Kat and I got back from Orlando around 2am this morning. We had a great time in Florida. The weather was mostly nice, although a bit cool on some days, and we did everything we set out to do. We went to Gatorland, Sea World, Cocoa Beach, and Daytona. I ate lots of Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch, which you can’t get in Canada, and finally tried a bottle of Big Red, which I saw in Tarantino’s Death Proof and was curious about. Turns out it’s just cream soda. I also drank a lot of beer, and spent one dark night playing drunken ping-pong. I actually played quite well, mostly because after two or three rye and gingers, you start to become afraid of your drink — especially when you have to fly out the next day. Anyway, Kat and I had an awesome time with her fam, we saw lots of cool creatures like gators and sharks and manatees (and Shamu!), and it was just a really wonderful vacation that we both desperately needed. Pics and videos are coming soon. We have plans to hit New York City in the summer, a Mexican getaway maybe later this year, then we have Austin, Texas, for the World Horror Convention in March 2011, and Las Vegas in the fall of 2011. We’ve definitely been bit by the travel bug!

Onto the scary part of the story…

Kat and I were very tired from the flight and the drive back to Peterborough, but I thought I’d take a quick look at my e-mail before we went to bed. So I moseyed downstairs and turned on my computer and… nothing. Or rather, the computer came on, but it wouldn’t detect my hard drive. Then it gave me a boot error. It was like my hard drive didn’t exist. I checked all of my connections and retried, and retried, and retried. Nothing. I was very, very scared. Although I’m very good about backing up my writing files, I’m pretty lax with everything else. Let this be a warning to you all. I was looking at the total loss of all my web files, my movies, my photographs, about 2,000 MP3s, and all sorts of stuff that is either irreplaceable or would take years to accumulate again. Insert whatever joke you’d like about ‘net porn.

Anyway, it turns out that the computer had gotten very cold over the week I was away. I have mentioned before that our basement is chilly, but I don’t think I ever actually explained just how freakin’ cold it gets down here. We’re talking meat locker. It’s part of the reason I invested in a laptop last year. That, and I like writing from the comfort of my bed.

So after warming up my computer, I finally got Windows to boot, and after a nail-biting checkdisk diagnostic test, it turns out everything is okay. But seriously, if you don’t back up your stuff, do it. I burn back ups on DVDs and use a couple of external hard drives, and now I’m happy to say that all of my stuff is saved in multiple locations. It was a frightening few hours there. I don’t recommend it to anyone.

I’m back doing “Lost” articles for Biff Bam Pop, and my first went just went live today. Check out “Whose Timeline Is It Anyway?” for my coverage of the season opener.

Also, my publisher sent along another “Temporary Monsters” review, this one courtesy of Lipstik.com.

• Currently reading: Severance Package, by Duane Swierczynski

My trusty Google Alerts directed me to another review of “Temporary Monsters.” This one is a customer review by William C. Rasmussen at Horror Mall:

Ian Rogers’ novelette from Burning Effigy Press, Temporary Monsters, is a nice, short humorous tale of monsters living in an adjacent reality who slip through to our world from time to time and cause trouble. I thought it was well-written, humorous horror, and Rogers’ protagonist, a wise-cracking PI having trouble with his ex was quite well done. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the alternate reality, the “Black Lands”, the domain of the monsters, was barely touched upon. Hopefully, Rogers will use this universe again in the future to flesh out what could be a very interesting venue. Highly recommended!!
(4 out of 5 stars)

I’m very happy that the reception to this little chapbook has been so positive. In fact, the only negative thing people have to say (Mr. Rasmussen included) is that I didn’t explore the Black Lands elements nearly enough. I totally agree. Of course, this was also my intention. I didn’t want to give everything away all at once, since I plan on telling many more stories set in this particular world. In addition to a series featuring private investigator Felix Renn, I also plan to write other standalone stories set against the backdrop of the Black Lands.

My plan at the moment is to finish the novel I’m currently working on (which is not a Black Lands novel, alas), then begin the great agent search in order to sell that novel. While I’m doing that, I will then set to work on my second novel which will be the first full-length Felix Renn novel. I know some of you are hungry for details, and while I don’t mean to tease, I prefer not to discuss works-in-progress. I don’t even want to tell you the titles of these books (yeah, I’m a meanie). This is due in part to the fact that I’m superstitious, but it’s also because I don’t want the information to get old and tired by mentioning it in every blog post. I like to keep things fresh and fun, and I find the best way to do that is to maintain an element of surprise.

On the plus side, I’m back to work on the novel and I am, at present, about half-finished. Once I’m done, I promise to divulge a few details. I’ll post “Five Fun Facts About My First Novel” or something along those lines. At the very least you’ll get a picture of Thor sprawled on the finished manuscript.

