Switch Pride 2016

I’m very happy to see that Switch has popped up in a bunch of places this Pride season. The Children’s Book Centre listed Switch as one of its books to read for Pride 2016.

My local bookstore, The Bookshelf, had it up for a pride display. The Bookshelf is where both M in the Abstract and Switch were launched there. Please pardon the crapulence of the picture, I was walking down the street late at night when I took it. I love the fact that I’m on the top shelf and below me is some nobody named Virginia Woolf.

switch at the bookshelf

In a related fab move, my publisher gave away copies of Switch to lucky readers for Pride! It’s too late to get in on it, but I wanted to thank them for doing it. 682 people entered, but only 20 lucky folks took home the prize.

UPDATE: A friend sent me this from Book City in Toronto:

switch at book city

One Month Later

Judy Davey

My writing has had to take back seat lately, mostly due to the illness and death of my mother, Judy Mae Davey. (That’s her as a teenager up there, having just won the Strawberry Social.) In fact, this post is probably the longest piece of fresh writing I’ve done in months, barring the obituary. I admit, I feel a bit rusty. The weight of all the unwritten words is beginning to wear on me.

She’d already beaten cancer once, and was battling its return. I’m not going to drag you down with the excruciating details of her passing, but I will say that it was a profound event, even though (and possibly because) we all knew it was coming. I will also add that if I had any qualms about giving people the right to choose life and death on their own terms (which I didn’t) I certainly have none now. Right after it happened, I took to Facebook and wrote a post that was atypically serious and bold:

Dying with dignity legislation can’t come soon enough. Cowardice of one sort or another mustn’t prevent us from showing each other the same kind of mercy we’d show our pets, or the autonomy over ourselves we expect as human beings.

It was not lost on me, the cruel coincidence that my mother passed away whilst politicians were fumbling with the issue of physician-assisted death.

After it happened, I felt dazed. Not overcome by sadness, nor by relief, just a spacey fog that I couldn’t shake. That soon transitioned into a panicky feeling about my own mortality. I’ve always been an existentialist, but my mother’s death really lit a fire under me, cerebrally, anyway. You never know what form grief will take.

While I don’t remember it, I’m told I was a real ‘mama’s boy’ when I was little. I believe it; in the past, I’ve shown a *slight* tendency to get overly-attached to people. Later in life, my mother and I didn’t always agree or even understand each other, but those are just details. Love is love, your mother is your mother.

Now my family is trying to pick ourselves up and move on, even though there’s a void in all of our lives. It’s tough. My father has to forge a new path without someone that he spent every day with for most of his life. All of the grandkids no longer have a grandma. My sisters and I lost the person who made us.

We are human beings, and we carry on. We go to work or school or wherever, and we do the things we’ve always done, but it will be some time before this newly-empty world feels like home. Now go hug someone you love.

 

L;fe Matters, Georgetown

Today I participated in a massive mental health day at Georgetown District High School, in Georgetown, Ontario. Wow. An entire school (and its feeder schools) taken over to support mental health. The world sure has come a long way from the days when the school sick room was basically a mental health oubliette.

The room I was in was right beside the parking lot, and so my attendees were treated to the thumping beats of DeadMau5, who was there in person. The kids were excited to the point of distraction by his presence; I tried not to take it personally. Check out his Space Invaders-themed McLaren, he made a good show of revving it for the crowd.

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As I walked away from the crowd of participants, I took this shot of of smouldering sky over the sports field. The iPhone camera can’t really capture the ominous detail, but you get the picture. Looks like an album cover.

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On a final note, reviews were mixed on my stripes and checks combo. I thought it looked fine, but feel free to add in your own two cents.

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New! Improved! (Mostly the same though)

Welcome to my renovated website! It looks pretty shnazzy, if I do say so. This main page is now a proper blog so I can fill it with ramblings.

Was it my mastery of tech design skills that made it happen? Not in the slightest. Have I mentioned that I love the website Fiverr? Because I do. Oh, what’s that you say? Why don’t I marry it? I would if I could.

So take a look around, snoop freely, and drop me a line if you’re looking for an author visit. – Douglas

Older Posts

Nov 18, 2015

Yay!  I can finally announce that I was a juror for the Ontario Arts Council – Conseil des arts de l’Ontario “Writers’ Works in Progress” grant! It was an intense experience with lots of reading and discussion. Congrats to the successful applicants!

Sep 24, 2015
Holy macaroni, I haven’t updated in a long time. Lots of stuff going on:

On Sept 27 I’ll be attending Guelph’s Book Bash, hope to see some locals there.

On Oct 28 I’ll be in beautiful Montreal for the Association of English Teachers of Quebec.

I just received my copies of the nominated works for the Shuster Awards. Always interesting! And at the end I get to help make someone’s day 🙂

I just finished a mystery event. I could tell you about the mystery event, but then etc., etc. Stay tuned for more on the MYSTERIOUS MYSTERY EVENT…

June 6, 2015
Just wrapping up my visit to the Canadian Library Association’s annual conference, catching up with old friends and making new ones. I always love visiting our nation’s capital, but does it have to be so bright here? Ottawa needs more air pollution.

May 30, 2015
Thanks to the Guelph Public Library and the folks at Vocamus Press for having me in to hand out awards at their teen creative writing contest! Also on hand to dole out prizes was my fellow Guelph author, Kira Vermond.

May 20, 2015
I just learned that Switch received a star in Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids and Teens 2015. Thanks!

May 7, 2015
Thanks to Guelph Pride for having me in to speak at their PrideLit event!

May 3, 2015
I spent Authors for Indies Day at the Bookshelf in Guelph, Ontario. A highlight for me was spending time chatting with the inimitable Thomas King.

Here’s my upcoming schedule of events:

  • Wed, May 6 – Pride Lit.
    • I’ll be back at the Bookshelf to give a little talk on the importance of Pride Lit. That will be upstairs from 7-8:45.
  • Thursday, May 21 – “Unwebbing Peter Parker/Spider-Man”
    • The Wellington County Museum and Archives is organizing a comic convention panel and I’ll be on it, talking about my first, great love: Spider-Man. 6:00 pm.
  • Sat, May 30 – GPL Teen Writing Awards
    • I’m returning to my old stomping grounds at The Guelph Public Library for an awards ceremony celebrating the winners of their creative writing contest for youth. The winning entries will be collected and published by Vocamus Press. 1:00 pm at the Main Branch.

Apr 15, 2015
On May 2 at 2:00 pm you’ll find me at The Bookshelf bookstore in Guelph, Ontario as part of Authors for Indies day! I’ve been given the opportunity to pick another author’s book to promote. My choice is secret but you’ll find out what it is if you drop by and say hi…

Mar 19, 2015
I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Queer Straight Alliance at John F. Ross Secondary School in Guelph, Ontario. Not a long drive, as that’s my town! It was great, and once again I found myself being amazed at just how together, informed and hilarious the students are. Thanks folks!

Feb 22, 2015
I recently offered a creative course at the Guelph Public Library on “Creating Authentic Dialogue” which is something I’m passionate about. OK, maybe not passionate. Let’s say highly interested in. Either way, it was well-attended and I loved hearing about everyone’s experiences with writing.

Coming soon, I hope to offer a series of creative writing courses for teenagers. Stay tuned!