We at McNally Robinson are thrilled to host one of the most unique new voices in dark fantasy fiction here at the store this evening. Michael Rowe is an award-winning journalist, and literary nonfiction writer whose essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in many publications including the Globe & Mail, The Advocate, and The Huffington Post, as well as CFQ, The Scream Factory, All-Hallows, among many others. For 17 years he was the first-tier Canadian correspondent for Fangoria.

He has won the Lambda Literary Award, the Randy Shilts Award, and the Spectrum Award, and has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, the Associated Church Press Award, and the International Horror Guild Award. As the creator and editor of the critically acclaimed horror anthologies Queer Fear and Queer Fear 2, he was hailed by Clive Barker in 2002 as having "changed forever the shape of horror fiction." He is married and lives in Toronto.

His first novel, Enter, Night is another triumph from independent publisher ChiZine Publications and is being launched in Winnipeg tonight at 7:30 pm at an event hosted by Winnipeg's own horror maestra Susie Moloney. This event is a homecoming of sorts, as Rowe attended St. John's Cathedral Boys' School in Selkirk from 1977 to 1981. More coverage of his time here and the book itself can be found in articles at the Winnipeg Free Press ("Enter, Anti-Twilight) and Outwords ("A vampire story from the heart").

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I am a voracious re-reader of books. On first read, I charge through the pages devouring the story. Satiated I turn back to the beginning and read slowly, ingesting the sentences and sections that I admire. Also, I confess to writing my thoughts alongside certain passages, circling unusual uses of words, and even dog-earring corners of pages, which befuddle or entrance me. I know some find this distasteful, but I hold onto the school days' joy in finding a previous reader's thoughts scribbled in the margins of textbooks - reading turned from a solitary activity into an interactive one. So my Night Table is often stacked with books that recycle themselves from top to bottom and bottom to top. I have chosen to discuss two of these books, a novel and a collection of short stories.

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I fall in love with most books I am reading. I am steadfastly fickle in this matter. Whittling out recommendations from my night table stacks is a daunting task, so I have chosen a few special books that have contributed to my journey as a writer. These works not only delighted me as a reader, but also informed my own endeavours - made me ask the questions: How did the author craft this offering? How did they evoke emotion? Conjure humanity? How did they convince me of the authenticity of their created worlds? (With apologies to those omitted, including Shakespeare and Atwood).

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I have to apologize to my poor mother. Growing up, I would often engage in heated arguments about religion and politics with my father and brother. Every week we'd get into it as we drove to the football game, while Mom would beg us to be quiet and threaten to get out of the car at the next traffic light if we didn't stop. But you know, we still loved each other even if we disagreed and even if I had my brother pinned down in the back seat threatening to spit in his face if he didn't admit The Liberals would lose the next election. I think these discussions sharpened our wits. Even today, I often write as if I'm arguing with my brother in Dad's 93 Taurus. I've never believed religion and politics were taboo subjects; after all, what else is worth discussing?

So here are a few books that have made me think and I believe are worthy of heated discussion.

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