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Live from Meadow Lake!
I know intellectually Saskatchewan is a big province (it's only slightly smaller than Texas, and you know the old rhyme about that: "The sun done riz, the sun done set, and we ain't outta Texas yet!") (OK, maybe you didn't know that old rhyme, but now you do.) Still, you get a really good feel for it driving north, because the province is much taller than it is wise. So, I drove roughly northwest from Regina about 580 kilometres today to get to Meadow Lake, and I know darn well that about half the province ...Where I’ll be next weekend
I've got so much to get done this week that it's hard to look ahead to next weekend, but I thought I should mention that next Saturday I'll be reading at the Meadow Lake Public Library at 7 p.m.Oh, look, here's a link! (The photo is the one they're using to promote the reading; I believe it's from the launch of A Safe and Prosperous Future in the Saskatchewan Legislature Library.)If you're in the area, I hope to see you there!Toronto Reading: Centennial
Last night's reading at the Centennial branch of the Toronto Public Library was certainly very different from the one the night before. We had a small (but high-quality!) crowd at the Beaches, Candas and I, in a quiet, intimate setting. At the Centennial branch, Alison Baird (that's her reading in the picture at right) and I were in a large multi-purpose room packed with more than 100 teens, members of an incredibly popular after-school library group (YAG, it's called--Youth Action Group, if I remember correctly). They were boisterous, but still generally attentive and they asked great questions. It was fun!Long way ...Foresight: Speculative Fiction in Canada
That's the name of a Canada Council-funded reading and discussion series starting up soon at the Toronto Public Library--and I'll be one of the 26 featured authors.Here's how my two events are described:Candas Jane Dorsey and Edward WillettTwo of Canadian SF’s most fearless explorers of big ideas, Candas Jane Dorsey (A Paradigm of Earth) and Edward Willett (Marseguro) will read from recent work and discuss what science fiction can tell us about the personal and political worlds we live in now. Followed by Q&A and book-signing; books for sale by Bakka-Phoenix Science Fiction Bookstore.Wednesday, May 28, 7 p.m.Beaches BranchEdward ...My Jimi Hendrix bio an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers
I just discovered that my children's biography of Jimi Hendrix for Enslow's American Rebels series, Jimi Hendrix: Kiss the Sky, is on the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection list, announced by the Young Adult Library Services Association at the American Library Association's ALA Midwinter Meeting back in mid-January.The Quick Picks list, selected annually, suggests books that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure; it is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read.I'm honored!Post-signing post
Well, that went pretty well. McNally-Robinson did indeed have Lost in Translation (already signed, though, since I signed their entire stock on my last trip up here), A Safe and Prosperous Future and Genetics Demystified on hand. I signed two or three books and talked to several school librarians, so it was all good. And I had a nice chat with my table-mate, Glenda Goertzen, whose first book, The Prairie Dogs, came out recently from Fitzhenry-Whiteside, and whose sequel, City Dogs, will be out soon.As promised, I have pictures! First of all, I'm at the Saskatoon Inn, a place one does not go to in order to admire the surrounding scenery:...Signing in Saskatoon
So here I am at the Saskatoon Inn, due to go down in a couple of hours and take part in an Author Signing Coffee House as part of the Saskatchewan School Library Association Conference getting underway here, along with lots of other Saskatchewan writers: Rebecca Grambo, Byrna Barclay, Dave Glaze, Linda Aksomitis, Rod MacIntyre, Glenda Goertzen, Dianne Young, Larry Warwaruk, Carla Braidek, Ruth Millar, Deana Driver, Glen Sorestad, Berniece and Bernie Christenson, Bill Waiser, Lloyd Ratzlaff, Doug Johnson and Lynda Monahan, to be preciese.McNally Robinson is providing the books to be signed, which presumably means I'll be signing A Safe and Prosperous Future and Lost in Translation, since I don't think they have anything else ...From Verne to Vonnegut…
...is the name of this exhibition, celebrating "A Century of Science Fiction," at the University of Delaware Library. I've only scratched the surface of what they've put on the Web, but I'll be back to read it in depth.Alas, it seems unlikely I'll make it to the University of Delaware to see the actual exhibition.Actually, it looks like there are several things online at the University of Delaware Library site worth digging into. Check it all out!Robert J. Sawyer honored by Toronto Public Library
Robert J. Sawyer, a friend and someone whose Writing With Style sessions on writing science fiction I've twice attended at the Banff Centre, has received the Toronto Public Library Celebrates Reading Award.Established in 2001, this is one of Canada's top book-related honours. The award, which includes a cash prize of $2,500 and a crystal sculpture, was presented in front of a sold-out audience of 640 at the second annual Book Lover's Ball, a gala, $350-a-plate black-tie event held at Toronto's Liberty Grand on Thursday.Toronto Mayor David Miller was on hand, as were authors Allan Fotheringham and Peter C. Newman, and the emcee was Seamus O'Regan, co-host of Canada AM.Margaret Atwood ...Libraries
I love libraries--always have--and I can't help noticing: they're changing. Libraries, traditionally, have been repositories for books. In fact the word derives from the Latin word for books, "liber." But today you'll also find newspapers, magazines, videotapes, films, CDs, computer programs and even terminals hooked up to the Internet. This is not your father's library. We are, as has been said ad nauseum, living in the Age of Information. And libraries are clearing-houses for the vast amounts of information being produced. As technology has changed the way information is disseminated, libraries have had to change, too. The free public library, a place where anyone can pursue information, ...
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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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