Archives
A silly Google game…
Type your first name and "likes to" in quotation marks into Google and post the first 10 things that come up. So (with judicious editing, because among the things that come up are other people playing the same game)..."Edward likes to"......get out into the countryside to blast the cobwebs away....pose....pick his NOSE....take the everyday and make a unique statement reflecting personality and charm....call it "amusing."...work things out....be needed, as well as to cherish and protect his loved ones, of whom he is somewhat possessive....put Bella at ..."Please forgive me for not accepting your rejection letter…"
From a long (and well-worth reading in its entirety) article by Brian Doyle in the Kenyon Review ruminating on rejection letters, comes this example of an author's (Stefan Merkan's) response to a rejection--a response that speaks for every author ever stung by one:“Please forgive me for not accepting your rejection letter. At this time I cannot accept a rejection of my short story. I accept more than 99 percent of the rejections I receive. Many I don’t agree with, but I realize that accepting a piece of fiction for publication is a very subjective judgment call. My acceptance of your rejection letter is also a subjective process and therefore I am returning your letter to ...Novels ending badly
I've occasionally posted about the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest for the worst beginnings for novels. Now the Washington Post has inverted that and run a contest for the worst possible endings to novels. (Via Scott Edelman.)The winner:As the wail of the nearing sirens shook him awake, Todd rose from the charred remains of Rensfield Manor, wiped the ectoplasm from his brow and, stuffing the Amulet of Valtor inside his shirt, gazed ruefully at the venom-encrusted Sword of Darjan, realizing that this long night wasn't over yet, because he still had a heck of a lot of explaining to do. (LuAnn Bishop, West Haven, Conn.)My personal favorite, though, probably because I'm in the throes ...The Devil’s Writing Dictionary, Part 2…
...has now made its appearance at Lynn Viehl's site. A couple of more selections I like as I continue revisions to Terra Insegura:Novel: a rambling, proportionally disorganized fictional prose narrative of considerable length (usually 60,000 words or more) that typically possesses some semblance of a plot (unless literary, see Literature) that is presented in between sequences of pointless actions, boring speeches, and unconnected thoughts of a cast of characters who bear a striking resemblance to those individuals in real life who have pissed off the author of the work.***POV: an abbreviation for "point of view"; the segment of the story told by the author while role-playing a character, hiding their sentiments behind them, ...Lynn Viehl’s The Devil’s Writing Dictionary: Part 1
Lynn Viehl, who has previously graced us with The Devil's Publishing Dictionary, now offers The Devil's Writing Dictionary Part I. Lots of great entries, but since I'm working (okay, technically I'm blogging at the moment, not working, but you know what I mean) on the revisions for Terra Insegura, the ones that struck me were:Chapter: 1) a too-long or too-short installment of the story, made up of one or more scenes, which begins at an overly-contrived point the author decides is a revelation and ends at a plodding point the author views as suspenseful; 2) what a reader has to plow through to get the next tiny nugget of plot information; 3) the maximum ...I found this amusing…
Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives AreThe 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes
It’s October, which means not only that I am now getting up in the dark, but that it is time for the Ig Nobel Prizes, given annually by the Annals of Improbable Research “For achievements that first make people LAUGH then make them THINK” (apparently IN CAPITAL LETTERS).The 2008 prizes were handed out last Thursday at Harvard by “genuine, genuinely bemused Nobel Laureates.” The ceremony also featured the “World premiere for the very first time of the mini-opera ‘Redundancy, Again’,” and the 24/7 lectures, “in which several of the world's top thinkers each explains his or her subject twice: FIRST: a complete technical description in TWENTY-FOUR (24) SECONDS AND THEN: a clear summary that anyone ...They also write who only sit and wait
So yesterday I sent off two sample chapters and a synopsis to my agent, Ethan Ellenberg, for a new young adult fantasy tentatively titled Blue Fire. Now I'm waiting to see if he thinks it's in good shape to start submitting to publishers, or if he thinks I should work on it a bit more. And then, once he does start submitting it, I get to wait some more to see if anyone wants it.Wait, wait, wait.Well, it serves me right, I guess: after all, I was always warned that if I went into the arts I might end up as a waiter.Ba-DUM-bum. Thank you very much. I'll be here all week....Ray Bradbury and prunes
An unlikely combination?You'd be surprised! (I was.)Via James Lileks:The most boring headline in my RSS feeds today:
Statement by the American Egg Board and Egg Nutrition Center on AJCN study on egg consumptionJust one glimpse almost about made me keel over face down and snoring on the keyboard.
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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