Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,180 entries, all of them here in full.
December 19, 2018 · 364 words
Operatic
Lo! It’s another photo from our 2019 calendar! This is Olavinlinna (“St Olaf’s Castle”), a 15th century fortification on a Finnish island near the Russian border. The castle was built by the Swedes to keep the Russians out, but in the early 18th Century Sweden ran out of the money necessary to defend themselves and [&h
Read entry →December 19, 2018 · 181 words
Gifts for Readers #6: The Invisible City
Brian K. Lowe’s The Invisible City is #6 in my list of recommended reading from veterans of Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy. Here’s the flap copy: Captain Charles Clee stumbles onto a secret archaeological expedition from the 23rd century and finds himself stranded nearly one m
Read entry →December 17, 2018 · 350 words
Moody
Here’s one of my favorite pictures in the new 2019 calendar. It’s a small boat tossed on a moody monochrome ocean, with a moody skyscape above. If it weren’t for the bit of color provided by the setting sun, you’d think I’d printed this out with silver nitrate or something. The only thing that prevents […]
Read entry →December 16, 2018 · 289 words
Gifts for Readers #4: While Gods Sleep
. . . Aaaaand now we are at #5 of my reading recommendations, all by veterans of Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy. (And if you want to write SF or fantasy, why not click the link and find out what it’s about?) L.D. Colter’s While Gods Sleep appeared the […]
Read entry →December 16, 2018 · 212 words
Pleasantly Tart
I think it was nine years ago when Jean-Bertrand gave us a memorable dessert, a kind of upside-down apple tart. I was delighted by two things: first, by the tart itself; and second, by the discovery that actual French people cook from recipes by Julia Child. (And why not? They’re thoroughly tested and in their [&hellip
Read entry →December 14, 2018 · 291 words
Gifts for Readers #4: Arabella the Traitor of Mars
Here we are at #4 of my gift suggestions for readers, all books by veterans of Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy. Arabella the Traitor of Mars is the third in a series by Hugo-winning author David D. Levine, beginning with 2016’s Andre Norton Award-winning Arabella of Mars. The s
Read entry →December 13, 2018 · 391 words
Tall and Narrow
Here’s another photo from our 2019 calendar. This is an interior view of something called the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood— lighthearted name, that— in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was mortally wounded by a nihilist bomb in 1881. Alexander was progress
Read entry →December 11, 2018 · 315 words
Gifts for Readers #3: The Moons of Barsk
Looking for something to read over the holidays? Or something to give a reader friend? Here’s the third recommendation I’m making of a book written by a Taos Toolbox veteran. (And by now I suspect that, if your ambition is to write, attending Taos Toolbox might be a smart thing to do. We really do […]
Read entry →December 6, 2018 · 405 words
Gifts for Readers 2: Walking Through Fire
Here’s another fine gift for the reader in your life. Or for yourself. Sherri Cook Woosley is another Taos Toolbox veteran whose book appeared in the same week as my previous recommendation, Lauren Teffeau’s Implanted. Walking Through Fire, from Talos Press, wasn’t workshopped at Toolbox, but we workshopped the sequel,
Read entry →December 4, 2018 · 193 words
Gifts for Readers 1: Implanted
Now that we’re in the season for gift-giving, I’m going to start a new series of gift suggestions, all of them books by veterans of Taos Toolbox. You can’t have too much reading, right? First up is Implanted by Lauren C. Teffeau, available as a paperback, ebook, or audio book from Angry Robot. From the flap […]
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