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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 ...World Book Day Saskatchewan a success!
I attended a terrific event today at Regina's St. Gabriel and Jack MacKenzie schools. Called World Book Day Saskatchewan, it was a celebration of Saskatchewan authors. Besides myself, Alison Lohans, Anne Patton, Dave Glaze, Deana Driver, Glenda Goertzen, Jean Freeman, Judith Silverthorne, Linda Aksomitis, Lori Punshon, Mary Harelkin Bishop, Maureen Ulrich, Mercedes Montgomery, Myrna Guymer, Sharon Plumb Hamilton, Warren James and ...Photo of the Day that was Actually Taken Tuesday: Me in Rouleau
I had a school reading in Rouleau (Corner Gas-watching readers may know it better as Dog River) on Tuesday. Here I am in "action" (I use the term loosely) reading a few pages from my new YA SF proposal. I also read from Jimi Hendrix: Kiss the Sky, talked about myself (I'm very good at that), showed book covers, and answered questions.My favorite email of the year…
...came from a teacher in a school I visited not too long ago. The book of mine in question is Marseguro:Your books have become the absolute fascination of a young boy in Grade 10 who is self-proclaimed to be a non-reader! (He) exclaims about his novel, your novel, every day in English class. He can’t get enough of it! I told him today that there is at least one more novel in the library that you wrote, and then I went and found it for him. He is no longer afraid to finish the first, fearing it will be the last... We are presently studying The Chrysalids, ...Yes, I’m still alive…
...I just haven't been blogging. Busy, busy busy busy, is why. And what have I primarily been busy with? Well, I'm currently the writer-in-residence at Michael A. Riffel High School here in Regina.This is a program sponsored by the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, and it's been an interesting experience. I've primarily been doing classroom presentations--more than a dozen, each an hour long--where I talk about myself and my writing, answer questions, and occasionally read.Oh, and sing: more often than not I've finished off my presentation with "Me," Gaston's song from the stage version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. This seems appropriate since it comes at the end of an hour when I've talked of ...Why do I read science fiction?
It comes down to both nature and nurture, says Carol Pinchefsky in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show:Paul Allen, a reader of science fiction and a practicing clinical psychotherapist for 22 years, says my temperament predisposes me to a love of science fiction. Each of us has a temperament, that is, a part of our personality that may or may not be genetically based. A quick Myers-Briggs test has informed me that I'm a Thinking iNtuitive (NT), that is, a "Rational." According to the Keirsey Temperament website, "Rationals are very scarce, comprising as little as 5 to 7 percent of the population." Allen says, "NTs are non-conformist critical thinkers. The NTs idolize the ...Sports, schmorts
Orson Scott Card writes an extended rant about sports that echoes many thoughts of my own, as a non-athletic kid. I particularly liked these lines:There is no excuse for athletes being more respected and honored in school than scholars. But few indeed are the high schools that provide scholars and musicians and actors and poets with anything remotely like the honor given to athletes. And it's not because athletics is harder than those other activities. It may well be easier than, say, music composition or songwriting. Heaven knows, they manage to find enough professional football players to fill the NFL every season -- but to find a songwriting team that can write an enduring Broadway ...I must be a real writer!
A while back Andrea Bellerive, the daughter of a friend of mine, chose me (me!) to focus on for an Authors' Fair at her school, St. Pius X, here in Regina. I popped by this afternoon to see the finished result, and was quite thrilled. (My apologies for the poor quality of this photo--I only had my cell phone with me.) She'd done long book reports on my YA fantasy and SF (Andy Nebula was her favorite) and even created a tabletop diorama of a scene from The Dark Unicorn. She's probably thought more about my books than I have! She's even thinking ...Photos of the Day: Reading in Lipton
This morning I drove up to Lipton, about 90 km northeast of Regina, for two readings at Lipton School: one to Grades 5 to 8, and one to Grade 9 to 12. I read a little bit of Andy Nebula to the younger group and a bit of Jimi Hendrix: Kiss the Sky to the older group. Two readings in the space of an hour meant very short sessions, but that was OK. And I guess the readings went OK, too. The younger group had more questions than the older, but nobody threw anything or snored out loud, and what more could you ask?I took my camera. Here's the road to Lipton (more accurately, about 20 kilometres west ...Photo of the Day: Evening School
Regina's Davin School at twilight.More photos here.
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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