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.
May 8, 2026 · 112 words
Brig to Battle!
Brig of War, the third re-release of my Privateers & Gentlemen series, is now available! Find it on Amazon. Flagship Editions is really cracking on with these. In the last month we’ve seen the release of To Glory Arise and The Tern Schooner, and now a third book is available on the virtual shelves. (If […]
Read entry →May 7, 2026 · 97 words
One Day More
What a difference 24 hours can make. Maybe I should have waited before making my last post. This morning I went to a doctor who specializes in veinology, or whatever the art is called. The first specialist I’ve been able to see. I was scanned again, and the blood clot is gone. Without a trace. […]
Read entry →May 6, 2026 · 444 words
Act of Kindness
A complete stranger bought me lunch the other day. I never met her, and never spoke to her, and she’d left the restaurant before the waiter told me what she’d done. I guess she saw this geezer limping to the table with his cane, then dining by himself, possibly a lonely old pensioner with mobility […]
Read entry →April 11, 2026 · 106 words
Arisen
In what can be best described as a timely arrival, the new Flagship Editions copy of the first Privateers & Gentlemen adventure is now available at Amazon US and Amazon UK. It may be available in Australia and elsewhere in North America, but I haven’t checked. The books will be available on Kindle only, which […
Read entry →April 4, 2026 · 142 words
The Trade Winds Blow Fair
I’m pleased to report that I’ve just sold five books, Not new books, but books decades old. My Privateers & Gentlemen historical from the early Eighties. The sale is to Flagship Editions, a brand-new publisher dedicated to works with nautical themes. Flagship is based in London but the works will be available in North
Read entry →March 26, 2026 · 393 words
Beginning the Year of Pain and Mopery
It’s well past time for this update, but quite frankly I’m tired enough of living it without having to recount it in narrative form. Plus I was deprived of Internet for over two weeks, as the local router resolutely refused to connect to the computer, until just couple days ago the Guy from IT turned […]
Read entry →February 13, 2026 · 91 words
Boskone
I’m attending Boskone, my last bright fling at freedom before my first knee replacement. Here’s my schedule for them what’s interested: Fri 5:30 PM 1 Hr Harbor III 50 Secret Wars, Futuristic Espionage, and Lost Technologies Sat 2:30 PM 1 Hr Galleria – Autographing 220 Autographing: Theodora Goss, Michael A. Ventr
Read entry →February 3, 2026 · 53 words
Plunder for All!
Apple Books has put my Quillifer the Knight on sale for the criminally low price of $2.99 (regular price $15). I have no idea how long this will last, so you should plunder while you may. (The book shown in the ad may have a different cover, but don’t let that stop you.)
Read entry →January 26, 2026 · 72 words
Clear Skies
The winter storm that’s in the process of sinking the Eastern seaboard only grazed us, with a couple days of rain and one night of snow. By sunset tonight the snow had mostly melted, and the last of the clouds were scurrying over the mountains on their way to a rendezvous with Maryland or wherever. […]
Read entry →December 31, 2025 · 90 words
Cods
This is what the Australians call a “potato cod,” though in fact it’s a grouper. It’s one of a large pack that likes to hang around divers. That’s in one area of the Barrier Reef where divers were once allowed to feed the fish. That was decades ago, and the fish fed by the divers […]
Read entry →December 26, 2025 · 122 words
Feasts of Yule
Lots of meetings with friends this holiday week, almost all associated with food. Above you see homemade soft pretzels served with chile con queso and a fine dry red, the cooking bossed by Darcy and assisted by her large family, who very kindly adopted Kathy and me for long afternoon. Christmas Eve featured an afternoo
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