Apr 21
For Earth Day, the Toronto Star asked 15 science fiction writers, including me, how we’d tackle climate change. To save some space, my answer was edited down. Here’s my full reply: The environment is something I watch on TV. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it’s a pristine world free of human interference. But it’s also …
Apr 13
I’ll be at Ad Astra this weekend. It’s a science fiction convention. Ad Astra’s 31st Con will be held on April 13, 14 & 15, 2012 Ad Astra is a literary fan-run convention, promoting local talent within the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Paranormal, for all media of the written word. Our weekend …
Mar 30
This is an interview that occurred in late January and will be hitting 12 television stations and 80 radio markets in about a week via TVCOGECO. It’s for Brent Holland’s Night Fright Show. Ryan Oakley – Technicolor Ultra-Mall via Skype from Toronto Canada. What if in the future Toronto had been turned into a huge indoor mall? …
Mar 15
If you’re interested in my sleep patterns and I have no idea why you would be, I was recently interviewed by Denise Balkissoon for an article in the Globe and Mail: Is Bi-Modal Sleep as Good as Eight Straight Hours? I don’t know. Guess you’ll have to read it to find out. Bi, straight, bedtime, eight …
Oct 21
The people at Open Book Toronto recently subjected me to the Proust Questionnaire. The Proust Questionnaire was not invented by Marcel Proust, but it was a much loved game by the French author and many of his contemporaries. The idea behind the questionnaire is that the answers are supposed to reveal the respondent’s “true” nature. …
Sep 25
With summer at an end, and inspired by the nude face of Zoetica Ebb during her No Make-Up Week at Biorequiem, I’m showing off my legs. That’s my house robe with shorts by Al Sharif of Syria. The slippers are Prince Alberts, the hat is something Father acquired while in Turkey, the couch is a new La-Z-Boy, …
Sep 06
Like any community of malcontents and weirdos, writers have certain quirks in common. One of these is the trunk. While it might look like someone just sits down and writes a novel, the process is much sloppier than that. Stories are started and abandoned. Some are finished but remain awful. There are pages of notes, …
Aug 27
Just found my baby book while cleaning. Here’s some of Mother’s notes: “Ryan was an extremely good-natured little fellow – crying only when he was hungry. He enjoyed travel; new places and faces and lots of attention. Ryan had a winning smile for everyone and was a true little “charmer.” By six weeks, he was …
Aug 21
I’ve been feeling strangely restless of late and last night, at about 2 am, I asked the wife if she intended to be awake until dawn. Like me, she’s a night owl and usually goes to bed shortly before the sun comes out. ”What time is dawn?” she asked. I checked the weather network …
Aug 20
A picture of me last winter, maybe the winter before. I’m not sure. Taken by ShoMerde.
