0°Todd Babiak
Todd Babiak grew up in a small house in an oil town, with a mother who read horror novels and a father who cut the lawn with his shirt off. He pursued politics and literature in university. He spent a good part of the 1990s in Montreal. These were almost-separation times. It was bracing. Today he lives in Edmonton, a northern city of mystery and enterprise, with long writing trips to France. Sometimes a month, sometimes a year.
Recent Blog Posts
With great age comes mild regrets
Now that I have reached middle-age I am increasingly haunted by loss — the loss of what might have been. I am giving up on some of my ambitions. Not the big and cherished ambitions. The other ones. Skydiving: nope. No. No I won’t read Finnegans Wake. I won’t even try starting it again. [.....
Published at Todd Babiak
Now that I have reached middle-age I am increasingly haunted by loss — the loss of what might have been. I am giving up on some of my ambitions. Not the big and cherished ambitions. The other ones. Skydiving: nope. No. No I won’t read Finnegans Wake. I won’t even try starting it again. [.....
Published at Todd Babiak
The Movement
Canadians could be more honest about the Trump thing. We take such pleasure in pretending we are somehow different or better. We don’t understand! I admit it has been fun to pretend I don’t understand, with my wife and friends and colleagues. I want it to be true. I want Canada to be the country ...
Published at Todd Babiak
Canadians could be more honest about the Trump thing. We take such pleasure in pretending we are somehow different or better. We don’t understand! I admit it has been fun to pretend I don’t understand, with my wife and friends and colleagues. I want it to be true. I want Canada to be the country ...
Published at Todd Babiak
The French, public places, and bathing suits
la piscine We learned a lot in our first two weeks. Not everyone in the South of France is charming and colourful. Few people live in a villa gilded with lavender and olive trees, twinkling stone fountains, and a field of grapevines. Not everyone pulls fresh figs and n...
Published at Todd Babiak
la piscine We learned a lot in our first two weeks. Not everyone in the South of France is charming and colourful. Few people live in a villa gilded with lavender and olive trees, twinkling stone fountains, and a field of grapevines. Not everyone pulls fresh figs and n...
Published at Todd Babiak
Rain
It rained today. I like rainy days, the darkness of them and the charge in the air. I like the smell. If I am at home I like to put on a raincoat and plastic pants and rubber boots and run around with my daughters, clearing gutters and splashing in puddles. Late this morning [...]The post ...
Published at Todd Babiak
It rained today. I like rainy days, the darkness of them and the charge in the air. I like the smell. If I am at home I like to put on a raincoat and plastic pants and rubber boots and run around with my daughters, clearing gutters and splashing in puddles. Late this morning [...]The post ...
Published at Todd Babiak
The Swimming Pool at the Palliser
Last week I stayed at the Fairmont Palliser, in beautiful downtown Calgary. I was in town on business, though there was some extra time for pleasure in the evenings. What do I mean by pleasure? The swimming pool. I generally despise swimming pools in hotels. They’re too cold ...
Published at Todd Babiak
Last week I stayed at the Fairmont Palliser, in beautiful downtown Calgary. I was in town on business, though there was some extra time for pleasure in the evenings. What do I mean by pleasure? The swimming pool. I generally despise swimming pools in hotels. They’re too cold ...
Published at Todd Babiak
Buy Come Barbarians and Son of France – GET A FREE POEM
This is from a review of my new novel, Son of France: “The second in the series after 2013’s lovely/harrowing Come Barbarians, the Edmonton writer’s first sequel follows the haunted ruins of its protagonist, Christopher Kruse. We now move past his origin story in a way that believably note...
Published at Todd Babiak
This is from a review of my new novel, Son of France: “The second in the series after 2013’s lovely/harrowing Come Barbarians, the Edmonton writer’s first sequel follows the haunted ruins of its protagonist, Christopher Kruse. We now move past his origin story in a way that believably note...
Published at Todd Babiak
In search of a hummus sponsor
Dear Adam Carr, As the CEO of the second-largest hummus maker in the United States and a major player in the global hummus industry, I know you understand the value of relationships. Hummus is the most delicious food ever invented. But it’s more than that. It’s history and culture, it’s romance, ...
Published at Todd Babiak
Dear Adam Carr, As the CEO of the second-largest hummus maker in the United States and a major player in the global hummus industry, I know you understand the value of relationships. Hummus is the most delicious food ever invented. But it’s more than that. It’s history and culture, it’s romance, ...
Published at Todd Babiak
Book marketing tactic number two
A musician and scholar and mad scientist, Trevor Rockwell, suggested on The Facebook that I try to sell my novels on Kijiji. He was joshing me, of course. But since I had promised to enact all of your ideas to sell the mysterious cultural artifact called the crime novel, I posted THIS AD O...
Published at Todd Babiak
A musician and scholar and mad scientist, Trevor Rockwell, suggested on The Facebook that I try to sell my novels on Kijiji. He was joshing me, of course. But since I had promised to enact all of your ideas to sell the mysterious cultural artifact called the crime novel, I posted THIS AD O...
Published at Todd Babiak
SON OF FRANCE video
Thank you for all your terrific book marketing ideas. More than half of them involve hummus. As a shameless fan of hummus, let me tell you there is nothing wrong with that. Son of France is on sale now, so I’ll start putting some of your fine ideas into practice. Here is the first [....
Published at Todd Babiak
Thank you for all your terrific book marketing ideas. More than half of them involve hummus. As a shameless fan of hummus, let me tell you there is nothing wrong with that. Son of France is on sale now, so I’ll start putting some of your fine ideas into practice. Here is the first [....
Published at Todd Babiak
BREAKING: white middle-aged man writes novel
I love writing novels. It keeps me happy and sane. It’s an honour, mostly because of you. That is, when you read what I write. It’s magical. But I understand that “man publishes book” is about as fascinating, in itself, as the number of spiders who come up our drains in th...
Published at Todd Babiak
I love writing novels. It keeps me happy and sane. It’s an honour, mostly because of you. That is, when you read what I write. It’s magical. But I understand that “man publishes book” is about as fascinating, in itself, as the number of spiders who come up our drains in th...
Published at Todd Babiak