• Currently reading: Suicide Squeeze, by Victor Gischler

I was very sorry to hear that Robert B. Parker, creator of the Spenser series of mystery novels (among others), has died. Parker’s work has been a huge inspiration to me and has helped to influence my own writing, especially my Felix Renn stories. He will be missed.

• Currently reading: Before I Wake, by Robert J. Wiersema

My trusty Google Alert tells me that Temporary Monsters is now available for sale from Horror Mall. So if that’s where you purchase your horror books online, why not throw a copy of TM onto your next order? It’s only $8 and it will make your house or apartment smell spring fresh. Okay, it won’t do that, but it looks damn fine sitting on your coffee table or bookshelf.

See, that’s how I handle self-promotion, with humour. I’ve never been very comfortable hawking my wares, especially online. Mostly because I see so many other authors doing it in a manner akin to the hucksters on late-night TV trying to sell juicers and steak knives. They do the same thing during awards season, which is now upon us. Buy my work! Vote for my story! Buy buy buy! Vote vote vote!

I don’t expect to see TM on any of this year’s awards ballots, but I’m cool with that. I have been told by people more knowledgeable than me in this area that the authors who get nominated are a) the ones who actually deserve it, or b) the ones who have spammed or logrolled their way onto the ballot. It’s entirely possible that the first chapbook of an author who has published only a handful of short stories might get a nomination, but it’s not very likely. Especially with so many other excellent authors producing such great work.

So I’m not going to hold my breath on that one, and I’m not going to get even a little bit upset about it. My feeling on awards has always been the same: Anything that brings attention to the book is great, but awards don’t really mean anything to me in a this-story-is-better-than-that-story kind of way. That doesn’t mean I’d turn my nose up at one, or even a nomination, but I think it’s important to keep these things in perspective. I write because I like to tell stories, not because I want to win awards. Having someone tell me that they enjoy my work is all the encouragement I need to keep pumping out the stories. Besides, these things take time. My career has been moving along at a nice, steady clip, but I still haven’t been doing this for very long. I still have plenty of time to sell books, win awards, and rule the universe.

Having said that, this is my personal website and I am trying to get my name out there, so if you are an Active HWA member and would like a PDF copy of Temporary Monsters to read for voting consideration, please send me an e-mail to webhead AT ian-rogers.com.

• Currently reading: Mortal Stakes, by Robert B. Parker

In 2009 I read 63 novels, 11 novellas, and 308 short stories. Here’s my list of favourites, in no particular order. (As usual, not all of these were published in 2009.)

15 Favourite Books

The Little Sleep — Paul Tremblay
A Choir of Ill Children — Tom Piccirilli
The Gum Thief — Douglas Coupland
World War Z — Max Brooks
Personal Demons — Gregory Lamberson
Secret Dead Men — Duane Swierczynski
Winterlong — Elizabeth Hand
Shutter Island — Dennis Lehane
Pandemonium — Daryl Gregory
Under the Dome — Stephen King
Goat Dance — Douglas Clegg
The Ceremonies — T.E.D. Klein
Liquor — Poppy Z. Brite
Mandibles — Jeff Strand
The Hunter — Richard Stark

5 Favourite Novellas / Long Fiction

Primeval Wood — Richard Gavin
It’s Only Temporary — Eric Shapiro
The Mysterious Flame — Orrin Grey
The Dry Salvages — Caitlin R. Kiernan
The World More Full of Weeping — Robert J. Wiersema

10 Favourite Short Stories

“Four Flies and a Swatter” — Poppy Z. Brite
“The Harvest” — Amy Hempel
“Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld” — Peter Straub
“Alice’s Last Adventure” — Thomas Ligotti
“Riding the Black” — Charles L. Grant
“The Wizards of Perfil” — Kelly Link
“Poor Stephanie” — Simon Strantzas
“The Demon” — Adam Golaski
“The Friendless Bodies of Unburied Men” — Gary A. Braunbeck
“A Sudden Absence of Bees” — Nick Mamatas

I don’t post favourite collections since I don’t tend to read the stories in any one book all at once. I prefer to read a few, then come back to the book later on and read a few more. But there was one collection in 2009 that I devoured from beginning to end. My only complaint was that it wasn’t longer. That book was Cold to the Touch, by Simon Strantzas, and I can’t recommend it more. If you haven’t picked it up, I strongly suggest you do.

I almost didn’t write a year-end review this year. As this website has continued to evolve over time, I’ve found myself dropping a number of features and I thought maybe it was time to put this one to rest. But then I saw a number of fellow writers doing it, and I decided that there were a few things that happened in 2009 that were worth mentioning. (I’ll be posting my favourite reads of 2009 in the next day or two.)

