Thursday, May 31, 2007
 
Sketch of Amel in envoy period by Krysia colorized by Lynda Williams Click the image for larger version in the gallery.

Krysia sketched this tribute to Amel at school during a break. Lynda added color and the decorative elements on Amel's vest. The multi-colored embroidery on the neck of his vest is an attempt at his braid - blue for Blue Demish, Gold for Golden, Red for Vrellish and just a dab of brown in it for Lorel. (He is about a third each Blue Demish, Golden Demish and Vrellish.) The fern on his vest is the symbol he wears while flying as Royal Envoy for Ameron. The brown fern is the symbol of House Lor'Vrel. Krysia is Amel's first big fan and the author of the story "Ladylike" in Okal Rel Anthology 2, a collection of stories written by new contributors to the Okal Rel Universe and edited by John Preet. (As of May 31 2007 that book is at the proof-reading stage.)

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Thursday, May 24, 2007
Sighted in Monro's
 
Okal Rel Saga books in Munro's book store
I don't think I've ever seen all three on sale at once, other than at the Edge table at conventions, and I've never seen them before in Monro's.

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Saturday, May 19, 2007
 
Alison Sinclair sets up an ORU play place on tiddlyspot
Thanks to Alison Sinclair, the ORU has a new play place - a tiddly wiki to be used for an ORU Concordance project.

Alison discovered tiddly wiki in pursuit of her own notetaking. See, for example, her World Building notes complete with her own sumptuous computer-graphics artwork in the header bar.

Lynda and Alison are playing around getting it right, including coming up with an editing protocol so we don't clobber each other's work. First Expansion are invited to join in as co-editors.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007
 

Sketch of Okal Rel Universe character Balous by Richard Bartrop
Artist Richard Bartrop recently treated members of the ORU's First Expansion to some sketches of ORU characters that tickled his fancy. I've got one up on the gallery so far (click the detail shown here for the whole thing). Richard and I are talking - well, thinking at least - about possible projects to engage his talents.




BTW one and all, art in the rough is always welcome for sharing on the "workshop floor": from pros, gleeful enthusiasts and everything in between! See examples on the ORU Gallery . We all play with the material and I enjoy seeing glimpses of what it inspires in others. The "First Expansion" refers to the private mailing list friends@lists.okalrel.org where the crazy creatives and promotional supporters of the ORU hang out and keep me ticking over. Membership is by invitation but open to anyone of good heart who makes a contribution on one of many fronts. See our help wanted list for stuff we are currently buying, begging, driving to completion or noodling around with in a dreamy fashion.

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Cover of The Courtesan Prince by Lynda Williams I recently discovered (re-discovered?) a review of The Courtesan Prince by Jill, the book chick, that speaks to my own feelings about the whole Okal Rel Universe enterprise. She gives CP 4 out of 5 stars not because of any short-coming in its quality: "Only because it helps to be familiar with Okal Rel before diving in." But she goes on to thank me for the very qualities in my books that are such a sin from the perspective of the thirty-second sales pitch, for which I thank her with all my heart. I hope she is right about the ORU being treasured for many years by those for whom it "takes root". And I'm starting to have faith in that hope, thanks to all of you who have found the time in your busy, stressful lives to love the ORU along with me in whatever way worked best for you.



Featured Quote from Review at Amazon.com



Williams takes a brilliant and complex universe and invites us in, pulls us in, and keeps us there, turning pages, wanting more, voraciously lapping up everything she tosses our way. I should like to thank her for creating this wonderful thing, this series of books that will be treasured for years to come. - Jill Bell, cenobyte

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Thursday, May 10, 2007
 
Okal Rel creatives celebrated the completion of the first comic illustrating the House of Em with Demish Tea at the Empress Tea House with Brianna and Lynda May 2007

A small band of Okal Rel Universe creative crazies joined Lynda for Demish Tea, at the Empress Tea House in Prince George last weekend, to celebrate delivery of the first ORU comic to Windstorm Creative by artist Brianna Thomas.


Detail from opening of Brianna Thomas's illustrated version of Okal Rel Universe comic The House of Em featuring Amel as a boy

Brianna's comic adaptation of the House of Em by Lynda Williams features Amel's life as a child on Gelion raised by Mira's mother, Em, in the attic of the gorarelpul college. (The novella is 3/4 finished and in the queue for Lynda behind delivering book #3 in the ORU saga, Pretenders, to Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing by the end of the summer.)

Camera shy Brianna attacks an innocent shortbread

The camera-shy Brianna objected to photos but Lynda was able to capture her assault on an innocent shortbread towards the end of the event so that the hand of the artist might feature here if not the face. The black shirt in the background belongs to Brianna's friend, John. Virginia O'Dine of Bundoran Press dropped in to visit. Also in attendance were Mel, Krysia, Lynda and Jennifer.

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Saturday, May 05, 2007
Tech support in the middle ages, and the last duel
 

  • The more things change - medieval tech support visits an end-user confused by new technology (video, laugh-hazard). A Norwegian short-short.
  • In an article around a book about the last fatal duel in Scotland (The Last Duel: A True Story of Death and Honor by James Lansdale), En Garde! The History of Duelling, Arthur Kristal reprises (or should that be remises) the history of the duel. From The New Yorker

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