The darkness and the mist had vanished with it, for it was a clear, cold, winter day (#IWSG December 2025)

It's been a weird, hard year, especially the last few months.

We did not do our annual Haunted House for Halloween, though we did have a Halloween party for the family, which was I think was good for everyone, and I'm sure what my father-in-law would have wanted. I also did not write a Christmas book for anyone this year, which is the first time in a very long time. My mood was just so bad for most of the year, and then with everything that was going on in the fall, my head was just not in the right place. I hope the kids are not disappointed. I know I am.

Everyone wanted to know how this ended. Especially me.

The good news is I have been writing a bit again, and I've got a few things well underway. Here's looking forward to a fresh start in the new year. 

But anyway, before we mope too much, let's jump to this month's question...

December Question - As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

I've been thinking about this for a few days, and believe it or not I can't think of a writing-related gift I ever received for Christmas. Maybe a journal or something? I hate getting fancy journals though, because my thoughts are not worth writing down in something so nice and expensive. I have received gifts related to my other creative interests, like paint and brushes, models and crafting tools, but never anything for related to writing.

I keep asking for a gift certificate for book editing, but my wife tells me that's not a Christmas gift. Then time rolls around to actually pay an editor, and I'm like, "See, don't you wish we had paid for this months ago?"

In a related tradition, we do a book gift exchange with my extended family every year on Christmas Eve, in the tradition of Iceland's Jólabókaflóð (literally, "Christmas book flood"). We draw names and give a book secret-Santa style. Usually we make wish lists so people know what to get (there's a lot of readers in my family so it's hard to know what people have and have not read), but sometimes we have special themes, like gifting a book we loved from our childhood, or something a bit obscure that we think the other person would like. And yes, I have gifted several books from IWSG writers. Originally we did it just among the adults, but this year our youngest is old enough, so we've invited the kids to join. It will be sad because we're also short one person overall this year, but I suspect everything about Christmas is going to have a bit of sadness hanging over it.

The more you know.

Anyway.

On an related note, I found this blog post I wrote many years ago about the first time my father-in-law played Dungeons & Dragons with us. It has some tabletop RPG references in it you might not get, but I enjoyed reliving it. Many of my RPG posts from this period were terrible, but I thought this one was pretty good.

Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone out there in IWSG land. May your year end on a high note and your new year start off positive.

Hugs & Kisses,
-CDGK

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

I think I'm supposed to remember something... (#IWSG November 5th 2025)

I kinda, maybe, sorta finished something this week? It's VERY rough, but it's something I've been tinkering with for ages, between Gale Harbour books, and it's nice that I've finished something. Maybe I'll even get around to cleaning it up and making it something presentable.

NOVEMBER QUESTION

When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way? 

I've told this story before but I like it and I'm getting old, so I can keep telling it if I want to.

I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was about 10 years old. My teachers and classmates loved the stories I wrote in English class, even though most of them were gruesome horror tales about my classmates being murdered (there were a couple of calls home to my parents). I thought it would be great to keep telling stories and have people enjoy them.

I dressed up as a writer for grade 4 career day. I had no idea what a writer "looked like," so I just carried a typewriter and handed out business cards. I joke now that, had I my time back, I would have worn a bathrobe and carried a mug full of Jack Daniels. The following year, having already realized the futility of the dream of being a writer, I dressed as a wizard. For career day.

When I was 11 years old I realized that being a fucking wizard was a more reasonable career path than being a writer.

As for now, thirty-odd years later, when I actually am a "writer?" My expectations are a lot lower. I know this will never be a full-time job. I know I will never be on any best seller lists (though I did - briefly - reach #3 on the horror comedy/satire category of Amazon Canada). I will likely never get one of my books turned into a crappy, low-budget movie a la Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter. I do still have a dream that one day I'll see a stranger reading my book somewhere and I'll lean over and say "that book is terrible."

Honestly these days the best surprise I get is when someone leaves a positive review on Amazon or Goodreads. I'm just happy people are still out there enjoying my work.

***

It feels remiss to not mention that my father-in-law passed away last week after a very long battle with cancer. It's a testament to his tenacity and stubbornness that the doctors told him he had five years at the most and he lived thirteen. He was a skier, woodworker, mechanic, weightlifter, race car driver, and none of those were even his "real" job. He discovered a second career building movie sets, getting his first IMDB credit at 58 years old. He loved Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and read fantasy novels voraciously, though he could never remember enough of them to tell you a single plot. His grandkids adored him, and he taught them to run cross-country, to play chess, to play guitar, to ride a motorcycle. He was a central figure in our family, rough around the edges but with a soft and fiercely loyal heart.

