Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 226 entries, all of them here in full.
July 21, 2012 · 200 words
TGIF
Okay, my part in Clarion is over. Over, that is, except for the Celebrating at the Beach, in which I will partake this evening. Everyone has been very hospitable. The students have been energetic, highly organized, and very talented, and they’ve made my job easier than I had any right to expect. As they are […]
Read entry →July 17, 2012 · 355 words
Comic-Con Newbie
I’m now installed in academic splendor at UCSD and have started my Clarion teaching gig. The students seem to have been drawn from a very large talent pool, and I’m impressed by their technical abilities. But I arrived on Friday, and the actual teaching didn’t start till Monday morning . . . so what did […]
Read entry →July 11, 2012 · 41 words
Missing the Wire
For all its virtues, David Simon’s Treme can’t replace David Simon’s The Wire in my affections. Unfortunately, neither can this. Yes, it’s Wire: the Musical! [via Chris East] The Wire: The Musical with Michael Kenneth Williams from Michael Kenneth Williams
Read entry →July 11, 2012 · 281 words
Got It In One
It took about ten seconds for John MacMichael to guess the answer to my last quiz. Yes, I was in Seattle. I was there for my agent’s annual retreat, and I caught the Tutankhamun exhibit while I was there. The exhibit was full of lovely stuff, but I was annoyed at the misleading advertising, which […]
Read entry →July 5, 2012 · 572 words
Detective Dee. Plus a Temple of Doom.
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame never made it to New Mexico, so far as I know, so it took me a while to see it. Directed by my onetime creative associate Tsui Hark, the film showcases Tsui’s deranged imagination as well as his usual breathtaking imagery. Along with lots of big, […]
Read entry →July 4, 2012 · 207 words
The Life Cycle of the Red Corpuscle
I found out how long my mountain-boosted pulmonary system lasted. Ten days. During Taos Toolbox I spent two weeks at nearly 10,000 feet, which means my body was madly churning out red blood cells to carry all the extra oxygen I needed to survive. When I came home, I figured I’d be bringing a ton […]
Read entry →July 1, 2012 · 247 words
Advice on Titles?
Since it’s the bicentennial of the War of 1812, I’m going to see if I can get a little bounce off the anniversary and release my old sea stories as ebooks. Beginning with those set in the War of 1812, of course. (For those of you who don’t know, I had a career writing historical […]
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