The art work is a detail of the Terra Insegura cover by Hugo Award-winning artist Stephan Martiniere.

The back cover reads:

WORLDS AT WAR—

Marseguro, a water world far distant from Earth, is home to a small colony of both unmodifi ed humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created by geneticist Victor Hansen from modifi ed human DNA. For seventy years the Selkies and the unmodifi ed landlings have dwelled together in peace, safe from pursuit by the current fanatical theocratic rulers of Earth.

But everything changes when Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force—with Victor Hansen’s own grandson Richard aboard—is sent to eradicate this abomination.

Though the forces of Earth are equipped with weapons far superior to those of this peaceful, backwater planet, the people of Marseguro are not without resources to fi ght back. Soon it will be hard to determine who has more to fear—those being attacked or the invaders from Earth….

Marseguro won Canada’s prestigious Prix Aurora, and Terra Insegurawas a finalist for this award.

“The settings are well drawn and creative…. The characters possess substance, emotions and realistic motivations…. Most important, the action and surprises keep coming…this book is almost impossible to put down.” —SCI FI Weekly

“Terra Insegura is the perfect balance to Marseguro: you’ve got to read this one if you read the first. It does stand on its own, but why deny yourself the pleasure of the full literary tapestry Edward Willett weaves
with these two?” —SF Scope

So, if you haven’t yet read Marseguro and/or Terra Insegura, you’ve got another chance. And for the same price as just a single paperback, you get two full novels!

At the very least, this will be the thickest fiction book I’ve ever had my name on: it comes in at a whopping 720 pages.

By way of reminder, here’s the synopsis of this upcoming (though probably not until next spring, I’m told now) sequel:

In France, archaeologists have begun to investigate newly discovered cave paintings…but deeper inside the cave, resting below a pool of icy black water, lies a different treasure: the second shard of Excalibur.

Ariane may be on a quest to stop Rex Major—Merlin’s modern-day persona—from taking over the world, but she still has to deal with high school. Wally’s sister, Felicia, and her clique have vowed to take revenge, but with Ariane’s newfound powers and the first shard of Excalibur by her side, the fight takes a dangerous turn. After Felicia is gravely injured, Wally begins to question his loyalties. Can he trust Ariane or the Lady of the Lake, the woman who gave Ariane her dangerous powers? Rex Major is more than willing to take advantage of Wally’s doubts.

Ariane must recover the second shard–but this time she may have to do it alone.

Do I like it? Well, yeah! The airship isn’t a perfect rendition of the airship in my head, but that’s hardly surprising. It’s got the right feel. And it’s definitely eye-catching!

I’m already discussing ideas for the second Lee Arthur Chane book with Sheila Gilbert, my editor at DAW Books. She seems to like the notion I’m tossing around. Now all I have to do is flesh it out into a formal proposal…for a multi-book series, I might add. So that’s high on my to-do list over the next few weeks. Very high. Whee!

Fortunately for my sanity, Fine Homes and Fine Weddings only come out twice a year…

The art work is by Allen Douglas, and I like it a lot.

Here’s the blurb from the Amazon.ca page (where you can already pre-order the book…and where, obviously, some people have, because it has a remarkably high rating for not actually being in print yet):

Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call.

Ariane learns that she descends from the Lady of the Lake, and soon the stories she thought were legend become a real life nightmare. She and her unexpected companion, Wally Knight, are charged with finding the scattered shards of Excalibur before Merlin can get his hands on them. The infamous magician, known in this world as software tycoon Rex Major, is trying to recover the pieces of Arthur’s sword so he can reforge it and restore his limitless power. Suddenly, Ariane’s life seems to have a purpose and a clear direction – but how can a troubled teen and her brainy sidekick outwit the ancient, ruthless sorcerer?

I’m excited about the upcoming release of Song of the Sword and can’t wait to write the rest of the series. It’s going to be a blast!

I agree with him, of course. It really is a terrific cover. Shaun writes:

The artwork for Terra Insegura is stunning, as are all of Martiniere’s paintings. A big plus is the cover actually matches what is in the book. What more can I say? Just look at it!

However, I must take issue with some of Shaun’s other comments in his list of awards for 2009, particularly the notion that you should refuse to buy books from someone whose opinions you disagree with, a position Shaun espouses with regard to John C. Wright and Orson Scott Card.

Buy or don’t buy books because you like or don’t like them, not because you do or don’t like something the author said. (Same thing holds for movies and music. Lots of great actors, musicians and artists are awful, awful people…but their work is still tremendous and still capable of offering value to the viewer or listener.)

In my own case, I don’t agree with anyone about everything–and the more strongly someone expresses an opinion the more likely I am to want to argue with it. Many, many writers whose work I enjoy hold political opinions I find ludicrous, annoying, and potentially harmful to society if held by enough people, but so what? Their work, as committed to the page, stands or falls on its own merits,  as far as I’m concerned.