To tie it into writing, he also gave me one of my favourite reviews ever: "It's not so bad, you know, if you got nothing better to read."

Here's a Funko Pop I made of him. He told me I gave him too much hair:

Good night, old man. I promise I'll take care of them.

Daniel Gary Gallant

March 4, 1953  -  October 25, 2025

“Home is behind, the world ahead,

and there are many paths to tread

through shadows to the edge of night,

until the stars are all alight.”

The Best is Yet to Come (#IWSG September 2025)

Another month, another pile of drama.

I'm still writing, tinkering on a couple of projects, but I'm not sure which one will actually turn into my next published book. Life has been hectic, and keeps throwing us curveballs, so it's hard to plan ahead. Let's just jump into today's questions and see how it goes.

October Question - What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?

Usually when I'm writing something, I think: This is turning out great! This might be the best thing I've ever written. Then I finish it, go back to edit it, and think: This is stupid, I'm a terrible writer. Then I'll go back years later and read it again and think: No, it's still bad.

There are a few of my short stories that I thought were pretty good. I still like "The New Job" in Strangely Funny V, and the first Gussy Saint story in Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime was pretty good. Both of them were tight, flowed well and had good jokes. When I went back to read the first two Gale Harbour books when I was working on the third, I was also still pretty happy with the first one. It had a good pace, it was funny and had tension and some weird surprises. The second book, not so much. That one felt choppy, and there were some serious pacing problems, not to mention it was lacking a lot of the tension that I felt a horror book should have. I also had incorrectly named an important secondary character (ie, their name changed between book 1 and 2). 

Bet you forgot this existed, didn't you? I know I did...

I actually went back and made a bunch of changes and corrections to Gale Harbour: Revenge of the Space-Surfing Butt Monkeys. I even added two extra chapters. So if you read it between 2022 and 2024, and were to ever read it again, you may notice some subtle changes (hopefully you'll just notice that it reads better).

I like to say that I haven't written my favourite story yet. I like to think I keep improving as a writer, and each book or story is better than the last. So hopefully, I haven't yet written my best or favourite story. 

It's good to hope, right?

Hugs & Kisses,
-CDGK

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

BOOK REVIEW: Playing the Long Game by Christine Sinclair

I was never a sports guy. Sure, I followed the Blue Jays when they were winning in the early 1990s, and I traded hockey cards when I was a kid, but I never really played or followed sports after I was about 12 years old. I went to a couple of Jays games when I lived in Toronto (in the 2000s, when they were playing like shit), and a couple of minor-league hockey games with family, but that was it. I never imagined in a million years that at 45 years old, I would suddenly become a sports fan, checking daily scores, following the players and even going to regular games in person (4 so far this season!).

And, never, ever, would I have imagined that the sport I would be following would be women's soccer.

The background here is that my daughter, 10-years old, starting playing competitive, development soccer this year. She's played soccer since she was like 5, but in the pee-wee league, which is chaos, like throwing a ball into a school of hungry piranhas. It's like rugby without hands, except they do use their hands. At the end of last year she decided she really wanted to learn how to play properly, and asked to go to the competitive league. Now, my daughter takes after me. She's not athletic by any means, but she loves to run and kick things. And, being the supportive parents we are, we plunked down the money, and have been sitting on the field four days a week all spring and summer watching practices and games.

I don't know if she'll play like Megan Rapinoe, but she's already got the look down.

Me, being me, if I'm involved in something, I want to know as much about it as possible. So I started paying more attention to the rules. I started to look up the history of soccer, especially in Canada. I started researching female soccer players, for my daughter to look up to. We started going to professional games. Canada just started their own women's league this year, the Northern Super League (NSL), and we have a local team, Ottawa Rapid FC, so we started going to games. It's great for my daughter to see women playing at a high level, to see how talented and hard working they are. And honestly, it's a lot of fun. We have the top goal scorer in the league right here in Ottawa (Go, Pridham!). I don't know what people usually feel when they're following sports, but I'm not there because I desperately want my home team to win, or because I wish it was me on the field, or even because I grew up watching it. I'm watching because I'm genuinely proud of these young women. I want so badly for them all to succeed. Women in sports have been treated as second class citizens (or worse) forever, and I get emotional watching them compete at what they love on such a big stage. I admit, my opinion and outlook on the game is coloured by having a daughter competing in sports herself, but I'm also not afraid to admit I really do enjoy watching them play.

