Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,174 entries, all of them here in full.
May 23, 2016 · 83 words
Reveal’d
Here’s the cover reveal of my short novel featuring Caroline Sula. (Art by the utterly terrific Jaime Jones.) The book will be released on October 4 in both trade paperback and e-formats, and you can preorder from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo (ebook only), and Google (also ebook only). I assume iBooks will have it soon
Read entry →May 20, 2016 · 341 words
Smokestack Lightning
Heading into the weekend, let’s flash back to 1965, when the Rolling Stones consented to appear on the American music program Shindig (created and hosted by Jack Good, who was English). This sort of prime time Bandstand show wasn’t really the Stones’ kind of thing, but they consented to appear only on condition that Ho
Read entry →May 18, 2016 · 91 words
Award Winner
Congratulations to Taos Toolbox veteran Fran Wilde, whose Updraft won the Andre Norton Award for young adult fiction, and also the Compton Crook award for best science fiction, horror, or fantasy novel (no age mentioned). Updraft was workshopped at Toolbox, and despite being perhaps the most altitude-impaired student e
Read entry →May 16, 2016 · 127 words
Hardwired Sale
My best-selling book of all time, Hardwired, is now on sale for a mere 99 cents. Feel free to pick it up at Amazon, iBooks, Google Play, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. I’ve never put Hardwired on sale because it’s always sold so well at the ordinary price. But then I reflected that more of […]
Read entry →May 16, 2016 · 823 words
Reviews Too Late: Admiral
The original title of this Dutch film is Michiel de Ruyter, but as this title means nothing to audiences outside the United Provinces, the American release is retitled Admiral. (Thus prompting confusion with the Korean film Admiral, about the naval hero Yi Sun-sin, or Admiral, the Russian film about the naval hero Alex
Read entry →May 11, 2016 · 672 words
Stories. Bundled.
Once again I have a book available as part of a StoryBundle. The last one sold like hotcakes on a winter’s morning, and this one should as well, because StoryBundle is an amazing freaking good deal. Basically, you pay whatever you want for the first three books, which are Errantry: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand, Le
Read entry →May 10, 2016 · 79 words
P-Hack
Via ace mathematician Michael Wester, we have ace correspondent John Oliver ranting about the media’s demand for cute pop science. After viewing this video, you will be able to answer the following true/false questions correctly. 1. Does champagne make rats live longer? 2. Are babies made of chocolate? 3. What will kee
Read entry →May 8, 2016 · 184 words
Fête des Mères
EPSON scanner image It’s Mother’s Day here in the States, so I thought I’d post a photo of my mom dating from her period as a lingerie model. I vaguely remember this photo being taken. We were on vacation in a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota, where I spent the day on or in the […]
Read entry →May 7, 2016 · 47 words
From the Hi Ball Lounge
Since we’re heading into the weekend, I thought I’d program a bit of entertainment for you folks. Live from the Hi Ball Lounge, it’s Miss Lavay Smith and Her Red-Hot Skillet Lickers. Put on a smoking jacket, pour yourself a gin gimlet, and give it a listen.
Read entry →May 6, 2016 · 434 words
Going Urban
I’ve just hatched a new theory. Which is a callow, trembling thing just out of the chrysalis, but I may be onto something, so bear with me. My theorizing was spurred by this last weekend at the Paradise Lost workshop, for which I read some of the stuff that is called “urban fantasy,” which is […]
Read entry →May 4, 2016 · 99 words
Drinks for the Season
I’m busy trying to finish a novel and a copy-edited manuscript of Impersonations, the short novel that will appear from Tor later this year. Meanwhile the American election season rolls on. New Mexico’s primary, which takes place next month, may actually matter in some way, which it never has in my lifetime. Usually by
Read entry →April 28, 2016 · 212 words
Go Pro
I haven’t been online much, because I’ve been reading manuscripts in preparation for the Paradise Lost Writers Workshop and Retreat, taking place in San Antonio this weekend. I’ll be teaching and offering critique of others’ work, along with Jaye Wells, Ken Scholes, and former Toolboxer (and Nebula and Andre Norton and
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