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The Space-Time Continuum: Science fiction poetry
My latest column for Freelance, the newsletter of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild... *** In his novel Time Enough for Love, science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein included a number of aphorisms supposedly taken from the notebooks of his centuries-old central character, Lazarus Long. One of these I have ever since taken a kind of mischievous pleasure in sharing with poets of my acquaintance: “A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.” You might think, Heinlein occupying such an exalted place in the science fiction pantheon, that his proclamation would be enough to keep poetry far, far away from science fiction, and science ...Magebane marketing
New American Library (under whose umbrella my publisher DAW Books falls) has distributed its catalogue to booksellers for its October releases, which include Magebane. This image shows the relevant page. The text reads: Four centuries ago, Magic was banished from the land... that May be about to change. Four centures 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 ...I’m going to be the Regina Public Library’s writer-in-residence!
Well, it looks like the official announcement has been made: I'm going to be writer-in-residence at the Regina Public Library this September 1 through the end of next May. The Regina LeaderPost has the story here. I'm very excited about it. It's a paid position, $35,000 over the nine months, and 70 percent of my time remains my own for my own writing projects, with 30 percent going to writer-in-residence projects. Those will include meeting with anyone who wants to talk about writing with me one day a week at the library's main branch (looks like that day will be Wednesday), conducting school readings, and holding at least one free ...Once more into the breach
A while back I discussed a variety of ideas for new projects with my agent, Ethan Ellenberg. There was one in particular he liked, which is tentatively titled Masks. It's a YA fantasy, and since he's anxious to see some sample chapters, I've plunged into it. Here's how it begins: A week before her thirteenth birthday and her Masking, Mara sat on the city wall, bare legs dangling into space, and looked down past her dirty toes at the crowds milling around in the Outside Market. I've finished the first scene (about 1,200 words so far) and looking forward to carrying on with it as I can, although time is in ...Bang! Bang! Bang!
I pride myself on being able to write anywhere, anytime, no matter how (BANG!) Have you ever noticed how distracting it can be to (BANG!) Every time we've had a thaw this winter, we've had leaks in our (BANG!) One of the joys of living in old houses is (BANG!) Shingles. They're not just a painful medical condition, they're also a necessity to (BANG!) Science tells us that if you focus your mind, you can blot out (BANG!) Once upon a time there was a (BANG!) Headache remedies have improved greatly since (BANG!) Oh, I give up. (BANG!) (The photo: Canadian Parliament Building roof (BANG!).)From Squid to Eternity
Margaret Atwood (in)famously referred to science fiction as "talking squids in outer space," a remark to which I would take great umbrage if not for the fact that my DAW novel Lost in Translation contains a character, Karak, master of the Guild of Translators, described thusly: Free of the watersuit and its exoskeleton, his shape was nothing bipedal at all; his almost globular, iridescent body, from which writhed six locomotive tentacles and six manipulators, moved through the water with boneless grace, gill-slits pulsating below the fringe of feeding-tentacles that encircled his beak. It seemed odd to hear perfect home-planet S’sinn emerging from that alien mouth. For all intents and purposes, then, Lost in Translation ...The thinking cap
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/02/The-Thinking-Cap.mp3[/podcast] You know, it’s not easy being a writer. Oh, I know, it doesn’t rank up there with, say, coal miner in physical difficulty or neurosurgeon in mental difficulty, but where it probably has it over both of them is in creative difficulty: the pressure to constantly come up with something new. Heck, as a science fiction and fantasy writer, I’m expected to create entire worlds, whole solar systems, mythical creatures and believable characters out of nothing more than my own brain cells. Wouldn’t it be great if there were some way to artificially stimulate creativity? Turns out, there may be. In a paper published earlier this month in PLoS One, an online ...Blue Fire or bust
Those who have followed my occasional series "The First Sentence I Wrote Today," a.k.a. on Twitter as TFSIWT, will know that I have been working, interminably, on a young adult fantasy novel called Blue Fire. I've written it. I've re-written it. I've re-re-written it. It first came in at a ridiculous length, so I chopped 30 or 40,000 words out of it. Now I'm on the final pass through it before submitting it (there's an editor interested in taking a look, but only when it's complete). And I'm desperately trying to get it out of my hair so I can focus on other projects with looming deadlines (hi, Magebane!). So, this ...I’ve been a bad blogger…
...by not posting regularly this week as I did last, but although I was a bad little blogger, I was a good little writer. See, Twist of the Blade, the sequel to Song of the Sword, and the second book in my brand-new YA fantasy series Shards of Excalibur, is in the revision stage. And there were lots of revisions. Which I did not allow enough time to do before they were due, which was Friday (actually a week earlier, but I'd already begged for an extensions.) These weren't just a-word-here-and-a-word-there revisions, either, but take-out-that-scene-right-a-new-scene-move-that-scene-over-there-and-then-rewrite-it-so-it-makes-sense-and-oh-darn-I-just-contradicted-something-in-Chapter-One-I'll-have-to-go-back-and-fix-that-too revisions. Also, embarrassing revisions. Like rewriting scenes so I was showing and not telling. Adding sensory ...Twist of the Blade synopsis
I don't think I've posted this; maybe I have, but in that case, well...here it is again. It's the description of Twist of the Blade, Book 2 of the Shards of Excalibur, as included in Song of the Sword. No time for more this morning since I'm desperately trying to finish revisions to, yes, Twist of the Blade. Following hard on the heels of which will be revisions to Magebane: I heard from Sheila Gilbert at DAW this morning and will be talking to her about the book tomorrow. Of course, there'll also be more revisions to Twist of the Blade. I'm still trying to make Blue Fire submittable. And ...
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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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