Ian-Rogers.com is now the first site that pops up when you run a Google search on “Ian Rogers.”

It used to take you to a bunch of pages on some retired Australian chess grandmaster named Ian Rogers. Or an actor named Ian Rogers. Or the head of Yahoo! Music whose name is, yes, Ian Rogers. Now I dominate them all!!!

Okay, so it’s only a big deal to webheads like me, but on the other hand it does make it easier for people to find me on the Web. My name isn’t entirely uncommon, not like that Simon Strantzas guy, so I’ll take any edge I can get to steer traffic this way.

It’s been all serious writing talk here lately, so I thought I’d post something a bit lighter.

1. One movie that made you laugh: Cry Baby
2. One movie that made you cry: Jaws (that shark was so misunderstood)
3. One movie you loved when you were a child: E.T. (haven’t watched it in about fifteen years)
4. One movie you’ve seen more than once: Aliens
5. One movie you loved, but were embarrassed to admit it: Bring It On
6. One movie you didn’t like: Cabin Fever
7. One movie that scared you: Ils (the American pseudo-remake The Strangers was pretty scary, too)
8. One movie that bored you: The English Patient
9. One movie that made you happy: Pride and Prejudice (2006)
10. One movie that made you miserable: X-Files: I Want to Believe
11. One movie you weren’t brave enough to see: Basic Instinct 2
12. One movie character you’ve fallen in love with: Rollergirl in Boogie Nights
13. The last movie you saw: Miami Vice
14. Movie you can’t wait to see: Burn After Reading

The Fix reviewed The Written Word #13, which features my story, “The Kid Pool.” Here’s what they had to say:

In “The Kid Pool” by Ian Rogers, The Kid’s grandmother describes herself as:

…third-generation trailer-trash and she had the trailer to prove it. I was raised in a doublewide Airstream by a doublewide mamma she’d say in the slow, tired delivery of one who has told the same joke so many times it has lost whatever humour it once had.

But her co-workers aren’t much above that, vicariously living the misery of others for entertainment. The cast of characters buys into the pool, like the masses who tune into reality television. There is no happily ever after, but it has a satisfying conclusion.

Read the full review.

Also, turns out the Bigfoot corpse was a hoax. What a surprise.

• Currently reading: Generation Dead, by Daniel Waters

A couple of amusing bits from Andrew Pyper’s latest novel, The Killing Circle:

People read less today than they used to. You’ve seen the studies, you’ve got teenagers, you’ve been to the mall — you know this already. But here’s something you may not know:

The less people read, the more they want to write.

Creative writing workshops — within universities, libraries, night schools, mental hospitals, prisons — are the true growth industry in the ink-based sector. Not to mention the ad hoc circles of nervy aspirants, passing round their photocopies bundles. Each member claiming to seek feedback but secretly praying for a collective declaration of brilliance.

One of the characters in the novel is a struggling horror writer. He takes a fragment of a story to a group reading that may sound familiar to some of you:

Though Len feels that only the opening paragraph of a proposed “epic horror trilogy” is ready for presentation, it nevertheless goes on forever, a description of night that is a long walk through the thesaurus entry for “dark.”

Ahh, I’ve read one or two of those. I think I’ve managed to avoid writing one, though.

Literati get short over short stories

Brian Keene on self-promotion

Caitlin R. Kiernan on self-censorship in blogging

John Connolly on when one is not enough

Brett Savory on… well, lots of stuff

From the Weird Desk:

The Montauk Monster

Ghost on surveillance footage

Bigfoot carcass found in freezer

And finally, if The Strangers was a music video instead of a movie, it might look something like this.

(Also, if you turn your heads slightly to the right, you’ll see I’ve updated the photoblog with a picture I took only an hour or so ago at the farm where I’ll be photographing a wedding on Saturday.)

• Currently reading: The Killing Circle, by Andrew Pyper

There seems to be a lot of talk going on right now about an oft-mentioned piece of writing advice that says in order to break one of the many rules of writing, you must first understand or master that rule.

I think the problem is that lousy authors use this rule as an excuse for their own poor writing. It’s not that my story sucks, it’s that I was breaking the rules, man, like an artist and stuff. Unfortunately this line of reason is very close to It’s not that you didn’t like my story, it’s that you didn’t UNDERSTAND it. Both are rather pathetic excuses in my book. Sure, there are some readers out there who may not be smart enough or quick enough to understand all the important depth and meaningful nuances of your story, but most people probably will. I’d say that if the majority of your readers don’t “get” your story, then there’s probably something wrong with it.

