Richard Harris's Blog, page 60

I’m Going Home!

Saturday night, the ice storm landed in Toronto and cut the power at my home in the east end, one of the hardest-hit areas of the city. Freezing, I awoke to pitch darkness. Then I went outside and witnessed pure, unbridled destruction all over the place: icy streets filled with fallen trees, damaged property and smashed vehicles.

On my way to the “office” early Sunday morning, the streets ghostly empty, I witnessed two trees fall in my vicinity. Power lines were down everywhere you looked. Street lights weren’t working. Fire engines and ambulances were the only sound you heard. Oh, and the parking idiot was handing out tickets along the Danforth during my walk. Seriously, the city is in chaos and emergency vehicles are speeding around trying to save people and we’re still handing out parking tickets. It was no different with the floods this past summer. My friend Joel will appreciate that one more than most.

If you want to see some images from the ice storm, you can click here.

Anyway, I’m finally going home tomorrow! Two days in a hotel with others who all share stories about their upturned lives at this special time of year.

I went to bed early Saturday night and got the shock of a lifetime when I awoke. But I’m returning home shortly and grateful that I have at least this much. Sometimes you need a massive dose of utter madness to remind you of all the wonderful things you do have in your life. And what better time than for December 24, the night before Christmas.

Happy holidays to all and merry Christmas.

Why You Should Have Your Heart Broken into a Million Little Pieces

Apropos of nothing, Drew Hoolhorst over at Why you should penned an amazing piece on love and the joy/wonder/frustration/pain of having your heart broken into a million little pieces. It’s a fantastic read and will make you laugh and smile at the same time. Click here to read the post.

Kindle Mania: AFS on the Cheap

Who doesn’t have ninety-nine cents? Even I can rub together 99 pennies! Beginning December 3, and lasting until December 6, get an e-version of A Father’s Son on your Kindle or Kindle app not for the regular price of $9.99, but starting from a mere $0.99 as of today! If you have a Kindle/Kindle app, or know someone who does, spread the word. It’s a limited time offer to celebrate the festive holiday season. As always, happy reading!

Christmas Comes Early!

On November 30 and December 1, Book City on the Danforth (348 Danfroth) will be giving away free copies of A Father’s Son to people who make purchases of $100 or more. Get your book shopping done early this year and score a free novel in the process.

I’m also giving away 5 copies of A Father’s Son on goodreads.com from November 30 to December 6. Click here to enter for free.

Finally, I’m taking advantage of a new program on Kindle and offering e-readers a copy of my novel from as little as $0.99 as of midnight on December 3 and lasting until December 6.

Happy reading and happy holidays to everyone!

Two Meditative Short Stories

  

In today’s hyper-driven, ME! ME! ME! everyone-must-be-happy-all-the-time culture, many of us don’t set aside the time to think about some of life’s weightier issues. Fervour of Spirit is a meditative piece on life and loss, death and sadness, art and beauty — all of which was very much inspired by the works of Wassily Kandinsky. In God on Trial, I do precisely that, in as short a story as possible: Was God responsible for the atrocities of 9/11?

If the reading’s too heavy, come back to it. Please. I urge you to consider these things which are of paramount importance in our lives, even if we don’t want to discuss them with others. And therein lies the beauty of literature. It’s a singular experience where you get to do it on your own, without anyone telling you what to think or say or do…

Just read.

 

Two More Short Stories

Click here to read a satirical approach to the post-9/11 concept of “terrorism” in Everybody’s Dictionary. Then you can click here to read a short story about conspiracy theories, ranging from the Romans, Alfred Dreyfus and China to Unit 731, opium and President Bush’s grandfather, in Conspiracy. Happy reading!

More Free Copies of A Father’s Son Available

Judith over at Leeswammes’ Blog has got a Literary Giveaway Blog Hop underway. Aside from being a voracious reader, she’s an awesome blogger who reviews more books than Carter has pills. And now she’s giving away two copies of A Father’s Son, which she reviewed  in September.

Click here to visit her blog and enter the contest for a free signed copy of my novel – sent to you wherever in the world you may find yourself -and then take some time to see what else she’s reviewed, as her taste in literature is about as eclectic as they come.

Goodreads Giveaway!

Who doesn’t like free stuff? Well, from November 3-10, I’m giving away three copies of A Father’s Son for free. That’s right, folks! You heard it here first. FREE! Just click here and then click on the “Enter to win” tab when you’re on the site. At the end of next week, three winners will be chosen randomly by goodreads.com. Then I’ll send out a signed copy to each winner. Good luck!

More Short Stories!

I’ve just posted my two latest short stories on Wattpad. To check out the one taking a satirical look at the publishing world (and dedicated to all editors and agents), click here for A Novel Idea. For word lovers and Scrabble freaks, click here to read . Happy reading, and don’t forget to vote if you enjoy the story!

 

Wattpad: Home of the Hottest New Short Stories

Wattpad is a Canadian-based site that’s awesome for readers, especially those who like short stories and poetry. Although it’s been around since 2006, it’s really picked up steam in the last couple of years (Margaret Atwood is now on board for a set of poetry awards called the “Attys”). You can post as often or infrequently as you like, create your own cover art (or upload originals) and interact with millions of fellow readers/writers.

I’ve recently started to post my short stories on Wattpad and will continue to add one story a week for the next few months. Click here to see my latest entry, “Men Gone Mad,” or click here to see my first short story, “The Language of Love.” If you like a story, please vote for it by clicking on the star icon in the  upper right-hand corner.

Happy reading!