Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 207 entries, all of them here in full.
November 4, 2011 · 199 words
Big Joe
So . . . who invented rock and roll? My money’s on this guy. Not only did he record “Roll ‘Em Pete”, the first song with a backbeat, in 1938, but he mastered a whole series of musical genres. Blues, jump blues, R&B, jazz, big band swing, and finally rock and roll. In addition to […]
Read entry →November 4, 2011 · 194 words
Spacetime Rip
The Europeans, I am delighted to report, are planning on punching a hole in spacetime. (Into which, my cynicism tempts me to add, they will throw billions in their soon-to-be-worthless currency.) The combined power of 10 separate lasers would be focused down to a very small volume, creating conditions more extreme than
Read entry →October 27, 2011 · 184 words
WFC
When I tell my friends I’m off to the World Fantasy Convention, they always think I’ll be attending a more exotic sort of event than it actually is. When I explain that it’s a gathering of writers, artists, and editors, they sort of furrow their brows and say, “What the hell kind of fantasy is […]
Read entry →October 26, 2011 · 983 words
Royalties
Three major publishers have announced that they’re going to make sales data available to their authors. I mean, like, wow. Those of you unconnected with the arcane world of publishing may have assumed that sales data was always available to authors. I mean, why wouldn’t it be? Because publishers stood to make millions
Read entry →October 25, 2011 · 852 words
The Way We Are Now
The Association of American Publishers released figures for last June, showing that sales of adult trade paperbacks were down by no less than 63.8%. (And my latest book was released in trade format! My joy is unconfined.) Adult hardcover sales were down by 25.4%, and mass market paperbacks by only 21.6%. Revenues from
Read entry →October 24, 2011 · 557 words
Super-Entities
So . . . who owns the world economy? Some systems analyst guys in Zurich (I suspect actual gnomes) have analyzed what they call “the network of corporate control.” (Please note that economists didn’t even think of doing anything like this.) As the New Scientist comments: From Orbis 2007, a database listing 37 million c
Read entry →October 19, 2011 · 103 words
Got It Live If You Want It!
The new ebook of Voice of the Whirlwind is now available for Kindle, Nook, and via Smashwords. Pretty awesome cover, neh? Elsewhere in ebook news, Hardwired, The Crown Jewels, Days of Atonement, and Rock of Ages should now be available in the Apple store, as well as Diesel and Scrollmotion. If they’re not yet available
Read entry →October 19, 2011 · 49 words
From the Lebanese Cookbook
Tonight’s dinner was Samak al Kamoun, a whole fish grilled in a paste of garlic, paprika, olive oil, lemon juice, and cumin seeds lovingly toasted by yours truly and ground by hand with a mortar and pestle. The grill scorched it a bit, so next time I’ll bake it.
Read entry →October 15, 2011 · 52 words
Taos Toolbox 2012
I’m happy to announce that Taos Toolbox 2012, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy, will take place June 10-23, 2012, in Taos Ski Valley. Teaching will be Walter Jon Williams, Nancy Kress, and special lecturer Daniel Abraham. Submissions will be accepted beginning December 1. Start honing your ma
Read entry →October 15, 2011 · 225 words
Wild Visitor
I was alone in the deserted Snow Bear lodge, but I thought I heard someone moving around, and on the assumption it was the landlord, I went looking for him. Instead I found this golden-eyed beauty perched on the rear balcony. A brief web search indicates that this is a Great Horned Owl, though if […]
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