I suspect Shaun wouldn’t agree with many of my opinions (I’m a liberally progressive  libertarian conservative, or possibly a conservatively progressive liberal libertarian, if you must know), but he likes my books. That’s because I mostly keep political opinions to myself, or only share them with very close friends, and as a result he’s probably unaware of all the things we disagree on.

Why don’t I talk about politics more? Because the waters of political discourse are poisonous, soul-sucking whirlpools today. Express a strong opinion on either side of any contoversial topic, and invite a deluge of nasty emails, personal attacks, and name-calling. And to what end? You’ll change no one’s mind, and (if you’re a writer) you’re likely to alienate potential readers.

I’d like readers of all political persuasions to read my books. They can disagree with them, hate them, love them, whatever–but I want that decision to be made based on what’s in the books, not what I might have posted elsewhere on, say, abortion, gun control, gay rights, or the abysmal record of this or that politician.

I’m glad there are plenty of writers who don’t share my reticence and are willing to jump into political discussion with both feet. I enjoy reading many of them. But I don’t plan to be one of them any time soon…and I don’t plan to boycott anyone for their expression of opinion, no matter how much I might personally disagree with it, either.

Still, I’ve grabbed a few minute this evening to post a few things.

First, here’s some video of me winning the Aurora Award for Marseguro, courtesy of of Neo-Opsis Science Fiction editor Karl Johanson (who won one himself that evening):

A couple of additional stories on the win showed up in the media in addition to the ones I mentioned in previous posts. Here’s the Regina LeaderPost‘s story (which got picked up Global TV and other components of the CanWest conglomerate), and here’s one from the weekly newspaper I once worked for as a reporter/photographer and eventually news editor, The Weyburn Review.

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that there is also a sequel to Marseguro, entitled Terra Insegura. Oh, and look, here’s a review!

From Fantasy & SciFi Lovin’ News & Reviews:

Terra Insegura is an action-packed thrill-ride that outshines its predecessor…Plot twists, surprise characters, and well-drawn action make this novel both enjoyable and a prime example of why science fiction is still awesome. I find it difficult to complain about this novel, because I had problems putting it down. Terra Insegura has just enough action to keep me fixed to the page, and plenty of suspense (and even a little romance) to make this more than just another book of explosions and space battles. It’s a novel that knows it is good science fiction and isn’t afraid to show it…science fiction at its best.

I think the reviewer liked it.

Not sure that it means much in the big scheme of things, but I also discovered that Terra Insegura just missed making Locus Magazine‘s August bestsellers’ list; they mention it as “the new runner-up.” Maybe it’ll make it in September.

Meanwhile, some people are just now reading Marseguro. From the LiveJournal My Den:

This was an excellent read. It has action, murderous cultists, an airhead who becomes a resistance fighter and a brainwashed murderous clerk who becomes a hero. It is a fascinating universe that Willett has created and I intend to read the sequel as soon as possible.

Others prefer to judge a book by its cover. On the theory that all publicity is good publicity, here’s a link so you can listen in to the commentors at Good Show Sir! react to the Marseguro cover (which I still like. So there!).

Finally, as a reminder that I also write non-fiction, here’s a review of my book Disease-Hunting Scientist from the National Science Teachers’ Association NSTA Recommends website, by third-grade teacher Jacqueline Pfeiffer:

I couldn’t put this book down, and neither will your students. What an impetus to do more research and reading!…

The publishers say the book is for readers in grades five and up or ages 10 and up. The reading flows so easily that I believe younger students who have an interest in science would enjoy the book as well. I highly recommend this book for students who want to explore scientific fields.

Very nice!

Here’s the description from the back of the book:

“The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials—both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. In The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie, Edward Willett explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.”

There’s also a nice blurb:

“The mutiny on the Bounty is one of the most misunderstood events in maritime history. Here, Edward Willett reveals the true events behind that episode, and attempts to explain why these have been obscured from popular memory by filmmakers who rarely let the facts get in the way of a good story. But, as Willett shows, the truth—if less romantic than fiction—is equally fascinating.” – Timothy G. Lynch, PhD, Assistant Professor, Maritime History, California Maritime Academy, California State University.

I daresay it’s the only book I’ll ever write which has Mel Gibson on the cover!

Here’s the blurb from the back:

Working from high-tech labs in Canada or remote villages in Africa, epedemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new wayts to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!

I’d seen that before. What I hadn’t seen, until the books arrived today, was this very nice cover quote from Jonathan M. Samet, MD, Professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair, Director, Institute for Global Health, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (quite the title!):

“This book captures the excitement and significance of epidemiology and the hard work of being an epidemiologist. It is a great starting point for those who want to benefit world health by becoming an epidemiologist.”

Very nice. And now that I have my author’s copies, I can get the book entered into the Saskatchewan Book Awards before the first deadline of July 31.