Walter Jon WilliamsNovelist

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.

  1. September 7, 2020 · 43 words

    After A Quarter Century

    The Wild Cards anthology Dealer’s Choice is back in print after 25 years. Normally I’d say “I have a story in it,” but Dealer’s Choice is a braided novel, a single narrative written by several authors, and one of the braids is mine.

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  2. 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

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  3. 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

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  4. 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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  5. August 20, 2020 · 30 words

    California Burning (Again)

    Here’s tonight’s sunset, as viewed through a smoky murk blown all the way from California’s wildfires. We’ve been breathing the stuff for weeks, but this is the worst it’s been.

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  6. August 19, 2020 · 29 words

    Mad Science

    Just before lockdown in March, the Albuquerque Museum had an exhibition devoted to the Muppets. Here we see Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker in a typical pose.

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  7. August 15, 2020 · 114 words

    Launching Today

    My sometime student Susan Forest has published the second book in her Addicted to Heaven YA series, Flights of Marigolds. (The first was Bursts of Fire.) The book launches today— which happens to be the day that Susan won the Aurora Award for best YA! I’d say she’s having a good weekend. “A definite twist to the

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  8. August 12, 2020 · 53 words

    Praxis Price Point

    I’m not sure who arranged this, but The Praxis is available today on ebookdaily.com for $1.99. UPDATE: The ebook is on sale everywhere for $1.99. I don’t know how long this will last, so buy while you can! Why do people not tell me when these sorts of things are going to happen?

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  9. August 8, 2020 · 574 words

    So Then This Strange Thing Happened

    As I mentioned in a reply to a previous post, my eye surgery went very well. It had, however, an unanticipated consequence. (I’m getting used to unanticipated consequences where medical procedures are concerned.) When I had cataract surgery in my left eye in 2014, I asked for a closeup lens. I’d worn monovision contact

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  10. August 2, 2020 · 50 words

    Evil High Priestess Still Popular

    I just got a note from Google, which keeps track of everything, to inform me that the most popular page on my blog is a 2012 post about Madonna being the High Priest of Satan. It’s good to be remembered, but I hadn’t thought it would be for this.

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  11. July 31, 2020 · 140 words

    Virtual Worldcon

    Despite the odd technical glitch, I’ve been enjoying the world’s first virtual worldcon. It’s a very science fiction-y thing, meeting and seeing friends scattered over the States via a server in New Zealand. I’ve had a good time on my panels, and my reading (from Fleet Elements) seemed to be well-received. (I think I h

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  12. July 27, 2020 · 38 words

    Don’t Blink

    So the good news is that the paella was much better on the second try. Jasmine rice was surprisingly good with the dish. The bad news is that early Monday I’m having eye surgery. Keep your fingers crossed.

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