Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,174 entries, all of them here in full.
October 9, 2020 · 656 words
Sanity Trip
I badly needed a sanity trip, so I drove to the Ski Valley and checked into a condo. I’ll be alone up here for several days, self-isolating in nature. I may meet some folks on the trails or whatever, but I’ve got a mask for that. As for why I needed this trip, just look […]
Read entry →September 26, 2020 · 67 words
Another Fine Review
The Nerd Daily posted a fine review of Fleet Elements. With a pace that is faster than light, Walter Jon Williams’s fifth book in the Dread Empire’s Fall series, Fleet Elements is a space opera that doesn’t disappoint . . . great soap opera science fiction, full of gung ho rebels trying to save themselves, with [&helli
Read entry →September 24, 2020 · 843 words
Back on the Keyboard
I haven’t been visible on social media in the last week because my MacBook Pro was off in the shop. The keyboard had (mostly) held together through the completion of Lord Quillifer, but was clearly on its last legs, so off to the Genius Bar I went. Fortunately the butterfly-switch keyboard on my machine had generated s
Read entry →September 17, 2020 · 346 words
A Few Good Things
First, I finished Lord Quillifer in the early hours of the morning, and sent it on to my editor and my agent. I was so afraid that the project would be Dance with Dragons-sized that I’d stopped doing word counts for the last ten chapters or so, but when I finally added them up, the book turned […]
Read entry →September 11, 2020 · 337 words
Final Sprint
I feel as if I’ve been sprinting to the finish of Lord Quillifer forever. Up till now, with every page I added, the finale seemed to have receded farther out of sight, but now I think I’ve got a handle on it. I’ve written the last big action scene, I’ve written the last big revelation scene, […]
Read entry →September 9, 2020 · 89 words
And Now . . . Winter!
The big storm struck as predicted, and the temperature dropped nearly 50 degrees overnight, complete with hours of heavy freezing rain. We didn’t get any snow, but Colorado got quite a bit. Yesterday the high was in the 90s and the air conditioner was going all day. Today I had to light the boiler so […]
Read entry →August 30, 2020 · 325 words
Gang Agley
Last night’s edition of “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” the NPR news quiz, featured a story that I wasn’t prepared to believe, involving the Scots Wikipedia, in which I wasn’t prepared to believe either. It seems there is an attempt to render the contents of Wikipedia in the Scots language (as opposed to Scots Gaelic, which
Read entry →August 28, 2020 · 269 words
Fleet Elements Gets a Star
Fleet Elements, the next book in my Praxis series, got a starred review from Publishers Weekly. So don’t just take my word for it, we have independent testimony that this book is solid. It still won’t be available till December, unfortunately. But you can pre-order at your favorite bookstore. Fleet Elements Walter Jon
Read entry →August 26, 2020 · 90 words
Bubonicon Online
Our local SF convention, Bubonicon 52, was scheduled for this coming weekend, but was canceled on account of the pandemic. But this Saturday, August 29, there will be a virtual Bubonicon complete with guest of honor Keith R.A. Decandidio, toastmaster A. Lee Martinez, artist guest Chaz Kemp, and many many more, includin
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