Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 105

Thoughtful Question

I had a lovely Worldcon, held in Kansas City, a town which I’ve always found congenial. The event was full of friends, many of whom I don’t get to see nearly often enough, and the days and nights were full of bustle, chat, drinks, and fun. I also got to eat somereally good steaks,which you might expect in a city that builds statues to cows. I met a number of new readers, which I’m always pleased to do, and one sent an email with an interesting question. He’s working his way through my backlis...

Homebow

We returned from Kansas City through a big monsoon storm, but once on the ground we were welcomed by what was possibly the brightest rainbow I’ve ever seen. It was raining and I was in a hurry, so this was the best angle I could find on it. You’ll note a second, fainter rainbow just outside the first.

I Am At The Worldcon

I am in Kansas City, at the 74th World Science Fiction Convention. If you’re in town, come say hi at any of the following events: Science Fiction as Epic

Thursday 13:00 – 14:00, 3501F (Kansas City Convention Center)

Often science fiction that is epic in nature is dismissed as “space opera,” but science fiction can be epic without resorting to the world destroying of Edmond Hamilton or the dogfighting X-Wings of Star Wars. What constitutes epic science fiction and what does it do that more per...

Progress

I’m pleased to report that my first science fiction novel,Ambassador of Progress, is now on sale for a mere 99 cents. You may find it at Amazon, Google, iBooks, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Ambassador of Progress is unlike my other SF, in that it’s overtly anthropological science fiction. I think it’s successful on its own terms, and I recommend it to you. I’ve written an essay about it elsewhere. Happy reading!

What Rough Beast . . . ?

Oh noooo! What insidious monster do we see sneaking up on thePride of Baltimore? Why it’s the World’s Largest Rubber Duck, created by the Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman! Which floats 61 feet tall and weighs 11 tons. Apparently that’s big enough to count as a Tall Ship. It would be fun to motor around on this thing, and just watch the folks’ expressions as you came cruising by.

Aces Onscreen

Good news for any Wild Cards fans out there. Universal Cable Productions has acquired the Wild Cards series for television. Longtime Wild Cards writer Melinda Snodgrass will be executive producer, along with Gregory Noveck (REDS,Justice League: the New Frontier). Wild Cards has been a part of our lives since the 1980s, and there are alot of stories, and a lot of ground, that the series can cover. More details over on George’s blog. And be sure to tell him which characters, and which stories,...

Too Many Desserts

Friday night with the Tall Ships was a massive disappointment. I signed up for a “VIP Fireworks Viewing” from the brigNiagara,and they’d sent me a schedule telling me that food and beverage would appear on the quay at 8:30, we’d go aboard at 9:00, and the fireworks would start at 9:15. Somehow I assumed that the ship would actually sail someplace. I mean, why else go on board a sailing vessel to see fireworks? Let alone a warship with bulwarks and lots of rigging in the way of the show? Also,...

Epic Sail

Behold the Harald Hårfagr,or Harald Fairhair for you Anglophones. This is the ““— they are careful not to call it a “replica” because it’s not built to the plan of any historical vessel. It’s arrived in North America after an epic five-week transit of the Atlantic, followed by an equally-epic struggle against U.S. Coast Guard regulations, which require any foreign vessel traversing the Great Lakes to hire a Great Lakes pilot, at a cost of $350,000 or...

Stand Back Ladies, it’s . . .

The beefcake shot! I had the camera and tripod set up for an entirely different reason, and then went about my business, and did my workout, and on my way to the showers caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Hmm, I thought. I’ll probably never be this young, this thin, orthis pretty ever again. I’m not shiny with vaseline, or glycerin, or whatever else they use these days. This is honest sweat. (I’ve just run four miles.) You can see drops running down my face if you look closely enough,...

First Review

It’s Toot My Own Horn Time, because what else is a blog for? Publishers Weeklyseems to be very, very fond of my upcoming Sula story. Which, to reiterate, is available for preorder atBarnes & Noble,Amazon,Kobo(ebook only), iBooks(ebook only). andGoogle(also ebook only). Speaking for myself, I can hardly wait,and I already know what happens!

[via Jonathan Strahan]