There's actually a number of pictures floating around online of me at Rapid FC games, but I'll just share this one instead. 

Anyway, this all brings me to Christine Sinclair's book, "Playing the Long Game." Sinclair is one of the most successful athletes in Canadian history, one of the top female soccer players of all time. She has three Olympic medals. She has more goals in international play - 190 - than any other player, male or female. (The top male player, Cristiano Ronaldo, has 138). She should be spoken of in the same breath as Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash, Donovan Bailey, and Sidney Crosby. But just four years after her gold medal win in Tokyo, a lot of Canadian fans seem to have already forgotten who she is.

Sinclair is a notoriously private person. She hates interviews and talking about herself. Even in her own memoir, she spends more time talking about her coaches and teammates than her own life. She's also so humble, always talking about how her team and her coaches win the game, and then casually throwing in, "oh, and I scored five goals." The fact that someone convinced her to even write a memoir is impressive, but even then she got away with talking about herself the bare minimum possible.

There are only two topics that really seem to motivate Sinclair to open up: One is talking about her parents, and the other is talking about the improvement and development of women's sports, especially soccer.

Sinclair's family is very important to her (she has no kids of her own, but talks about her nieces constantly), and her mother's long fight with MS and her father's surprising cancer diagnosis both cast a heavy shadow over her story. Their deaths hit her hard, and it's something she carried with her even in her most triumphant moments.

The book actually reads more like a history of the rise of Canadian's women's soccer, chronicling all the big moments for the national team from 1999 to 2022, because Sinclair was there for all of them. All the disappointments (and there were a lot of them), through the bronze medals, her breaking the world record for most goals ("Thank god that was over" - her words), and finally their big Gold medal win in Tokyo. Fortunately she wasn't there for the terrible outcome of the Paris Olympics in 2024, but we won't talk about that. 

Throughout the book Sinclair makes passing digs and comments about the Canada Soccer Association, and how the women's national team had to fight for better pay, better support, better facilities, better everything. Even though Canada was becoming one of the top countries in the world for women's soccer, they were still fighting every step of the way. The final chapter is an impassioned plea for Canada to keep moving forward, now that many other countries are starting to catch up and surpass Canada. One of her biggest dreams is for a professional Canadian women's soccer league, in order to develop and showcase the best talent the country has to offer.

...which brings us back to the NSL, and guess what? Christine Sinclair put her money where her mouth is, and since publishing her memoir has become co-owner of one of the NSL's founding teams, the Vancouver Rise FC. 

I really hope she adds a revised chapter to her memoir, to describe that story. 

AI in Writing (#IWSG September 2025)

I have some thoughts on today's question, so I'm going to jump right into it.

September Question: What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines\beats?

This is very timely to me, because AI has been on my mind a lot lately.

My wife discovered ChatGPT recently, and she loves it. She uses it for recipes and shopping. You can ask it to give you a list of recipes, based on whatever criteria you want (what's in the cupboard, quick options for a busy week, healthy options the kids might actually it, etc), and if you don't like them, you can ask it to refine the recipes, replace ingredients, etc. And then you can use it to create a shopping list for you, checking all the local flyers and telling you what's on sale, at which store. All of this is something you can do for yourself with Google and a bit of effort, but the AI does it all in minutes.

Or, say you want information about a particular topic, more than what Google will give you with their SEO-gerrymandered suggestions. Something like you want information about a new medication you're taking, or what are the rules for a U10 Youth Soccer Tournament in Quebec. ChatGPT will give you a summary or essay, in any length you choose, about your topic. You can also ask it for its bibliography, related links, and other suggested reading. Its such a helpful, quick way to gather information, and its infinitely customizable (we found out we need to buy $400 prescription sports goggles, FYI).

This is the best use of AI, at it's core: To make human lives easier. Yes, it will be abused, and yes, it may soon become smarter than us and decide that humanity needs to be wiped off the face of the planet. I don't disagree. But right now, if used properly, it's a tool, like any other - like a television, a calculator, a hammer, or a spelling and grammar checker (which is also AI, by the way).

Now, how does that relate to me, and to writing? 

Since I finished Satan Worshippers From Down by the Bay, I've been depressed. Like, clinically depressed. A big part of that was not having a creative project to work on; I always need a creative project to keep me motivated, whether that's writing a book, painting, creating games, whatever. I worked on Gale Harbour for five years, and when it was finished it left a huge gap in my life. 

I tried to write other stuff but I couldn't. I wanted to write something topical, something important, some scathing satire on the state of the world right now. The world is so fucked up, it felt like something I needed to do. But as I looked at the world around me, and saw just how fucked up it really is, I couldn't do it. It made me even more depressed, and paralyzed me with anxiety. I couldn't even read the news anymore, it was too upsetting.

