Twisted Tails 2 Is Out

Yep, I just have one story in this one.

It's Twisted Tails 2: Time On Our Hands. I co-wrote the story with a Nova Scotia writer, Ann Dulhanty. It's a weird story (what did you expect?) about a guy who has tinnitus ... what you might call Speculative Healthcare Fiction. He gets into a really big fight with himself ... in the present ... in the past. The story takes place somewhere between puberty and the Big Splat. You can get the ebook at Double Dragon Publishing.

The Spring Forward Crawl for Culture, Enlightenment and the Search for the Almighty Beer Bubble

It was a night like no other in the tiny burg of Freddie Beach, home of the Dead in Denial and Last frontier of the Anti-Bikini Brigade. It was a Friday night. It was a night of sound weather and sunny beginnings. It was the night of the Spring Forward Reading Crawl through the innards of downtown Freddie Beach.

It started at Westminister Books with readings by Mark Jarman, Karen Soltie, and Whitefeather. It crawled belly to the sidewalk to Read's Newstand to hear the wailing of Jesse Ferguson, Matt Leslie and Biff Mitchell. Then, it twitched and turned past storefronts and traffic to That Place That Used To Be The Taproom But Is Now Named Something Else for ramblings and rantings from Eric Hill, Katie Brown, John Heinstein, Matte Robinson, and Andrew Titus.

There was music and beer, great poetry and great prose, music from Matte and Kora of VETCH ... with an impromptu harmonica jam with Mark Jarman. And it was all for a good cause ... to promote the Maritime Writers' Workshop and Literary Festival.

And to give birth to The Blacktop Motorcycle Gang.

Stay tuned.

Old Skull in The Danforth Review

Andrew "Old Skull" Titus - one of the front line archangels in the attack on everything that Freddy Beachburg used to be, like, retirement settlement for the already dead - has just been interviewed and by Danforth Review.

If you don't read it, you'll die.

If you missed the first opportunity, click here to stay alive.

OK, so you don't read interviews. Fine. Fuck you. But you still don't want to die. Hey, who does? Not me. That's why I bought a copy of Old Skull's Sweet Mother Prophesy. If you read this book, you won't die. Ever. I read it and, guess what? I'm still alive. And I should be dead. I'm old enough to be dead. But Sweet Mother Prophesy saved me! Yes, I can walk again! I can smell the butter on the popcorn! I can look my psychotic 200 pound gay cat Pico straight in the eye and say: "Wazzup?" and then blog about it.

So ... looking for a cure for death? Read Sweet Mother Prophesy. Click right here, and order it now.

Don't die needlessly. Nobody needs that. Order the book. Live. Read the interview. It's all about staying alive. And Punk. And Jazz. And stuff.

Why are you still reading this? Why haven't you clicked to the interview or Amazon? Do you see that shape over your head? That's an archangel, one of Old Skull's friends, about to chop your noggin into burrito paste. Go here or here.

First Day of Spring in At the Edge of the World

OK, so the First Day of Spring was on Tuesday and this is Thursday. But ... just look at this for a First Day of Spring ... I mean ... my head's still reeling. I'm still drying my socks, shaking flakes out my ears and putting the sandals and shorts back in moth balls. I'm from Toronto. When I was a kid two thousand years ago, we had sunny skies and green grass this time of year. We used to cook eggs on the sidewalk Easter Sunday. Crabs in Lake Ontario didn't have fur. I figured I'd be cruising the trails on my bike by now, running barefoot at the lake, fraternizing with rabbits and squirrels in the woods.

So, like, I'm still in shock - some might say since the sixties - and I really really really hate snow, winter, cold and those fucking long dark winter nights.

So if you don't like getting this First Day of Spring picture two days after the First Day of Spring, then don't bloody well look at it.

