Archives
Welcome to the new, improved edwardwillett.com!
For a long, long time I've wanted to consolidate the bulk of my web activities under my main domain name, edwardwillett.com. After experimentation and thought, I finally decided WordPress was the logical way to go...and that I needed professional help. (No wise cracks, please!) At just about the time I came to that conclusion, Justine Larbelestier's new site went live. I liked the look of it, and she seemd pleased with the service she had gotten from PagedMedia, which specializes in writers' sites. So I contacted Stephanie Leary there and we began the process of designing the new, improved, edwardwillett.com. And now, just in time for the launch of Terra Insegura, here it is! It's much cleaner and ...I’m Number Six!*
It's not exactly earth-shattering, but I was still tickled today to discover (thanks to an automated Google ego-search) that my main website, edwardwillett.com, is ranked sixth by Alexa in Arts>Literature>World Literature>Canadian>Authors.I'm just behind playwright Norm Foster (whom I got to see performing in one of his own plays in Kincardine, Ontario, the summer before last), and just ahead of a Lucy Maud Montgomery site.I'd love to think it's because I'm such a popular author, but actually it's because there are almost 20 years worth of science columns at the site. You can hardly search for anything science-related without finding one of my columns somewhere in the mix!Oh, and if you're ...I’ve put another short story online!
It's "The Wind," which appeared in Dark Wisdom: The Magazine of Dark Fiction, Issue 11, which, according to their website, was the final print edition of the magazine.In other words, I killed it!I hope it doesn't come back to haunt me...You can read "The Wind" here.(The background art for the image above is from the original illustration by Philip Rogers.)I get quoted by CBS Sports
Well, CBSSports.com, anyway. From an article called "How to improve your ball-striking ability":In talking technology, it's always interesting to take a brief look back at the evolution in equipment making. As author Edward Willett explains: "When golf started out, and for centuries after, golf clubs were all made of wood. At a fairly leisurely pace, other materials began to be used for both the heads and the shafts. There were fiberglass shafts, aluminum shafts and steel shafts. Club heads eventually began to be made out of both wood (hence, "woods") and steel (hence, "irons"). But in recent years, more exotic materials have been used." Of course, it would have been nice if they'd ...I get quoted by CBS Sports
Well, CBSSports.com, anyway. From an article called "How to improve your ball-striking ability":In talking technology, it's always interesting to take a brief look back at the evolution in equipment making. As author Edward Willett explains: "When golf started out, and for centuries after, golf clubs were all made of wood. At a fairly leisurely pace, other materials began to be used for both the heads and the shafts. There were fiberglass shafts, aluminum shafts and steel shafts. Club heads eventually began to be made out of both wood (hence, "woods") and steel (hence, "irons"). But in recent years, more exotic materials have been used." Of course, it would have been nice if they'd ...Top search words bringing people to my site
I haven't done this for a while, but here are the top search terms currently bringing people to my main site, with links to what these terms find you at edwardwillett.com.As you can see, our old friends the spider goats continue to be high on the list.time perceptionanimal emotionsgolf technologyanimal intelligenceplant communicationspider goatscobalt bombplayground physicsbattle suituseless body partsedward hubblespider goatperception of timechoosing a matehow to do improvhobart's funniesReturn of the popular search list: spider goats still rule!
I haven't done this for a while: here are the top 15 searches among the last 4,000 visitors to edwardwillett.com, with links to the pages on my site they have led people to...and, yes, even though it's been weeks since I posted such a list, spider goats continue to rule the roost!spider goatsspider goattime perception how to make french friesgolf technology ball scuffingbattle suitanimal intelligencehygiene hypothesis cat allergy cureplant communication animal emotions choosing a matepermathrinhow long does skunk smell lastAlthough skunks still make an appearance, I am ...The ten most popular entry pages…
...to my main website, edwardwillett.com, are currently:http://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/animalemotions.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/footballphysics.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/soccer.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/spidergoats.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/shoobird.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/skunks.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/pimples.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/golftech.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/uselessbodyparts.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/driving.htmJust thought you'd want to know."The Spider-Goat Clones of Montreal," revisited
Every day or two I check the SiteMeter stats for edwardwillett.com, and today I noticed my visits were around 200 higher than I would expect (I usually get 350 to 450 visitors each day, but today I'm up over 600). A check revealed that the extra traffic is coming from people searching for "spider goat" or "spider goats," which leads them to this eight-year-old column called "The Spider-Goat Clones of Montreal," about Nexia Biotechnologies' successful efforts to create a herd of goats containing a spider gene that resulted in spider-silk proteins being expressed in their milk. Nexia hoped to harvest the spider silk from the milk for a variety of purposes, from medical sutures to bullet-proof vests....Odd search terms and how they found me
Usually I post a list of the top search terms bringing people to edwardwillett.com. This week I thought I'd post some of the strangest search terms bringing people to edwardwillett.com. You sometimes have to wonder what the searchers were really looking for.I've left the original search linked to the term."most famous cows" - This found my column on skyscrapers.absorbing grease from pizza - This turned up my column "Pizza, Beer & Fries."things that stink - Naturally, this leads you my column "The Science of Stink."jamaica daci dance - I don't even know what this is, but ...
Edward Willett is a The Shards of Excalibur, Book 1: Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel, coming in October from Lobster Press
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….
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
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. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
