The Okal Rel Universe in evolution and in the world.

 


An "off stage" glimpse of Okal Rel characters in their "time off" - in a scene that never made it into the novels - is published on Dr. Dee Horne's Scroll in Space online literary journal. I've also been asked by Dr. Horne to make an appearance in her Creative Writing class in the new year. Dates TBA.

Labels: Amel, Dee Horne, Perry D'Aur, Scroll in Space

posted by Lynda at 07:33   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 
Came across this looking for something else and decided to put it up in the excerpts section of the ORU website. There's so many bits like this! Many of them no longer fit in the timeline of the published works or have been excluded for other reasons. Guess they are like out takes in a movie.

Labels: Amel, Creative History

posted by Lynda at 08:41   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 

I got a little long winded at the 15 minute presentation and got through only the first half of what I had prepared to present at my actual talk, during the July 1-3 intr-disciplinary.net conference. I wasn't the only one challenged by the short time frame (which I thoroughly approved of!) but felt a bit chagrined because the first half of the paper is "all about me". That is, it explores how my life experience brought me to the conclusion identity is central to the two big Good Things I care about: the integrity to be ethical and the ability to 'soul touch' others. After that I explain how Amel represents a thought experiment in identity-resilience and why an approach to problem solving I call 'naked virtuality' might be useful in fields other than authorship. But people can read all about it if they want the rest of it. Arriving at identity as core to the Good Life was important. I've got more pictures from the cyber3 conference, Vision of Humanity in Cyberspace celebrating the very interesting people I met there and places I saw. When David gets back, he'll do me an event page for it.

Draft Paper Below

DRAFT copy of Character as Virtual Reality Experiment in Identity by Lynda Williams (PDF)

Labels: academic paper, Amel, Appearances, Identity, interdisciplinary.net, Lynda Williams

posted by Lynda at 07:49   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 

Three cheers for Gary Renshaw, the voice, video and project talent behind the launch of the first "Flight Cycle" story on http://youtube.com

Our goal is to do about one a month, soliciting art to illustrate each installment. Plan to have some web pages up explaining details by the end of the holidays. In the meantime, anyone who knows an artist who might like to contribute should contact Gary Renshaw at gary@okalrel.org

Hiding Low takes place between the end of Pretenders (coming from Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing in the fall of 2008) and Throne Price, already in print. It is the story of Amel trying to hide among commoners and low lifes of the empire. If all goes well, when I am done with Hiding Low, I will start the second story of the "Flight Cycle". There are three, all together, which cover Amel's adventures on the run from Ev'rel after stealing baby Erien, the "Throne Price".

Labels: Amel, art, Flight Cycle, Gary Renshaw

posted by Lynda at 08:26   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 


Just a bit of chit chat snagged from facebook, between myself and Patsy Crawford, a First Expansion member who wrote a story for the 2nd anthology.

Labels: Amel, Patricia Crawford

posted by Lynda at 00:23   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 

Yesterday, I finished cleaning up the manuscript for Pretenders, as phase one of getting the document ready for the publisher. It will now be proof read by wonderful, willing members of the First Expansion and their corrections input prior to its delivery to Brian Hades of Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy at ConVersion in Calgary this August.

Pretenders, Book #3 in the Okal Rel saga, features POV characters Amel,Ayrium, Di Mon and Ev'rel. The central question of the plot is who will fill the empty throne of the Gelack empire. The personal challenge for the characters caught up in that struggle is how to sustain a false front, when their true selves are always threatening to burst out. Amel, raised a commoner, wants to survie as a highborn. Ayrium must make friends at court to protect her home. Di Mon must swear to whoever will keep the empire strong, despite his personal inclinations, and juggle his feelings for the Reetion, Ranar. Ev'rel puts on a "Demish woman" act to keep the support of Silver Hearth. Everyone is his/her own worst enemy in maintaining false fronts, even before their plans are scrambled by the outcomes of duels and the awakening spirit of a legend.

Amel Snippet Amel was speechless. A wife? A princess? he thought. Just like that? All the places inside him that ought to react to a thing like that felt numb. Ev?rel patted his hand. ?Close your mouth, dear, and don?t fret. You can thank me later. Now I must go back to my guests. Can I trust you to behave until you are sent for?? He nodded. It seemed the only way to get rid of her.

Labels: Amel, Ayrium, Di Mon, Ev'rel, Pretenders

posted by Lynda at 07:48   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 

Brianna's space on www.portfolios.com includes sketches of Amel.

Labels: Amel, art, Brianna Thomas, Portfolios.com

posted by Lynda at 14:04   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post