An Interview with the Founders of inFredericton

(NOTE: The following interview is with the founders of inFredericton, an online site covering news and events in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Here’s founder #1, Sean Sullivan:

Here’s founder #2, Pat Reinartz:

Biff: How did the two of you come up with the idea for inFredericton?

Pat: It was really Sean who initiated the concept, so he might be the better person to ask. Generally though, our approach was inspired by other news sites in larger city centers. The question was: could we get enough grassroots support in a smaller city, like Fredericton, to update the site with new, local content every day? From a cultural perspective, I think we’ve shown that Fredericton definitely does have a lot more going for it than people sometimes give it credit for, and I find that very satisfying. We want to present Fredericton as a living, growing entity and engage people in aspects of their community that they might otherwise be blind towards.

Biff: How did you come up with the name?

Sean: One of our goals is to engage people in Fredericton with the community; to show that, despite what some may think, this is an active city with interesting people and a vibrant arts & culture scene. 'inFredericton' conveys what the website is about, namely, anything in Fredericton.

Biff: What’s the purpose of the site? Or … what gap does inFredericton fill?

Pat: I don’t think there’s any other site in Fredericton right now that does quite the same thing as us. Fredericton’s dominant media is still mostly on paper, and only in recent years have I started to really see online activity flourish. It seemed like the timing was right for this type of site. What we offer is daily information about the city in a concise, accessible, and fun format. Some people have mistakenly assumed that we’re in competition with other Fredericton media, but that’s not really what we’re about. We’re linking to other sites as much as we’re creating our own content and I think that’s good for everyone involved. We’re not afraid to give credit where it’s due. Above all, we simply want people to take an interest in the things going on in their own backyards.

Biff: Why did you pick a blog format?

Sean: Simplicity. It's a format our readership knows well and interacts with every day: new things at the top, older ones at the bottom. It's also suited to the sort of up-to-the-minute posts that make up the core of inFredericton.

Biff: Is Sean telling the truth?

Pat: Probably. He’s usually good about things like that.

Biff: How many people started out with this project and how many are aboard now? Can you talk about them a little?

Sean: We have a handful of very enthusiastic people involved in the site, though we're still looking for volunteers to help out. Our current contributors are talented students and graduates of St. Thomas University or the University of New Brunswick, with backgrounds in writing and photography.

Biff: Where do you get your content?

Pat: Just about anywhere, really. When we started out, the two of us simply did a lot of reading and researching to find interesting things to write about. You’ll notice that most articles include links to other source materials and often those are the sites where we first came across a story or event. More recently we’ve also had several contributors supply story ideas and we’ve begun receiving more tips from the community. Anyone is encouraged to let us know about news and events as they happen, even if you read it elsewhere on the web. We’re just happy to point our readers in the direction of these things.

Biff: Do you have any plans to use the site to generate revenue? What would you do with the money?

Sean: The folks involved with inFredericton are volunteers, putting in time for a variety of reasons, be it a love of journalism or a wish to contribute to and make a difference in the community. In the long-term we aim to generate enough revenue to be self-sufficient, but for now we're all volunteering our time.

Biff: What’s the biggest story you’ve covered so far?

Pat: My beat is arts and culture events, so I don’t so much “cover stories” as I draw mini portraits of people and places. Where the site is still so young, I have yet to “break” anything large in a news sense. I hope that readers will find more value in the sum all of the smaller stories we cover: the little things that AREN’T already covered by other media. We’ve recently started focusing on developing more exclusive content, so you’ll be seeing more “stories” in the near future. That said, we received some great feedback on artist interviews, such as with On Vinyl for their ECMA nomination or DJ Bones for his first foray into Fredericton. Biff: What's your background?

Sean: Much of my experience is in student media. I've worked as editor-in-chief to two large student/commmunity newspapers, and as president of a national student journalism cooperative, Canadian University Press. I've also contributed articles to the Telegraph-Journal, and was published in a variety of national newspapers and online portals while working as a reporter for The Canadian Press.

Biff: And your background, Pat?

Pat: I’m a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English and additional credit in Creative Writing. I worked for the Canadian University Press Arts Bureau for a year and also for three years on the editorial board of The Brunswickan (UNB’s student paper). Outside of that, I work as an editor and content coordinator for a Fredericton software company and perform solo electronic music under the name The Trick.

Biff: Do you have any idea how many readers you have? Is your readership growing?

Sean: We've noticed a growth in visitors every week since the website went public in January; and happily, the people who visit the site seem to be sticking around and checking it every day or two.

Biff: Have you received any feedback from your readers?

Pat: Yes, and there’s more of it every week. We love when readers leave comments on the articles, just so we know who’s taking an interest. Our goal is to foster discussion in the community, so the more feedback, the better. Most of what we’ve heard so far has been very positive, but we’d also like to hear constructive thoughts about where we need to step things up. We’re a young and growing site and unless people tell us, we can’t know what people want to see on the site.

Biff: Where do you picture inFredericton a year from now?

Sean: In a year I'd hope the site is a must-visit each morning for people in Fredericton: to get a handle on the day's news, see what's happening in the community, and plan their evenings and nights out. We're filling a niche here in Fredericton; the newspapers and radio stations aren't catering to the online crowd, which is made up of thousands of students and workers who are glued to computer screens for much of the day. We hope we're the alternative that people in Fredericton have been looking for.

Biff: Anything you’d like to add?

Pat: Not specifically. Just that we appreciate everyone’s comments, tips, and contributions. At this point in time, the site is very much a labor of love, so it’s gratifying to know that people are finding it valuable.

Ingrid Mueller - Force of Culture

Ingrid Mueller is fast emerging as a cultural force in Fredericton. The city is normally a staunchly unprogressive city that, for many years had a rich cultural past, but chalked up nil in the what’s-goin’-on-today department.

But this is changing, and people like Ingrid are breathing life into the empty lungs of the city’s arts community. Famous for her gala exhibition openings where … get this … people actually show up … lots of them … Ingrid moves through her crowds introducing people and making connections that promise to flourish into new projects and new directions in the community.

Yesterday was no exception. Ingrid held a show for Fredericton photographer Joshua Slade at The Blue Door on Regent and King.

The place was packed with artists, writers, journalists, poets, photographers, sculptors … and energy, the kind of energy that’s been so lacking in the arts in this town for so long. And on this particular occasion, Ingrid suggested that myself and some of the town’s emerging writers come to her gallery on York Street, Art+Concepts, and do some readings.

I just got off the phone with Old Skull (another force in the city’s emerging arts scene) and we’re going to take you up on that offer, Ingrid. It will be a reading the likes of which has never been seen before.

BTW,Joshua was overheard saying to Romanian poet Mihaela Ulieru about his art, "I consider 'why', and this is what comes to mind: photography represents a longing for something, a wholeness which does not actually exist. To take a picture is to move away from reason, to think with other means; it is a way to perspective. Photography is a tool, and I have found none better."

Coming next ... inFredericton.

Coming soon ... the March 23 readings.

Coming after that ... the 12 Hour Read-a-thon.

An Interview with Rita Toews, Founder of Read an eBook Week

March 4-10 is Read an eBook Week, and biffmitchell.blog is proud to present an interview with the woman who started it all ... Rita Toews.

You had the idea of starting Read and eBook Week and had it listed with Chase’s Calendar of Events. What prompted you to do this? And what is the purpose of the event?

My idea for starting Read An eBook Week came from the fact that electronic reading was a worthy emerging format for books and it was, in my mind, under attack from traditional book publishers. The Frankfurt Book Fair had tried to honor the best of ebooks but it had been swamped with ebooks rushed to production and submitted by traditional publishers. Once the event was over, many of the books were never made available for sale. Several ebook readers had been brought to market, but the companies were bought out and shut down. It seemed a concerted attack on the new reading medium.

