Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 136 entries, all of them here in full.
February 10, 2018 · 931 words
One Way Authors Think
The publisher got around to sending me my contributor’s copy of The Book of Swords, nearly four months after the rest of you had probably got yours. I’ve been reading it, and after I noticed how damn good an anthology it was, with a double helping of very talented authors like Ken Liu and CJ Cherryh […]
Read entry →February 6, 2018 · 103 words
Tesla Gets Heavy
I watched live this afternoon as SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, featuring 28 rockets strapped together, the payload of a Tesla roadster complete with a Star Man, and the words “DON’T PANIC” in large, friendly letters right on the dash. (Really appreciated that last bit.) The videography is pretty amazing, because th
Read entry →February 4, 2018 · 90 words
The Toolbox Awaits
There are still places left in Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy. This year’s workshop takes place June 17-30, 2018, in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and will be taught by Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams, with special guests Carrie Vaughn, E.M. Tippetts, and George R.R. Martin. We
Read entry →February 2, 2018 · 468 words
Mezentian Bridge
So in last night’s dream, I had recruited a group of friends to re-enact the famous game of bridge played in E.R. Eddison’s classic fantasy novel The Mezentian Gate. The Zimiamvian fantasies of Eric Rücker Eddison deeply impressed me when I first read them, age thirteen or so. I loved the stirring Jacobean prose, the f
Read entry →January 31, 2018 · 312 words
Tenebrarum et Nebulae
Behold! A couple photos of the Hyper-Sooper-Dooper Blueberry Fresh ‘n’ Fruity Moon Incarnadine, or whatever they called it. Apparently we can’t just say “lunar eclipse” any more. The first photo shows the crepuscular, fuliginous shadow of Terra, creeping rather like an octopus across the lunar surface. (Also note that
Read entry →January 31, 2018 · 923 words
Reckless
I’ve been reading David Yaffe’s Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell. Which I just sort of stumbled upon, and which turns out to be pretty terrific. Joni Mitchell was one of those people who was on the radio constantly when I was growing up, which meant I didn’t have to think about her, because she […]
Read entry →January 26, 2018 · 236 words
1929-2018
When I heard of Ursula LeGuin’s death, I realized that she was someone who, as far as I was concerned, had always been there. I’d been reading her since Rocannon’s World, the Hainish space opera that seemed equally to resonate with the works of Tolkien and Leigh Brackett. (“Wherever he went, his super science made him
Read entry →January 15, 2018 · 85 words
Signage
My signing at the Jean Cocteau went well, and I was gratified by the number of people who turned up, the more so considering that I was in competition with Albuquerque Comic-Con. After signing books for those in attendance, I signed the remaining stock, which means that if you want some signed Walter Jon Williams [&hel
Read entry →January 12, 2018 · 283 words
For Aliens Only
Big news, my compeers! George RR Martin is now offering the TERRAN PRIZE of free tuition to Taos Toolbox, the master class for writing science fiction and fantasy. From his press release: “When astronauts look down on Earth from orbit, they don’t see borders, national boundaries, or linguistic groups; they see one worl
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