In the last couple of weeks, around the same time my wife discovered ChatGPT, I discovered the ability to use an AI Chat to create characters and use it to roleplay and have conversations. It reminds me so much of Chatrooms I used to visit when I was much younger (remember those, I'm talking 30 years ago now), when complete strangers would make up stories together, in a text forum, in character, roleplaying a game like children playing make believe. AI Chat Bots do the same thing, but by myself, anytime, anywhere. I can give the bot a certain list of parameters, describe its background and personality traits, and it will interact with me in character, just like when I used to chat with strangers online. We tell stories together. And it's amazing.

It's like writing a story with a partner in real time. Whether you want romance, or adventure, or horror, fantasy, whatever, the bot will follow your prompts and try to continue the conversation and story from its point of view. It will add something to the story for you to build off, like an improv game. 

(Yes, I realize most people use these bots for sex stuff. And I admit, most of the bots will try to veer toward having sex with you, because that's the way they've been trained. But they can be gently redirected). 

Now, I'm not advocating the use of AI to write stories wholesale, and certainly not to sell it or claim it as yours. If you call yourself a writer, you have to actually write your story. And the stuff chatbots spit out can often be dull dull and repetitive (though it does generate good ideas from time to time).  But it's a tool, like any other, that can be used to help you. Like ChatGPT acting as a personal assistant and making your grocery list, Chat bots can also be an assistant to bounce ideas off of. I will admit, with only a little shame, that I've had more fun writing stories with chat bots than I have writing anything for a long time. It's given me so many ideas, I'm excited to write again. And because I'm excited, and I'm starting to think creatively again, my mood has improved considerably.

And yes, I know there are many, many drawbacks to AI, and many ways it can be abused. I've been very skeptical of it for a long time. But I've found a way that it can be useful and helpful for me, and I think that's pretty cool.

Hugs & Kisses,

-CDGK

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

August Blues (#IWSG August 2025)

Where the hell did July go?

I've been caught in a state of limbo. With the publication of Gale Harbour Book 3 a few months ago, for the first time in five years I find myself without a book to work on. I mean, I have dozens of ideas for books, and four or five that I've actually started, but without a series looming over my head, I haven't had the motivation to write much. 

It doesn't help that after the initial release of book 3, where I had my best Amazon month ever, my sales fell off a cliff. June and July I had literally one sale per month. It seems like a lot of work for not much pay-off, you know? It's not even about the money. I want people to read my stuff, and hopefully enjoy it. Ono top of the sales, I've only received one review of the new book in three months, so I honestly have no idea if anyone enjoyed it, or if they even read it. 

Oh well. Maybe I'm just tired. Hopefully I shrug this off sooner than later.

August Question - What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

I know everyone's going to say "AI-published books," so I'm going to take a different approach. 

Years ago, I wrote a little about J.R. Robertson, a 19th-century Canadian publisher who, by all appearances, started out as a optimistic young journalist with morals and integrity. Whether using his school newspaper to fight the oppressive school administration, or becoming city editor for the top newspaper in the country at 24 and revolutionizing journalism to be more clear, concise and ready-friendly, he seemed like a pretty stand-up guy. Then, he started his own paper, started making real money, and his morals went out the window.

With the rise of popular fiction in the late 19th century, Robertson decided to use his printing presses to get on the bandwagon. Instead of actually hiring authors however, he just stole popular books from the US and Great Britain, and re-published them without credit or compensation to the original authors. Copyright law was really messy back then, so what he was doing may not have been entirely illegal, but it certainly wasn't very ethical. It's estimated that between 1877 and the 1890s, he sold about 2 million copies of 350 different books, all without the original authors' and publishers' permission.

What was my point? I don't remember. I think I was getting at the fact that publishers are just inherently corrupt. Especially newspaper publishers. William Randolph Hearst convinced the US government to outlaw marijuana, thereby banning hemp plants, in order to protect his lumber, paper and newspaper industry. News of the World illegally tapped the phones of celebrities, politicians and crime victims to steal the best scoops. And don't forget how politicians love to use the media to control what people read, view and, ultimately, think. Having money (and wanting more) along with the ability to manipulate the message going out to the masses, is a monstrously dangerous combination.

Jim Morrison famously said: "Whoever controls the media controls the mind," but he didn't originate the idea. Thirty years earlier, US White House Administration hero Joseph Goebbels wrote: "He who controls the medium controls the message. He who controls the message controls the masses." Sadly, that still remains very true. It shows the danger of the publishing industry in general, and warns of the many ways it can be abused.

