon until my brain hurts, and have never sold anything that I felt was rushed or that I wasn't immensely proud of, my first reaction was, naturally, anger. Sloppy?

But not many good things can come from anger, so a deep breath was taken, and another.

I've read numerous thumbs-down reviews of books that were so wondrous to me that they changed my life, and I know the truth in one man's meat (or woman's) is another's poison. Conversely, I have hated books that everyone else seems to love.

Iain Bank's first novel, The Wasp Factory, was so badly panned that, when it finally caught on, the first few pages were a litany of reviews about 'the dark days of publishing' and what a steaming pile of crap the groundbreaking book was.

By far, though, for me, positive reviews outweigh the negative-- yet there certainly have been some doozies over the years. When Cleaner, my second story, was published in 1998, in the venerable Canadian magazine OnSpec, Tangent said: "We get no real clue as to who the characters are, how they got there, or even where the bridge is. The story is all detail and no context -- no drama either. The characters do things, including some theoretically adventurous things, but I couldn't bring myself to care. The illustration outshines the narration." Yowza.

For years, unfortunately, this was the only online review of my fiction. Later, when Phallex Comes Out got published, not only did it get nominated for StorySouth fiction of the year but it promptly drew the ire of an Australian reviewer, who found "Hayward's treatment of the theme of sexuality, for the most part mature and diverse, disappoints where the author reverts to the dubious ideas of women's fantasies of pretended non-consensuality and, in the conclusion, of the final triumph of the phallus over all." Fortunately, to my rescue, a rather scholarly article was later published (again, ironically, in Tangent) refuting this criticism of my 'dubious ideas'. (Called Misunderstanding Sexuality in Brent Hayward's Phallex Comes Out, it can be found here:
http://www.tangentonline.com/articles-columnsmenu-284/809-misunderstanding-sexuality-in-phallex-comes-out-by-brent-hayward-in-chizine-29)

Since then, the better part of a decade's gone by, and both novels have appeared, each having the honour of receiving a starred review in Publishers Weekly, among many other accolades from many other venues. However, Filaria and The Fecund have their detractors, too. One reviewer likened Filaria to walking outside on a gloomy day (like that was a bad thing), and another didn't like the chatelaine's attitude in The Fecund.

I often get flak about my endings, or lack of them, as is pointed out.

I've also been screamed at in a workshop for being 'irresponsible', and once an elderly lady in a creative writing class-- who liked to write poems about her garden-- took offense to my own poem about being on the, er, receiving end of oral pleasure while inebriated, said to me, in a very upset voice: You can't write about that!

But you can. You can write what you want. Will others like it? Maybe, if you're lucky, or good at what you do. And if the timing is right. Will everyone like it? No. Not even possible. But write what you like.

Thrilling when others dig your stuff, especially when they post about it, or review on a website or newspaper or magazine; not so thrilling to encounter a less-than-glowing review, but all part of the process.

Hey, just like Tom, my boss, told me recently, apropos of nothing (in a weird dad-type moment): You know, not everyone likes you.

True.

But sloppy?

Meh...

This week brings to me The Raspberries. Not sure how I hadn't heard of them before, but there you go. Some Beach Boys, some Big Star, some surprisingly great guitar and very effective, almost cheesy vocals...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfgnc6Ey0q0&feature=related

Ah, it's the Air Show again! Hummers of the sky, screaming over the house, frightening my children and cat, burning up resources for dubious reasons... Must be Labour Day out there.

There have been several reviews lately of TFMD, pretty good ones too, but I'm starting to get the distinct feeling that a lot of people out there are not too sure which end of the book is up. This is a bit surprising to me, but maybe I'm biased. I though it was pretty normal.

In other news, looks like I'm about to run another marathon! Not using legs, of course- perish the thought; I'm past 50 now!- but a keyboard. Two years to complete another book. Four thousand words a month. Will this one be clearer to folks out there? Perhaps not. Ideas are rebounding around. I have begun the thought process. Now to just find a bit of time. Every week. For two years.