As for the “master the rules before you break them” debate, I think the pros know what they’re doing, while the neophytes and wannabes will continue to use it as an excuse. There’s a difference between mastering a rule and breaking it and ignoring a rule and breaking it. Ignorance tends to come from an unwillingness to take one’s craft seriously, which supports my main belief that most bad writing comes from laziness on the part of the writer. I tend to think that most of us, as readers, can recognize when a writer is breaking one of the rules because he or she is being bold or because he/she is being a bonehead.

So that’s my opinion on that one.

In writing news, I received a rejection last night from one of the bigger horror markets I’ve been trying to crack. It was one of the more encouraging ones: I know your work and like it. Have a hunch you’ll be sending us something that will be right for our pages. But not this one. Short and sweet and promising, just how I like ‘em.

And finally, here’s a picture of Kathryn and I with our daughter Lauren.

Okay, she’s not our daughter, she’s our niece. Just wanted to see if everyone out there was awake. Ha-ha.

Btw, the book I’m reading to her is called Tails and features pop-ups of various animal tails (some of which Lauryn had ripped out of the book with her strong baby-grip). This ended up being the only time she smiled during our entire visit. She had missed a nap earlier that day and we were helping her get ready for bedtime. Reading Tails was part of her ritual. I’m glad to have shared it with her, but next time, kid, I’m bringing Stephen King’s IT.

Looks like I’ll joining a bunch of my writer peeps in the Shroud Publishing anthology Northern Haunts. My contribution is called “Vogo” and it’s a lake monster story with a twist. I can’t tell you much more without ruining it because it’s a very short story, about 700 words, as are all the stories in Northern Haunts. Here’s the blurb off the publisher’s website:

Northern Haunts is much more than an anthology. It is an indispensable guidebook for your journey through the shadowy New England otherworld. 100 original tales of ghosts, creatures, mad men, and other horrifying mysteries. Each story is told in the first person so that you can employ NORTHERN HAUNTS as a fireside ghost story reference book. It is designed for you to customize these treacherous tales in order to tantalize your friends and terrify your family. Proceeds from the sale of NORTHERN HAUNTS will be donated to the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.

Also, I got my copy of The Killing Circle, the latest novel by Andrew Pyper, an excellent Canadian writer that I strongly recommend you check out if you haven’t already.

• Currently reading: Kiss Me, Judas, by Will Christopher Baer

Kat and I enjoyed a quiet long weekend at home. Carrie and Glenn were here for a visit on Friday night. After going out for dinner we came home and watched Memento and eXistenZ, two fairly messed up movies, but good ones just the same. Kat had never seen eXistenZ before, and although she isn’t the biggest Cronenberg fan, she said she enjoyed it. We’ll see how she does with Videodrome…

On Saturday we had Kat’s parents over for a visit, saw Carrie and Glenn off, and then lazed around the house. Sunday was much the same, although we did some grocery shopping and I took some pictures. I also helped my neighbour shingle the roof of his new shed, which was kind of fun. It felt good to work with my hands, mostly because I don’t do it very often, ha-ha. On Monday we went to Trent University and I took more pictures. It was a good day for it. The university grounds were virtually deserted. It’s a big sprawling place, and seeing it empty gave the day a decidedly post-apocalyptic feel. Here’s a few shots:

To see the rest, swing over to onemoreshadow.com.

Didn’t get much writing done this weekend, although I sent out a few stories, and I received my copies of Broken Pencil #40. My story is the only piece of fiction in the issue, and I have to say it looks pretty cool all by itself in there. Kathryn Jankowski drew a great illustration of sharks circling a bed that figures into a description of night terrors in the story.

My wife had just finished reading the story when I got home from work, and her first words to me were, “I don’t want to slam the other places you’ve been published, but I have to say it’s pretty cool to see one of your stories in a real magazine.” I think by “real” she meant magazines you can actually buy in stores, and yes, it is cool, since it’s all about getting my stories out to people in a way they can find them easily.

I also received the proof for “Leaves Brown” which will be coming out very soon in the Ash-Tree Press anthology Shades of Darkness. I don’t always get to see a proof of my stories beforehand, but it’s very exciting when I do. I’ve been writing and publishing for the last five years, but I still get a buzz out of the entire process, from writing to submitting to proofing to publishing. I never get tired of it.

• Currently reading: Bloodsucking Fiends, by Christopher Moore