Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 119 entries, all of them here in full.
November 24, 2022 · 272 words
My Best Thanksgiving Story
Some years ago there was a small grocery near the university in Albuquerque. To avoid being crushed by supermarket chains they’d gone upmarket, with gourmet offerings on their shelves next to the Hamburger Helper. One of the things they offered were fresh turkeys on major holidays. I’d ordered my turkey there for sever
Read entry →November 22, 2022 · 400 words
Our Loss
I’ve had an incredibly busy two days, action-packed, and it’s only now that I’m managing to get my head around Greg Bear’s passing. We’ve been friends for about as long as I’ve been in this field, so long that I can’t remember when or where we actually met. We’ve known each other for something like […]
Read entry →November 21, 2022 · 49 words
No Accident
Celebrating their 25th anniversary and an early Black Friday bash, Audible has the audio book of The Accidental War on sale for $5.99. It’s the first book of the latest Praxis series, and is narrated by the excellent David Drummond. The sale continues through the 29th. Don’t miss it!
Read entry →November 20, 2022 · 713 words
Three Cretan Ladies
Behold a 3500-year-old fresco of three Cretan ladies, found in the palace at Knossos. Except they may not be ladies, they might be goddesses. Or priestesses dressed as the goddesses they served. Or some upper-class women enjoying one another’s company. Archaeology can be complicated that way. The principle divinity of
Read entry →November 16, 2022 · 58 words
Beastly Me
This coming Saturday I will be signing, reading, and give an interview at Beastly Books, George R.R. Martin’s bookstore in Santa Fe. My appearance will be from noon till one-thirty. There will be copies of Imperium Restored and Lord Quillifer, both of which came out in 2022, as well other books from my catalog. Y’all [
Read entry →November 9, 2022 · 668 words
Alas, Callisto
Greek religion was weird. It was a mashup consisting of various local traditions shoe-horned together, with myths having many variations depending on who you asked, and even the nature of the gods seemed somewhat protean, with very different versions of a god being worshiped in different places. The cult statue of Arte
Read entry →November 2, 2022 · 551 words
Last Night in Athens
It’s our final night in Greece. We left the Callisto three night ago, and now we’re back at our B&B in Athens, just hangin’ out and seeing the sights. The Callisto experience was delightful but intense. Every day new sights to see, new ruins to meander through, new artifacts to admire, all with people whose […]
Read entry →November 1, 2022 · 69 words
More Bouboulina
Turns out that Bouboulina has also been immortalized as a Playmobil playset. That’s how you know you’ve made it. Bouboulina’s granddaughter was a chip off the old block. During World War II she established an organization to smuggle Allied servicemen out of occupied Greece, along with bits of intelligence. Like most Re
Read entry →October 31, 2022 · 362 words
Bouboulina!
Behold Bouboulina, sea-captain, freedom fighter, and the first woman ever appointed an admiral (and in two navies, Russian and Greek!). I encountered this statue on the island of Spetses, where her house has been turned into a museum by her descendants, who still own it. She was born in a Turkish prison in 1771, where
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