I had a recent email from the Romanian translators of The Praxis. It seems that “Sula” is a very rude word in Romanian— the literal meaning is “bodkin,” but the slang meaning is something else again. So my heroine’s Romanian name is now Caroline Sylla. This is fine with me. When I offend foreigners, I […]

Okay, the last Mystery Plane was identified after a mere 32 minutes. Let’s see if this one does better. What is this aircraft? And why is it not what you might think?

So I’m back from Seattle, having had a wonderful time with any number of old friends. And having finally met Ursula K. Leguin, and actually been on a panel with her, as opposed to just looking at her from across the room as she’s mobbed by admirers, which I gather happens to her more or […]

It occurs to me that pasta seems to be the foodstuff with more folklore and superstition attached to it than any other. My mom, for example, always poured oil into the pasta water in order to keep the pasta from sticking together. It also kept the water from boiling over. When the pasta was cooked, […]