DOUGLAS SMITH | Writing the Fantastic

I have officially deleted my account on that 1-letter social platform FKA Twitter, and have opened up a BlueSky account (along with, it appears, a huge portion of the writing community).

I had a few thousand followers on Twitter, but haven't used the platform much lately, since it stopped being Twitter, if you know what I mean (yeah, you do), so I'm starting from zero on BlueSky and would appreciate a follow if you're there, too. Come by, say hi.

You can find me at https://bsky.app/profile/smithwriter.bsky.social.

If you live in the Greater Toronto area, I have two more library appearances coming up:

• Sunday October 27, 2-4pm: Local Author Showcase

Georgina Public Library, 261 Garrett Styles Dr, Keswick, ON

• Saturday, November 2, 1-2:30pm: Indie Author Day

Richmond Hill Public Library, Central Branch, 1 Atkinson Street, Richmond Hill ON L4C 0H5

I'll be doing a short reading at each of these, as well as selling and signing my books. Hope you can attend one of these. It would be great to meet you.

I appeared recently at my local library on their monthly "Author Night," where the writer talks about themselves and their books, gives a short reading, then takes questions. And hopefully, sells some books.

Two dozen people had registered for the event, a very good turnout for one of the smaller branches in the region. However, I walked in to find just eight people in the audience, including four kids, ranging from maybe 10-12 years old, dragged along (I assumed) by their parent due to a babysitting shortage.

So I had an audience of four, not twenty-four. Shrug. It happens. I started, as usual, by asking if anyone was also a writer or wanted to be one.

These events always have a handful of writers or wannabes. Problem is, most beginners are shy to admit it, so I usually have to coax them out. Once one hand goes up, more follow.

But this night, as soon as I asked the question, four hands shot up.

Want to guess who the four were? The four kids. So my assumption had been totally wrong. The kids were my audience.

An audience which was very interested in learning all they could about becoming a writer. I ended up not doing a reading so that they could keep asking questions. We talked about starting with short fiction, how to grab an editor's attention with your opening, where to send your stories, writing routines, and so much more.

It was a fun night where I hopefully helped some young writers chase their dream. I gave them all a copy of my writer's guide, Playing the Short Game: How to Market & Sell Short Fiction. And all the kids bought some of my fiction, an advantage of having their parents' credit cards in the room.

PS -- yes, that photo above is the Sunnydale High School Library from Buffy.

I'll be appearing at the Unionville Library as their guest author in their "Books and Reading" series on Thursday, Oct 3 from 7:00-8:00pm.

This is the rescheduled appearance from July, which I had to cancel when I came down with Covid.

I'll be reading from my recent award-winning fantasy trilogy, The Dream Rider Saga, and will be answering questions about writing the series, my books, and writing in general. I'll also be selling and signing copies of my books.

Go here to register for the event and for details on location and directions. I hope to see you there!

The terrific NoSleep Podcast has just completed production on their audio version of my urban fantasy story, "Out of the Light." Like all of their productions, they have done a fantastic job.

Unlike many story podcasts, NoSleep uses multiple voice actors for their productions, a different actor for each speaking character, plus a narrator, along with excellent sound production including sound effects. The result is always a high-quality and immersive experience.

This is the fourth of my stories that NoSleep has adapted, and every production has been excellent. "Out of the Light" was the second story I sold to them, way back in early 2020. I sold two other stories to them since that sale, both of which appeared in 2022.

So why the delay with "Out of the Light"? Well, to give you an idea of the attention they pay to detail, three of the characters are Eastern European (Czech, Polish, Greek). NoSleep wanted to make sure that the character's accents were authentic in the production, which led to the delay as they searched for the appropriate voice actors.

So, yeah, attention to detail.

You can listen to the story here on the NoSleep site. My story starts about the 00:29:30 mark.

Also, if you're interested, this page on my website has links to all the podcast versions of my stories that have been done over the years.

Enjoy!

A reminder that voting for the 2024 Aurora Awards for the best in Canadian speculative fiction closes at midnight on July 13.

Equally important, access to the Voter's Package closes at midnight on July 6 (3 days). The Voter's Package, for the CAD$10 cost of registering to vote, lets you download ALL the nominated works, including:

• 10 novels
• 7 graphic novels
• 5 novelettes
• 5 short stories
• ... and more!

