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.
February 7, 2016 · 406 words
Newer. Prettier. But the Same.
I’ve been engaged in the detail work of bringing my ebooks up to the modern standard, modern being “2016” as opposed to “2012.” Which is to say they look prettier, are better organized, have functioning tables of contents, and almost entirely up-to-date clickable lists of my other works, so that you can find them and [
Read entry →February 5, 2016 · 95 words
Touching on the Toolbox
There are still some places left at Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy. If you’re a workshop veteran and missing the workshop community, or someone who’s sold some work and stalled, or someone who hasn’t sold anything at all but is serious about your career, you owe it to [&hellip
Read entry →February 3, 2016 · 98 words
Turtle Tag
Turtles. Because they’re awesome. Last year on Maui, we were diving Lahaina Pier, and there was this little turtle, maybe a foot across, that was kind of swooping in and around and playing tag with us. And then the guide pointed out something, and we got interested in that, and the turtle got more and […]
Read entry →February 3, 2016 · 800 words
Genres Extinct
My recent post about Nevil Shute set me thinking about literary genres, and their rise and fall. Shute’s own particular niche is pretty well dead— not a lot of stories about zeppelins or epic aircraft flights being written these days. But Shute’s in good company. For example, I think we can safely say that the [&
Read entry →January 30, 2016 · 120 words
End-of-the-Month Sale
The fine folks at Kobo are offering every ebook in the store at 50% off through January 31. Just use the promo code JAN1650. The best part of this is that authors still get full royalties. CHA-CHING! Here’s the link to my own immortal works. Or if you want someone else’s less-immortal works, you can […]
Read entry →January 27, 2016 · 451 words
Swimming With Sharks
Another photo by Troy, this of a nurse shark taking a nap under a piece of sheltering coral. Contrary to myth, sharks do in fact sleep, though sometimes it’s hard to tell, because they can’t close their eyes. The shark’s man-eating reputation, despite what you’ve seen on Shark Week, is ridiculously exaggerated. People
Read entry →January 26, 2016 · 2,190 words
Mr. Norway
Some of you may have noticed that I contributed to a discussion of hard vs. soft science fiction over at Tor.com. One of the things I’ve noticed about so-called hard SF is that a lot of it isn’t all that hard— the science is often extremely speculative or sometimes even non-existent— but the label attaches
Read entry →January 22, 2016 · 218 words
Caviar
Who’s this little guy? Why, he’s one of the Opistognathidae, of course. Otherwise known as a jawfish. If he look as if he’s got his mouth stuffed full of caviar, it’s because his mouth is in fact stuffed with caviar. The jawfish females lay the eggs, after which the males hold the eggs in their mouths […]
Read entry →January 20, 2016 · 444 words
David
Science fiction editor David G. Hartwell suffered a fall in his home on January 19th, while carrying a bookcase up the stairs, and suffered a “massive brain bleed.” I’ve just received the word that he’s died. I was never one of David’s authors, but I’ve known him for more than thirty years, and I […]
Read entry →January 19, 2016 · 117 words
Soaring
This is a spotted eagle ray, caught in another photo by Troy. Your heart always gives a leap when you see one of these soaring in silent majesty over the reef. They have a wingspan of over eight feet, and they’re fast. They’re shy around people, and if they become aware of you they leave you […]
Read entry →January 18, 2016 · 360 words
The Goldilocks Zone
For those of you trying to break into this business, this is the season to start thinking about workshops. And we’ve got workshops of for every size, every budget, and every variety of time commitment. First up is the granddaddy of them all, Clarion. Clarion is a six-week-long journey into writing, with an emphasis on
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