Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 207 entries, all of them here in full.
April 6, 2011 · 748 words
Sometimes These Things Take Time
I’m currently working on a novella that I’ve been planning for over twenty years. I think I came up with the idea in the late 1980s. I guess you could say I’m not the fastest writer around. The story is the latest installment in the “Dead Romantics” series, in which I craft science fiction stories […]
Read entry →March 31, 2011 · 52 words
Sieges Perilous
There are just a very few places left at Taos Toolbox, this year’s master class for science fiction and fantasy, taught by Nancy Kress, Walter Jon Williams, and special lecturer Jack Skillingstead. If you’re planning to write this kind of thing, your future could be beckoning right this very minute.
Read entry →March 30, 2011 · 1,528 words
Democracy
The world is going through some staggering changes. As I write this, it looks as if Libya may be in for a long period of civil war, despite its seemingly being pummeled by every country in the world– including Qatar!— which has an air force. Saudi Arabia has sent armed forces into Bahrain to help […]
Read entry →March 28, 2011 · 394 words
Make of This What You Will, Dr. Freud
So I had this dream the other night in which I joined a Live Action Roleplaying Game. (I’ve never joined a LARP in real life.) The game was rather action oriented, in that I carried a weapon and had to infiltrate a heavily defended area, evading bad guys and fighting the ones I couldn’t avoid. […]
Read entry →March 24, 2011 · 489 words
Early Drafts
Why do good writers do more than one draft? Because instead of being on a list of the Most Disgusting Characters Ever Created, we’d prefer ending up on the list of 5 Insane Early Drafts of Famous Characters. (Of course, we’d prefer not to end up on either list.) Think what list Spielberg and Lucas […]
Read entry →March 21, 2011 · 250 words
Soft Apocalypse
My sometime student Will McIntosh (Taos Toolbox 2008) has published his first novel, and it’s a very fine work indeed. Soft Apocalypse— the very title of which introduces a useful idea into science fiction— is what happens when your civilization starts to crumble and then just keeps on crumbling. There’s no
Read entry →March 21, 2011 · 541 words
Kickingpunchingscreamingfallingdown . . .
So it was karate weekend here in the Land of Enchantment, with people coming from several states to participate. Friday was five or six hours of class, most quite vigorous, some not. This was followed by my requalification as a Kenpo black belt, which is something I have to do every so often in order […]
Read entry →March 18, 2011 · 72 words
Plans A-gley, the Way They Do
I had every intention of writing a lengthy post tonight, but after due consideration I decided to imitate Topaz here and take a nap instead. My gain, alas, is your loss. The next couple days are going to be occupied with a bunch of full-bore karate events, in which I will be requalifying for my […]
Read entry →March 16, 2011 · 64 words
The Old Green and Purple
I’m wearing green and purple today. Why? Because it’s St. Urho’s Day, of course! For those of you not in the know, I present a brief video explaining the cosmic importance of St. Urho. The video is clearly from a year in which March 16th fell on a Monday, but don’t let that concern you. […]
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