Cliff Burns's Blog
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Jan.31.2011
Are there certain writers who intimidate you with the sheer scale and breadth of their talent? Authors who are so far ahead of the rest of the pack that sometimes after reading them it's hard to regard your own work with anything but contempt?
For me the names that spring to mind are Jim Shepard...
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Jan.16.2011
It's a strange tale but it must be told.
A week or so ago I posted on my blog about an obscure kids' TV show from the late 1960's called "Robot Boy". Made on the cheap...and the star of the show was an ordinary, store bought windup robot. Yes, you could get away with such things 40...
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Jan.12.2011
Finally getting back into gear again, writing-wise. The end of the year is always hectic as I tie up loose ends and prepare for new projects.
In the last fews days I've gotten my office in order, created and recorded twenty or thirty minutes worth of ambient music, took some pictures and messed...
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Dec.30.2010
Quite the haul this Christmas, the fat guy with the biker beard doing me a great service by leaving some wonderful books and DVD's under my Christmas tree.
As I've written previously, in 2011 I'm taking the "100 Book Challenge". Happy to report I received three or four tomes this...
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Dec.18.2010
I'm taking the "100 Book Challenge". My reading has dropped precipitously over the past decade and I want to make amends. I've got stacks of terrific books lying around and in 2011 I'm going to make a dent in my unread pile. I'm already eying tomes like Richard Russo's THE DEAD POOL...
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Nov.25.2010
Of course, I had to pick a night that happened to be in the middle of a frigid patch of weather only a penguin could safely endure. Never mind, forge on, boats against the current and all that.
The launch of my new novel Of the Night went off without a hitch and except for that arctic air mass,...
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Nov.19.2010
I love automatic writing. Putting pen to paper with no advance planning, no preconceptions, just letting the words flow. I've referred to the resulting efforts as "seismographs of the unconscious" and I think that's pretty accurate. I'm often astonished at the insights the poems and...
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Nov.08.2010
Sherron has created a gorgeous poster, incorporating the cover art for Of the Night, for the official book launch, which we'll be having at our local library. I read somewhere that authors should work harder at promoting their work locally, building up a buzz which (in theory) should spread...
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Oct.27.2010
Yes, indeed, Of the Night has been cleared for publication and is now available for ordering from me...or your favorite bookstore.
It's a short novel; fast, brutal...a thriller in every sense of the word. If you pop over to my blog, check out the Home Page, you can read the birth annoucement......
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Oct.25.2010
At long last, the proof of my novel Of the Night has arrived from the printer.
Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.
But the process of getting the book to this point has shaved months off the end of my life. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Lightning Source does an amazing job but unless you're...
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Sep.22.2010
How would you like an advance look at the cover art of my next novel, Of the Night?
Australian artist Adrian Donoghue came up with the original image and our designer, Chris Kent, adapted it and created a "look" that I absolutely love.
Of the Night is part of a cycle of tales and novels...
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Sep.02.2010
I am a convert.
It took ages for my wife to convince me to upgrade my antiquated computer. Since I bought this iMac last summer, my eyes have been opened. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have seen the light and I am here to testify on behalf of the amazing things this device allows me to do.
For the...
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Aug.27.2010
Moments ago, I posted a new tune on my main blog over at WordPress. Hope you'll pop over and give it a listen. It'll only cost you 2 1/2 minutes of your time...but it will disturb you for a lo-o-o-ng time afterward. This started out as a test of my new Snowball microphone and ended up--well,...
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Aug.23.2010
A strange, strange summer, complete with Biblical hail storms, far more travel than is normal for a man of my sedentary (and obsessive) work habits...not to mention the release of my first, full-length novel and all the attendant hoopla and weirdness that went with that. Plus, natch, I celebrated...
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Aug.01.2010
I have returned from my brief sojourn to the neighboring province of Alberta and I am delighted to report that I managed to convince/cajole a number of the best bookstores in Edmonton and Calgary into stocking copies of my new novel, So Dark the Night.
Shelf space comes very dear but I think, once...
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Cliff Burns is a literary pioneer, going independent two decades before it became fashionable. For Burns, it was never about the money; it’s always been about artistic integrity and connecting with his audience.”
—Robert Runte, Canadian critic and academic
About Cliff
I've been a professional author for more than 25 years and an independent publisher since 1990, when my first book, Sex & Other Acts of the Imagination, was released through an imprint my wife and I created. That little publishing concern, which...
Connections
Causes Cliff Burns Supports
The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Community Radio
Cliff’s Favorite Books
Ah, now this is a tough one. "Favorite" books or "best" books? Because that's two entirely different things... Still, here are a few of the ones that have...