Author: christopherbarzak

  • Hurray for Midwestern Awesomeness

    After a day of braving the twelve degree cold today, with a running inner monologue about the ridiculous starkness and severity of the Midwestern winter accompanying me throughout my travels about town, I came home to find an e-mail from my editor telling me that One for Sorrow has been nominated for the 2008 Great…

  • Agency–who really has it?

    From the New York Times: Speaking to black and Hispanic New Yorkers, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton tried on Monday to quell a controversy over race in the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination by praising the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and describing him as a trailblazer for both herself and her rival, Senator…

  • Ungood Morning

    Spring semester started here yesterday. It’s funny that Spring semester begins in winter. Gives an odd feel to the whole thing when I look out the window and see that it’s snowing. I didn’t consciously do any New Year’s resolutions this year, but unconsciously I see that I did. One of them was to get…

  • The Crawford Award

    I just found out yesterday (and see the news was just released) that this year’s Crawford Award is being given to One for Sorrow. The award, according to the press release, is sponsored by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, recognizes an outstanding first book of fantasy published during the preceding year,…

  • Two days of spring in winter

    Yesterday and today we’ve had the most gorgeous weather. 65 degrees, mostly sunny. It’s no wonder the squirrel came out to try to get back in before it becomes winter again. This sort of weather makes it feel like spring, or mid-autumn. The light and warmth must send some sort of signal to every living…

  • Returning to the Scene

    Earlier this fall, when I had just moved into my new house, a squirrel was living in my attic.  He had chewed a little hole in an old wooden vent up there, and would squeeze in during the morning and run around above where I slept in my bedroom making all sorts of scrabbly noise…

  • Literary Homemaking

    Being a writer, I own lots of books.  I’m sure there are probably some writers who don’t feel compelled to own walls and walls of books, and perhaps there are even some writers who have slowed down in their reading habits at some point in their life (though I would personally see that as having…

  • New Things from Last Year

    Three “big” good things from my last year to be thankful for are: Of course, my new house, of which I’ve posted more than enough pictures, but as rooms get remodeled, I will continue to post more. Here’s the guest bedroom’s new look. And of course this little light of mine came out in 2007.…

  • Just to say…

    I’m going to be making merry for the next few days, so just a quick note to say happy holidays to everyone.  I’m excited for the coming year.  I hope good things are in store for all of us. Peace…

  • Totally excellent

    I came across this video via the blog “I Will Shout Youngstown” this afternoon, and thought it was really representative of the spirit that’s been taking over Youngstown in the past couple of years, and that community spirit seems to be growing more and more over time now. To be completely honest, it feels strange…