Born of Fire

The room was sweltering hot.  Fire everywhere.  It poured from torches set into the stone and painted the walls with orange light.  The low ceiling forced Usher to bend and crouch as he checked on his mate.  The beautiful Sabina lay naked on the...

A Dark Rollercoaster

This year has been a dark rollercoaster for me, as I’m sure it has been for many of you.  There have been moments of joy and connection for sure, but there has also been extreme sadness and fear. And before I go on, I think it only fair to say I’m going to get...

The Monsters of Our Imagination

On a cold drizzly day in November, I spent a warm hour, exploring the exhibit De monstris: An Exhibition of Monsters and the Wonders of Human Imagination, at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto.  The exhibit explored the concept of ‘monster’ as it has...

Malcolm

The snow was fresh and crisp under Malcolm’s feet, and he revelled in the crunch it made as his boots descended. It was deep, almost to his knees, and the journey would take many hours, but he had been entrusted with an important task and would not be deterred. Mother...

Turning Around A Craptastic Day

Last Thursday started as an epically craptastic day. It was the culmination of several hellish days all converging in a big ball of epic hellfire.  The previous Saturday, so five days before the craptastic day, I came home to find a piece of paper shoved into the...