In Folly of Praise

I am what could be termed a ‘negative Nelly.’ Praise is pretty much lost on me (though greatly appreciated), while one negative comment is fodder for weeks of dwelling, mulling, moping, and other unpleasant-sounding gerunds.*

Which is why I haven’t updated in a while, even though there have been quite a few cool developments. An ugly situation at work has sidetracked me. Without going into detail, I’ll briefly vent before moving on to the good stuff.

A few weeks ago I had a student approach me outside of the school. He was worried, on my behalf, because he’d learned another student was planning on lodging a complaint against me. I reassured the student that I’d be fine, that the complainant had a history of exaggeration and prevarication that admin wasn’t likely to ignore…and then over the next few weeks I watched as everything this student informed me about came to pass, leading to one of the most negative experiences of my teaching career.

I care a lot about my students. I want them to walk away from my class better writers, or at the very least, aware of what they have to do to become better writers. To have that commitment questioned was very hurtful. To have the complainant’s interpretation of events taken as truth, and my own side of things ignored, well, it sucked ass.

I have a lot to learn as a teacher, and I absolutely could have handled things better. No buts about it. I do believe that in this case, I’m more sinned against than sinning.

Oh well. Better people than myself go through worse all the time. Dostoevsky was marched blindfolded to a mock-execution for his involvement with the Petrashevsky Circle. I have nothing to complain about. And at least now I can say that my classroom has been compared unfavourably to Stalin-era Singapore.

Moving on: 

The Arthur Ellis Awards shortlist is out, and my story “The Third Echo” was nominated for a Short Story Arthur. This is exciting! The shortlist event was a terrific experience. I got to hang with Robin Spano, Dietrich Kalties, Don Hauka and E.R. Brown. E.R. was also nominated for an Edgar for his Vancouver novel “Almost Criminal,” sharing the nomination pool with Stephen King, among others. Pretty exciting stuff.

I also got a nice email from the agent of a very famous author, praising “Snow Fall,” which appeared in Yellow Mama. That was badass, and meant a lot to me.

Finally, I’ll be joining Robin, Dietrich and E.R. in an event called “Noir at the Bar” on June 10th at the Irish Heather’s Shebeen Whiskey Room in Vancouver. Details to follow.

Other than that…I’ve been doing research for my next book, reading up on alternative religious movements. I’m excited to get started on the first draft—when I’m not writing, I’m not at my best. I’m also planning out the Last of the Independents book launch, looking for venues, comparing prices…good problems to have, as my friend Mercy would say.

Thanks for reading this.

 

*Participles?