Spoiler Space: "Long Pig"

Yes, I ate this

This story started as a pretty simple technical challenge: I had always wanted to write a story in the form of a restaurant review. As is typical with these things, that idea floated around in my head for a few years beforemy wife and I ate at a restaurant where the service was so solicitous that it led me to wonder, in that way SF writers do, just how far it could go. Like a lot of stories in this book, it started out as a joke and turned into something rather more serious -- in this case through exploring the reasons behind the main character's actions -- which, if it works, pulls off a double-fakeout and goes from humour to horror to something... else, I guess. I was never really sure how well it worked, but several people I know told me that I had to include it in the book, so for once there's something here I don't have to take the blame for.

The Canadian reference in this one is to Spadina Avenue, a street in Toronto that is, indeed, famous for its Chinese restaurants (though many locals will tell you all the good ones have moved out to the suburbs, I remain devoted to New Sky and Mother's Dumplings.) On a somewhat more obscure level, the story was written in my best imitation of Joanne Kates, who was for many years the restaurant reviewer for the Toronto Globe and Mail.



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Beyond words

Beautiful cover by Erik Mohr. Coming May 2014 from CZP!

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Inter con

Just time for a breather between getting back from When Words Collide and heading off to WorldCon. I had a great time at WWC in Calgary, meeting many people for the first time and also getting to know people I had technically "met" online in various contexts. All my panels were terrific and everyone was tremendously welcoming.

Two pieces of good news also came my way while I was there. First, I got my first look at the latest edition of The Year's Best Science Fiction and found that both "The Afflicted" and "The Last Islander" had gotten Honorable Mentions. Second, I learned that my story "Closing Time" will be included in a collection commemorating the 25th anniversary of On Spec. It's one of my favourite stories as well being the first story I ever sold there and, in fact, the first story I sold anywhere, so I'm particularly plased that it made the cut.

Edited to add: Actually three pieces of good news -- I had totally missed the fact that "Long Pig" was included in the collection Not Just Rockets and Robots: Daily Science Fiction Year One. I'm not sure they would have let me back on the plane with that huge book in my luggage, but it was cool to see it in the dealer's room.

Next up is LoneStarCon, just over a week away. Here's my schedule:


Meet the New Doctor: Helen Mirren
Friday 13:00 - 14:00
0018B (Convention Center)

How much longer do we have to wait for gender parity in the Whoverse? What will happen if the regenerated Doctor is female, and who should play the role?

Julia Rios, Lynne M. Thomas, Matthew Johnson, Juliet Bruce 

Autographing: with Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, Cathy Clamp
Friday 17:00 - 18:00 
Autographing (Convention Center)

SFWA Meeting
Saturday 10:00 - 12:00 
008B (Convention Center)

008B Convention Center

008B Convention Center

Use of Language in Fantasy
Saturday 14:00 - 15:00
006A (Convention Center)

How do you determine the stye of language to use in fantasy? Do you use archaic language, modern language or poetic language - which works best and in what circumstances?

Mary Robinette Kowal, Jaime Moyer, Susan Krinard, Matthew Johnson, Carol Berg 

Who's Working on Gay Issues and Themes in SF/F?
Sunday 16:00 - 17:00
007CD (Convention Center)

Lee Martindale, Scott Bobo, Matthew Johnson, Julia Rios, Paige E. Ewing

SFWA Table Autographing
Monday 11:00-12:00 Dealer's room

I'll also be staffing the SFWA table in the dealer's room from 2-3 on Friday and 12-1 on Sunday. If you don't see me anywhere else stop by and say hi! 

You heard it here second

News! News! So much news I've been too busy actually doing stuff to talk about it. But here are a couple of cool things coming up in the next few months:

On March 13, I'll be reading at the Chiaroscuro Reading and Workshop series along with Peter Watts, Kate Story and Kari Maaren on the ukulele. As with all the readings in the series it'll begin at 8 PM at the Augusta House at 152 Augusta Ave., Toronto. I'm not sure what I'll be reading yet, but I'm leaning towards "Heroic Measures" since it's a good length and is going to be in Prime's Superheroes anthology coming out next month.

In April, Bundoran Press is going to be launching The Salt and Iron Dialogues, a novella-length prequel to Fall From Earth, as an e-book at Ad Astra in Toronto. I'll write a bit more about it closer to the event but for now I'll just say that this is a story that's been percolating for a long time -- since I started the first draft of Fall From Earth, in fact -- and I think works both as a further insight to the world and characters of that book and as a standalone work.

Top Feast

Not actually a duck

This was actually published a little while ago, but I just found it the other day and thought I would share it at a time when my American friends are getting ready to stuff themselves silly: blogger Robin Shantz listed my story "Closing Time" as #2 in his "Top 5 Feasts of SF," just behind -- well, click the link to find out.

The image above, by the way, is the famous Pepper "Duck" from Chu Chai in Montreal, which inspired one of the recipes in "Closing Time." For another story of mine that was inspired by a visit to a restaurant, you can click here.

Some pig

Joanne Kates is retiring today as the Globe and Mail's restaurant reviewer. For those of you who don't know her work, she has a very distinctive voice and a very narrative way of writing a restaurant review that was one of my main inspirations in writing my story Long Pig. Everyone have some dim sum this week in her honour.