New Books, Old Books, and a Trip

cover-finalWe’re already into March of 2020 and we here at AWP are starting to build up some steam. With the retreat behind us, we look forward to upcoming events, but even more excitingly, to the new books we have to share.

That being said, we’re pretty excited to be going to Oshawa on the 14th for their local Comic Con. We have only been north of Toronto a couple of times and this will be our first time in Oshawa. We have personal mandate to get to some new places this year and to pick up the number of events we attend. This should be a great start and we’re eager to sell some books.

Hopefully the weather will be nice enough for the trip, but not so nice that people won’t want to spend a day inside a convention cenre looking at cool things (like our books). Continue reading

A Strategic Retreat

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Writing is hard. This is a fact. It takes a lot of time and energy to complete a fully realized story. When you couple this undeniable truth with the added reality that most writers also have day jobs; the feat of a finished book can become a monumental task.

Because of this we at AWP like to schedule a yearly writing retreat. Nothing overly grand, just a few days away from all the things that distract from our writing.

The first AWP writing retreat was held in the summer of 2014. Of course, AWP was nothing more than a twinkle in the eye back then, but the formula established that first time has remained. Continue reading

It’s a New Decade (But it isn’t)

20200102_201209Hey! Welcome to 2020. How are you? We’re doing well, thanks. I know, the weather is awfully weathery, isn’t it? Did you know that, technically, a decade starts on year one? Like, 2021. That’s okay, we can do it all over again next year!

Now that we have the pleasantries aside, it’s time to look at what’s in store for the new year and AWP. Obviously, we can’t spill the beans on everything (especially since not everything has been sorted out) but we can at least give you a heads up on some things you can expect from your boys, Christian (Don’t Bother Me, I’m Working) Laforet and Ben (I need another Coffee) Van Dongen. Continue reading

Fall into AWP!

As the leaves change colour, the days get cooler and the nights come earlier, two of AWP’s authors (Ben Van Dongen and Christian Laforet) gear up for a trio of events.

Starting next week, on Devil’s Night (or, as the nearby city of Detroit tried to rename it some years back, Angel’s Night) Ben and Christian will be accompanying author David Nickle for an evening of scary readings at Biblioasis bookstore. The event, suitably called Who’s Afraid of the Dark? will be held at 7pm on October 30th

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September Boss Rush!

maxresdefaultIt’s September (even if August was cooler than the heatwave we’re dealing with now). The summer slump is over. Christian and Ben are in the middle of a write-every-day, finish-every-project dash in an attempt to catch up for their slow (though better than average) summer. Christian has the excuse of his children being out of school, but the slacker Ben spent the entire season trying to figure out why he fails so spectacularly. (You can follow his journey on his weekly blog, you know, if you like. You may as well follow Christian too). Continue reading

Genre Mash-Up! workshop.

 

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Back in January, Ben and Christian were asked to host a workshop for Gertrude’s Writing Room. The evening focused on Science Fiction and Horror writing and was a blast. It was so fun, in fact, that they’ve been asked to do it again. This time as part of a month-long series of workshops called the Genre Mash-Up!

The series begins with the boys returning to dish out a second helping of the spooky, weird and futuristic, and then continues each week with workshops on: Poetry, Fiction and Screen Writing. From fine literary talents as: Vanessa Shields, Casey Plett and Nick Shields. Continue reading

July was Uncommonly Quiet

20190626_214004Hello everyone who will read this. How are you? I’m doing alright, thanks. It’s Ben, here, from Adventure Worlds. After a hectic spring where one of our authors finished a novel (and is shopping that bad boy around) and the other (me) released the second book in his novella series, things are getting a little more quiet than we are used to. With Action Comicon being cancelled, our biggest event for the month is gone. That leaves us with more free time than we’re used to. Continue reading

All Write in Sin City and the return of ChiSeries Windsor!

Ben Van Dongen and Christian Laforet were recently feature on the podcast All Write in Sin City. To hear what they had to say about writing, publishing, conventions and working together, give it a listen! You can find it here!

Later this month marks the return of ChiSeries Windsor. As always, the event will be held at Phog Lounge and will feature authors Kathe Koja, Timothy S. Johnston and Christian Laforet. With live music from George Manury. For more info, visit the facebook evet page right here!

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A May Update

20190414_095208_hdrBen here. I was successful in explaining the value of taking turns posting here each month to Christian. Really, I did that update in March and we got a bunch of views and followers out of it, and he agreed that we should have some news on here at least once a month. Thankfully, we tend to have enough going on to warrant at least a monthly update. I was going to post about The Neon Heart for this one, but Christian was nice enough to do that for me last month. Continue reading

Spring is here!

Spring is traditionally a busy time for us. And this year is no exception!

56536257_2154012071356945_6976075646703239168_nThe big news, of course, is the release of Ben Van Dongen’s new novella, The Neon Heart. Book two in The Synthetic Albatross Series, The Neon Heart further explores the world introduced in The Thinking Machine. A must read for fans of sci-fi, The Neon Heart is available for purchase online, here, and locally at Biblioasis, Indigo and Anchor Coffee House. Or, you could always snag a copy in person at one of the upcoming evets AWP will be attending in the next few weeks.

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