The Horror Fiction Review:

http://thehorrorfictionreview.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

Strange Horizons:

http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2011/08/the_fecunds_mel.shtml

And then some rock for your soul. Or maybe just for mine. An Aussie Band: I think the average age is about 14.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jekYAm3fkA&ob=av2e

Week ten of the ChiZine.com relaunch includes the shortest thing I've ever written. I think it's the only first-person story I've even written too - certainly the only 'noir' piece, as the kids say. (Though I like to think I loathe to categorize.) The story is called Lizards and is found here:

http://www.chizine.com/volume_47k.htm

Feel free to donate while you're there. Expect great stuff in the near future. And that's a promise.

Also, there's an interview up at Jessica Strider's Sci Fi Fan Letter blog. Jessica was responsible for that fun reading and q & a last week at the World's Biggest Bookstore. She also arranged the fabulous endcaps for both me and CZP. The genre selection at WBB, by the way, if you've never been, is by far the best in the city. Small and big press alike. No candles or knick-knacks, no loungers, no Starbucks. Just books.

http://scififanletter.blogspot.com/2011/06/author-interview-brent-hayward.html

Lastly is the Small Press Fair. I'll be there this Sunday from 3 pm on, signin' if you'd like 'em signed, sellin' if you're buyin'.

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=149029488497183

After a reading and a few questions/answers at the Word's Biggest Bookstore, I was shown the following endcap:


Naturally, this called for a few celebratory pints after. Peter Watts was there - good to see him again. I'd forgotten how dumb I am. Only about 50% of what that guy says is comprehensible to mortals. The sun was shining, and we ended up in Ten Mile Aroma again...

My mug was posted online in the Globe, coupled with a text that reads mostly like this:

Brent Hayward’s The Fecund’s Melancholy Daughter takes some getting used to, mostly because the book’s uncompromising originality leaves the reader with few familiar signposts. Reading it is like waking up in the wrong bed, in the wrong apartment, under the wrong sun. The strangest part is the insidious way the strangeness of Hayward’s world becomes familiar as the story progresses. The Fecund’s Melancholy Daughter brings the aesthetic of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast together with deities from Sumerian mythology to make a fragmented narrative that baffles, repulses and occasionally entertains.

It sounds like a mess because it is a mess, a fascinating mess.

But for all its challenges, the book succeeds in creating a truly unique and evocative world. The grime of the city and the stench of its underworld are palpable. A description of Nowy Solum might describe the book itself: “Streets led away crookedly between buildings, like arthritic fingers from the palm of an old man’s hand. Behind them, the massive arch of dark stone, ornately carved with icons and gargoyles, loomed. Down each of these streets, crowded and noisy and terrifying, worlds of unknowable options.”

By turns surreal, macabre and stunningly violent, The Fecund’s Melancholy Daughter is dreamlike in its strangeness and complexity. Like a dream, it is difficult to define and difficult to shake. The imagery lingers like archetypes dredged up from the sleeping mind.


It could be worse! There are pull quotes, for sure, but I get the feeling that Mark (the reviewer) wondered while reading the book just what the hell he was getting into. Still, much appreciated and very international. The 'fascinating mess' line is great, though I could do without the 'occasionally entertains' comment. Can't have everything. Now I sit and wait for the groupies and the movie offers.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-fecunds-melancholy-daughter-by-brent-hayward/article2032939/

Some reflections are up at the ChiZine blog. They go like this:

WHC was a blast from beginning to end, though I was only in Austin for two days. I met a lot of people, some whose name I had previously known, others, not so much. Everyone was great. There was a regular flow of beer and good food. The furthest I strayed from the hotel was to Thundercloud Subs, just across a few dozen lanes of highway. (I have been to Austin before, so remaining in the vicinity of the very nice Doubletree Hotel wasn’t ever frustrating, despite the knowledge that, all the while, a very cool and special city lay not too far away.) Highlights from the con are difficult to pick out, but I will list a few: laughing about ass goblins; the CZP kegger launch, with hot dogs and pretty colours on the margarita machine as it churned; the EDGE launch, with readings about dead strippers; the drunken frat boy—a little person—who chatted with me as he took the glasses from atop my head while I waited for the shuttle; my peaceful room, overlooking the courtyard....

