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.
February 20, 2022 · 190 words
The Praise Runs High
Paul Di Filippo has reviewed Lord Quillifer, and the praise, to coin a phrase, is unstinting. Some choice selections: Williams’s powers of invention have not paled. The interpersonal affairs of all the schemers exhibit the same baroque intricacies of yore. The big military setpieces show a flair for clarity of action a
Read entry →February 14, 2022 · 273 words
Weekend in Boston
I’ll be spending the weekend in Boston, attending Boskone, their annual convention. I hope you’ll all stop by and say hi. Here’s my schedule, for any of you needing to track me down. Fantastic Leadership Format: Panel 18 Feb 2022, Friday 19:00 – 19:50, Burroughs (Westin) In the beginning were the gallant king, th
Read entry →February 14, 2022 · 299 words
The Usual Award Whatsit
It’s that time of year when the thoughts of writers turn to awards, and they try to gently urge their readers to nominator their works. As it happens I had no novels published last year, so I won’t be nudging you toward that award. (I’ll have two novels published in 2022, both a Praxis and […]
Read entry →February 13, 2022 · 432 words
The Worst
Some days I’m in the mood for a good takedown review, at least if it’s not of one of my books. (And those are often so misguided that they’re funny. I particularly like the ones that complain that I keep interrupting what should be nonstop action scenes with scenes giving psychological complexity to my characters.) [&h
Read entry →February 11, 2022 · 1,149 words
Reviews Too Late: Pandemical Browsing
Like all of you, I’ve been consuming a lot of popcorn TV during the latest Covid blitz. Here’s some of what I’ve seen. The Lone Ranger Reacher. Reacher is so very much the Lone Ranger that the series even shows an episode of the Clayton Moore series in the background during a key scene. (Of […]
Read entry →February 4, 2022 · 107 words
Plowing
Our Arctic adventure continues! The technician will attempt his repairs once he can get parts for our 35-year-old boiler. In the meantime I’m keeping a fire in the fireplace. (Update: the boiler’s now churning out heat just like it ought, but the house is big and the temperature is going up by one degree per […]
Read entry →February 4, 2022 · 157 words
Cold and Colderer
After an afternoon of freezing drizzle, the snow started pouring down late Wednesday afternoon, and by Thursday morning this was the view off the back porch. Despite the sun, the temperature failed to rise above freezing. After a very mild winter, February had come in like a polar hailstorm. I knew the storm was coming
Read entry →February 2, 2022 · 1,063 words
Same Words, Prettier Picture
I’ve long been dissatisfied with the purposefully odd but decidedly amateurish cover I designed for my novel Aristoi, and so I decided to do something about it, and approached the splendid artist Elizabeth Leggett, who very graciously agreed to fit me (and the book) into her schedule. Here are the results. Striking, ne
Read entry →February 2, 2022 · 234 words
I Am Scoundrelized
Once again I find myself bundled with a bunch of other writers. The Science Fiction Writers of America have curated Scoundrels in Space, a bundle of twelve novels, all available for a more than reasonable price. The featured four novels are available for whatever you want to pay, but if you want all twelve, it’ll [&hel
Read entry →January 31, 2022 · 82 words
Audio Books on Sale!
Chirp, which appears to be a division of BookBub, has put a number of my audio books on sale for $4.99. (Their usual price is anywhere between 20 and 30 dollars.) So if you’d like an audio book of The Rift, Hardwired, Implied Spaces, Metropolitan, or City on Fire, and you don’t want to pay […]
Read entry →January 30, 2022 · 139 words
Out of Jail Free
I’m out of COVID Jail, having completed the 10 days of isolation recommended by the CDC following my first positive test. Not that I went anywhere or did anything. I’m not inclined toward frenzied celebration at the moment. I am free of symptoms. Today I ran on the elliptical trainer, did my normal workout, and [&helli
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