Edward Willett's Blog, page 75

Social contagions

Parents (I don't think I'm giving away any parental secrets here) worry about peer pressure–not least because parents remember how much their behavior was influenced by peers when they were young.

The fact is, we're all influenced by the people around us…and we often think of that influence as a bad thing.

As the Bible puts it, "Evil companions corrupt good morals." And other kinds of companions can have other effects.

For instance, an analysis of 12,067 people that appeared in The New England...

Why I'm not Stephenie Meyer

I'm a full-time writer, but not, alas, a fabulously wealthy and/or successful one. James Cameron isn't bugging me about film rights; Oprah isn't plugging me on TV; fans aren't lugging great stacks of my books around, chasing me for autographs.

It's easy, when you're one of the little guys in any creative field, be it fashion, books, movies or music, to envy the runaway successes and wonder what, for example, Stephenie Meyer's got that you ain't got. Are her books, objectively, truly so much...

My preview of Globe Theatre's upcoming production of Marion Bridge…

…is in today's Regina Leader Post. It begins:

The 18th-century French poet Jacques Delille famously noted that while we can choose our friends, "Fate chooses our relatives."

More than one family has fractured because siblings discover they have nothing in common with each other … which is exactly what has happened to the family in Marion Bridge, Globe Theatre's next mainstage production, running Jan. 20 to Feb. 6.

Written by Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor, Marion Bridge is set in Cape...

The scientific case for live music

Music today is ubiquitous, both in public spaces like malls, elevators and offices and in the very private space between an individual's ears, courtesy of personal music players.

But that's all recorded music. Live music remains far rarer. Live musicians may occasionally show up in a public space, but you generally have to seek them out.

Which raises an interesting question. Do we perceive music differently when we watch it being played than we do when we are only listening to a recording?

Writers' guidelines for Fine Lifestyles Regina and Saskatoon

Are you a freelance writer in Saskatchewan (or at least knowledgeable about Saskatchewan)? Then it could be I've got work for you.

Here's the release I've been sending out today seeking additional writers for the magazines I edit, Fine Lifestyles Regina and the about-to-launch Fine Lifestyles Saskatoon:

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Edward Willett, editor of Fine Lifestyles Regina, continues to seek freelance writers to work on the magazine, and is now also seeking writers for Fine Lifestyles Saskatoon, a sister...

Winter issue of Fine Lifestyles Regina now online!

You can view the most recent issue of the magazine I edit, Fine Lifestyles Regina, in its entirety online.

I recommend pages 124 and 125, which is where you'll find the new wine column my wife and I are co-writing, "The Willetts on Wine."

I'm also going to be editing the new sister publication, Fine Lifestyles Saskatoon, launching this spring.

(As we approach the release of the next issue, I'll post "The Willetts on Wine" and my cover-story interview with ex-NHL player Mike Sillinger on this...

Nice mention of "bleak and beautiful" Marseguro

"Bleak and beautiful" is a nice phrase. Even nicer when it's applied to my DAW SF novel Marseguro, which is what happened today in Strange Horizon's review of 2009 by its corps of reviewers…one of whom is my fellow DAW author Kari Sperring (author of Living With Ghosts), who said this:

The Hugos were rather predictable, but the Canadian Prix Aurora went to Edward Willett's bleak and beautiful Marseguro, a novel which has not received the attention and acclaim it deserves.

I would never be so...

The World in the Satin Bag picks Terra Insegura's cover as best of 2009

Blogger Shaun M. Duke, who really liked Terra Insegura, has chosen its cover, by Stephan Martiniere, as the winner of his award for best cover of 2009.

I agree with him, of course. It really is a terrific cover. Shaun writes:

The artwork for Terra Insegura is stunning, as are all of Martiniere's paintings. A big plus is the cover actually matches what is in the book. What more can I say? Just look at it!

However, I must take issue with some of Shaun's other comments in his list of awards for...

Blame your brain for overeating

Put on a few extra pounds over Christmas? Wonder why you feel compelled to eat half a box of chocolates half an hour after finishing your second plate of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy? Feel a little guilty?

Well, new research offers clues to one of the most baffling aspects of the eternal battle of the bulge: why we keep eating even when we're full.

Short version: blame your brain.

When you're hungry, food looks more appealing than when you're not: hence the old adage about never s...

Nominations open for Prix Aurora Awards

Back in August, I had the great good fortune and honour to win the Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English for my novel Marseguro (that's me holding it at left, alongside my editor and publisher, Sheila Gilbert of DAW Books). The Prix Aurora Awards honour the best of Canadian science fiction and fantasy from the previous year. In 2010, the Aurora Awards will be handed out at Key-Con in Winnipeg in May…and nominations have just opened.

Any Canadian citizen, whether or not they...