Gregaro McKool@gregarofence@universeodon.com

Our newly minted art editor, Walter Liu, can’t find the local art scene. Walter’s new to the Brownlow area, born in Hong Kong and raised in Toronto, so he’s encountering rural Eastern Ontario for the very first time. Strangely enough, I think he likes what he sees. Maybe a little too much.

https://countyfencemagazine.com/meeting-the-goddess/

Whether last year’s congressional UFO hearings were a political stunt or genuine inquiry, our fearless editor in chief Jules Octavian sure found them attractive. This week hear Jules’ thoughts on why aliens might be giving us a wide berth and why they should stop by County Fence HQ to smell the forest.

https://countyfencemagazine.com/aliens/

“Poems Won’t Buy Beer”

Al Purdy is the patron saint of County Fence Bi-Annual and it could be said it was his poetry that inspired County Fence in the first place. Of course Al’s not alone, I also talk about Jules’ longest standing crush: Margaret Atwood. Ms. Atwood, if you’re listening, Jules would love it if you returned his calls.

#MargaretAtwood #AlPurdy #CanadianPoetry #CanLit #Canada #Ontario #Books #Poetry #Writers #Reading #FridayReads #YGK

https://countyfencemagazine.com/poems-wont-buy-beer/

#ScribesAndMakers My Creative Work is an essential part of who I am -- true or false?

Very true. I used to think creativity was optional but when I don’t feed that side of me not only do I start to burn out but I start to loose my sense of self. It’s how I process the world and what’s going on around me. Without creativity I have no guiding star and just turn into a drone who doesn’t know which work to focus on and which to ignore.

#WritersCoffeeClub March 4th: Do your projects start with a sense of new life or new beginnings?

I think I usually write more about seeing an old thing in a new light.

#Wordweavers March 4th: How much does money matter for your antagonist?

She takes it for granted, which is to say simultaneously a great deal and not at all. Shelby is the embodiment of rural privilege: she’s attractive, in shape, has a powerful job, is from a powerful family, and thus has a great deal of generational wealth. In one sense it’s how she measures success, in another her entire experience of the world has given her no reason to doubt that one day she will be queen.

#PennedPossibilities March 4th: Is your MC one to be confident under pressure, or do they struggle with it?

His whole thing is being confident under pressure. Victor was born with a disability and is a wheelchair user who grew up in a blue collar town. He was either going to crumble or stop giving a shit and rise above. He rose above.

#WordWeavers Mar 3. MC POV: You get to spend a fun night out with anyone. Who do you choose and where do you go?

A lovely multi-course prix fixe dinner followed by a concert by Molly Lewis, whistler. Probably with Morgan, though that’s not the relationship they have in these particular circumstances.

#PennedPossibilities 603: How would you describe your MC’s handwriting?

Barely legible.
Victor is the kind of guy who should have beautiful cursive written with a fountain pen but he’s pretty much entirely digital which means it’s a muscle that barely gets worked.

#WritersCoffeeClub March 3rd: How can your current writing routine be improved?

If writing what you know is central to writing I’d like to expand what I know. My priority has been establishing a platform/portfolio with what I already know. Now I’d like to expand that. I’d also like to build up my short story chops (which requires knowing more short stories by other authors).

#WritersCoffeeClub 26 Did your childhood affect the way/what you write?

I wonder if it’s whether my childhood affected my writing or my writing affected my childhood. I started very early and in a lot of ways write more like ten year old me than thirty year old me. I don’t really remember why I started writing, I think mostly I felt the compulsion to record the dreams I was having. I also grew up around great storytellers. In any case I think it was all just very organic.

#PennedPossibilities 598: Pick one of your favourite SCs. If they were to die, how would this impact the story as a whole?

I’m not sure whether Morgan is a side character or I just have two mains. In any case, there’s a lot of stuff she does that Victor can’t which means I don’t think there would be much of a story. Rather than unravelling the mystery at the heart of why his home town is so screwed up he would’ve just completed his report and moved on ASAP.

#WordWeavers Feb 26: If your SC could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

I think Morgan would be a big fan of mandatory minimum income. Her mom has complex issues that would probably have been lessened if she had a place to land and could be easier dealt with if she wasn’t stuck in her current situation. Generational trauma is a hell of a thing.

Jules Octavian investigates Abraham Hawley's utopian colonial ideals in this dive into the archives from 1983: Camp Bethel.

https://countyfencemagazine.com/from-the-archives-camp-bethel-1983/

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/20 How commercially minded are you? Would you object to selling a hundred thousand books?

I’d like to be comfortable enough to not have to be commercially minded.

I’d also like to think that I’d invest anything beyond that back into the business, the community, or both. For example, producing one of my works using entirely local talent with a portion of the proceeds going to a community group I like. I know what I need to be happy and a happy community is top of the list.

#PennedPossibilities 592. Are there any hidden details or Easter eggs in your WIP?

Easter eggs get gamified/weaponized by gatekeepers and ‘the in crowd’ too often for me to feed that culture for the value they add.

#WordWeavers 20. Does the society your characters live in take good care of people with disabilities?

Victor & Morgan’s Search for Coffee is about an urban planner and wheelchair user returning to his home town to draft an accessibility plan only to find out generations of local politicians have been worshipping a giant sentient penis. They think they’re doing a great job but have failed to realize most people with disabilities don’t drive and Brownlow is a poorly planned suburban hellscape.

#WritersCoffeeClub February 14th: Is failing as a writer a worry? Is failure an option?

No. Writing is like a risky investment: you shouldn’t take it on without knowing the risks, you shouldn’t feel entitled to the best outcome, and the more time you have the more chance there is of it paying off. Creatively I’ve already reaped the rewards and I’ve got a lifetime to figure out how to pay for the time I put in.

#PennedPossibilities 587 — How much does your SC value communication in their relationships and / or friendships? Are they prone to being misunderstood?

Morgan would say that communication is essential, especially given the nature of her and Victor’s relationship, but they’re both introverts, both have important people in their lives who are bad communicators, and they do fail to communicate something very important.

#WordWeavers February 14th: Does your world have romantic commitment?

Inasmuch as this one does.