Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 163 entries, all of them here in full.
June 20, 2015 · 949 words
“. . . And They Is Us.”
John Stewart, rocked back on his heels by the horrific events in Charleston, improvising, and unable to come up with a single joke, nevertheless manages more coherence and resolution than I could, even when I have time to prepare. Which is why he’s the TV star and I, obviously, am not. Not that I feel […]
Read entry →June 20, 2015 · 738 words
Waterloo
So we find ourselves on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. More than marking the end of Napoleon’s great adventure, the battle gave Europe 100 years of peace. Not that there weren’t wars now and then, but there was nothing that tore apart the social order and massacred a whole generation the way […
Read entry →June 17, 2015 · 324 words
Saintly Repose
Behold, it is the corpus of St. Celestini— taking a rest, I guess, from his holy labors in the apse of the cathedral in St.-Malo, where I encountered him last autumn. I have been unable to find out anything about St. Celestini— there is a St. Celestine, but he was a pope and was buried […]
Read entry →June 14, 2015 · 176 words
Scribble Scribble Scribble (eh, Mr. Williams?)
I will be signing copies of my story in the new collection The Change, edited by S.M. Stirling, on Monday, June 15, at 7pm, at the Violet Crown Cinema, 1606 Alcaldesa St., Santa Fe, 87501. I’ll be there alongside colleagues Diana Paxson, Jane Lindskold, John Jos. Miller, Emily Mah, M.T. Reitan, Keir Salmon, Victor Milá
Read entry →June 11, 2015 · 1,044 words
Signals from Fred
In critique, “Signal from Fred” is shorthand for those moments in a text in which the author’s subconscious issues a cry for help, usually by pointing out that the action doesn’t make any sense. A character might say, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it!” or “This was unbelievable!” or “I can’t […]
Read entry →June 8, 2015 · 104 words
Nemesis In the House
Nemesis Games, the new book by my pal James S.A. Corey, appeared a couple days ago. I’ve been reading it, and it’s a winner, which I know because I’m having a hard time putting it down. This is the fifth book in The Expanse, the first book of which is Leviathan Wakes, so you should probably start there. […]
Read entry →June 4, 2015 · 551 words
99 Cents
My 99-cent sale of To Glory Arise ended a few days ago, and was a success. It reached #21 on Barnes & Noble, and #52 on Amazon . . . though, as is normal with these kind of promotions, it retained those numbers for less than a day. Because action-adventure sells better than SF, To Glory […]
Read entry →June 3, 2015 · 337 words
Time for a Change
May I recommend to you my new story, “The Venetian Dialectic,” to be found in The Change, a brand-new anthology edited by S.M. Stirling? The story takes place in Steve’s Emberverse, in which he’s been writing for damn near 20 years now. In order to understand the story, you need only to know that in this […]
Read entry →June 2, 2015 · 1,094 words
Family
So what good is family, exactly? Raising children, obviously, and caring for the elderly; establishing a financial and property arrangement to the benefit of all members; providing emotional support, a loving and safe environment; a sensible division of labor. All of which is to some degree supported and regulated by l
Read entry →June 2, 2015 · 250 words
Mountain Mysteries
The Rio Hondo workshop is over for another year, and I’m scrambling to catch up with my normal life, such as it is. And prepare for Taos Toolbox, which begins in less than a month. Here I am in the Commandant’s chair at the head of the table in our meeting room at Snow Bear, […]
Read entry →May 30, 2015 · 61 words
Getting Stuffed
Here’s your cute cat picture of the day. Except, y’know, dead bobcat plus chemicals plus mannikin. Because we’re sharing a hotel with the New Mexico Taxidermy Convention, and there’s a whole giant room full of stuffed animals in lifelike poses. Plus Corvettes. Because the Corvette Fancy is here too. So Corvettes, Taxid
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