Nick Voro's Blog

This is a very rare edition. If you want to support a great indie press and purchase a collectible item, please visit:

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An interview (12-20 Questions) with Rob McLennan, novelist and poet, published in Canada, the United States, England, Ireland, and Japan. And the recipient of the CAA / Air Canada Award, the John Newlove Poetry Award, the Mid-Career Artist Award from the Ottawa Arts Council, and twice longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize.

https://robmclennan.blogspot.com/2023...

A huge thank you to Rob McLennan for the opportunity and the excellent questions asked.

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WorldCat Listings for Two Editions:

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https://worldcat.org/title/1378509340

Conversational Therapy is a thoroughly satisfying collection, particularly the prose. Voro doesn't settle for a single subject matter or narrative thrust; each of the short stories attacks its given subject from a different angle and he's mastered an assortment of voices. Extraneous verbiage is kept to a minimum and Voro's focus pays off for readers on every page. The brief plays included in the collection are driven by sharply drawn characters and strong dialogue. It's a worthwhile reading experience from beginning to end.

- Jason

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

***

Bookstagram’s very own, and all round good guy, Nick Voro has written a book, and you should buy it!

I read this over the last couple of days whilst on vacation, and a good travel companion it proved to be. Nick has written a collection of seven short stories and three plays. No easy feat. The themes are pretty varied, and I don’t know if it was Nick’s intention, but I got a pretty Tarantinoesque vibe from many of the stories. (Nick may not have aimed for this at all; I guess people’s perceptions and frame of mind whilst reading obviously vary wildly.)

One story was particularly stand-out for me. The Last Laugh. About a standup comedian whose career takes a nosedive and the depressive tole that takes. We also learn about his dysfunctional and toxic childhood which led him into standup in the first place. Nick’s writing here is really on point, and I’d love to read more in this style.

It’s a wholly entertaining and engrossing read, and Nick is such a lovely, supportive person on Bookstagram - go buy his book and spread the word. Congratulations Nick!

- od1_40reads

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvj_RgQrOFg/

***

Thanks to all around nice guy and wannabe bad guy Nick Voro @nick_voro for allowing me to read his first published work, “Conversational Therapy, Stories and Plays”.

This series of mostly short stories is very dark, ranging from black humor to sadistic behavior. The characters are evil, corrupt, morally bankrupt, devoid of hope and sometimes suicidal, when they aren’t too busy murdering others. I felt like I had tuned in to a 1940’s gangster film with all of its slick lines, saucy women and suspense. Some of the passages were a bit too much for this gentle reader, and I had to keep reminding myself, “Its fiction!”

But I’m glad Nick took a chance on me to read and review his book even though we duly warned each other (me that I’m a lightweight with sex and violence and he that some of his work is dark). I did really enjoy the writing style, the lucid scenes and hating on the dislikable characters, and think some of the material would make great short films.

I was able to especially get into “The Christmas Eve Murder”, since it was the longest with the most well-defined plot. I also liked the twist to some of the stories.

My only criticisms are that I prefer reading without expletives (which there were a lot of due to the nature of certain characters, though some stories had none), and I didn’t know what to make of the references to Christianity.

Overall I think Nick is a sophisticated and talented writer and I’d love to see him write some murder mysteries, spy stories, or less dark (but still snarky) comedy in future.

- Debbie

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoLwbrgLA...

***

Nick Voro’s book opens with the loveliest, most tender dedication; it will bring tears to your eyes and make your heart grow two sizes bigger. If you’ve had interactions on here with Nick, that will not surprise you - he always has a kind, supportive word for anyone who needs it.

DO NOT LET THAT FOOL YOU. There is another side to the mind of Nick Voro.

Conversational Therapy is a collection of strange and disturbing stories and plays about strange and disturbing people living isolated, alienated lives. Sometimes the writing is quite self-aware in the manner of an old-fashioned detective novel, not because Voro doesn’t know what he’s doing but because his characters are self-aware. They know they are weird, different, disenfranchised, living on the fringes. They’re letting you know that they know. Explanation, clarification, justification - they’re telling their stories.

Conversational Therapy is a study of the peculiar, the uncanny, the odd, the curious, the downright bizarre. But through the absurdity lies a discernible trail of social commentary that is universally recognizable and relatable.

A word of warning going in: never take a seat next to a Voro character on a park bench.

TW: murder, violence, torture.

(ID: A black & white book on a red book o a black surface.)

- Jenn

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUc-wMLS...

***

“Complete loss of control over my life, failure to remember the last time I had a good day. And it all started before the audience stopped laughing. It started when I lost her.”

A while back, Nick Voro sent me his stories and plays — Conversational Therapy.