The Auroras are fan-voted awards recognizing the best of Canadian SF & Fantasy published the previous year. Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident may vote for the Auroras.

I am thrilled that this year's ballot includes two of my published works:

• The Crystal Key: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 2 (Best YA Novel)
• "If I Should Fall Behind" (Best Short Story)

I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider voting for me.

If you nominated works earlier this year, then you are already registered to vote. Just go log in to the Aurora Awards site, log in with the same credentials, then go to the Member's Home page and click on the "Vote" link.

If you still need to register to vote, see my earlier blog post that explains how to vote as well as how to download the Voters' Package containing all the nominated works.

I'll be appearing at the Unionville Library as their guest author in their "Books and Reading" series on Thursday, July 18 from 7:00-8:00pm.

I'll be reading from my recent award-winning fantasy trilogy, The Dream Rider Saga, and will be answering questions about writing the series, my books, and writing in general. I'll also be selling and signing copies of my books.

Go here to register for the event and for details on location and directions. I hope to see you there!

Welcome to a special blog post for my Canadian fans.

Voting for the 2024 Aurora Awards is now open. The Auroras are fan-voted awards recognizing the best of Canadian SF & Fantasy published the previous year. Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident may vote for the Auroras.

As I wrote recently, I am thrilled that this year's ballot includes two of my published works:

• The Crystal Key: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 2 (Best YA Novel)
• "If I Should Fall Behind" (Best Short Story)

I'm writing to ask you to consider voting for me.

Below, I explain how to vote as well as how to download the Voters' Package containing your complimentary copy of ALL the works on the ballot, including:

• 10 novels
• 7 graphic novels
• 5 novelettes
• 5 short stories
• ... and more!

But first, let me tell you a bit about my two nominated works.

The Crystal Key (The Dream Rider Saga, #2)

The sequel to The Hollow Boys (winner of the 2023 Aurora Award) has received universal praise, with a 4.8⭐ rating on Amazon and 5.0⭐ on BookBub, plus garnering these raves from top book review sites:

"The richly inventive Dream Rider adventure continues... [with] the Smith hallmarks of crack dialogue, fun sleuthing and puzzle-solving, a strong through-line of emotion, a swift pace…and a principled refusal to settle for the familiar. ... This thrilling superpowered urban fantasy series continues to grip." —BookLife (Editor's Pick)

"The engrossing second installment ... Smith continues to demonstrate an ability to expertly weave multiple complex fantasy elements into a cohesive whole. … This fast-paced story delivers in a big way." —Blueink Review (★ Starred review)

"The sequel to the excellent The Hollow Boys ups the ante for adventure and suspense and continues to deftly fuse superhero and fantasy tropes. ... A fun and engrossing superhero sequel." —Kirkus Reviews

"An ethnically diverse cast and strong female characters. Smith's take on superheroes and serials is both modern and original ... High adventure leavened with romance and mystery. … Everything that made The Hollow Boys work and turns it up a few notches." —Ottawa Review of Books

If you haven't read The Crystal Key, see below to learn how to get it in your complimentary copy of the Voters' Package.

"If I Should Fall Behind"

This story first appeared last year in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, one of the premiere markets for speculative fiction in the world.

Recently, it was also selected for The Year's Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction, which will be coming out later this year.

Some selected reviews:

“One of my very favorites of the year. ... [The ending’s] an emotionally satisfying cap on a tremendous tale, a tale which itself is a tremendous cap on this issue of F&SF ... Exceptional.” —Tar Vol’s Recommended Reading List for 2023

“The story has great emotional appeal and the plight of the two lovers is sure to touch the reader’s heart. … [A] powerful tale.” —Tangent Online

To read "If I Should Fall Behind," see below to learn how to download your complimentary copy of the Voters' Package.

How to Register to Vote

To vote for the Auroras (and to access the Voters' Package of nominated works), you must be a 2024 member of the Canadian SF & Fantasy Association, the body that administers the Auroras.

(Note: If you nominated works earlier for this year's awards, you're already registered and can skip this step. Just jump down to "How to Vote.")

To register for 2024, go here and click on "Not a Member Yet?"

Enter your info, then select a username and password. (If the password box contains black dots, hold down "DELETE" to clear the box, then enter a password.)

