Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 226 entries, all of them here in full.
October 19, 2012 · 382 words
Trusting My Readers
I’ve been working on Cat Island, the next of the old seas stories I plan to release in ebook formats. While I’ve generally been pleasantly surprised to read my earlier works, this is the first of the re-issues that have made me want to go through the book with a machete. So that’s what I’m […]
Read entry →October 18, 2012 · 76 words
Hopping
I am of an age where, on a regular basis, I’m forced to contemplate my age. But I’m not old. Not by the Hopping Standard, anyway. I’ve decided that I’m young so long as I can don my trousers standing up, hopping from one foot to the other. When I have to put my trousers […]
Read entry →October 16, 2012 · 1,065 words
Reviews In The Nick Of Time: Argo
Argo does not seem to be a movie that appeals to the teenage audience. I don’t think there was a single person under forty in the theater, and most were eligible for Social Security. I haven’t been in an audience of so many gray-haired people since The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. (Retirees love […]
Read entry →October 12, 2012 · 95 words
Maples
There is exactly one canyon in New Mexico where you can find maple trees, trapped here by changing climate after the last Ice Age. This is clearly the time of year to go see them. We went about ten days ago, but the leaves were just starting to turn. We returned yesterday to find the […]
Read entry →October 11, 2012 · 932 words
The Tern Schooner
Behold! The Tern Schooner, the latest in the ebook reissues of my old sailing series, is now available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. The book was originally published by Dell as The Yankee, in the same month and from the same publisher as The Yankee by Dana Fuller Ross. (Because Dell was just […]
Read entry →October 10, 2012 · 594 words
Quizzical
Wow, we have only a single winner for the Boolean Gate quiz. Congratulations, Steve Halter! Email me your address, and a signed copy of the uncorrected proofs will soon be winging their way to you. Here are the questions and answers: 1. Who are the three historical figures depicted on the cover? Mark Twain, JP [&hellip
Read entry →October 9, 2012 · 190 words
Boolean Quiz
Lo! It is the cover of The Boolean Gate, my new novella from Subterranean Press, available now for pre-order in a signed, limited edition! You can also pre-order it at Amazon and divers other places, I believe. The price is a mere $38. But if you’re short a few dollars, don’t despair! I have a […]
Read entry →October 8, 2012 · 65 words
Taos Toolbox 2013!
I’m happy to announce that the next Taos Toolbox, the master class for science fiction and fantasy, will take place July 28-August 10, 2013, at Taos Ski Valley. Teaching will be Nancy Kress, Walter Jon Williams, and special lecturer Melinda Snodgrass. The application period begins December 1. Mark your calendars! (and
Read entry →October 7, 2012 · 58 words
Golden Clouds
I’ve spent a few days up the mountain looking at scenery like this, an aspen grove up above 10,000 feet, where the autumn leaves look like golden clouds sitting just beneath the rim of the sky. I would have been uploading pictures all along, but I forgot the cable that connects my camera to the […]
Read entry →October 4, 2012 · 45 words
I Am In My Happy Place
I’m up on top of a mountain, surrounded by aspens that have turned a brilliant gold, and breathing air that tastes like champagne. (Well actually it tastes more like pine, but you know what I mean.) Posts may be scarce for the next few days.
Read entry →October 2, 2012 · 154 words
Echo Deco
Here’s a photo of Chicago’s NBC building taken at Worldcon a month or so ago. With its vertical lines, symmetry, setbacks, towering mast, and flying buttresses (!!!), the building is a clear example of Art Deco. Except that this building dates from the wrong era. Art Deco was created in the 1920s and died (as […
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