What was needed was a way to educate the reading public to what ebooks were, their benefits, and the various ways they could be read. I felt that if the general population was introduced to ebooks the demand for the material would overcome the efforts in force to wipe it out.

Do you think the event has been successful in promoting ebooks?

It has been a success in that ebooks have not disappeared. In fact, many traditional publishers have started to release their material in both print format and electronic format. They understand the new format and realize the two can co-exist quite well. One offers an advantage that the other doesn't.

Has the event grown in popularity over the years? What kinds of events have been held?

I think more people are aware of the event each year - just as more people have become familiar with ebooks. Publishers of ebooks conduct sales of the product, authors promote their books with appearances and readings. Displays are put up in libraries.

What I would like to see is more authors using the event to promote themselves, and in the process ebooks get promoted. With the week being registered with Chase's Calendar of Events it becomes "official". Authors then have more authority to promote the event by approaching media outlets and asking for interviews and/or guest appearances on television or radio show. It's their event to use as they wish - not just for ebooks, but themselves as well.

Let’s talk about ebooks in general. Do you think that the popularity of ebooks has increased in recent years? If so, why?

Definitely! eBooks sales have grown tremendously.

When we speak of ebooks, we need to realize that the word doesn't just mean books read for pleasure. There's hardly a product produced today that doesn't have an electronic manual to cover it. I know several doctors who carry their pharmacology reference manuals on their Palm Pilots or Blackberrys. The Bible is one of the most downloaded books on the Internet.

The public is also becoming more aware of the ways to read ebooks for pleasure. New advances in technology, particularly the advent of e-ink, have made reading on a portable device more comfortable. Sony's new portable reader has been a hit. For a good comparison of readers, click here.

It's quite common today to see commuters reading on their hand held devices and travelers love the fact that several books can be brought along on a business trip or holiday in one small device.

Why were they so slow in catching on?

Several problems plagued the early ebook industry. Developers rushed to corner the market and produced readers with proprietary formats. There was rivalry and a lack of consensus on the best way to package, sell, or read ebooks. As a result, numerous ebook formats emerged and proliferated, some supported by major software companies (like Adobe's PDF format), and others supported by independent and open-source programmers. The readers were expensive and had a short battery life. As the industry matured those problems have largely been overcome.

Are there still any obstacles to ebooks being even more accepted as a valid publishing medium?

The final breakthrough for ebooks will be a low cost reader with a long battery life and a comfortable reading experience. Each new generation of reader comes one step closer to that ultimate device.

The experience of purchasing an item on-line and downloading it to a reading device is still daunting to many people. As they become more comfortable with their computers and readers that anxiety will fade. Also, the majority of book readers today grew up with a love affair for paper. They speak of the feel of paper, the scent of the ink and the weight of a book in their hands. The next generation of readers grew up using a computer at school and at home. They are more willing to embrace the experience of reading on a screen. Give them a few more years until they buy their own books and ebook purchases will explode.

What are the real benefits of ebooks? Any drawbacks?

There are many benefits to ebooks. The waste of print publishing is incredible. The majority of books printed today are never read--they end up in landfill sites. Ask a book store owner and they'll tell you that most of the books in their shop are window dressing. Add to that the cost of production, the cost of transportation and storage and you wonder how it can continue. eBooks are the natural answer - no trees are destroyed, no fuel is used in production and transportation, and no facilities are needed for storage.

As the general public becomes more aware of the stress on our environment, they are asking what they can do to minimize their impact. Reading electronic books is one answer.

Another benefit is content. Many ebooks authors are cutting edge. While print publishers can only take a chance on an author that will sell millions, ebook publishers can offer the little-known author with the good story a contract. With ebooks you can find innovative material that doesn't follow the formulaic storylines found in many print published books. Over the years ebook authors have learned to hone their craft so the quality offered rivals that of any print house.

