Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 156 entries, all of them here in full.
February 17, 2016 · 701 words
The iBooks Store: Stairway to Oblivion
So let’s all do this exercise together, shall we? Let’s say that you want to find one of my books on iBooks, but you’ve never been on iBooks and don’t have an account there. So the first thing you do is Google iBooks, which gives you this: So let’s say you click the link to […]
Read entry →February 16, 2016 · 58 words
Public Service Announcement
I saw last night’s episode of Castle, in which Richard Castle read from one of his books at a party for $15,000. I would like you all to know that I, too, will read at your party for $15,000, and that you’re more likely to get me than to get Richard Castle. Thank you. Operators are […]
Read entry →February 15, 2016 · 87 words
Reliable
Unreliable Narrators has posted a podcast interview with me, in which we discuss Taos Toolbox and then go on to other subjects. (UPDATE: Part II of the interview is now available.) Three of the four interviewers are Toolbox graduates, and their enthusiasm for the workshop is evident. (Which means, folks, that they like
Read entry →February 14, 2016 · 488 words
Reviews in the Nick of Time: Hail, Caesar!
Hail, Caesar is a love letter from the Coen Brothers to Old Hollywood, and if you’re a fan of old movies, this is the movie they made just for you. The film is even better if you have any memories of Esther Williams flicks, hokey Victor Mature historical epics, and anything with singing cowboys and/or […]
Read entry →February 7, 2016 · 406 words
Newer. Prettier. But the Same.
I’ve been engaged in the detail work of bringing my ebooks up to the modern standard, modern being “2016” as opposed to “2012.” Which is to say they look prettier, are better organized, have functioning tables of contents, and almost entirely up-to-date clickable lists of my other works, so that you can find them and [
Read entry →February 5, 2016 · 95 words
Touching on the Toolbox
There are still some places left at Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy. If you’re a workshop veteran and missing the workshop community, or someone who’s sold some work and stalled, or someone who hasn’t sold anything at all but is serious about your career, you owe it to [&hellip
Read entry →February 3, 2016 · 98 words
Turtle Tag
Turtles. Because they’re awesome. Last year on Maui, we were diving Lahaina Pier, and there was this little turtle, maybe a foot across, that was kind of swooping in and around and playing tag with us. And then the guide pointed out something, and we got interested in that, and the turtle got more and […]
Read entry →February 3, 2016 · 800 words
Genres Extinct
My recent post about Nevil Shute set me thinking about literary genres, and their rise and fall. Shute’s own particular niche is pretty well dead— not a lot of stories about zeppelins or epic aircraft flights being written these days. But Shute’s in good company. For example, I think we can safely say that the [&
Read entry →January 30, 2016 · 120 words
End-of-the-Month Sale
The fine folks at Kobo are offering every ebook in the store at 50% off through January 31. Just use the promo code JAN1650. The best part of this is that authors still get full royalties. CHA-CHING! Here’s the link to my own immortal works. Or if you want someone else’s less-immortal works, you can […]
Read entry →January 27, 2016 · 451 words
Swimming With Sharks
Another photo by Troy, this of a nurse shark taking a nap under a piece of sheltering coral. Contrary to myth, sharks do in fact sleep, though sometimes it’s hard to tell, because they can’t close their eyes. The shark’s man-eating reputation, despite what you’ve seen on Shark Week, is ridiculously exaggerated. People
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