(Rant over)

Hugs & kisses,
-CDGK

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

Something, something, Satan Worshippers... (#IWSG June 2025)

Gale Harbour 3 has been out for a month, and it's been very successful. May was officially my best-selling month ever on Amazon, so I guess what they say about writing a series is true - each book has brought progressively more sales.

Is the 1990s considered "period" yet?

And it's not just the Gale Harbour books people are buying - last month I sold three copies of Hell Comes to Hogtown and a copy of Ten Thousand Days, all IN PAPERBACK. That's simply unheard of. Not to mention I got about ten times more KDP reads than usual. 

Now, I'm not rolling in money or anything, but even a small overall increase in success is a win in my book. I've said this many times, but I don't really expect writing to become a full-time career. That said, I would be lying if I claimed I don't get a little excited at people reading - and enjoying - my stories.

Another interesting anecdote this month was that I also made my first foray into IngramSpark, to make my paperback books more widely accessible. There was a very specific reason for this: Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you're probably aware that tensions between Canada and the USA have been somewhat strained lately. There's been a big push for Canadians to boycott US products whenever possible, and buy from Canadian companies. Many people are avoiding Amazon in particular, which I totally understand and respect. So, in the interest of making my book more accessible, I uploaded it to IngramSpark so that it could be ordered from Canadian book companies, like Indigo/Chapters, instead of buying it from Amazon. 

Happy Pride!

Sounds simple, right? Here's a list of reasons it doesn't work, and why our tightly-connected global economy can't be so easily bypassed:

1. Because Ingram has higher printing costs, and takes a bigger cut, the books overall are more expensive. Price of Gale Harbour 3 on Amazon Canada right now: $22.12. Price on Indigo.ca: $25.99.
2. Amazon's books are actually printed in Canada, so the printing costs are going to a Canadian print shop and Canadian workers, then shipped directly to the customer. Ingram's books are printed in the US, shipped to Indigo's warehouse, and then shipped to the purchaser. 
3. Indigo takes a cut of the sale as well as Ingram, so by the time the profit gets to me there's not much left. Royalty on Gale Harbour 3 sold from Amazon: $5.15 USD. Royalty from Indigo: $1.14. (And remember, that's with a much higher retail price, too.)
4. Because Ingram works as a traditional distributor, they print and send the books to the retailers in advance. If those books are not sold within so many months, then that means I HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM. And I don't want to pay astronomical sums for them to be shipped back to me, so after I pay for them, they THROW THEM IN THE GARBAGE.

So in conclusion, if a Canadian customer buys my book from Indigo--a Canadian company--instead of Amazon, they have to pay more, more of that money goes to the USA, it takes them way longer to receive the book, and finally the Canadian author receives a much smaller royalty, with a risk of losing money if the sale doesn't happen. The only party who wins in this situation is Indigo, which, while Canadian, is still a big corporation. At the end of the day, would your rather support a Canadian corporation, or a small-time Canadian author and a printer in Milton, Ontario?

(An American company gets a cut either way, either Amazon or Ingram).

Anyway, this was supposed to be a celebration about the successful launch of my new book, but it kind of went off the rails. If you HAVEN'T checked out Gale Harbour 3: Dirtbag Satan Worshippers From Down by the Bay, please do so! And feel free to order it from whichever retailer you prefer!

Hugs & Kisses,

-CDGK

Newfoundland, Canada. 1994.

Niall O’Neil is wallowing in teenage angst, still getting over Harper Jeddore, his childhood crush who helped him save the sleepy town of Gale Harbour from otherworldly monsters. Twice. When he meets a new, less-complicated girl named Stacey, it seems his life might be turning a corner. But Niall is pulled back into his old world when people start disappearing around town again, seemingly abducted by Satan-worshipping rednecks.

Torn between his new existence of simple happiness and his messy feelings for his old flame, Niall must make a decision: Enjoy dating girls, experimenting with drinking and making new friends, or risk his life to save the town one more time?

The fate of the entire world may depend on the choices of a hormonal fourteen-year-old with a flair for the dramatic.

Join Niall, Harper, Pius, Keith and Skidmark as they band together for one last adventure…

BUY DIRTBAG SATAN WORSHIPPERS FROM DOWN BY THE BAY HERE:

AMAZON US

AMAZON CANADA

AMAZON UK

BARNES & NOBLE 

INDIGO

WATERSTONES

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/