It’s Magic!

I have occasionally made reference to the fact that I can sing, and now I have vidographic proof! This is from Lyric Musical Theatre’s fundraising brunch, which ran the last two Sundays at the Hotel Saskatchewan. Enjoy! Got a little choked up there at the end because I made the tactically problematic though strategically sound …

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Kissing

With Valentine’s Day looming at the end of this week (well, looming for those who have not yet given sufficient thought to cards, flowers and chocolates–I’m looking at you, fellow members of my gender), it seems a good time to revisit the science of kissing. And just in time for Valentine’s, new research on the …

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My preview of the New Music in New Spaces concert…

…, coming up Sunday afternoon at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, is in today’s LeaderPost. An excerpt: Sunday’s concert will feature (Jeremy) Buzash and Eduard Minevich on violin; Jonathan Ward on viola; Amelia Borton on cello; Pauline Minevich on clarinet; Cecile Denis on harp and David McIntyre on piano. Titled “A Sound Vision,” the concert will …

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The Destruction of K’ormal

A girl (well, she’s not a girl any more, obviously) I knew in high school just sent me a photo of something I haven’t seen in 30 years or so: a painting I created when I was about 17 to illustrate the climactic scene of the last book I wrote in high school, The Slavers …

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WorldCon program participant list online

Anticipation, this year’s World Science Fiction convention in Montreal, has posted the current list of program (sorry, “programme”) participants, complete with photos and bios. I’m on there! Guess I did fill out the form saying I wanted to particpate after all. I’d been trying to remember… UPDATE: Apparently that form is premature; it lists program …

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Five more sci-fi gadgets that may soon be real

This week, I pick up where I left off on the list of ten science-fictiony gadgets New Scientist magazine thinks may soon become real, with number six: “you power.” This is not, alas, a method of giving you yourself more energy, but rather of using your energy to power gadgets. Last year, a researcher in …

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A tale with two openings

I’d like your opinion. Which of the following two opening sentences (for a somewhat steampunkish YA science fiction novel) intrigues you more, and why? Just after the the Amazing Belgrani made himself disappear in a puff of purple smoke, and while the stage was being set for the supposedly spectacular high-wire fire-eating act of the …

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My review of the Regina Symphony Orchestra concert with Trio Frontenac…

…is online this morning at the LeaderPost. Here’s how it begins: Crisp execution, snappy passing, solid teamwork and an exciting finish — the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s Mosaic Masterworks concert Saturday night had it all. Sorry, what did you think I was talking about? Blame Maestro Victor Sawa for the football metaphor: he referenced the Super …

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Galleys of Terra Insegura arrive

The galleys of Terra Insegura showed up today for proofing. That’s always exciting. It means I can now find all the mistakes I should have caught last time around, and worry about all the things I should have maybe changed but are too major to change now. Fun! It’s always interesting to see what text …

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Terra Insegura shows up in Publisher’s Weekly

No, not a starred review, more’s the pity, but just a mention in a long list of books coming out this spring. I got a chuckle out of the description, though: Terra Insegura (May, $7.99) by Edward Willett. Thispost-Apocalyptic series tells of an Earth ruled by religious zealots and a distant world that is humankind’s …

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My preview of Trio Frontenac is online

My preview of this Saturday’s concert of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, featuring Trio Frontenac, is in today’s LeaderPost. It begins: Trio Frontenac, featured in Saturday’s Regina Symphony Orchestra Mosaic Masterworks concert at the Conexus Arts Centre, may be based in Quebec City, but it’s definitely got Regina roots. To begin with, violinist Darren Lowe and …

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Title page of my next children’s non-fiction book

Just got the PDF of the rough layout of what will probably* be my next-published children’s non-fiction book, Disease-Hunting Scientist: Careers Hunting Deadly Diseases–that’s the title page at left. It’s part of a series from Enslow Publishers called Wild Science Careers. It’s been interesting to work on, since I got to interview several scientists who …

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