Official Website of Author, Producer, and Artist Michael Mortensen

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I'm still amazed when I think about Karnival's success to date. Being from a micro-publisher, who would have expected Quill & Quire to attend my book launch!! Their review and that in The Globe & Mail were thrilling to say the least.

My proudest achievement, however, was the novel's selection for inclusion in the CNIB Library: a highly-competetive, juried process. Sadly, my relationship with Gutter Press quickly deteriorated after Sam Hiyate's departure, and today is one of "plaintiff v. defendant" in Small Claims Court.

The first novel in the Karnival Trilogy, narrated by Madame Isis Klieg (née Alice Clemmons). A Sam Hiyate Book.

N.B. I am grateful to the Ontario Arts Council Writer's Reserve for assistance in the writing of this project.

			English DAISY Audio Book on CD. 8 hours 19 minutes. CNIB, 2003. ISBN 0-616-17573-6
			English 4-Track Cassette. 8 hours 19 minutes. CNIB, 2003. ISBN 0-616-17572-8
			Trade Paperback. 220 pgs. Gutter Press, 2002. ISBN 1-896356-38-9 Limited Availability
			Excerpted in Blood & Aphorisms #40 - 10th Anniversary Issue.
			Licenses for Print, Film and Audio available. Contact Michael Mortensen.
			For more in-depth information, visit the official Karnival website: www.kliegs.com

Nola was certain she had escaped the horrors of her past - until the night her daughter came home with a Klieg's brochure in one of her three hands . . .

Quotes:

Quill & Quire - Robert Wiersema
"From its evocative opening sentences to its startling yet inevitable finale, Karnival ... weaves a compelling spell. ... Mortensen has created a vividly true world, populated with misfits and cast-offs, runaways and seekers."

The Globe and Mail - Jim Bartley
"A precarious mix of picaresque, horror, romance and the explicitly inspirational, Karnival is a bumpy but entertaining ride ending in a heartfelt plea for human dignity. ... sheer weirdness."

Showcase - A. Haq, Producer
"The strongest opening chapter in contemporary Canadian literature. ... Enjoyed every page thoroughly. ... What great writing, amazing setting and super pacing."

Amazon.ca - Moe Berg, Author and Musician (The Pursuit of Happiness)
"Mortensen's characters are extremely resourceful and competent, like bizzaro-world versions of Ayn Rand heroes ... Mortensen's simple storytelling makes even the strangest events perfectly believable, though, and Karnival's themes are familiar ones: people should be accepted for who they are, and love comes when we accept ourselves."

		Karnival was acquired by Gutter Press in May 2000. That summer, publisher Sam Hiyate -- who also published Blood & Aphorisms -- requested that I prepare an excerpt for publication in this very special issue.
		Blood & Aphorisms #40 - 10th Anniversary Issue. December 2000. ISSN 1183-1449
		For more in-depth information, visit the official Karnival website: www.kliegs.com

	In 1991, I was approached by Ron McMullen Enterprises to write copy for Can-Am Entertainment's Toronto's First Class Males Calendar. Can-Am toured a troupe of male erotic dancers through nightclubs across North America, providing stagettes and strip-o-grams by special appointment. The calendars served as promotion and a further source of revenue. Sales were brisk, and in 1992 I was asked to write copy for the '93 edition, now renamed Canadian Fantasies, and produced in a larger 12"X14" format. The guys were all a lot of fun -- and, not surprisingly, some have gone on to star in adult films -- so it was certainly quite an experience!
	Tour Agent: Can-Am Entertainment

	Canadian Fantasies Calendar '93. © 1992 Ron McMullen Enterprises
	Distribution: Shauna Kate Inc.
	Photography: Korby Banner
	Graphic Design: P.Z. Design
	Toronto's First Class Males Calendar '92. © 1991 Ron McMullen Enterprises
	Photography: Jon Summerville

In my junior year, Edgewater High School (Orlando, FL) held a literary contest. Grand Prize was $25.00 and publication in the Yearbook. My untitled short story took top honours, though I remember little about it other than the heroine's name (Victoria) and its opening phrase: "Somehow, sobbing, she came through the trees ..."

Edgewater High School Yearbook 1977


		A teenager when this was published, I closed my letter with (now rather embarassingly): "Please take the time to create and have pride in the most fantastic, appealing and unique creation of the century . . . VAMPIRELLA!" Overstatement aside, the editors must have really liked this phrase, for it reappeared some issues later, tacked onto a letter from another reader.
		Vampirella #40 - March 1975 58885-6 PDC Released December 1974