New Year, new podcast interview, no problem
Posted by Jeff on Dec 16th, 2023 in News | 0 commentsWell. What a year that was.
I did a book tour in Australia. I saw lots of crazy animals there, dipped my feet in the Indian Ocean for the first time, swam in the Pacific Ocean less than forty-eight hours later, and performed in a handful of well-paid poetry gigs. Failed to see a living quokka, though.
I also conducted my own little ragtag Canadian Book-Fair Mini-Tour (inspired partly out of petty anger at the way Toronto Word on the Street mismanaged my exhibitor application this year). This tour saw me attempting to promote my novel Hate Story in Ottawa (twice), Vancouver and Lethbridge, Alberta. I was also supposed to be at an event in Timmins, but the flight was delayed and eventually cancelled at the last minute (never, ever, ever booking with Porter again); I was also hoping to be in Montreal two weeks ago, but apparently that event was too cool to accept my application. Missed my chance to do a Hamilton fair because I didn’t even know of its existence until the last minute; maybe in 2024?
And I performed at the inaugural New Mexico Poetry Summit in Albuquerque. And I had a few other gigs here in Toronto, and a few on Zoom. And the Writers’ Union of Canada selected one of my short stories as a runner-up in a contest, finally and definitively proving York University wrong about my writing abilities. And I was showcased in the Toronto Guardian and appeared in at least one more podcast…
And I performed stand-up comedy in front of live audiences for the first time, and found I wasn’t entirely terrible at it. And I turned fifty, with shockingly little life accomplishment to show for it. Just think of what Orson Welles achieved before he was thirty. I’m a disgrace.
Who knows what’s in store for 2024? I have no idea; almost all of it is up in the air.
One thing I do know: the year will kick off with my appearance on The Poetic Robin Hood, a poetry podcast hosted by Christopher Moore. No, not the famous Christopher Moore – the Chicago-based poet.
The episode will be available on New Year’s Day, on Spotify and other online platforms.
Not sure what time it’s going live. I’ll be flying home from Saskatchewan that day (yes, more bloody flying), so I’ll catch it later.
Now, here’s Baby Meryl Streep silently showing her love for the Beatles.
See you next Tuesd—I mean, next year.
Where women glow and men plunder
Posted by Jeff on Oct 11th, 2023 in News | 0 commentsI made it. I made it to Oz.
The land of Jacko and Yahoo Serious and bigger knives than yours.
If you have friends on the east or west coasts, tell them to get themselves to one of my events with Paul R. Kohn:
Let’s hope I get to meet Skippy:
G’day luv.
Quoth the Artsy Raven: “Listen more.”
Posted by Jeff on Oct 7th, 2023 in News | 0 commentsSeptember was a bonkers month, and October is already set to be bonkerser.
Albuquerque was fantastic, but Vancouver and Lethbridge… seemed like a much more fun idea back in May. I’m never zigzagging across the country like that again, over a couple of weekends, just to sell a handful of books. I’m not saying I regret it, but I’m never doing it again. (At least not on my own dime.) Way too stressful and expensive. If I’d had more vacation days available, I would’ve just stayed out west the whole time like a sensible person. But such was not to be, Cherie.
You may already know what’s coming next week, and I’ll post about that later.
In the meantime…
I’m featured in the latest episode of the podcast The Artsy Raven.
Watch JF Garrard’s interview with me here:
You can also listen to the episode on Spotify:
(Note: the interview was back in June or so. Since then, I have successfully joined Instagram and have also attempted stand-up comedy.)
Stay tuned. More to come.
In the meantime… if you thought you were hallucinating that The Great Space Coaster had actually once existed, here it is. (For those who’ve never heard of the show, it was sort of Sesame Street with laugh tracks.
Farewell for now.
Dis time, I ain’t takin’ dat left toyn at all…
Posted by Jeff on Sep 8th, 2023 in News | 0 commentsBusy, busy month. And getting busier next month.
This weekend, I’m heading to Albuquerque… but not going to take the left turn, nor am I going straight. I’m going to break the Bugs Bunny rule and stay where I am. Because I’ll be featuring at the New Mexico Poetry Summit, alongside these fine folks:
I get a fifteen-minute live set on the Saturday morning, at a spot called Tortuga Gallery. The festival includes an open mic and other cool events, all organized by Marissa Prada.
Visit the Read or Green Books website for more information.
But wait, there’s more!
The following weekend, catch me at Word Vancouver, selling both hardcover and paperback copies of my novel Hate Story.
And that’s not all!
The weekend after that, you can also catch me at Word on the Street Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta, doing the same.
I’ll leave you with a bit of Walt. (Not Whitman.)
The Limes of August
Posted by Jeff on Aug 8th, 2023 in News | 0 commentsSo my appearance at Indie Author Book Expo North turned out to be a lie.
The event happened as planned, of course… but I wasn’t there. Because the flight to Timmins was cancelled.
I got a refund from the airline immediately. But I’m still disappointed. I think Porter should go to Timmins and make everybody there buy my book. That would be fair, wouldn’t it?
But never mind. I’m doing another out-of-town literary event at the end of this month, and I won’t need any plane fare or accommodations for this one. I don’t even have to leave my computer.
Because I’m featuring in this… only on Zoom:
Part of this ongoing lineup of August features:
I’ll read for fifteen minutes, followed by an open mic, so bring a poem of your own to share.
More info, including the Zoom link, right here.
And stayed tuned for some actual travel in the coming months. If the airlines can be trusted.
Vancouver, Alberta, Australia and more await…
May you all one day find the joy that Jacko finds in Energizer batteries.