novelist Archives - Toronto Guardian

“A Day in The Life” with Toronto author Jeff Cottrill

Demian Vernieri — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 07:33:42 +0000

Jeff Cottrill spends his days taking abuse from co-workers, and his nights turning that abuse into spoken-word gold. There are few stages or venues in any country that haven’t been graced by this man’s talents. Jeff is fond of ciders, classic films, The Onion and The Simpsons (back when it was good). He is also fond of singing rude songs on long bus trips; the other passengers, not so much.

Jeff enjoys a night at the movies, but challenge him to a game of air hockey and you will know the taste of defeat. His first novel is Hate Story, his first play was Grouch on a Couch, and his spoken-word poems feature titles such as “Adequate Man”, “Dreamboat”, “An Ode to the Moon”, “GOOGLEISYOURFRIEND” and “An Honest Proposal”. Jeff fears his inevitable cancellation while appearing eager to make it happen.

Jeff lives in Toronto with his couch and two chairs.

-Written by Timothy Carter, author of Epoch, The Cupid War, Young Nostradamus and other YA novels

Working on the next novel. Hoping to get inspiration from a poster of one of my fave movies.

Always making time to stretch out on the couch and read.

The COVID-19 lockdown got me into a daily habit of long walks around the neighbourhood – or in this case, by the beach.

There’s never a bad time for a good movie…

…or for a good play – like Good, with David Tennant, which I recently caught in London.

Board games with friends or family are a great diversion. Here, a great game from a great film.

Thanks to technology, I get to perform poetry at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York, and other international platforms, without leaving my pad.

New Year’s Eve in the Junction, complete with fries and a Stella. Happy 2023!

***

Which ’hood are you in?

I’m in East Toronto, in what used to be known as East York. Quiet residential neighbourhood with no excitement to speak of, except that I’m walkable from at least three pizza places.

What do you do?

I’m a novelist, Pushcart-Prize-nominated poet, and spoken-word artist. In 2022, I launched my debut novel, Hate Story, an offbeat mix of satire and mystery that ridicules social-media pile-ons and Internet vigilantes. In addition, I write silly, satirical poems and monologues and frequently perform them in Zoom literary events, most of them based in the U.S. or the U.K. And I write short stories, sometimes based on prompts from online writing workshops, and the occasional comedy sketch. (I used to be a professional journalist too, but then got demoted to writing ad copy for some reason.)

What are you currently working on?

After a couple of false starts on new projects over the last year or two, I’m now slowly working on a second novel. Having a day job makes it difficult to find the time I need, as does trying to raise awareness of the first book’s existence. In the meantime, I’m always creating new poems or stories when inspiration strikes or a writing prompt really clicks.

In October, I embarked on a book tour in Europe (mostly the U.K.), the Decent Beings Tour, with Australian poet Skylar J. Wynter and her book illustrator, Neshka Turner. We hope to embark on a similar tour in Australia this fall, particularly as we share a publisher in Perth. In addition, I recently held a live in-person launch of Hate Story at Hirut, which introduced a limited-edition hardcover. And I performed poetry (via Zoom) at the annual Winter Warmer Festival in Cork, Ireland at the end of November.

On April 2, I’ll be one of the readers at Bright Lit, Big City, hosted by fellow Toronto novelist Carolyn Bennett and also at Hirut (2050 Danforth Avenue, 2:00 p.m., pay what you can).

Where can we find your work?

Hate Story is available online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble – or from me directly if you want a signed copy. (It’s also in four branches at the Toronto Public Library.) My website has some audio files and videos of spoken-word pieces, and I also have a YouTube account that showcases both live and Zoom performances. Plus my page at Wattpad.com features a few work-in-progress stories.

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“A Day In The Life” With Toronto Novelist Marissa Stapley

Julian Swift — Sat, 01 May 2021 04:30:30 +0000

Marissa Stapley exemplifies William Makepeace Thackeray’s belief that “there are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to write.”

As a child, Marissa was a prolific diarist whose in depth chronicles of the ofttimes complicated life of a young girl served notice of her future career as a novelist. She first saw her work published as a high school student during a co-op placement with the Stouffville Tribune, then filled in for her journalist father writing human interest and sports columns for the same paper during her dad’s vacation time. She went on to graduate from Ryerson University with a degree in Journalism in 2003 before beginning to write features and book reviews for newspapers and magazines across North America.

Her first of four novels, Mating For Life, was published in 2014 and became an instant best seller. Her subsequent offerings have been published in 13 countries and nine languages.

Like any accomplished novelist, Marissa is an avid reader, and an unabashed apologist for commercial fiction, with her arguments in support of the concept of a gripping saga for its own sake having appeared in print and in media interviews. She has taught creative writing at the University of Toronto and Centennial College and offers online classes and mentorships.

Her most recent novel, Lucky, was recently optioned by ABC/Disney Studios, and Marissa is now fulfilling a long-held screenwriting dream with Carlton Cuse as her mentor as she develops the book for television. Cheering her on as she continues to pen “the thousand thoughts lying within” is her late mother Valerie, along with a doting dad, three brothers and her High Park Toronto home support staff consisting of two kids, one husband and a self absorbed cat.

~Written by Bruce Stapley (father)

Lately, I’ve been starting my day with early morning Pilates workouts with Beatrix Nagy (@bea_trained) who is a fantastic instructor and has also become a friend — so I get to augment these workouts with long walks and talks in High Park every week, too. We bonded over something sad: we both lost our mothers last spring. But a really beautiful friendship has emerged from that, and I’m so grateful for it!

When I sit down to work — right now I’m doing some screenwriting, and also working on the next holiday rom-com novel I’m co-authoring with my author friend Karma Brown — my cat decides it’s time to snuggle. It has to be a pretty urgent deadline for me not to oblige him. My husband also spends a lot of time snuggling our cat. He’s quite needy. (The cat, not the husband.)

