Archives
“Great space opera of the extra-pulpy variety”
That's how Michael H. Payne sums up Marseguro and Terra Insegura. About the latter, he specifically has this to say: This one has a few more "snags" than the first book--some places where the plot machinery creaked a bit and where the characters acted to further the story rather than in a way anyone in their situation actually would--but these two books are still great space opera of the extra-pulpy variety. I'll certainly be looking for Willett's next. Not a complete rave, but he obviously enjoyed it. I hope he twigs to the fact that "Willett's next" will actually be "Lee Arthur Chane's first"... Oh, and for the record, I consider "great space opera of the extra-pulpy variety" to be a ...Terra Insegura is a bestseller!
Not, alas, on the New York Times's list, but at one store in Saskatchewan, anyway. It shows up as the fourth-bestselling mass-market paperback at McNally Robinson, which then translates into number nine on the overall bestseller list published by the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, which includes hardcovers. Thanks to Robert J. Sawyer (whose new novel Wake is number two on the list) for pointing this out!Good review of Terra Insegura at SF Scope
There's a very nice review of Terra Insegura by Ian Randal Strock at SF Scope. It begins: A little bleaker, a little less "gosh-wow" sensawunda (due to familiarity), a lot closer to home, Terra Insegura is the perfect balance to Marseguro: you've got to read this one if you read the first. It does stand on its own, but why deny yourself the pleasure of the full literary tapestry Edward Willett weaves with these two? And it ends, in part: Willett keeps his characters moving all over the board, but always toward their stated goals (rational or not), which will just happen to intersect in an Earth-shaking conflagration. While I was disappointed each time a story-line chopped off, it brought me ...Final book giveaway winners selected–and a new offer for reviewers!
And (drum roll, please!) we have our winners in the final week of Terra Insegura/Marseguro giveaway draws for the month of May, to celebrate the release of Terra Insegura. The winner of a signed copy of Terra Insegura this week is Willis Couvillier of Reno, Nevada, and the winner of the signed copy of Marseguro is Mike O'Brien of Sacramento, California. Congratulations to all the winners, and for those who didn't...well, remember, you can always go out and BUY the books! :) Now I have one final giveaway offer to announce. I have an additional 10 copies of Terra Insegura set aside to go to reviewers. If you review books on your blog, or for print, and haven't received a copy of Terra Insegura, ...If an author signs in a bookstore and no one comes near, does he make a sound?
Another slow day in the bookstore signing books...just as slow as last week, alas. Which is not to say I didn't sell any on either occasion--I sold a few--but it's a bit discouraging all the same. Today I was at Book & Brier, and once again it was a beautiful day outside--warmest day of the year so far--which undoubtedly didn't help things. Even people who said they were coming didn't come. As I said (or at least Tweeted) last week, sometimes you feel like book-writing is a communicable disease, on the level of swine flu, or something, and so people are afraid to get too close. (Considering how many ...McNally Robinson posts an interview with me
Chadwick Ginther of McNally Robinson Booksellers (an independent chain with stores in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Toronto and New York) has just posted a lengthy online interview with me on the company's website. Here's how it begins: CG: You've written a wide variety of works: SF, YA, Fantasy, as well as non-fiction for adults and children. Where did you get your start as a writer? EW: Like most writers, I began as a reader. I was the kid who always had his nose in a book, who won the prize for reading the most books in the course of the year, who prefaced every answer I gave to every question in class, "I read somewhere that..." So it was pretty natural ...I’m signing at Chapters in Regina today
Come down to the Chapters by the Southland Mall in Regina today from 2 to 4 p.m.; I'll be signing Terra Insegura (and Marseguro, too, probably). Also, I could use the company. It's a very odd thing sitting at a table in a bookstore signing books. The looks you get range from the curious to the uninterested to the slightly-embarrassed-for-you. And you can have the oddest conversations with people who figure they've got a captive audience at last...Book giveaways Week 2: two more winners! Enter now for Week 3…
The draw is done, and we have the winners of the second week of my month-long series of book giveaways to promote the release of Terra Insegura. I don't have mailing addresses yet, so I can't tell you where they hail from, but the copy of Terra Insegura was won by Tom Barclay, and the copy of Marseguro by Victoria Lee. Week 3 entries are now being accepted! Again, you can either leave a comment below (the comment form will ask for your email address; no need to put it in the comment body), or email me at edward(at)edwardwillett.com with Terra Insegura in the subject line. Two more draws to go!Marturia.net reviews Terra Insegura
Ian Hecht at Marturia.net fires one of the first Terra Insegura reviews into the the blogosphere, and though he has some quibbles (not to be confused with tribbles--although both can multiply rapidly on occasion, tribbles are furrier), in general, he likes it. (As he did Marseguro.) Herewith, some excerpts: Willett’s usual moral tale style is in high gear here, with the logical next step of the question he posed in Marseguro, “What makes someone human?” When the Selkies are forced to confront their prejudices not only of “normals”, but also of a race far more modified than their own, questions arise as to where to draw that line. How the different characters answer the question ultimately decides ...Book giveaways Week 1: we have a winner! Now enter for Week 2.
The first week of my month-long series of book giveaways to promote the release of my new science fiction novel Terra Insegura (have I mentioned I have a new novel out? I have? Well, what do you know!) has passed, and we have two winners! Michael Carter, who lives in British Columbia, has won the copy of Terra Insegura for the first week, while the copy of Marseguro goes to Catherine MacLeod of Nova Scotia--by coincidence, two Canadians, albeit separated by just about as much land mass you can be separated by anywhere in the world and still be in the same country. Week 2 entries are now being accepted! Again, you can either leave a comment below (the comment form will ...
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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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