Shocker! A writer blabbing about himself…
Michael Libling is a World Fantasy Award finalist (2015) whose short fiction has appeared in a bunch of swell places, including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, and the anthology Welcome to Dystopia. His latest novel, THE SERIAL KILLER’S SON TAKES A WIFE, is an off-kilter thriller with elements of mystery and horror. To see what early readers are saying, click here. The book drops September 5, 2023 from Kevin J. Anderson’s WordFire Press.
Mike’s debut novel, HOLLYWOOD NORTH: A Novel in Six Reels, is a coming-of-age mystery/fantasy based on true events and is available now from all the usual suspects. On request, signed copies are available from the author directly via Contact. Originally published by ChiZine and, currently, Open Road Media, the story is set in Mike’s former hometown of Trenton, Ontario or, as Gus, his protagonist, describes it, that “aberrant speck of chronic self-deception on the north shore of Lake Ontario.” As for the glum looking fellow in the accompanying photo, he is purported to be Mike in a dramatic, authorial pose.
All trivia, all the time
Okay, enough with the phony third-person nonsense! Among my day jobs, I’ve been a talk radio host on CJAD in Montreal (specializing in trivia), newspaper columnist (more trivia), and ad agency creative director (all trivia, all the time). While it may appear that I write only genre (SF, horror, fantasy), I should also point out that I have completed a highly entertaining mainstream novel, Life in Henk. I figured it was time I stopped freaking out my wife, Pat, and three daughters with all that scary stuff. With said redemption in mind, I make no mention of my failed porn novel, The Mammary Recordings—a literal and figurative quickie from the 70s that I reference in slightly greater detail here.
Breakfast, snacks, and the nonstop pursuit glamor
I live in a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. My office is a mess. Most days, I eat either oatmeal or toast and peanut butter for breakfast and a muffin mid-morning. If you haven’t nodded off yet and want to know more about my glamorous celebrity lifestyle, along with some of what goes on inside my head, I suggest you check out my essay Genrealities and my FAQed page. Or worse, friend me on Facebook or Twitter (@MichaelLibling). Yeah, Instagram, too.
Feel free to browse. Stay as long as you like. I’ll put on some coffee. Man, I could go for a croissant with strawberry jam about now. Hey! Get your feet off my desk.
Meanwhile, as for the cover shot of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine up top …
Head over to Novels/Stories/Reviews and scroll down for details on my fiction, including my most recent, ROBYN IN HER SHINY BLUE COFFIN, that appears in the September/October 2020 Asimov’s magazine. I’m currently focussing on novel-length fiction, so it might be a while before additional short stories appear.
After just finishing your most recent short story, I was just thinking that it would be an extremely worthwhile experience in every respect to be a fellow member along with you in a weekly group psychotherapy meeting… or, be the psychotherapist that leads the session with you as a member of the group.
Enjoy your writing tremendously. Cannot wait until the next one. Thank you.
Thanks, Stephen. I assume you are talking about “Wretched the Romantic”, a delightful romp through the synaptic swamp of my twisted psyche. How could you not enjoy it? How could you not want to join with me in therapy? Certainly now, AFTER you’ve read it. Ah, yes, that was your first big mistake.
You own a coffee table!
Yes, Mr. Bowes, it makes up for the cat I don’t own.