In this episode of Re-Creative, Mark and Joe talk to Diane Walton, a founding member and long-time managing editor of On Spec: The Canadian magazine of the Fantastic. On Spec is well known in Canadian speculative fiction circles (and beyond!) for publishing quality fiction and art from (largely but not exclusively) Canadian writers and artists.

Diane tells the lads how the highly regarded Canadian spec fic magazine began in Edmonton around 1989 after a creative writing group at the University of Alberta grew frustrated with American magazines rejecting their work for being “too Canadian”. She recounts the early days of assembling an editorial team, securing startup funds, and commissioning stories from notable authors like Dave Duncan and Eileen Kernaghan for their first saddle-stitched issue.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com

In this episode of Re-Creative, Joe and Mark dive into a fascinating conversation with author and publisher Lynda Williams, the "obscure Canadian Tolkien." Joining the lads from Prince George, B.C., Lynda shares how she balances her academic background in Artificial Intelligence with her sprawling, ten-novel epic, the Okal Rel saga.

They explore Lynda’s unique approach to collaboration, where she invites other writers to play in her sandbox rather than protecting her turf. They nerd out on the physics of "reality skimming" (her version of faster-than-light travel) and discuss how her universe evolved from a passion project into a collaborative literary ecosystem.

For her "homework," Lynda chose Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan of the Apes series. The three have a frank and illuminating discussion about the Victorian and colonial influences of this early 20th-century classic, and how those "larger than life" archetypes eventually seeped into—and were subverted by—Lynda’s own bioengineered cultures and dramatized philosophies.

Lynda Williams is a powerhouse of Canadian science fiction whose work bridges the gap between hard science and epic space opera. Her ability to maintain an arc from beginning to end across ten novels has earned her a dedicated following from Germany to the Maritimes.

Beyond her fiction, Lynda is a pioneer in the Canadian small-press scene and an educator who understands the intersection of technology and storytelling. Many of her co-collaborators have ensured that all aspects of the Okal Rel universe-everything from faster-than-light travel and fencing-are grounded in scientific logic and reality.

Lynda currently hosts a blog called Reality Skimming, where she continues to foster community by hosting guest posts on a wide range of intriguing themes.

You can explore the vast Okal Rel universe and find all of Lynda’s work by visiting her blog at realityskimming.com or her official series hub at okalrel.org.

For more information, please check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com

Christopher Sweet is an author from New Brunswick. Christopher has been, in his words, “…a freelance writer, manager, waiter, bartender, event DJ, actor, children’s entertainer, truck driver, shopkeeper, call centre operator, concierge, office assistant, barista, supply teacher, and—most recently—a campground manager.” He’s a cinephile, a bibliophile, a lover of nature, and currently resides on a campground in New Brunswick on the other side of the Miramichi with, as he puts it, “his growing tribe of people and pets on a peaceful river in New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula.”

In this episode of Re-Creative, Mark Rayner and I talk to Christopher about, well, everything we could think of related to writing, books and publishing… including our darkest fears. We each have one! But you’ll have to listen to the podcast to discover what they are.

We explore Christopher’s love for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, and tumble headlong down rabbit holes containing more of King’s work, including The Shining.

Christopher shares his thoughts on indie publishing, his own budding career in writing, and even waxes poetically about em dashes—a subject upon which the three of us agree.

It’s a fun, illuminating conversation with a talent to be watched… and read.

For more information, check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com