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.
February 14, 2018 · 399 words
Boskone
I will be spending the weekend in Boston, attending their excellent science fiction convention, Boskone. Since the convention is a very fine one, and it’s a large regional convention that is still about books, I urge those of you who can be there to attend. Here’s my schedule, for anyone who would care to connect with
Read entry →February 13, 2018 · 60 words
Carnival Time!
It’s Mardi Gras, Y’all! And to celebrate, here’s Kermit Ruffins from his Jam in the Van series, with “Drop Me Off in New Orleans.” And to top it off, just cuz I like the video, here’s “When I Die, You Better Second Line” from the series Treme. It starts a bit funereal, but doesn’t stay that way for […]
Read entry →February 13, 2018 · 53 words
Lords of All Media
Having wrapped its Joker tentacles around the world of mass media, Wild Cards is even more out there than it’s been up till now. Pinterest! Twitter! Google! Instagram! Facebook! Wherever you hang out, Wild Cards will be there. Here be the links: Wild Cards Official Web Site: http://www.wildcardsworld.com/ https://www.f
Read entry →February 10, 2018 · 931 words
One Way Authors Think
The publisher got around to sending me my contributor’s copy of The Book of Swords, nearly four months after the rest of you had probably got yours. I’ve been reading it, and after I noticed how damn good an anthology it was, with a double helping of very talented authors like Ken Liu and CJ Cherryh […]
Read entry →February 6, 2018 · 103 words
Tesla Gets Heavy
I watched live this afternoon as SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, featuring 28 rockets strapped together, the payload of a Tesla roadster complete with a Star Man, and the words “DON’T PANIC” in large, friendly letters right on the dash. (Really appreciated that last bit.) The videography is pretty amazing, because th
Read entry →February 4, 2018 · 90 words
The Toolbox Awaits
There are still places left in Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy. This year’s workshop takes place June 17-30, 2018, in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and will be taught by Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams, with special guests Carrie Vaughn, E.M. Tippetts, and George R.R. Martin. We
Read entry →February 2, 2018 · 468 words
Mezentian Bridge
So in last night’s dream, I had recruited a group of friends to re-enact the famous game of bridge played in E.R. Eddison’s classic fantasy novel The Mezentian Gate. The Zimiamvian fantasies of Eric Rücker Eddison deeply impressed me when I first read them, age thirteen or so. I loved the stirring Jacobean prose, the f
Read entry →January 31, 2018 · 312 words
Tenebrarum et Nebulae
Behold! A couple photos of the Hyper-Sooper-Dooper Blueberry Fresh ‘n’ Fruity Moon Incarnadine, or whatever they called it. Apparently we can’t just say “lunar eclipse” any more. The first photo shows the crepuscular, fuliginous shadow of Terra, creeping rather like an octopus across the lunar surface. (Also note that
Read entry →January 31, 2018 · 923 words
Reckless
I’ve been reading David Yaffe’s Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell. Which I just sort of stumbled upon, and which turns out to be pretty terrific. Joni Mitchell was one of those people who was on the radio constantly when I was growing up, which meant I didn’t have to think about her, because she […]
Read entry →January 26, 2018 · 236 words
1929-2018
When I heard of Ursula LeGuin’s death, I realized that she was someone who, as far as I was concerned, had always been there. I’d been reading her since Rocannon’s World, the Hainish space opera that seemed equally to resonate with the works of Tolkien and Leigh Brackett. (“Wherever he went, his super science made him
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