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.
July 3, 2018 · 527 words
From the Robophobe
More strange, out-of-context critiques from the Toolbox. “She critiques the god and decides it’s not a good one–maybe 6 out of 10.” “Your story succeeds in avoiding the Lovecraftian gravity well.” “I didn’t like the character–she was willing to get rid of her dog in exchange for a robot!” “The self-aware-ro
Read entry →July 1, 2018 · 222 words
Normal Programming Will Be Resumed Shortly
Taos Toolbox 2018 is over. I drove Nancy Kress to the airport this morning, then went home, enjoyed the air conditioning for a while, and promptly sacked out. Here’s a photo— actually from last week— of us taking guest speaker Carrie Vaughn out for some of the local cuisine. We didn’t get burned up in [&hel
Read entry →June 27, 2018 · 405 words
Song of Crit and Fire
Fortunately Melisandre brought us back, at what price I shudder to imagine. Behold the Sardenas Canyon Fire, visible from our nest at Angel Fire. Droughtland’s latest fire is small, but has been burning uncontrolled for several days now. We have to hope that the name of our refuge, Angel Fire, remains metaphorical rath
Read entry →June 23, 2018 · 94 words
The Red Workshop
Participants at the 2018 Taos Toolbox Writers’ Workshop, taught by Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams and hereafter known as the “Red Workshop,” were lining up for a photo with guest speaker George R.R. Martin when what a spokesman described as “an unfortunate incident” occurred. Among the casualties were David DeGraf
Read entry →June 12, 2018 · 178 words
Beautiful Artifact
A goodie arrived in the post today. My own personal copy of the signed, illustrated, slipcased limited edition Subterranean Press hardback edition of The Book of Swords, edited by Gardner Dozois, and featuring my story “The Triumph of Virtue.” There are other stories as well, by minor authors like George R.R. Martin, R
Read entry →June 12, 2018 · 402 words
Stable Relationships for Spies
One TV drama I watched from first to last was The Americans, about two married Soviet spies living in D.C. in the 1980s. Mr and Mrs Jennings bugged American officials, ran networks, eliminated defectors, seduced informants, raised one of their two children to be a spy, and racked up a surprisingly large body count amon
Read entry →June 10, 2018 · 299 words
Small Batch
I’m fond of a whisky of a cold evening, and sometimes a warm evening too, and I’m particularly fond of Scotch. I’ve enjoyed Irish, too, but I’ve never much cared for bourbon or rye. Maybe I was onto something without knowing it. Turns out that a lot of American whiskies labeled “small-batch” or “hand-crafted” are [&hel
Read entry →June 8, 2018 · 276 words
Still Lurid
Here’s another lurid sunset photo. I think this one has little or nothing to do with any forest fires that may still be burning, but more to do with the cloudburst that passed just before I snapped the picture. The setting sun is causing storm clouds to glow red. The big forest fire in northern […]
Read entry →June 4, 2018 · 177 words
Read Like a Dinosaur
When I was out of town a new collection from Mad Cow Press arrived on my doorstep, a collection that features my story “Dinosaurs,” which was nominated for a Hugo Award. From the title, A Fistful of Dinosaurs, you might guess what the collection is about, and if you have any doubts remaining, a glance at […]
Read entry →June 1, 2018 · 104 words
Lurid
The sunsets are murky and disturbing these days. Droughtland is burning down. The snowpack last winter was one-third of normal, whatever “normal” is these days, and the forest fires have already started. A fire— “one hundred percent uncontained” —is raging in Ute Park in the north of New Mexico, and other f
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