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.
December 7, 2022 · 1,022 words
Wednesday with a Bullet
Some thoughts about recent viewing. Bullet Train is great fun for anyone interested in imaginative action, explicit ultraviolence, black humor, and Brad Pitt. If you don’t care for any of these things, the film is not for you. The plot, such as it is, involves the interactions of six or seven assassins who find themsel
Read entry →December 5, 2022 · 99 words
Son of the Bride of the Creature of the Toolbox of Taos
Taos Toolbox, master class for science fiction and fantasy, is back for 2023! The workshop will be held June 18-July 1, 2023, and will be taught by Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams, and with guest speakers George RR Martin and E.M. Tippetts. If you’re looking for a career in this business, Toolbox can help. [&hellip
Read entry →November 30, 2022 · 92 words
Braurian Motion
From Brauron, a relief of Artemis (holding a torch made of bundled reeds) about to receive a group of mortals who intend to sacrifice a bull. Two other goddesses are on the right, but I don’t know their names offhand. The servant on the far left is carrying a large swathed box on her head, […]
Read entry →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 [
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