Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 163 entries, all of them here in full.
August 7, 2015 · 257 words
Brisk
The weather got a bit brisk this morning as I went for a sail on the good sloop Amicus, out of Knife River. Half the passengers got seasick, but I was in the other half. The boat was bounding about so much that half my photos are of the sea, the sky, or the sails. I couldn’t keep […]
Read entry →August 5, 2015 · 98 words
Another Meteor
The US Patent Office has approved Airbus’ application for Concord 2.0, an “ultra-rapid air vehicle and related method for aerial locomotion”. In other words, a commercial aircraft capable of reaching 100,000 feet, after which the ramjets will kick in and the vehicle will approach Mach 4.5. The 2.0 will take off vertica
Read entry →August 5, 2015 · 632 words
Behold the Mighty Meteor!
Behold the SS Meteor, at 119 years old the sole surviving whaleback freighter, and now in Superior, WI, moored in, um, mud apparently. (I actually took these pictures a couple weeks ago, but haven’t got around to looking at them till now.) My interest in anachronistic technology led me to view this glorious Victorian c
Read entry →July 30, 2015 · 262 words
The Return . . .
So you all said you wanted more Caroline Sula, the heroine of the Praxis novels. I wrote “Investments,” which featured co-protagonists Martinez and Severin, and you all said, “Thanks, Walter, that was very nice, but we want more Sula!“ Well, I hope to heck you all meant what you said, because I’ve just sold “Impersonat
Read entry →July 29, 2015 · 461 words
Superior Moon
Here we view Lake Superior beneath a (nearly) full moon. The first part of my road trip was full of frenzied travel, the second filled with visits to relatives, and now I’m on my own and kicking back. I’ve rented a one-bedroom “condo” with a kitchen, and tonight I roasted myself a chicken, ate it […]
Read entry →July 27, 2015 · 54 words
Wisdom from the Marmot
If you’re at least as smart as your average marmot, you’ll want to subscribe to my newsletter and get a free Hugo- and Nebula-nominated ebook! Now I call that equitable! (If you’re already a subscriber, you’ve already received an email offering the ebook, so you won’t have to join all over again.)
Read entry →July 27, 2015 · 149 words
Misty Morning
Here through the mist we see the Edgar A. Speer taking on a cargo of taconite, which is the shit iron ore we’re left with after the good stuff has been mined. Below in the mist, the little boat seems a visitor from another world. Taconite, by the way, can be turned into steel, but only through […]
Read entry →July 27, 2015 · 102 words
North Shore Sunset
I’ve spent several days on the Iron Range enjoying the warm hospitality of my relations. The only drawback of being in that lovely part of the world is that the whole region seems a stranger to actual high-speed internet. Twice I found myself eating a truly mediocre lunch in a restaurant because they had […]
Read entry →July 24, 2015 · 737 words
Duluth
As the photo will attest, my wanderings have taken me to the city of my birth and the original source of my literary inspiration, Duluth, Minn. Alas, the sign on the city limits, “Birthplace of Walter Jon Williams,” seems to have been taken down for repair. (And honestly, who else do they have? They […]
Read entry →July 21, 2015 · 437 words
Glorious Sights of Kansas (Volume 1)
I could open this essay with a lame joke about Dorothy not being in Kansas anymore, but I think it’s better if you just imagine it. Anyway, if Dorothy were in Kansas she’d be able to look at space capsules and an SR-71 Blackbird and many other aerospace goodies, that is if Dorothy were in Hutchinson, […]
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