To be quite honest, shame on me for not reading much sooner. I am incredibly proud of my friend… in awe, really. Voro crafted a brilliant array of literature.

Each story and play provides analyzation into the human psyche. What is an individual capable of, when pushed to extremes? Is it survival of the fittest? Or really, the most intelligent?

The humour is what does it — very dark, yet, very clever. I certainly enjoy anything twisted. There were many moments while reading, of me literally, laughing out loud.

The depictions of society, fuelled with irony, are enlightening. As well, kudos on the writing of female characters. Each woman, exuded confidence, charm, and wit. I love that.

When I was younger, I used to be involved in theatre. I loved acting, I also enjoyed directing/screenplay writing. While reading, specifically the plays, it made me reminisce. I am realizing that it may be a passion I need to return to.

Being creative is a wonderful thing. Witnessing friends be creative, is even more rewarding.

@nick_voro you are a genius. Bravo. 👏

5 stars, my dude.

- Alysha

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmHcwumpI...

***

CONVERSATIONAL THERAPY: STORIES AND PLAYS is a collection of short work that felt fresh and original. These stories and one-act plays were immersive and engaging, immediately drawing me into these worlds of neo-noir and absurdity. The yarns are captivating and the humor dark and, at times, genuinely funny. When I was reading the noir stories, I was flooded with feelings that were reminiscent of when I was a younger reader consuming Graham Greene’s “entertainments” - his noir thrillers - and Voro’s work here posses the same urgency and excitement. I sometimes have trouble finding myself fully engaged in the spaces created in short works, but Voro’s world building made it easy to get lost in his words.

- Richie

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkMDYlyPV...

***

This collection of short stories and plays by Nick Voro—Canada-based, Ukraine-born author—explores the murky depths of the human psyche as represented in the moments of emotional turmoil, pain, and struggle.

The overarching theme of “conversational therapy” emphasizes the importance of narrative and communication to the process of finding meaning in the life that seems so meaningless and grotesque at times. The characters and narrators, with their acute senses and somewhat distorted perceptions, suffer from “the deflating confidence, engulfing depression, inability to face reality” (36), from rejection and isolation; they often find themselves on the run escaping from their problems, “a life of disharmony” (36), or the made-up personalities that they have been projecting onto the world but that have nothing to do with their ‘true’ selves.

Many of the characters experiencing the inner imaginal drama enacted by their perfectionism, their past or present experiences find themselves all alone, unable to connect to others or even their own selves, and on the verge of giving up everything, including their lives. The pivotal lack (of love, understanding, connection, success, etc.) permeates most of the stories and plays and guides the narratives’ plot unraveling. Narrative, thus, serves as a conversational therapy’s tool to channel the experiences of lack and pain.

The stories in the collection can definitely provide case studies for what Jacques Lacan called the Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real—the three main psychoanalytical realms, or orders, each corresponding to certain facets of the human psyche—it is all there, hidden in the depths of Nick Voro’s writing.

If you like psychological tales with unexpected twists and elements of crime fiction and if you are not appalled by the detailed descriptions of violence, then you will surely enjoy this collection.

My personal favorite stories of the collection are “The Last Laugh” and “A Keepsake Memory.” “The Last Laugh” painstakingly draws a psychological portrait of a stand-up comedian experiencing a decline in his career which results in him developing severe depression and an eating disorder. I appreciated Nick Voro’s experimenting with different voices and perspectives, trying on different personas as narrators and focalizers in his short stories. Thus, “A Keepsake Memory” is told from the perspective of a smart and perceptive teenage girl who finds herself imprisoned in a mental institution where she is treated by a sadistic psychiatrist after her attempt to commit suicide.

- Diana

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg1UmcjLG...

***

Hello #bookstagram and hello @nick_voro let me tell you how much I enjoyed this book: to the noir and back.

One of the things I have truly loved about the community we are a part of is the support for writers who boldly dive into their creative worlds and share snapshots of their imagination. Nick has done a fantastic job with his book of stories and plays.

Some highlights: the short play My Haunted Life got me right at the sixth sense. The Train Ride hitchcocked me like a psycho stranger. A Keepsake Memory will be kept with a smile of revenge.

Love this guy, love the support he gives our bookish people, and want you to know how much we all must rally in support of his people back home in 🇺🇦… they are showing the world how to fight for what you love.

I stand with you, Brother. Let’s keep writing. I won’t quit if you won’t quit. Seamus approved.

- Steve

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcRkv03Ll...

***

My good friend, Chris Robinson

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...

did a reading of one of my stories on Instagram. If you are interested, please check it out:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CewHStxg...