The Okal Rel Universe in evolution and in the world.

 

Writer Ev Bishop has made the poster for my Terrace visit available on her blog. Thank you Ev!

Download the PDF poster here

Labels: Ev Bishop, SF Creatives, Terrace

posted by Lynda at 11:05   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 

SF Creatives had a lively evening featuring the art of Michelle Milburn, April 23, 2009 at Books and Co. Nathalie Mallet was home with a bug. Also missed was Paul Strickland. Nicole K. read from her fantasy story in progress. I (Lynda) read a page of Di Mon behaving badly from Part 3: Pretenders, in response to Weston's comments about Di Mon's less than perfect manners in Part 1: The Courtesan Prince. Weston shared his experience of the Child of Earth series by Elizabeth Haydon: Rhapsory, Prophecy and Destiny. I scored the lovely painting of David Bowie which Michelle had with her and is holding up in this picture, by admiring it until Michelle gave it to me. She says artists are way less "ohh aww" about everything they produce than the folks, like me, who admire them. Nicole M. discussed the book she is reading in order to take part in an essay writing contest: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. We all discussed the premises and our own run-ins with Rand, as well as the extended vs. shortened vs. book versions of Lord of the Rings and a bit about warfare among hunter gathers vs. "civilized" alternatives. Delighted to have Nicole K.'s mom attend as well. Love the way she was looking at her daughter as Nicole read. Nicole K.'s story and The Courtesan Prince both feature royalty raised as commoners which was another talking point and led to discussion of elitism vs. egalitarianism. I spoke with Michelle afterwards about her art work for the new cover of Mekan'stan with Absolute XPress which has been formally accepted by my publisher, Brian Hades. Michelle will also be working on the covers for The Lorel Experiment and Kath to produce a standard "character-focused" look for the novellas. I spoke with Nicole K. about her story for the fourth ORU anthology. She's decided to write the story of the novices in Den Eva's when Von disappears and resurfaces as Pureblood Amel. I've sent her an old, rough draft of something I messed with in that zone back in 2003 to use for ideas but she'll be taking over what actually happens to Chester and the others in this time period. The next connection with the saga, for Chester, is when he shows up in Part 7: Healer's Sword as the leader of Eler's troupe of actors.

Labels: SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 09:26   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 
Readers of science fiction and fantasy (SF) are invited to come
read five minute excerpts of their favorite books or stories and socialize with like-minded people at SF Creatives, 7-8:30 pm at Books & Company, Thursday April 23. Writers are encouraged to share their works in progress. SF Creatives is hosted by Prince George authors Lynda Williams and Nathalie Mallet.

Labels: SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 08:02   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 
We had a small but friendly turn out to the SF Creatives on a cold Wednesday evening March 11, 2009. The regulars were there, minus Nicole and her mom who are enjoying a holiday in a warmer clime. John Bell joined us for the first time. I met him at the CFIS 93.1 interview. John is pictured here wearing the "Write from the Heart" button. And here's Nathalie talking with her hands. :-)

Labels: CFIS 93.1, John Bell, Nathalie Mallet, SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 06:53   2 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 2 comments links to this post

 


Nathalie Mallet and I will be doing SF Creatives again on Wednesday, March 11, at Books and Company in Prince George, B.C. The picture is from our January session. Readers and writers drop in to share their favorites in print or in process with each other. Sometimes we have artists visit to do show and tell as well. Each person gets a turn and takes part in discussion about other people's choices. Informal, friendly and positive! With a focus on SF: science fiction and fantasy. We start at 7 pm. Done about 8:30 pm

Labels: SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 07:41   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 
On January 14, at 7:00 p.m - readers and writers of SF, artists and art fans in Science Fiction/Fantasy, are encouraged to turn out and participate in SF Creatives at Books and Company with Natallie Mallet and I. Prince George, B.C.

Labels: SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 08:25   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 

Google alerts snagged a couple of echoes of recent events: A LisWire article about Brian Hades, my good friend and intrepid publisher, and an news item about the SF Creatives meetings by Prince George friend of literature of all kinds, Paul Strickland. Looks like the Captain Fantasy title is going to stick for Brian Hades. And hope Anita found her sleeping bag! She put up a whole tribe of us at her house for World Fantasy Con in Calgary - definitely above and beyond the call of duty.

Labels: Brian Hades, Liswire, Paul Strickland, SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 04:46   0 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments links to this post

 
See comment from SF Creatives attendee 'vyxen' on her blog
Prolifically Barren about the first read-share-write gathering Nathalie Mallet and I hosted at Books & Co earlier this month. Next meeting is at Cafe Voltaire, in Books & Co, Wed. Nov 12 from 7-9 p.m. All welcome. Bring your own or someone else's SF/Fantasy or genre work to read or show off. We'll have boards to display art on next time and I think I'll read from a book I like which is not my own - one of those I'm fond of and want to talk about.

Labels: SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 08:05   1 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 1 comments links to this post

 
Twelve of us turned up at Books & Co for the first meeting of the SF Creatives - a reading, writing, art and discussion group focused on genre fields like science fiction, fantasy and its ilk. We are less worried about definitions than a shared spirit of enjoying and discovering each other's work and interests. SF Creatives is hosted by myself and Nathalie Mallet at Books & Company. Most of last night's readings were from the ORU or Nathalie's novel Princes of the Golden Cage, but Rachel - who attended with her father Kirk - also read from a fantasy title with the word "Wind" in its name which was by an author who attended VCON, Nathalie told me, and whose name I can't remember. Grr. Help, anyone? (Help provided in comments: Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind.) One artist put in an appearance - thank you Gareth. A couple of attendees were deviants (i.e. members of Deviant Art). Angie picked the section of Righteous Anger that I read aloud. She recommended the arena scene on SanHome where Horth proves his genius with a sword despite his ill-advised decision not to wear a fencing mask. Nicole read the 'How to deal with real girls' passage between Chester and Von in The Courtesan Prince. Kirk Morgan read the opening of Princes of the Golden Cage, where Amir is drawn into a magical murder investigation despite his preference for scientific explanations. Kim, of Books & Company, sat in. She writes fantasy. Three parent-child groups of two or three attended including myself and Angie, Nicole and parents and the Morgans, which I find sort of special. Kim was a nifty discovery. Some good discussion took place with some mutual questions and answers. Which is what art is all about for me - exploring how we cope with life.

We'll be creating a mailing list for the group. Anyone interested in being on it should notify david@okalrel.org

Next meetings are: Wednesday Nov 12, 7-9 pm and Wednesday December 10, 7-9 pm.

We plan to continue in 2009 with a new set of dates.

Many thanks to Books and Company for letting us take over Cafe Voltaire for the evening.

Labels: Books and Company, reading, SF Creatives

posted by Lynda at 08:02   5 comments permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 5 comments links to this post