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Saturday Special from the Vaults: Sins of the Father
OK, this is an interesting one. As I have often recounted, Marseguro, which won the 2009 Aurora Award for best Canadian science fiction novel in English, began with a single opening line penned as a morning exercise in the Writing With Style program at the Banff Centre, in a science fiction-writing class taught by Robert J. Sawyer (at 9:15 a.m. on September 20, 2005, to be precise--I love computers). That opening was: Emily streaked through the phosphorescent sea, her wake a comet-tail of pale green light, her close-cropped turquoise hair surrounded by a glowing pink aurora. The water racing through her gill-slits smelled of blood. As the week progressed, ...Nominations open for Aurora Awards for best Canadian science fiction and fantasy: Magebane eligible!
Nominations are now open for the Prix Aurora Awards, presented annually by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA) for the best in, you guessed it, Canadian science fiction and fantasy. I was fortunate enough to win an Aurora in Montreal in 2009 for Marseguro (that's me holding the award, flanked by Betsy Wollheim, left, and Sheila Gilbert, right, publishers and editors of DAW Books), and Terra Insegura was a finalist in 2010. This year, Magebane by (ahem) Lee Arthur Chane is eligible. If you liked it, I'd be honored if you'd nominate it (and vote for it, too, of course, if ti comes to that!) But whether ...Cover art: The Helix War
I was in San Diego last week for the World Fantasy Convention, and had a great chat with my editor at DAW, Sheila Gilbert, during which she revealed the cover art for The Helix War, the omnibus of Marseguro and Terra Insegura coming out April 3. And now I share it with you! 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 ...Coming in April: The Helix War
I had a phone call recently from my editor at DAW Books, Sheila Gilbert, letting me know that DAW wants to bring out an omnibus edition of Marseguro and Terra Insegura in April 2012. We batted around titles and settled on The Helix War. It's still a ways until April, but lo and behold, I discovered the book is already listed at Amazon. Go forth and pre-order! You know you want to.Marseguro reviewed by a talking moose…
...and it's not Bullwinkle! Actually, thetalkingmoose is the LiveJournal handle of the proprietor of a blog called The Moose Pit, and this morning I ran across his/her/its review of Marseguro. An excerpt: Marseguro...stood out for me because it presents a compelling presentation as to why the human race will never truly become unified behind one government. Even a powerful governing organization such as The Body Purified, which possesses the means and the ruthless willpower to mercilessly slaughter both those who they feel must be destroyed to appease God and those who oppose it, must constantly use and replenish those resources to enforce its will. That doesn't even take into account internal ...What’s in a name?
It's not exactly a secret, since I've been telling everyone everywhere for some time, but my next book from DAW, the fantasy novel Magebane, will not be appearing under the name Edward Willett, but under a pseudonym, Lee Arthur Chane. This is a first for me, though it's pretty common; some writers have several pen names. There are many reasons for them, but in my case it's because Edward Willett started his career as a space opera/science fiction writer, and notwithstanding the Aurora Award for Marseguro and the nomination for Terra Insegura, didn't make as much of a splash as either he or his publisher would have ...The Ninety-Nine Rule
Ever hear of the Ninety-Nine Rule? Formulated by Tom Cargill of Bell Labs, it goes like this: "The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time." Humorously, that adds up to 180 percent of the development time, but even if you correct the math, you end up with something that's absolutely, undeniably true about pretty much any creative endeavor you wish to examine: it's the last 10 percent that eats up 90 percent of the time. It's ...Nice mention of “bleak and beautiful” Marseguro
"Bleak and beautiful" is a nice phrase. Even nicer when it's applied to my DAW SF novel Marseguro, which is what happened today in Strange Horizon's review of 2009 by its corps of reviewers...one of whom is my fellow DAW author Kari Sperring (author of Living With Ghosts), who said this: The Hugos were rather predictable, but the Canadian Prix Aurora went to Edward Willett’s bleak and beautiful Marseguro, a novel which has not received the attention and acclaim it deserves. I would never be so forward as to apply the phrase "bleak and beautiful" to my own work, but it's nice to know Kari feels that way about it! As for the ...Nominations open for Prix Aurora Awards
Back in August, I had the great good fortune and honour to win the Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English for my novel Marseguro (that's me holding it at left, alongside my editor and publisher, Sheila Gilbert of DAW Books). The Prix Aurora Awards honour the best of Canadian science fiction and fantasy from the previous year. In 2010, the Aurora Awards will be handed out at Key-Con in Winnipeg in May...and nominations have just opened. Any Canadian citizen, whether or not they live in Canada, or any permanent resident of Canada may nominate for the Prix Aurora Awards. The categories have been ...The centre of the universe likes Marseguro & Terra Insegura!
OK, I should probably explain that the centre of the universe is a blog. The blogger, who goes by the handle Cenobyte, writes, in part: There is just enough nerd factor in these books to make them sciencey, and there is just enough of a fabulous story to make them fictioney. In fact, both of them are the perfect blend of those two things... There are themes of racism, colonialism (don't those two go hand-in-hand anyway), civil rights, and, ultimately, survival. Terra Insegura is more than a sequel; it takes everything that happened in Marseguro and ramps it up a notch... Willett's characters are fascinating and real, although at times are frustrating as hell...But what really makes these books for ...
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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