Archives
Montreal WorldCon Day…um, what day is it again?
And so the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal winds down. We were at the convention centre at 10 a.m. for me to give a reading with Alison Sinclair and Heidi Lampietti...but the only person to show up was there to hear Heidi, and Heidi, it turned out, had to stay in the dealers' room because she had no one to look after her table there. So after waiting a few minutes, we adjourned. And that was pretty much it for me, con-wise, except for saying good-bye to people. (Typically what happens is you say good-bye to someone, and then you end up seeing them half a dozen more ...Montreal WorldCon Day 4: Hugos, a play reading, and more food
Today's highlight would ordinarily have been the Hugo Awards, presented this evening here at the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal, but as it happened we were rather late arriving at the Hugos because I ended up having a dinner meeting with my edito,r Sheila Gilbert, and her fellow publisher at DAW Books, Betsy Wollheim. Among many other things, we discussed my--or, at lest, my alter ego Lee Arthur Chane's--next book, Magebane, and Sheila suggested I send along some of what I have so far after I told her I'd been struggling a bit with it. I expect that to be very helpful and was grateful she suggested it. By the time we got to the Hugos, the place was ...The first sentence I wrote today…
...for Blue Fire: He came in alone, leaving the guards in the hallway outside, and closed the door gently behind him. Words today: 2,138 Total thus far: 46,788 And, yes, I worked on Magebane, too. Didn't take any new photos today, but here's a nice sunset photo from the other day! (All of these photos I've been posting on my "first sentence I wrote today" posts were taken with my BlackBerry Storm, by the way...not sure if I've mentioned that or not.)An interview with Robert J. Sawyer
The following article was just published in the July/August issue of FreeLance, the newsletter of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. *** Robert J. Sawyer: The Philosophical Science Fiction Writer By Edward Willett The Canadian Light Source, the giant synchrotron in Saskatoon, does not immediately spring to mind as a likely venue for a writer-in-residence. Unless, perhaps, that writer is renowned Canadian science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer. Then it seems like a perfect fit. “Most of my books involve working scientists,” Sawyer notes. “I have often visited science institutions, but I've never been immersed for weeks on end in the ...The first sentence I wrote today…
...for Blue Fire: And then the gate to the inner city opened, and what he saw drove all other thoughts from his head. Words today: 1,998 Total thus far: 44,650 I'm officially past the 200th page of the manuscript, if it were printed in standard manuscript format, which of course it has not been and may never be, everything being done by email these days. Anyway, it's steaming along pretty nicely. This afternoon I wrote in a new location, the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza, both in the Monarch Lounge (from which I had a view of the work being done on the federal government building on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Scarth Street-Photo 1) and ...The first sentence I wrote today…
...for Blue Fire was: The much-diminished caravan of Freefolk Clan Diannan had only been on the road for an hour the next morning when the attack came. Words today: 2,277 Words thus far: 42,652 A good morning's work. I'm getting close to 200 manuscript pages on this story. I think it's going to need considerable pruning when I get to rewriting, but the plot is advancing well. I spent the mid-day wearing my editor-of-Fine-Lifestyles-Regina hat, then turned into Lee Arthur Chane in the afternoon and worked on Magebane. I'm still (again) rewriting more than writing, but I really think I've got my plot demons licked this time. (Sounds like a fantasy-novel curse, actually. "Oh, ...The first sentence I wrote today…
...for Blue Fire was: Imlinn stood on the Freefolk trail leading north toward City Duodecim and studied the tracks he had found there by the light of the stars. Words today: 2,068 Total thus far: 40,381 Good writing this morning, as a scene I hadn't even realized I needed came to life and both told me something about a major character and helped explain a few things that needed explaining. I enjoyed it! Plus I was sitting outside on a beautifully warm morning with a cup of coffee. What's not to love? This afternoon I worked on Magebane, going back through it from the beginning (again) to see what I can salvage and what needs complete rewriting in view of what ...The first sentence I wrote today…
...was, once again, for Blue Fire : In the stunned silence that followed, Amlinn stood stock-still for a long moment, then suddenly ran after her grandfather. Words today: 1,514 Total thus far: 38,313 That was first thing this morning; in the afternoon, I did good work on Magebane, but it was, once again, of the rethinking variety. I went back into the outline and figured out some more things that have been causing me fits. Now I really think the plot is sound, instead of scatterbrained, which is how I've felt it be as I've tried to write. That's the good thing. Bad thing: I think I'm going to have to go back to ...Two new reviews of Terra Insegura…
...recently popped up. The first is from arch thinking. Choice bits: "...Terra Insegura stands on its own very well...a real action-packed science fiction novel....Anyone who likes their science fiction fast and well-written will enjoy Terra Insegura." The second I particularly like, because it's from a 17-year-old reader at Flamingnet.com, which offers young people the opportunity to write their own reviews of books that appeal to YA readers. I didn't write Terra Insegura specifically as a YA book, but I'm glad to find out teens enjoy it, too! Here's what he (or she; reviewers are anonymous) had to say: "Terra Insegura by Edward Willett is a science fiction novel with a highly original plot. ...an engrossing novel that ...I’ve now got an author’s page on Amazon!
Author Central, the author's service on Amazon, is still in beta, but it's expanding, and I've now got my own author's page. Check it out! It's a great place to find all my books listed in one hand-dandy location. Be the first on your block to collect them all! (Hey, that approach works for toy-stuffed breakfast cereals...) It also echoes these blog posts. Which means you could be reading this post on Amazon, and discover a link to the page you're already reading...hopefully this will not result in an endless recursive loop, collapsing down to a black hole from which you will never escape. Someone click the link and find out for sure!
Edward Willett is a The Shards of Excalibur, Book 1: Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel, coming in October 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….
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
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).
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.
