True North Issue 6 November 2023: A Touch Of Magic
My monthly newsletter where we talk all things bookish and everything in-between
Pour lire ce numéro en français, cliquez ici.
Hi book friends!
I finally got to travel and attend a couple of events this month. I visited Ottawa for the first time and it felt nice to see the capital city of my home country. here you can see my very happy face beside the clock tower.
I’ve been missing travelling around and I surely hope I can do more of that next year in 2024. I attended CanCon, where I listened to interesting panels on the SF scene, but also learned more about traditional publishing. I also got to know some passionate people who waltz between the English and French literary circles. It was really interesting to see this bilingualism in action, something that's not very common in Quebec.
In the meantime, I also went to Montreal where I attended the Congrès Boréal, a niche sci-fi and fantasy writers’ festival. I met so many amazing people there and felt that community vibe all weekend. It was also special because we launched the latest issue of a sci-fi & fantasy magazine called Brins d’éternité, which promotes Quebec and French writers. It was a lot of work but I’m glad we could complete the project in time for the festival.
In fact, I am very excited about what is to come with the magazine (more about that in an upcoming issue of True North! or at least, once things get settled).
I got my hands on some pretty nice hardcover books, too.
I couldn’t resist when I visited the Indigo bookstore in Ottawa. Meet my Indigo exclusive edition of…
I’ve been wanting to read Cassandra Clare in like forever and her latest book really drew me in since it’s not part of the Shadowhunter universe (hope I’m not wrong on this one!). I’m really looking forward to reading this book, but even more so with this next book which I preordered a year ago.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know by now that I’m a huge fan of Stephanie Garber’s romantasy books (I know, it’s not sci-fi, but still!). A Curse For True Love finally came out and I just got it in the mail. I’m tempted to pause the 4 books I’m reading right now, but I’m a very responsible person — am I? —, so I will finish those books first, before delving into ACFTL. Actually, I’d like to reread the entire Once Upon A Broken Heart series before reading the final instalment which is a good excuse for putting off reading ACFTL.
Promised Land Rewrite Update
I managed to write 2 new and very important scenes which add up to 11k words. I’m also much clearer about the main character arc. I have 3 more new scenes ready to be written, and then I can go back to editing the rest, including working more on the second POV.
All is well! So far, my new approach seems to be working.
Swimming Lessons & All Things Rollerblading
I can float by myself and I can do the crawl across a few meters! I also feel more comfortable in the water, meaning I don’t feel like a Kraken is about to swallow me alive. Now it really just comes down to practice, practice, and more practice. I might go to the pool outside class just to get more practice without feeling pressured to perform in front of the group.
Snow is coming soon and I went for a last rollerblading ride. I can now cross intersections and skate over small curbs, which is a feat in itself. This is what always tripped me up, sending me to the ground (I’m still recovering from a massive bruise!). I have enough confidence in my skating skills now to ignore my fear of falling headfirst and to simply skate over curbs, but also to skate with more people around.
Now, moving onto ice skating. I just received my pair, which will again be a lot of fun to learn. I really feel like I’m catching up on years of childhood lost. But I believe that when you fall, you get up and keep going.
The Ark-Hives Report 002 - Bonus Content
VJ comes back with their latest report: Want To Snatch A Thousand-Year-Old Grimoire To Impress Your Fiancée? No Problem!
This report is much longer than the previous one and I think you will enjoy it very much if you haven’t already read it. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you will, too.
If there are any aspects of the series you would like to know more about, you can leave a comment here or send me an email. I’ll pass on the message to V.J. to see if they can look into that. 🥸
*You can expect the monthly bonus content to be exclusively available to paid subscribers around 2-4 weeks after the end of the month. This may change in the future as I have more content on Substack.
What’s Next?
My main focus for November will be first to rewrite Promised Land as part of NaNoWriMo 2023. I’m totally fine with having edited 50k words by the end of the month because I sorely need to see progress on this project. For this to happen, I’ll definitely need to get back to my writing routine which is to consistently sit down at my desk and write first thing in the morning before the daily grind kicks in. Fighting procrastination is a lot of work, but it’s so rewarding when I win the fight.
November will be yet another busy month as I will be attending a few events such as the First Nations Book Fair, where I’m hoping I can familiarize myself with Canadian aboriginal voices. There will also be the Montreal Book Fair which is a pretty big event coming up by the end of May. If you’re around, you can drop by and say hi by the Editions Alire stand. Bring your book and I’ll happily sign it for you (or you can buy it from me!). I'll have a few copies in hand.
Meanwhile, I’ll be working in the background on a business plan to launch my publishing house next year so I can publish other authors. It’s a big dream of mine that I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I’m looking into taking part in an entrepreneur mentorship program, which would give me the extra push I need to make things happen and establish a sustainable business, so that I can permanently stay away from a day job (isn’t it everyone’s deepest desire?).
Thank you for supporting me and my work. Please share this blog with your friends who might be interested so we can grow our community.
Happy reading!
Dave Dufour a.k.a David M. Snow
It’s already the end of the Monthly Issue of True North. Here are a few things you don’t want to miss:
Download your free digital copy of Flower of Memory, the prequel novella to the Amaranth series, a sci-fi dystopian story with a touch of fantasy, for a limited time. Ideal for fans of Hugh Howey’s Silo and The Last of Us.
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