Home Town Author and other writing news

A local newspaper interviewed Midland, Ontario author, Wade Shatford.

Shatford writes in the genre of “dark fantasy,” in which grim and adult themes are incorporated into the traditionally child-oriented school of fantasy.
“I read fantasy a lot as a kid,” he said. “Dark fantasy is a platform for people who have grown up with this genre and take a literary twist on it.”
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Self-publishing through Amazon has become popular for aspiring writers. Shatford said it is a simple process of uploading a manuscript to the site.
“There’s a million books up there and it’s up to you to generate interest,” he said. “And some people have really hit home runs with it.”
Shatford said he hopes his books will be among the home runs. He recently sold a copy in England.
“Go, Internet, go,” he said. “With the press of a button, worldwide exposure.

His Amazon page.  From the Goodreads page for one of his books:

I set out to write `Heart of Darkness' with a dragon and an anti-hero set on revenge. Metaphorically, the book is about weapon proliferation in both society and internationally.

I have downloaded the Amazon sample for the book and will update this post after I have read it.
Added Later: I finished the sample. I went in expecting poor formatting or spelling but the book feels professionally edited and I have no complaints.  The story, too, was clear and I read the sample quickly. In the part I read - no spoilers because it was only the sample - the man who eventually became a monstrous king started as a boy who went through terrible privations and hardship, losing more and more of his family and learning to kill before he was ten.  It felt a lot like Con Iggulden's series about the rise of Ghengis Khan, although the hardships that worthy faced were somewhat based in reality.
It was all well-done but not my type.  If you like Iggulden's books for more than the historical aspects, this book might be for you.  I wish I could get over the sub-genre or whatever my problem is because I think it is well-written, again, just not my type.
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It is time to apply for the M Literacy residencies in China and India in 2017 if you are interested.
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Apparently, People of Colour destroy Science Fiction - new kids with their hip lingo; it seem this is positive.
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Darwin Day was a few days ago.  Scientific American has a book out describing the minds of histories great personalities and describes Darwin as a worrier.  On this blog, I have looked at the uncertain link between mental illness and creativity and also at studies which show the early loss of a parent is a common factor among histories geniuses. An excerpt from the book:

Studies have shown that the loss of a parent in early childhood can significantly increase the risk of both depression and anxiety later in life. And Darwin was profoundly affected by the way his mother died—quickly and inexplicably—according to Janet Browne, author of a highly acclaimed two-volume biography of Darwin. Darwin worried incessantly that he or his children had inherited a weak constitution from his mother’s side of the family, and he knew from her experience that sickness could quickly turn deadly.