Registration costs $10 CAD, which not only lets you vote, but also download the Voters' Package of ALL the nominated works: 17 novels, 5 novelettes, 5 short stories, and more! That's a pretty amazing deal, imo.

Registration for voting (and access to the Voters' Package) closes at midnight July 6.

How to Vote

Once you're registered, log in to the Aurora Awards site, then go to the Member's Home page.

From there, click on "Voting" to access the 2024 Aurora voting ballot.

The Auroras use a ranked voting method (more info here).

To vote, sort your choices from 1 (your favourite) to 5 (your least favourite), by dragging your selections with your mouse (or finger for touch screens).

Drag your choices above the voting line (the line that says, “No pick underneath this line will be counted”).

As you do this, your choice will display its ranking. If you make a mistake, just move your choice to a different position or back below the voting line.

You do not have to rank all works in a category, and you do not have to vote in all categories. But I would truly appreciate if you would consider voting for my two nominated works:

• The Crystal Key: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 2 (Best YA Novel)

• "If I Should Fall Behind" (Best Short Story)

Submitting Your Ballot

When you've ranked all your choices for the categories you’re interested in, click the “Send Ballot” button at the bottom of the form. This will lock and submit your selections.

Do NOT submit your ballot until all your selections are done. Unlike the nomination process, you will not be able to edit your ballot once submitted.

Also, if you close your ballot before submitting it, your choices will be cleared and not saved, and you will have to start again.

In other words, don't start to vote until you know everything you wish to vote for and can complete your voting in one session.

Remember, for your ballot to count you must click the “Send Ballot” button at the bottom of the form.

Voting closes on Saturday July 13 at midnight.

The Voters' Package

The Voters' Package contains electronic versions of all nominated works, made available through the generosity of the nominees and publishers so that voters may read the nominated works and make an informed decision when voting.

Once you've registered to vote, you can download the Voter Package from the Member's Home page (or directly here).

Access to the Voters' Package closes at midnight Saturday July 6, the same day registration closes and a week before voting closes

~~~

Thanks for any consideration you might give to voting for my nominated works.

Regardless, thanks for being a fan and supporter of my writing.

The final ballot for the 2024 Aurora Awards has been announced, and I am thrilled that it includes two of my published works from 2023:

• The Crystal Key: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 2 (Best YA Novel)
• "If I Should Fall Behind" (Best Short Story)

The Auroras are fan-voted awards recognizing the best of Canadian SF & Fantasy published the previous year. Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident may vote for the Auroras. You can view the full 2024 ballot here.

Voting for the Auroras opens on Saturday June 8 and closes midnight Saturday July 13.

So you can't vote yet, but you can download the Voters' Package containing your complimentary copy of ALL the works on the ballot, including:

• 10 novels
• 7 graphic novels
• 5 novelettes
• 5 short stories
• ... and more!

Pretty sweet, eh? To access your copy of the Voters' Package, all you need to do is register to vote for this year's Aurora Awards. Read on!

How to Register to Vote

To vote for the Auroras (and to access the Voters' Package of all the nominated works), you just need to be a 2024 member of the Canadian SF & Fantasy Association, the body that administers the Auroras.

[Note: If you nominated works earlier for this year's awards, you're already registered and can skip this step. Just jump down to "The Voters' Package."]

To register for 2024, go here and click on "Not a Member Yet?"

Enter your info, then select a username and password. (If the password box contains black dots, hold down "DELETE" to clear the box, then enter a password.)

Registration costs $10 CAD, which lets you vote but also download the Voters' Package of all the nominated works (17 novels, 5 novelettes, 5 short stories, and more). Pretty amazing deal, imo.

Registration for voting (and access to the Voters' Package) closes at midnight July 6.

The Voters' Package

The Voters' Package contains electronic versions of all nominated works, made available through the generosity of the nominees and publishers so voters may read the works and make informed decisions when voting.

Once you've registered to vote, you can download the Voters' Package from the Member's Home page (or directly here).

Access to the Voters' Package closes at midnight Saturday July 6, the same day registration closes and a week before voting closes

~~~

I hope you'll take advantage of this great opportunity to read the best works of Canadian speculative fiction from 2023.

I'll email you again when voting opens on June 8, to tell you more about my nominated works and to explain how to vote in the Auroras.

Until then, happy reading! And as always, thanks for being a fan and supporter of my writing.