Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,175 entries, all of them here in full.
December 12, 2007 · 113 words
Taos Toolbox 2008
Once again, we are offering the Taos Toolbox master class in writing science fiction and fantasy, June 8-21, 2008. My co-teacher will be the fabulous Kelly Link, and there will be an appearance by special lecturer Stephen R. Donaldson. This is a “graduate” level course, intended for people who have already been to Clar
Read entry →December 11, 2007 · 112 words
Cioppino
Yesterday being a rainy, cold, depressing Monday, I attempted to cheer myself up in a way that usually works. With food. So I threw some tilapia, bay scallops, giant prawns, oysters, and clams— about eighty bucks worth of seafood, actually— into this wonderful tomato and white wine broth, and I made enough
Read entry →December 11, 2007 · 213 words
Rainy Days and Mondays
Okay, so Monday sucked. It rained all day, which is good for our environment and for the ski lodges, but meant I lived all day in the gloom.Then I got bad news— not about me, but about a friend. Which put a huge damper on the day.And then I fired up the computer and started […]
Read entry →December 9, 2007 · 60 words
O Lucky Man
So I got some really good news the other day.Really, really, really good news.Except I can’t tell you all what the news is, because things aren’t precisely nailed down yet.But it’s good news.Reely reely good goody good reely good goody reely good news. If I had time, I’d open a bottle of champagne, but I […]
Read entry →December 9, 2007 · 385 words
Barrage
Okay, so you gotta admire the sheer commercial brilliance of this idea. You recruit six hot-bodied classically-trained violinists, either fresh from the conservatory or still in the conservatory. These people are really sharp musicians, equally at home with bluegrass, jazz, sambas, klezmer, the Great American Songbook,
Read entry →December 5, 2007 · 530 words
Neckar/January
So here’s another image from our fine calendar. (the color picture, not the other one) This is the valley of the Neckar River from the Hornberg— not the Hornburg (Horn Fort), which is in Lord of the Rings, but the Hornberg (Horn Mountain), which despite being identified as a mountain was in fact the castle [&hell
Read entry →December 4, 2007 · 194 words
Throw Away the Tinfoil!
Annoyed by those pesky alien abductions? Worried that alien mind-control rays may be altering your behavior? Well, now you can throw away those tinfoil hats! You can make your very own Thought Screen Helmet out of an old leather aviator helmet, some 3m Velostat, some masking tape, and a few simple household tools. (Eve
Read entry →December 4, 2007 · 98 words
Imaginary Dialogues (1)
This last weekend I helped to test and graduate a few dozen new black belts for my karate school. Some very impressive martial arts were performed— none, it must be admitted, by me. In addition to the physical aspects of kenpo, our students are required to acquaint themselves with martial arts classics such as Su
Read entry →December 3, 2007 · 471 words
September/Paris
Another shot from our splendid little calendar. (D’you think I’d earn more money if I made as much effort to sell my books as I do to sell this calendar, on which I earn nothing?) Anyway, this gives me a chance to talk about Paris, which is one of my two favorite European cities. Paris […]
Read entry →December 1, 2007 · 451 words
Castle March
Another photo from our 2008 calendar, this of Chambord, a royal chateau in the Loire Valley. We encountered Chambord in the autumn of 2004, as we drove along the Loire Valley from Paris to Nantes, where I was a guest at Utopiales, their annual convention. Chambord was built by Francois I, a contemporary of Henry [&hell
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