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I’m Number Six!*
It's not exactly earth-shattering, but I was still tickled today to discover (thanks to an automated Google ego-search) that my main website, edwardwillett.com, is ranked sixth by Alexa in Arts>Literature>World Literature>Canadian>Authors.I'm just behind playwright Norm Foster (whom I got to see performing in one of his own plays in Kincardine, Ontario, the summer before last), and just ahead of a Lucy Maud Montgomery site.I'd love to think it's because I'm such a popular author, but actually it's because there are almost 20 years worth of science columns at the site. You can hardly search for anything science-related without finding one of my columns somewhere in the mix!Oh, and if you're ...Return of the popular search list: spider goats still rule!
I haven't done this for a while: here are the top 15 searches among the last 4,000 visitors to edwardwillett.com, with links to the pages on my site they have led people to...and, yes, even though it's been weeks since I posted such a list, spider goats continue to rule the roost!spider goatsspider goattime perception how to make french friesgolf technology ball scuffingbattle suitanimal intelligencehygiene hypothesis cat allergy cureplant communication animal emotions choosing a matepermathrinhow long does skunk smell lastAlthough skunks still make an appearance, I am ..."How many books have you written?"
It's a question I keep getting asked. In Yorkton last year at a library reading a local reporter showed up and asked me. I said "more than 30." She gave me a withering look of scorn and said in a rather hostile and sarcastic tone (an odd attitude for a reporter to take with an author she'd been sent to photograph, I thought) , "Don't you know?""Well, no, I don't. I've lost track."She told me she wasn't allowed to use such a vague expression as "more than 30." I explained that I meant by that more than 30, but less than 40. She seemed unsatisfied. I trust she was somehow able to come to terms with ...The ten most popular entry pages…
...to my main website, edwardwillett.com, are currently:http://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/animalemotions.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/footballphysics.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/soccer.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/spidergoats.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/shoobird.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/skunks.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/pimples.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/golftech.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/uselessbodyparts.htmhttp://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/driving.htmJust thought you'd want to know."The Spider-Goat Clones of Montreal," revisited
Every day or two I check the SiteMeter stats for edwardwillett.com, and today I noticed my visits were around 200 higher than I would expect (I usually get 350 to 450 visitors each day, but today I'm up over 600). A check revealed that the extra traffic is coming from people searching for "spider goat" or "spider goats," which leads them to this eight-year-old column called "The Spider-Goat Clones of Montreal," about Nexia Biotechnologies' successful efforts to create a herd of goats containing a spider gene that resulted in spider-silk proteins being expressed in their milk. Nexia hoped to harvest the spider silk from the milk for a variety of purposes, from medical sutures to bullet-proof vests....Odd search terms and how they found me
Usually I post a list of the top search terms bringing people to edwardwillett.com. This week I thought I'd post some of the strangest search terms bringing people to edwardwillett.com. You sometimes have to wonder what the searchers were really looking for.I've left the original search linked to the term."most famous cows" - This found my column on skyscrapers.absorbing grease from pizza - This turned up my column "Pizza, Beer & Fries."things that stink - Naturally, this leads you my column "The Science of Stink."jamaica daci dance - I don't even know what this is, but ...Hamoukar heads the list…
...of top search terms bringing people to edwardwillett.com over the last week or so. I suspect that's because this ancient city was back in the news with new archaeological finds being announced.Here are the current leaders, with links to where they take you on the site: 75 hamoukar 39 time perception 28 curling rock 25 spider goat 25 how to make french fries 23 battle suit 22 physics of football 22 animal intelligence 20 curling ...Another week, another bunch of statistics
The current top 15 (I know, there are more than 15, but that's because of a tie) search terms bringing people to Edward Willett's Intergalactic Library, with links to where they lead, are (drum roll, please): 38 physics of football 27 how to make french fries 26 time perception 26 hamoukar 21 spider goat 21 hygiene hypothesis 19 football physics 19 animal intelligence 18 wine glasses 18 ...Flying reindeer continue to fly high…
...atop this week's list of search terms bringing people to edwardwillett.com, a.k.a. Edward Willett's Intergalactic Library.Here are the top 15, with links to where they take you on the site: 63 flying reindeer 54 christmas chemistry 31 animal intelligence 29 chemistry christmas 28 collosal squid 25 christmas physics 24 let it snow 20 hygiene hypothesis 18 rogue waves 18 physics christmas 17 ...How many novels do you have to write before you sell one?
To find out, SF writer Tobias S. Buckell ran an entirely unscientific but still illuminating poll at his blog, and has posted the results.Here's the core:32% wrote one novel13% wrote two11% wrote 38% wrote 49% wrote 53% wrote 613% wrote 7 or more novels6% wrote some short fiction first5% wrote a ton of short fiction firstI took part, and although I think the first book I sold was the fifth one I'd written (that's what I put on the survey), that was the fifth one I'd written out of high school--throw in the three novels I wrote in high school and Soulworm, my first, actually ...
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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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