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Things I Found in My Mother-in-Law’s House (but I actually put there myself): The Army Song Book
OK, this is a rather odd entry in this series because, although it dates from 1941 (pretty much the same time as the paperbacks I blogged about previously), this book was not actually found in my mother-in-law's house: it was actually found in my mother's house, because it belonged to my father, James Willett (whose signature appears on the front). It's the official US Army Song Book from the Second World War. It begins, as you'd expect, with the Star Spangled Banner (three verses!), but the complete contents is eclectic, to say the least: The Star Spangled Banner Alma ...Things I Found in my Mother-in-Law’s House: 1930s paperbacks
From the bookshelves in what is now my office, here are two examples of some of the earliest mass-market paperback books, 1940 printings of The Good Earth and Gulliver's Travels in Pocket Book format. Cover art has come a long way since then, hasn't it?Things I Found in My Mother-in-Law’s House: The 1912 Postcard
It's been a while since I did this, but I'd like to resume occasionally posting "Things I Found in My Mother-in-Law's House," which I STILL hope to turn into a book at some point. Mostly I'll post things I can scan. Like this 1912 postcard, which was sent to Sam Goodfellow a few days after the Regina Cyclone, the devastating tornado that killed 28 people, injured hundreds, left 2,500 homeless and destroyed or damaged 500 buildings. It remains Canada's worst tornado disaster. The postcard writer simply says "sincerely hope you weren't injured in Sunday's tragedy," and adds, "It was awful." ...The First World War Memoirs of Sampson J. Goodfellow: Part 1
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended the First World War, and in honour of that, I'm going to start doing something I've wanted to do for a long time: posting the First World War memoirs of my grandfather-in-law Sampson John Goodfellow.I'll post a few pages almost every day, I hope. They make for fascinating reading.Sam ended the war in a German POW camp after the Hanley Page bomber in which he was an observer for was shot down. He didn't suffer a scratch. He was one ...Things I Found in my Mother-in-Law’s House: The Medicine Cabinet
Notes for today's CBC radio spot...***It’s a bit of a cliché: the guest who can’t resist poking through his host’s medicine cabinet, just to see what’s in there.Well, Ed Willett isn’t a guest in his own home but he sometimes feels like it, because it’s full of odds and ends that have collected over the 70 years it’s been in his wife’s family.Ed has been exploring the nooks and crannies of his mother-in-law’s house for the past few week, and this week he did, indeed, dig into the medicine cabinet. I joined him earlier today to see what he’s found.That’s quite the collection of bottles, tins and boxes you’ve got ...Things I Found in my Mother-in-Law’s House: Vices
Notes for this week's CBC column (which you can listen to here):Ed Willett has been exploring the recesses of the house that has been in his wife’s family for 70 years...and this week has uncovered shocking news: people in the past used to smoke cigarettes.Also, they were known to drink alcohol on occasion.I joined Ed in his house this morning to examine the evidence.Ed, I know you don’t smoke. So what’s with all these lighters and cigarette cases?Smoking was once much more socially acceptable than it is now, so even if you didn’t smoke (though Sam Goodfellow, my grandfather-in-law, did), you had to have the paraphernalia of smoking in ...Another "Things I Found in my Mother-in-Law’s House" online
You can listen to this week's "Things I Found in my Mother-in-Law's House" online here.Things I Found in my Mother-in-Law’s House: Kid Stuff
Notes for this week's CBC column...***If you have children, you know how child-related stuff tends to pile up. And since kids grow up so fast, some of it is barely used before they’re too big for it and it gets put away somewhere, never to see the light of day again......unless your son-in-law decides to turn the stuff he found in his mother-in-law’s house into a series on the radio, like Ed Willett.This week Ed has dug into some of the children’s stuff he’s found in his old house, and I joined him there this morning to take a look.Ed, does your mother-in-law, Dr. Alice Goodfellow, come from a big family?...Hear one of my "Things I Found in My Mother-in-Law’s House" interviews online
It's the one about souvenirs, and I just discovered The Afternoon Edition has put it online here.Enjoy!Things I Found in my Mother-in-Law’s House: Music
Notes for this week's CBC radio segment of Things I Found in My Mother-in-Law's House:****Regina has a long history as a musical city, with musical clubs, choirs, bands and, of course, the Regina Symphony Orchestra getting started within a few years of the city’s founding.Ed Willett’s grandparents-in-law, Nancy and Sam Goodfellow, were an important part of the city’s musical community for decades, and this week, Ed’s exploration of his mother-in-law’s old house has led him to some music-related items in the living room...which is where I joined him earlier this morning.Well, Ed, the most obvious music-related artifact here is the grand piano. It’s a beauty!...
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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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