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A new venture: audiobook of Matthew Hughes’s The Other, narrated by me, now on sale
A while back I auditioned for Iambik Audiobooks to be one of their book narrators, and landed my first gig: Matthew Hughes's science fiction novel The Other, published by Underland Press. I had a great time reading and narrating the book, and now that it's actually out and on sale, I'm rather trepidatiously awaiting the reaction from audiobookophiles (not to mention Matt, who I know personally through SF Canada and whose wonderful novel I really hope I did justice to). Anyway, you can now buy it, download it, listen to it, and let me know what you think. I'm currently narrating my own novel, my YA ...The science of ebooks vs. print books
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/10/Ebooks-vs-Print-Books.mp3[/podcast] Once upon a time, the word “book” meant only one thing: a stack of paper printed with text and bound together along one edge. These days, though, the word “book” has developed two meanings. You can still read a bound-stack-of-paper book, but you can also read a book without ever touching anything that was once part of a tree, because the text has become divorced from the physical artifact to which it was once bound, thanks to the development of electronic reading devices. I will admit up front that I was an early convert to electronic reading. I bought my first ebook reader many years ago, before hardly anyone had such a ...My Mayor’s Mega-Minute Reading Challenge speech
As writer-in-residence at the Regina Public Library, I was asked to give a brief speech at today's launch of Regina's annual Mayor's Mega-Minute Reading Challenge at Jack MacKenzie School. And rather than ad-lib, as is my wont, I actually wrote something down (not that I read it word for word). Here it is: *** Hi, my name is Ed, and I’m a writer. I’ve written around 50 books of one sort or other, from science fiction and fantasy novels to science books, computer books and history books, for children, young adults and adults. But I didn’t start out as a writer. I started out as a reader. My parents loved to read, and I had two older brothers who also read a lot, so ...My Festival of Words schedule
Going to the Festival of Words in Moose Jaw this weekend (or there already)? I'm one of the presenters! Here are my events: Today, 2:40 p.m., I'm reading with Linda Bailey in the South Room of the Moose Jaw Public Library. Today at 5 p.m., I plan to attend the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Reception upstairs in the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre. Tomorrow at 4 p.m., I'll be interviewing Jack Whyte onstage at the Mae Wilson Theatre; he'll also be reading. Sunday at 11:20 a.m., I'll be reading with Gail Bowen in the aptly named Reading Room of the Moose Jaw Public Library. Hope to see you there!Book review: City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
City of Glass is the third and concluding book in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments YA fantasy trilogy (the previous two being City of Bones and City of Ashes), and the proof that enjoyed the first two quite a bit (aside from the fact I said as much on this blog) is that I bought it in hardcover as soon as I saw it. There's not much point in summarizing what happens in this one, since the only way anyone is ever going to read it is if they've read the first two and enjoyed them. Suffice it to say that all ...What I’ve Just Read: You Don’t Scare Me
You Don't Scare Me, a supernatural thriller by John Farris, was one of the free books I picked up at this year's World Fantasy Convention in Calgary, and I had high hopes for it. After all, the cover blurb calls Farris is "A legend among thriller novelists," and that's according to Dean Koontz, who is legendary himself.I confess, however, that I had only vaguely heard of Farris before: though I enjoy a good thriller, I don't read them very often. Certainly the the back of You Don't Scare Me praises his work in glowing terms drawn from reviews by the likes of the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Fangoria, ...What I’ve Just Read: Queste
Actually, I finished this a couple of weeks ago--I've just been slow blogging about. Maybe because I don't have much to say. If you liked the previous Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage, I'm sure you'll like this one. If you haven't read them, there's not much point in reading this one.I've enjoyed them all, but not quite as much as I think I should--and I'm saying this as someone who, despite my advanced age, still enjoys a good YA novel (and still hopes to write more of them, as well). I think the tone is just a little ...What I’ve Just Read: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Yes, of course I'd already read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but not for many, many years--probably not since I was a teenager in fact. And you know what? It holds up. For a 40-year-old science fiction novel, it holds up very well indeed.My wife and I read this one together, and she absolutely loved it. (She also recently read Starship Troopers for the first time, and loved that one, too. I knew I'd made a smart choice marrying her!)Sure, some of the technological details have dated: the idea that a computer ...What I’ve Just Read: By Schism Rent Asunder
By Schism Rent Asunder is the second book in David Weber's new series that began with Off Armageddon Reef. Before I read it someone warned me that they thought it didn't really work as a stand-alone novel: it's very much a bridge between what happened in the first book and what's going to happen in the next (which, thankfully from my point of view, is due out in mid-2009).I think that's a fair criticism, but on the other hand, so what? If you were as hooked by Off Armageddon Reef as I was, you'll devour this book just to see what happens next; and ...What I’ve Just Read: Off Armageddon Reef
I'm a big David Weber fan (and had a chance to meet him and be on a panel with him at ConVersion in Calgary a couple of years ago)...or perhaps it would be more accurate to say I'm a big Honor Harrington fan, since nothing else he's written has captured my interest as much as that series.Until, I'm happy to say, now. Off Armageddon Reef has a rather incredible narrative arc, or at least implies an incredible one for the rest of the series: it starts with the destruction of pretty much the entire human race and its various planets, including Earth, by an implacable alien force, ...
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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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