Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,179 entries, all of them here in full.
February 6, 2024 · 239 words
Toolbox in ’23
Here’s the second in my survey of works published by graduates of Taos Toolbox in 2023. The Kuiper Belt Job is the first in David D. Levine’s Cannibal Club Chronicles, a new adventure series following a collective of highly shady individuals. Once upon a time in the Solar System, there was a gang called the […]
Read entry →February 4, 2024 · 182 words
Don’t Sleep. Just Read.
The new Wild Card book, SLEEPER STRADDLE, launches on February 6! The book contains a new story by me, “Semiotics of the Strong Man,” and features two of the series’ most popular characters. SLEEPER STRADDLE features stories about Croyd Crenson, known as the Sleeper and created by Roger Zelazny. Roger created the most
Read entry →January 30, 2024 · 519 words
From the Time Capsule
I went through an old file cabinet drawer yesterday to see if it was time to send some of the paper to (1) the shredder, or (2) the archives. The stuff in the cabinet dates from 1975-1982, my earliest years of trying to write professionally. Right up front was a massive research file for the […]
Read entry →January 25, 2024 · 190 words
Toolbox Scores Again
Here I begin a survey of works published by Taos Toolbox veterans in 2023. First up is Refractions by M.V. Melcer, a far-future novel that features intrigue, action, and an all-consuming mystery at its heart. Nathalie has joined a rescue mission to the once-thriving settlement at Bethesda, which has lost communication
Read entry →January 16, 2024 · 842 words
We Have Lost the National Treasure
Here’s Howard Waldrop— that’s MISTER National Treasure to you!— in 2006, reading someone’s submission to the Rio Hondo workshop, then held in Taos Ski Valley. Howard died yesterday of an apparent stroke. He was 77. I met him in the early Eighties, when I was writing the first Privateer & Gentlemen books. Th
Read entry →January 7, 2024 · 60 words
Arroz is Arroz is Arroz
Kathy’s away for a yoga weekend, and left me here in the cold. To keep off the chill I wanted a hot mess to eat, so here’s paella! Ham, fresh-caught Gulf shrimp, chorizo, Patagonian scallops, chicken, and bomba rice. invited Terry and Jim to share it, and they brought a fine Spanish red, so all […]
Read entry →January 5, 2024 · 311 words
Toolbox for 2024
This announcement has been delayed due to my heavy schedule with Mr. Zappy, but I’m pleased to finally be able to announce that Taos Toolbox for 2024 is open for submissions. Taos Toolbox is a two-week master class in writing science fiction and fantasy, and is helmed by award-winning author Nancy Kress as well as [&he
Read entry →December 25, 2023 · 160 words
The night before the night before
The night before the night before Christmas, it snowed on Santa Fe plaza. And here’s the picture to prove it. As a holiday present to ourselves, we decided on a trip to Santa Fe to catch a baroque concert, dine out with a friend, then spend the night at a classic old hotel. The weather […]
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