Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 162 entries, all of them here in full.
September 14, 2017 · 219 words
The Triumph of Virtue
The Book of Swords, edited by Gardner Dozois and with my story “The Triumph of Virtue,” is now available for pre-order. You can order the book at your favorite local bookstore, or via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or (for ebook only) Google, Kobo, or iBooks. The release date is October 10, but why wait? You […]
Read entry →September 12, 2017 · 172 words
Criminals?
So . . . the credit rating agency Equifax suffered a data breach that allowed criminals to gain access to the personal details of 143 million people, including names and social security numbers. All anyone would need to perpetrate massive acts of identity theft. But that doesn’t mean their top executives can’t make a f
Read entry →September 9, 2017 · 711 words
The Voynich Manuscript—- Solved?
My introduction to the Voynich Manuscript came in the Chaosium RPG Call of Cthulhu, in which it was presented as an item that could (1) increase your knowledge of the occult, while (2) blasting your sanity. Oops! Despite its appearance in an RPG and the works of Lovecraft, Colin Wilson, and others, the Voynich Manuscri
Read entry →September 7, 2017 · 52 words
Kiss of Fire
This classic tango was playing in my head all morning. I don’t know why, maybe I was stalking a pantheress or something. Anyway, here’s Gaby Moreno, Hugh Laurie, and the Copper-Bottom Band doing “Kiss of Fire.” You’ve probably heard this song all your life without knowing its name, and now you do.
Read entry →September 4, 2017 · 207 words
Veyshnoria, My Veyshnoria
The other day Belarus and their Russian allies declared war on three fictional countries. But now one of the countries seems a little less fictional. As part of a joint military exercise taking place later this month, Belarus and Russia are mobilizing against three enemies: Vesbaria and Lubenia (strangely resembling Li
Read entry →September 1, 2017 · 52 words
Let There Be Chat
Live from Helsinki! (Okay, so it’s slightly delayed.) It’s the Hugo-nominated Coode Street Podcast, in which I am interviewed by Gary Wolfe, Jonathan Strahan, and Hugo-nominated Toolboxer Kelly Robson. We’re talking mostly about my next book, Quillifer! I had enormous fun with this interview, and I hope you can hear th
Read entry →September 1, 2017 · 114 words
Walter’s Saga Book VIII: the Return
I’ve been back at home for a few days, after seven or eight weeks away. The cat looked at me like she vaguely remembered me, perhaps from a former life. Here’s a picture of our eclipse gear, the Astroscan and the Canon with their homemade solar filters. All you need at an eclipse besides beer […]
Read entry →August 25, 2017 · 94 words
Les Tetons
Here we have the Grand Tetons, named (I imagine) by a very lonely and somewhat nearsighted French voyageur. Some decades ago I was visiting France, and fell into a conversation with a young French woman. It went something like that. SHE: Is it true that in America you have mountains called ‘les grandes tétons?’” ME: Ou
Read entry →August 25, 2017 · 227 words
From the Earth to the Moon
You can’t say the week was without its variety. First the solar eclipse, and then four days in Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks. So here I’ve documented the morning rainbow at the feet of the Lower Yellowstone Falls (it vanished a few minutes later as the sun rose), and below is the diamond ring as […]
Read entry →August 23, 2017 · 338 words
Solar Dragon
So we had a three-day turnaround between returning from Helsinki and starting our drive to Wyoming to see the eclipse. It was a two-day drive to our guest ranch near Dubois (rhymes with Royce). A two-day drive to watch a two-minute event seemed a little out of balance, so we’re staying for the rest of […]
Read entry →August 19, 2017 · 47 words
MP
So here I am at Worldcon, signing a book for Finnish MP Jyrki Kasvi, who reads SF, can speak Klingon, wears a cowboy hat, and presented the Best Novel Hugo. Honestly, why can’t we get legislators like this? The photo is by my hard-working minder, Pekka Rantasaari.
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