Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 100 entries, all of them here in full.
April 22, 2020 · 67 words
I Cannot Avoid the Topic of Publishing
So the other night I dreamed that I worked on the staff of an established magazine called Huguenots Today, which was threatened by the publication of a newer, glitzier magazine called Huguenots Now! That exclamation point was like a weapon brandished in our direction. Ad revenue fell. There were lots of meetings, and a
Read entry →April 18, 2020 · 438 words
Down Home
I don’t want to cause too many cases of resentful food envy here, but I’m kinda proud of this one. What we have here is barbecue beef brisket, potato salad, and collard greens. The brisket was cooked sous vide for 72 hours at 155 degrees F, then spent two hours in the oven to give […]
Read entry →April 16, 2020 · 271 words
Consolation
Here’s the Moroccan-spice-crusted leg of lamb I cooked for Passover/Easter/Bunnyday, served with a saffron rice pilaf and fresh artichokes with a saffron dipping sauce. (The Moroccan spices on the lamb had saffron too, so thanks to the wonderful Patricia Rogers for dropping that saffron on me.) It is small consolation
Read entry →April 12, 2020 · 88 words
Everybody’s Gonna Need a Ventilator
When your spine is cracking and your hands, they shake, Heart is bursting and you butt’s gonna break. Your woman’s cussing, you can hear her scream, You feel like murder in the first degree. Ain’t nobody slowing down no way, Ev’rybody’s stepping on their accelerator, Don’t matter where you are, Ev’rybody’s gonna need a
Read entry →April 12, 2020 · 123 words
Alas
Last year I wrote about the exuberant and open hospitality offered us by Lady Dunsany when she gave us a private tour of Dunsany Castle in Ireland. This castle is the seat of the second-oldest Irish peerage, and also the home of Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th baron, who wrote stories, poetry, and plays [&h
Read entry →April 10, 2020 · 191 words
The New Decameron
The original Decameron, written by Giovanni Boccaccio in the 14th Century, was a collection of 100 tales, each of which was supposedly narrated by one of ten young men and women hiding from the plague in a villa near Florence. So what are we doing now, in our contemporary self-exile, but sitting around and telling each
Read entry →April 9, 2020 · 47 words
Taos Toolbox Postponed
I regret to report that due to the danger of COVID-19, Taos Toolbox 2020 has been postponed from June to September 6-19. The mountains should be lovely at that time of year, and we hope that everyone already committed to the workshop will be able to attend.
Read entry →April 6, 2020 · 659 words
Running Like a Deere
On Saturday came a fortunate coincidence— both I and my little tractor were feeling well enough to get some yard work done. The tractor had been ill longer than I had. I usually plan to kick off yard work season in February, just after we burn the dried-out weeds and leaves from the previous year, […]
Read entry →April 6, 2020 · 65 words
The Other Game
Fans of Wild Cards have long known that the series was inspired by a superhero roleplaying game run by George R.R. Martin. But there was another superhero campaign going on, with more or less the same set of players, and that was run by me. Over on the Wild Cards site, you can find a brief […]
Read entry →April 4, 2020 · 955 words
Screenings in the Sickroom
I’ve been sick for 10 days now, and I improve day by day. I am only rarely doubled over with coughing. Occasionally my eyes will uncross and I can read and even plan ten or fifteen minutes into the future. Kathy’s illness is about three or four days behind mine, but then hers isn’t as […]
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