Richard Scarsbrook's Blog

Have you got one minute? 
Then please have a listen to this "augmented" reading of"Emergency Broadcast System" from APOCALYPSE ONE HUNDRED! 

APOCALYPSE ONE HUNDRED  is available at book stores NOW!   Grab a copy at your favourite independent book store, or order a copy at Chapters or Amazon today!  *
“Scarsbrook turns over the crusty soil of the mediated world to give us strangely familiar new memes, darkly fertile and inverted. There is warning here but also, at its tender and eloquent heart, love.”

– Robert Priest, Author of Previously Feared Darkness, Rosa Rose, and many other books


“Gathering the technological detritus of the present and placing it with great care across the page, Richard Scarsbrook invites us to look at the 21st century with unflinching attention, all the while bringing lucidity to its dark complexities. An undoing of dystopian dreams, an unwrapping of fears, and an unmaking of social media mayhem, Apocalypse One Hundred is a perfect and singular gift for our world.”

– Kevin Spenst, Author of Ignite and Jabbering with Bing Bong

My novel Rockets Versus Gravity just received an overall positive review from Broken Pencil.

The review also called me out on using the term "wheelchair-bound" to describe a character… and I am GRATEFUL to the reviewer for pointing this out to me!

I sincerely apologize to my wheelchair-using friends and readers for using this term, and now that I've been made aware, I won't ever use the term again.
 We can’t become more understanding of each other if nobody speaks up when we say or do things that are potentially insensitive to the viewpoints and feelings of others.

My sincere thanks to reviewer Sidney Drmay for showing me something that I can - and will - handle better next time.

http://www.brokenpencil.com/news/book-review-rockets-versus-gravity


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 I’ll be at The OLA SuperConference on Thursday, February 2signing books at the Dundurn Booth (#428)!


 Who among my (Super!) Librarian, Author, and Publisher friends will also be there? Let’s meet up!  #OLASC http://www.olasuperconference.ca/

In this interview, I talk about: - The inspiration behind ROCKETS VERSUS GRAVITY  - The roles of Chaos Theory and Synchronicity in the book - The origins of my fictional town Faireville, which appears in just about all my books - My love and respect for Public Libraries and Librarians!  
Thanks to Brock Smith at The Richmond Hill Public Library for asking the right questions, and for filming and editing this great clip! I'll be launching ROCKETS VERSUS GRAVITY at RHPL on November 19 at 2 PM! See you there!

 Here's a "clipping" of  The National Post Bestseller List  last week, with   ROCKETS VERSUS GRAVITY  at #3!   

Hey, friends from my Essex County/Windsor homeland!
I’ll be participating in two events at BookFest Windsoron Saturday, November 5!
(Find out more about BookFest HERE - http://bookfestwindsor.com/) 
Here’s where I’ll be: 
- 10 to 11:30 AM, Art Gallery Windsor, 2nd Floor
 I’ll be running one of my popular Creative Writing Workshops! Come and unleash your muse! Get your tickets HERE!


- 1 to 2 PM, Art Gallery Windsor, The Valiant Suite(which sounds so noble!)

 I’ll be participating in the Fiction Event Gentle Habits, Gravity, And Circuses – it’s sure to be interesting and entertaining!
And let’s catch up at the book signing right after this event! (And you can get a signed copy of my eighth book, ROCKETS VERSUS GRAVITY, while you’re there.)
Get your tickets HERE!

 See you on November 5!
 

I have the great fortune of calling many talented people my friends, and a few of them will be playing characters from the book at the ROCKETS VERSUS GRAVITY BOOK LAUNCH EXTRAVAGANZA!   (It’s on October 3 at The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto  –  more info below!) MEET THE CAST!
 