The drawbacks - although the cost to produce an ebook is very low, many print houses still charge as much for the electronic version as they do for the printed copy.

Do you think that ebooks will have a profound effect on the publishing industry?

Maybe not profound, but definitely an impact. They have certainly taken notice and had some sleepless nights. In more than one instance an author released their book in electronic format in defiance of their print publishing house. Where once the print industry ignored electronic rights when purchasing a manuscript, that do longer applies. They now purchase all rights. Many print houses will release the book in print and wait to see how sales progress, then release the ebook if they feel there will be a market. Check out the major print publisher's websites and you'll see they are experimenting with online stores, secure selling methods and pricing models, trying to figure out how to establish themselves in the ebook market.

Are there any particular areas where ebooks are more popular than others (i.e, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comics, etc.)?

The genres of science fiction and romance have become quite popular in electronic format. Science fiction was a natural since it generally deals with future technology. At first glance romance seems a curious choice but as my friend, Steve Jordan, put it: "Romance novels are perfect for ebooks since the genre is considered a "guilty pleasure" by most of the public, due to its oft-ridiculed and notoriously salacious content. eBook romances are easy to shop for and buy from the privacy of your home, and just as easy to read without revealing your guilty pleasure to others."

I heard that Biff Mitchell almost ended Read an eBook Week in 2005 by being a complete dork. Is this true?

That's not the way I remember it! I was out of the country that year and Mr. Mitchell kindly stepped in to rescue the event. My eternal thanks, Biff!

For more about Read an eBook Week, check out the website.

The Oscar Pool Party 2007

Every year, on Oscar night, my old buddy Spike (story below) and this beautiful and charming wife, Hope, and the equally beautiful and charming, Amanda, open their home to movie freaks and strange apparitions. It's the Oscar Pool Party, a night of nail-biting tension as the results roll in and the likes of Brad Parks, Norm Foster, Shawn Rogers, Ann LeBlanc and a host of other contenders vie for the honor of out-guessing the insanity of the Academy.

The voting is done online through a by-invitation-only website that has grown from a voting booth to an elaborate entertainment medium with games, articles and pointers on how to outsmart the Academy and pick the winners.

The party, as you can see ...

... is fun-filled and glamorous. The food, prepared by the beautiful and talented mother-daughter team of Hope and Amanda, is a feast of culinary splender. The wine, the beer, and the Champagne flow freely and profusely. After all, everybody wants to be first in line to thwart the Academy, but only one will prevail. This year, it was Antoinette Duplessis. She received many death threats from the other top nine contenders and is currently on vacation somewhere far away from telephones.

In an astonishing reversal of fortune, I didn't finish dead last. In a field of over a hundred voters, I ended in a four-way tie for 35th place. Not bad for someone who saw just two of the movies.

Twisted Tails: The Trailer

Oscar Winners ... bow out! It's the Age of the Trailer. And not just for movies, but for books and music and anything that deserves to have its message heard ... and seen.

And the winner is ...

Twisted Tails: The Trailer.

And if you want to know why the Academy should pay more attention to trailers, click here, and scroll down, down, down.

First Readers Comment About From Hollywood Experts and Published Authors: Words of Wisdom for Starving Artists

"I've listened to the intro, The Bandlow's, & Jo Kelly's insider information so far, but there's so much, I'm thinking of writing myself a quiz so I can get it all into my mind. There's so much in there, and it's written with authority and energy in it. I know that I needed the encouragement in that book. It was better than therapy!"

From Erica Flint Wells on
From Hollywood Experts and Published Authors: Words of Wisdom for Starving Artists

#16 best-selling rank out of Double Dragon Publishing's 466 titles

#5 best-selling title out of 655 "Self-Improvement" titles at Fictionwise

BTW, you might want to check out Chapter 7: A Very Brief Memoir of the 2006 Maritime Writers' Workshop and Literary Festival - From a Survivor by Biff Mitchell