I often come across things long after they are appear. Case in point is the mention of "Lynda Williams" as one of Edge's "well regarded" authors in a January 2007 entry by CBC's Joe Mahoney on Words at Large. Much appreciated Joe!

Labels: Joe Mahoney

posted by Lynda at 06:25   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 

Wonderful to appear in Bookworld with a picture and everything, so I guess it doesn't matter if some details are "off centre" from reality. I have a library degree, for example, but do not work as a librarian right now. And that business of "clones" continues to haunt the ORU from a press release of the past. Ah well. Bioengineering. Clones. Not the same thing but hey, they're related. I guess. :-) I got battery-charging comments from friends and associates about appearing in Bookworld and, most amazing of all, I did nothing to make this happen. I suspect one of the Edge miracle workers were behind it! Many thanks whoever you were!
posted by Lynda at 08:46   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
"I read The Courtesan Prince about a year ago and I really enjoyed it. The richness of the universe you created, along with the cultural relationship between the Sevolites and the Reetions was impressive. I think you are a talented local science fiction author and for this reason I am writing you with a few questions."

Hal Friesen

Labels: Courtesan Prince, testimonial

posted by Lynda at 07:23   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
"I have to say I was presently surprised when the book entirely sucked my attention in.  I haven't read about a universe so interesting for quite a while. Not since I read Dune, or the Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin, and your book definitely builds an interesting scene and story.  Just wanted to say good work!!"

Honey-Marie Giroday (Feb 07)

Labels: Courtesan Prince, testimonial

posted by Lynda at 06:59   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
Just posted the text of this entry, by Alison, to the First Expansion list of creatives who support and contribute to the ORU. The concordance is coming along. Alison is doing her best to convince me to move the whole ORU website (long acknowledged to be a messy attic trunk of stuff) into a tidier, more modern web presence. Stuff she and I have been doing with the Concordance, on tiddlywiki, is encouraging me to face the prospect of the Big Overhaul. Still makes me hyperventilate a bit, though. Guess I'm the Silver Demish traditionalist here, to her Nersallian "but it will work so much better if ..." We'll keep you posted. :-) The concordance-in-progress can be found at http://okalrel.tiddlyspot.com/ . If you know the ORU well enough to help us populate the concordance, by all means get in touch!

Labels: Alison Sinclair, Di Mon, ORU Concordance

posted by Lynda at 10:45   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
Finally have catch words for a phenomenon that's been rubbing me the wrong way for years. Mean culture - read that in an article by Barbara Coloroso. I would like to add greed culture. Just back from an e-learning conference in which, I swear, one got the feeling the organizers felt the only reason anyone would attend a session was the chance to win a door prize for sticking around. What has happened to us? Why do even well-paid professionals feel they need to be bribed to make any activity meaningful? Why do people gamble and dream about winning the lottery as if that's their only hope of happiness? Why is "enough" a dirty word?

Labels: ethics, philosophy

posted by Lynda at 10:17   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
Righteous Anger interview with Edge's Justyn Perry is featured on Edge Podcasts this week. Be patient after clicking! It might take a moment to load up! In this podcast I answer questions about:

• How much of me is in my characters


• Where do I write


• Mapping Okal Rel to real life religion - in the abstract


• Realism in combat as something more interesting than over-the-top violence


• The ACTION, ACTION, ACTION falacy for books - books as books not as second rate movies or video games


• The question regarding technlogy is not how to get more: We have it, what are we going to do with it? How about social engineering challenges.


• How do you live with the enemy?

Labels: Edge, interview, Justyn Perry, Morality, podcast, Power, Religion, Righteous Anger

posted by Lynda at 08:17   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 


Click image for a larger version of this sketch of Ayrium by Richard Bartrop.

Labels: art, Ayrium, Richard Bartrop

posted by Lynda at 07:09   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 

Review of Righteous Anger on The Harrow by Dru Pagliassotti calls Righteous Anger "a strong, highly readable installment to this ambitious and far-reaching space opera." Much joy! It also says: "One can only hope that book three, the last one needed to bridge the gap between publications, will not take another leap back in time, but will close the timeline and advance the plot." Gulp. Much trepidation.

Because there is some overlap in Pretenders, timewise, with Righteous Anger. Keeping my fingers crossed that it won't prove to be too much. And Pretenders does fill the bill of setting things up the way they stay - more or less - until Throne Price. After Pretenders it is linear, promise, except for the rare-and-well-motivated flashback, very sparingly employed! There are three movements in the symphony of the saga. The first plays out in Courtesan Prince, Righteous Anger and Pretenders and is centered on the chaos stirred up by events in Courtesan Prince. The next three books, starting with Throne Price, deal with Erien and Amel finding their feet as the "ones in charge". The next book, Healer's Sword, stands alone as a view of the new elite from the perspective of a struggling nobleborn empowered, and threatned, by new opportunities. The final three books are the Okal Rel take on the classic big finale, in which first one and then the second of the lurking threats blustered about by one set of characters or another throughout the whole series, are taken on.

Labels: Dru Pagliassotti, Review, Righteous Anger, The Harrow

posted by Lynda at 17:31   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments