Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The Billionth Monkey is being used to teach Folklore and Literature

I am over the moon to learn that Professor Dan Compora is using The Billionth Monkey in his Folklore and Literature class at the University of Toledo.

To introduce the urban legend portion of the course, students spend two weeks discussing The Billionth Monkey, each of them researching and presenting in detail one of the urban legends in the book. Apparently they're having a lot more fun discovering urban legends through my novel than they have in the past using standard texts.

I couldn't be more thrilled and honored.*

Plus, this news comes just in time for the Halloween campus murders!
* Well, except for maybe a Hollywood blockbuster starring John Oliver, Ryan Kwanten and Stoya.

Friday, April 21, 2017

"Subverting Readers' Expectations through a Fictional Tarot Reading" posted online

I've recorded and posted my 2017 PCA/ACA talk and slideshow, "Subverting Readers' Expectations through a Fictional Tarot Reading in The Billionth Monkey," as I'm unlikely to reprise it elsewhere. It includes a reading from Chapter 1, plus a discussion of how I use the Tarot reading in this scene as a form of misdirection.

CONTAINS SPOILERS after the reading.

Apologies for occasional audio glitches around the slide transitions, due to how PowerPoint records audio.