I’ve noticed a lot of people are taking the opportunity to sum up the past decade in their year-end posts. There isn’t too much I want to say about the last ten years except that my life went through a lot of changes, which is probably much the same for everyone. I left my twenties behind, as well as Toronto, the city where I lived for many years. I met my future wife, got married, moved to Peterborough, bought a house, got a new job, and started publishing short fiction with some regularity. A few months ago, Burning Effigy Press published my longest piece to date, “Temporary Monsters, to great reviews and reader response. The chapbook debuted at Word on the Street, along with an official launch a month or so later. I gave my first reading, and ended up doing two more before the end of the year, and I think they all went off quite well, if I do say so myself.

I didn’t sell as many short stories this past year, but that’s because my priorities shifted away from short fiction. I’m not sure how much of an impact I’ve made with my short stories, but I firmly believe that if I am going to take it to the next level career-wise, then I need to do it with novels. I still enjoy writing short stories, but I think I have gone as far as I can with them right now. Cracking another one or two markets probably isn’t going to do anything to further my career, so I’m going to be focusing my energy on longer works for the foreseeable future. So, no submission stats this year, folks, sorry.

Speaking of longer works, I started my first novel this past year and I expect to finish it in early 2010. Selling it will be another matter, but I’ll worry about that later. When that book is finished I will be starting work on my first full-length Felix Renn novel. Renn is the private investigator protagonist from “Temporary Monsters.” Many of the people who have read the chapbook have asked me if I’ll be doing any more stories with the character, and the answer is most definitely. I have always planned on doing a series of Felix Renn tales, short ones as chapbooks in the small press, long ones as novels in the big press (I hope). The character was inspired by other fictional private eyes, most notably Clive Barker’s Harry D’Amour stories, Jay Russell’s Marty Burns stories, as well as Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op and Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels. Despite all of these influences, I have made a strong effort to distance myself from these other works and create something of my own. Setting the majority of the stories in Canada has helped greatly in this regard, since there don’t seem to be many supernatural detective stories set up here. If reader response continues to be positive, I see myself spending a good portion of the next year or two (or more) writing stories featuring Felix Renn and exploring the world of the Black Lands.

If the publication of “Temporary Monsters” formed one half of my writing career highlights for the year, then the other half would have to be my meeting and becoming friends with two excellent writers, Richard Gavin and Simon Strantzas. The three of us ended up attending Readercon 2009 together, and it was without a doubt the best convention experience I’ve ever had. Great people, great conversations, and we’re all looking forward to going back again next year. We’re also making arrangements to attend World Horror 2011 in Austin. That’s right, folks, the Canadians are going to Texas!

I want to thank everyone for their continued support, especially those of you who bought a copy of “Temporary Monsters.” Finally having a book out there, even a little one, with my name on the cover has helped to create a stronger awareness of my work, and I’m going to do my best to build on that in the coming year.

I hope everyone has a great 2010, and I will apologize to all of you in advance if there isn’t much to see on the website in the new year. You can take heart in knowing that the quieter it is here, the harder I’m working on my writing. That said, I will still do my best to pop in every now and again and give you the skinny on what’s going on.

See you on the flip-flop.

I was going to post a summary of last night’s “A Ghost Story for Christmas” reading series at The Central, but Michael Kelly already beat me to it and did a better job of it than I ever could.

Suffice to say, I had an incredible time. The venue was packed and everyone seemed to enjoy the readings. We had a nice diverse mix of styles and stories that I felt complimented one another quite well. I read an excerpt from my new Felix Renn tale, “The Ash Angels.” The story is not quite finished, but since it takes place on Christmas Eve, and the theme of the event was Christmas ghost stories, I couldn’t resist trying it out in front of an audience. The crowd seem to really dig it. I had a lot of people approach me afterwards to sign copies of “Temporary Monsters,” and ask me when “The Ash Angels” would be published. Since the story isn’t done yet, I had to tell them there are currently no plans to publish it at this time (but to keep an eye on this website for updates!). It was a bit of a tease, I suppose, but at the same time I liked the idea of sharing something new and unpublished with those who made an effort to come out during the busy holiday season to hear me read.

I took some pics, but since I only had my little Canon Elph with me, they came out kind of dark. I tried to spiff them up a bit with Adobe Lightroom.

Michael Colangelo reading from “Behind the Black”

Michael Kelly reading from “Princess of the Night”

Thanks to Simon for taking this shot of me reading from “The Ash Angels”

Simon Strantzas reading from “Under the Overpass”

Me, Simon Strantzas, Richard Gavin, Michael Kelly, and Michael Colangelo

Unfortunately I was sitting behind the book table during Richard’s reading so I didn’t get a chance to snap a picture of him. (Sorry, Richard!)

I want to extend my thanks to everyone who came out to hear us read, to the people who bought my chapbook and came up to me and said hello, to Simon and Fran for driving me downtown, to Lora (and Rowan!) for taking care of the book table, and to Richard for organizing the event and making the entire evening such a wonderful experience for everyone.