Chimerascope

Introduction by Julie Czerneda

Introduction by Julie Czerneda“...I will wear my heart upon my sleeve...”

—Othello, Act One, Scene One, Shakespeare (1604)

To wear your heart upon your sleeve is to expose your innermost emotions to the world. Writers do that. They expose their most private feelings to total strangers. Not once, not by accident, but deliberately and, to all extents and purposes, permanently. Yet writers are not, as a rule, extroverts. We work alone, imagining our worlds and populating them, moving characters through their lives, adding laughter, tears, horror, joy, or simple curiosity at whim. As we work, do we think ourselves safe from discovery? Puppet masters in the dark?

We’re not and we know it. The moment our words are read by someone else, we’re revealed for who we are, what we feel, how we believe. It’s in that moment a writer’s honesty and courage must triumph. Heart on a sleeve, where anyone can see it, because anything less is a cheat. The writer who flinches at exposure, who dares not show the depths of his fears and loves or show what truly matters above all else to him as a real person, will fail to capture any reader’s head or heart. Worst of all, that writer will fail the story.

Douglas Smith is a quiet man. (He’s also charming, handsome, and lights up a room, but I didn’t tell you that.) He doesn’t talk about himself. He doesn’t casually express passionate opinions (except about Buffy, but I didn’t tell you that, either). He’s the classic nice Canuck who hangs back in a crowd, happy to have his friends and family in the spotlight, always there if you need him.

When he writes? Oh, when he writes. That’s when Doug takes out his heart, pins it to his sleeve, and shows the world exactly who he is and what he cares about. His stories brim with his love for humanity, warts and all. His characters are regular folks. They make bad choices or face terrifying evil. Some succeed. Others succumb. Many struggle against hopeless odds. But even the most desperate, wrenching tragedies contain the seeds of redemption and love.

I believe you’ll know Doug, by the time you’ve read this collection. Not the details of his life, but what really matters. The details of his heart. The fine workings of a man who believes in family, in love, and in people, despite the overwhelming hardships that can afflict a life. Who knows how marvellous it is when honesty and courage find a way.

Welcome to Chimerascope.

~Julie Czerneda