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Magebane hits bookstores today!
Is it October 4 already? It is, and that means that Magebane is officially available, published (of course) by DAW Books. You can buy it in all the usual places: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Chapters, Barnes & Noble, to name just a few. And it's available in both paperback and popular ebook formats. Here's the blurb from the back, just to remind you what it's all about: The kingdom of Evrenfels is the last bastion of magic in the world, cut off from the outside by the Great Barrier through which magic cannot penetrate. For centuries, the Magelords have ruled their kingdom with ...The Space-Time Continuum: Steampunk
Here's my latest column for the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild's newsletter Freelance... *** They’ve become a fixture at science fiction conventions: people wearing goggles, leather coats, high laced boots and aviator caps, carrying strange devices of glass, brass and leather. They look old-fashioned and futuristic at the same time. They’re aficionados of a sub-genre of science fiction and fantasy known as steampunk, one of the odder sub-genres to come along in a while...and one that has proven remarkably long-lived. Way back in the 1980s, the hot movement in SF was cyberpunk, of which Canada’s own William Gibson was one of the top practitioners. Cyberpunk was all about tech-savvy geeks in mirror shades hacking and surfing computer networks. Steampunk has pretty much nothing in common with ...DAW buys my new YA series!
Big news this week: DAW Books, publisher of my three science fiction novels Lost in Translation, Marseguro and Terra Insegura, and my upcoming Lee Arthur Chane fantasy Magebane, has bought the first two-books of a new YA fantasy series, the first book of which is called Masks. Here's the "high-concept" description from my proposal: In a tyrannical land where obedience is ensured by magical Masks that all must wear, a renegade girl must learn to harness her own magical abilities to defeat oppression at home and invasion from outside. And, just for fun, here's the opening (as it stands now): A week before her thirteenth birthday and her Masking, Mara sat on the city wall, bare legs dangling into space, and looked down ...Another nice review of Song of the Sword
This one popped up at Just Deb, and is part of a regular feature she calls Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays: This is the first book in the Shards of Excalibur series. And it's going to be a good one-series I mean. Loved the first and how Arthurian legend was woven into a troubled teens life. A character who drove the story, which is always a favorite for me. I liked her a lot--especially in once scene where the bad guy (er, girl) gets a taste of--well, I shall say no more. This is also a favourite of one of my book club kids. He's twelve ...Magebane galleys are here!
Which means I get to spend the next few days re-reading my own book, and hoping the only errors I see are little ones that are easily corrected, and not major "what-was-I-thinking-aargh-it's-too-late-to-fix-it-now!" ones. Here's the title and byline from the title page. I love the little airship logo, which appears at the start of each chapter: And here's the inside-front-flap copy, a small excerpt from fairly early on in the book: CLOSER AND CLOSER DREW THE WALL OF FOG. Periodically Anton lit the burner to keep them at five thousand feet. Finally the Professor said, “I think it is time to ascend.” Anton pulled back on the throttle. The flame roared, ...Cover art for Twist of the Blade!
Just got the cover art for Twist of the Blade, Book 2 of my Shards of Excalibur YA series from Lobster Press. The artist is Paul Davey. That's a different artist from last time, and so Ariane looks a little different (she seems to have lost weight). And that's not quite the way I picture Wally. Bu it's eye-catching! 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 ...Magebane marketing
New American Library (under whose umbrella my publisher DAW Books falls) has distributed its catalogue to booksellers for its October releases, which include Magebane. This image shows the relevant page. The text reads: Four centuries ago, Magic was banished from the land... that May be about to change. Four centures ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their ...Cover art for Magebane!
Just got this today: the cover art for Magebane, the first fantasy novel by my alter ego Lee Arthur Chane. It's by Paul Young (and you can see more of his artwork here). The cover blurb will change slightly, because in the course of revisions that reference to "four centuries" became "eight centuries," but otherwise, this is what you'll see on the shelves come October 4. 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 ...Song of the Sword “a great new spin on a familiar story”
A brief new review of Song of the Sword at the blog think.thank.thought (a trail of reading) says: Song of the Sword is carried by an exciting plot that gives a great new spin to a favourite story. It can also take credit for a great cast of characters...set up to play out what might become the battle of the ages. I can see that exciting adventures await as they all struggle to decide what's worth fighting for: power, friends, or family. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series! Read the whole thing.The Space-Time Continuum: In praise of Locus
Here's the latest of my SF/fantasy columns for the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild's magazine Freelance. *** For most of the world, Charlie Brown is only a beloved cartoon character with a round head. But for those immersed in the science fiction and fantasy genres, Charlie Brown was also the nickname (though he hated it) of Charles N. Brown, owner, publisher and editor of Locus Magazine, which he co-founded in 1968 in Boston. Although Brown died last year of a heart attack while flying home to California from a science fiction convention, the magazine that began life as a mimeographed newsletter more than four decades ago continues to thrive, ...
Edward Willett is a Subscribe to my weekly science column for free!
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
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
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel 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….
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).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
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.
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