Link is here, where you can see thoughts of other ChiZine peeps and -- surprise surprise -- click on stuff to buy books:

http://chizinepublications.blogspot.com/2011/05/brent-haywards-memories-of-world-horror.html

This being the eleventh hour, I am getting ready to go to Austin tomorrow morning, expired passport and all. I will be traveling as a European into Texas, hoping not to get tasered. At one point, accents and ascots were considered. Once there, a Chilling Tales launch awaits, and a ChiZine party on Friday night, at which I will briefly read from TFMD, seeking a part in the ms that hopefully comes across as exciting. Speaking of this heightened state, PW has given the book a starred review! That makes two stars for two stars - both novels got the star treatment. Utterly mind blowing. Here's a taste of what they said, followed by a link to the whole hawg:

In this ambitious novel, Hayward (Filaria) traces the lives of the eccentric, often grotesque characters who inhabit the ancient, labyrinthine city of Nowy Solum.... Beautifully written and morally ambivalent...

As they say in the Lone Star state, That's pretty f'in cool...

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-926851-13-6

British website had this to say about FMD:

Hayward’s tale launches head-first into the puzzling dark fantasy world that he has so intrinsically created... Like a Salvador Dalí masterpiece transposed into words... For the novel’s construction, Hayward plays with a whole host of seemingly chaotic threads of storyline; intertwining, overlapping and masterfully dancing them around each other... The great strength and clinging enjoyment of the tale is in its puzzling and wildly elaborate nature. Hayward’s imagination is truly let loose throughout the length of the tale. The result is a living, breathing, and constantly shifting story that alternates between its many threads, mesmerizing the reader with the constant outlandish acceptance of its own dreamlike premise.

Here's the whole thing:

http://vaultofevil.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=itsthenewthing&action=display&thread=4268&page=1

F'in' nice, eh?

Furthermore, the ChiZine contest remains open. Their spring lineup is none too shabby.

http://www2.chizinepub.com/contests/review-contest/index.php

Lastly, get yourselves a copy of Phosphorescent's latest, Here's To Taking It Easy, grab and beer, and demand that the damned cold weather ends for the next few months. Yesterday it snowed here. What the hell is that all about!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8J1mK3jats&feature=related

At a Chinese restaurant recently, I drank very cheap beer and subsequently found myself volunteering to be a fiction editor at ChiZine. Now that I'm sober, stories are pouring in faster than I can read them. There are growing piles of manuscripts next to the bed. Man, there's a lot of freaking writers out there! And the quality of these submissions is consistently pretty high. However, not all stories can make it in. Obviously. So I have discovered that the process of ranking & making thumbs up or thumbs down is a bit distressing. Nonetheless, I will soldier on until I am finally swamped under a mountain of paper...

FMD is out in the world, or will be imminently, and today this appeared in Abyss & Apex - not really a review, but nice things are said about the book nonetheless:

http://www.abyssapexzine.com/2011/04/2-q-2011-small-press-book-reviews/

Last week or so we worked on the shorts for inclusion in the hardcover - Arc of a Complex Spike and The Vassal. All laid out and gussied they look purty, like the rest of the book. I can't wait to get my mitts on a copy.

The novella (There Were Mountains? maybe just Mountains?) that I had started, is temporarily on hold, pending the completion of certain other projects of a less literary nature, though more likely to pay mortgages, etc.

Finally, another story - The Lizard - will be on-line soon, as part of a fund-raising project. This piece is short, terse, and told in 1st person. My only effort like this. Ever. Probably my last.