Allison Hossackhas appeared in over forty television and film projects. Recent work includes playing Kate Bosworth’s dysfunctional mother in Sony TV’s The Art of More, and Thomas Mann’s mother in the independent film Our House. In real life she mothers her six year old twins Maggie and Theo. Kate and Thomas were definitely easier. You can see a recent demo reel and pics of Allison here: http://allisonhossack.astralreel.com/
 
Michael Longstaff has appeared in Toronto, Montreal, Banff, Edmonton, London's West End and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Favourite roles include Colonel Fitzwilliam in Pride and Prejudice, Jerry in Edward Albee’s Zoo Story and Bobby in David Mamet’s American Buffalo.  Recent TV appearances include Reign for the CW Network, Heroes Reborn and Covert Affairs on NBC, Copperfor BBC America/Showcase and in Pegasus Vs. Chimera for the SyFy Network.  He played Rupert Gillis on CBC's Road to Avonlea, He is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (UK) and The Theatre School in London, Ontario.

Maarika Pinkney is a graduate of the University College Drama Program at the University of Toronto, and a working actress and producer in the city. Her most notable project of late was Nowhere Fast, which premiered at the LA Comedy Fest Last year. She's excited to be working with Richard again, and looks forward to creating and unveiling the next masterpiece... 

 

Darcy McMann is a Toronto Writer, Actor, and Director. He has appeared in television commercials, music videos, and the feature films Backseat Animal, and Sudbury 96. He is currently attending George Brown College for film and video production. 


Simon Josephhas trained with Alan Lee, John Boylan, Sears and Switzer, Tom Todoroff and Brian Levy. Upcoming appearances include Collision Course on REELZ in the U.S. and Canada: The Story of Us on CBC. 
 

Kaan Akalinis a commercial film director based in Toronto. His work can be viewed at www.kaanakalin.com

  Daniel Perry 's first collection of short stories, Hamburger, was published by Thistledown Press earlier this year. His second, Nobody Looks That Young Here, is forthcoming from Guernica Editions in 2018.
  Heather J. Woodis the author of the novels Fortune Cookie and Roll With It. She is the editor of international anthology, Gods, Memes and Monsters, for which she is a 2016 World Fantasy Award nominee.

Anukriti Singhis currently at work on her first story collection. Her short story “The Peacock Feather” was recently published in The Lunaris Review. She started training in Indian classical dancing at the age of five and began performing on stage shortly afterwards. After enjoying a decade long stint in fashion while travelling and living in several countries, she fell down a rabbit hole and landed in Toronto two years ago.
 

Albert Choi lives in Toronto and works as a software developer.  He writes short stories in his spare time.  His writing has appeared in On Spec Magazine and Postscripts to Darkness 4.
 
 See all of these talented people, playing characters from Rockets Versus Gravity, RIGHT HERE: 
 We hope to see you there!

 
 In celebration of the release of ROCKETS VERSUS GRAVITY , the excellent Canadian book website 49th Shelf has published a piece I wrote called "The Authors That Made Me Want to Write". 
It contains shout-outs to many great Canadian authors, including Dennis Lee, Rich Carrier, Farley Mowat, Gordon Korman, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Lawrence, Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler, Alice Munroe, W.P. Kinsella, and Leonard Cohen.  Read about how all of these authors influenced me and my writing HERE .  

I hope to see you soon at one of these events!
 
ORANGEVILLE:  The Orangeville Public Library, 1 Mill Street, September 29, 7 PM!  More info: http://www.orangeville.ca/events/2016/09/29/rockets-versus-gravity-orangeville-book-launch  

TORONTO:  The Melody Room, The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West, October 3, 7 PM!  More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/112366805877244/?active_tab=highlights


SARNIA:  The Book Keeper, 500 Exmouth Street, Northgate Plaza, November 3, 7 PM!  More info: http://www.sarniabookkeeper.com/  


 WINDSOR:  BookFest Windsor, November 4-6, (Times and Events TBA)!  More info: http://bookfestwindsor.com/portfolio-view/richard-scarsbrook-2/  


 RICHMOND HILL:  The Events Room at The Richmond Hill Public Library, 1 Atkinson Street, November 19, 2 PM.  More info: http://www.rhpl.richmondhill.on.ca/Programs/ProgramDetail.cfm?programID=1635