Like everyone else, I’ve spent a great deal of time in Zoom meetings this year …which means I’ve also spent a lot of time rearranging my bookshelves. And taking awkward selfies simply because I’m wearing eyeliner.

If I’m stuck on a plot point or just need to clear my head, a long walk alone in nearby High Park usually does the trick. During the pandemic, I’ve discovered new routes and paths in a park I’ve lived near for fourteen years.

This is the view from my office window. I spend a lot of time staring at that tree. It’s my favourite tree. Lately, hawks have been swooping by the window, too. I get excited about that. My kids tease me for it and tell me I should become a birder. Maybe I will! Maybe I already am one!

I don’t feel especially creative in the afternoon, so generally reserve administrative tasks for that time of day — like signing book plates for Lucky to be sent out to independent bookstores, since in-person signings aren’t possible right now.

I can’t fall asleep without reading and always have several books going at once (see, my nightstand). I also keep at least one notebook there so I can scribble notes in the night about whatever project I’m working on. In the morning, those notes almost never make sense.

I can’t fall asleep without reading first. But as we enter (hopefully) the last stage of the pandemic, which has also been a tough year for me personally, I’ve found my focus is often scattershot. Short stories or poems are a good solution. This Zadie Smith collection is — not surprisingly — excellent.

***

Which ‘hood are you in?

Tucked between High Park and the Junction.

What do you do?

I’m a writer, mostly recently of the novel Lucky, about a con artist with a heart of gold and a winning lottery ticket she can’t cash because the FBI is on her tail.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on adapting my forthcoming novel Lucky for television, and have the great fortune to be working with Carlton Cuse (Lost, Jack Ryan, Bates Motel, Locke & Key) and his team on this. I’m also working on a holiday rom-com with my author friend Karma Brown. During the first lockdown we got lonely and decided the only thing that would cheer us up would be to co-author a light, fun, delicious holiday rom-com together. We ended up selling two of them and the second one is due soon.

Where can we find your work?

Anywhere books are sold. My favourite independent bookstores in my neighbourhood are Book City and Type.

IG – @MarissaStapley

Site – MarissaStapley.com

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“A Day in the Life” with Toronto Writer Farzana Doctor

Joel Levy — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 04:30:03 +0000

Farzana Doctor does a lot of things! She’s primarily a writer, but finds time for activism and a part-time psychotherapy practice. She’s also a dog mom.

She has a morning writing routine. Since 2007, she’s written four novels: Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement, All Inclusive and Seven (coming in 2020). She’s also been working on a poetry collection, self-care book and a YA novel.

In the afternoons, she sees individuals and couples at her part-time private psychotherapy practice. She’s keen on neuroscience, attachment and hypnosis.

Farzana Doctor – Credit Tanja Tiziana

She became interested in community organizing as a teen (environmental issues and human rights) and more recently has been volunteering with WeSpeakOut, a group working to ban female genital cutting in her Dawoodi Bohra community.

Few people know that she is an amateur tarot card reader and has a love of all things spiritual. She has a daily meditation practice to keep her grounded.

While all her books are distinct from one another, her diverse interests come through in her stories and characters. Social justice, psychology and a hint of magical realism weave their way into plots that have included love triangles, redemption, family reunification and ancestral legacy.

Selected awards and honors:
-CBC Books’: “100 Writers in Canada You Need To Know Now” (2018).
-All Inclusive: Kobo and National Post Best Books of the Year (2015).
-Six Metres of Pavement: Lambda Literary, Toronto Book Award shortlist, One Book One Brampton winner.

-Written by Sil Hernando

Date night with my partner Reyan Naim at Scaddabush in Etobicoke. As a couples therapist, I’m a big fan of date nights and encourage all my clients to make time for them.

In Bandra (Mumbai), with my maternal grandmother. I only get to see her every few years, and I’m so grateful I could travel to India in January. It’s not a coincidence that Bandra is the main setting in my novel, Seven.

Here’s a photo to my older sister, Fariya Doctor, and me outside of the Khar West (Mumbai) mosque my great-great-grandfather built for his mother. He inspired one of the characters in my novel.

I’m a founding member of the End FGM/C Canada Network, a group that works to end female genital cutting/mutilation. Here I am (from L) with co-founders, and amazing activists, Giselle Portenier, Malaika Somji and Klara Hillmann.

Here I am sporting my New Toronto T-shirt! I’m fairly new to this neighbourhood, but I love the proximity to the lake, the treed streets and close community vibe.

Chilling in the backyard with my eleven year-old dog Maggie. She is the canine love of my life. When she came to us ten years ago, she was skittish and wouldn’t be touched. Now, well…

At the US launch for All Inclusive in New York City in 2017. I love doing public readings and connecting with audiences.

Farzana Doctor – I also love teaching writing workshops to emerging writers. This is at the Stratford Writers Festival, where I taught a class on How to Be Your Own Editor.

What ‘hood are you in?

I live in South Etobicoke, aka New Toronto.

What do you do?

I’m a writer, mostly of novels, but I also write poetry and non-fiction.

What are you currently working on?

My fourth novel, Seven, will be released next summer. It’s about a woman who goes to India to research her great-great-grandfather, but ends up excavating a family secret that has had an indelible impact on her life.

Where can we find your work?

At indie and big box bookstores everywhere! You can also find my work on Audible.

You can also catch Farzana at JLF Toronto on Saturday, September 28 where she will be In Conversation with Tom Cho and Shree Paradkar in a session featuring readings that voice different aspects of sexuality across the spectrum, along with the challenges and alliances across intersections of race, belief and gender.

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