Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 120

Dreaming of the Lost City

So why am I dreaming of the City by the Bay? Which is to say, Duluth? It’s been over a month since I returned from my childhood haunts in Minnesota. When I was there, I found myself dealing with a tangible, material place, which however pleasant was substantially changed from the terrain where I grew up. It was like visiting someplace new, with just enough of the old remaining to make it a little bit sad. I could find my way around, but wherever I went, I found it strange or diminished. When...

Room to Roar

This one’s been echoing in my skull all the day. I have to say it’s just the sort of song you need to get you out of bed in the morning. This is “Give Us Room to Roar” by Ruth MacKenzie, from her albumKalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden. I can’t seem to find out much about MacKenzie, which is odd for someone who recorded an album as recently as 1998, but so far as I can tell she’s a singer raised in the Celtic tradition who went to Finland and was gobsmacked by their poetic tradition, and w...

Staying Busy

I seem to be having a busy week, with little time for posting here or indeed anywhere. If I weren’t actually accomplishing stuff, I’d probably be annoyed. Please enjoy this picture of some 3500-year-old martial artists engaging in their daily practice. Remember: exercise keeps you young!

Refugee Mario

So when I was a young, callous person, I designed a board game calledThe An Loc Survival Game. An Loc, for the young folks among you, was a town in Vietnam that was the centerpiece of a 66-day battle of mutual annihilation between North and South Vietnamese forces, the latter assisted by insane amounts of American air power, including at one point a B-52 strike flattening whole acres of ground every 55 minutes. It was bad enough being a soldier in this fight, but being a civilian was far wors...

Six of One

Something old Something new Six brand-new books Just for you I am insanely pleased to announce that I’ve sold six new books, three each to two different publishers. “Something old” would be three new books in the Praxis series, sold to David Pomerico at HarperCollins. Readers have been wanting more of Martinez and Sula, and I’ve been wanting to provide that, but publishing wasn’t ready. Till now. “Something new” would beQuillifer, a brand-new epic series I’ve sold to Joe Monti at Saga. I’ll...

Catching the Wind

Welcome to a world of wind and bone, songs and silence, betrayal and courage . . . I am beyond pleased to note that Fran Wilde— Taos Toolbox 2012— has sold her first novel Updraftto Tor, and that it’s now out to rave reviews. The book was also workshopped at Toolbox, so I’d like to flatter myself that I had just a little bit to do with its success. In any case, the book is a stunner, and you’ll find it at your local independent bookstore, or in the usual places online. Here are a couple of th...

Even More of Me

I’m pleased to report that I’ll be teaching at the 2016 Paradise Lost workshop, held April 28-May 1 in San Antonio, Tx. My fellow teachers include Jaye Wells and new writer (and Taos Toolbox graduate) Fran Wilde. I taught at this workshop a couple years ago and had a great time, and I think the students packed a lot of learning into one extended weekend. Details here.

The Persistence of Music

Bubonicon was fun, and I was fully engaged with panels, signing, reading, and hanging out with friends; but I came back with a bad cold, so the last couple days have been devoted to coughing, sneezing, gurgling, and swilling down cold meds. Possibly because I’ve been taking it easy and staying away from distractions, I’ve been more than usually aware of the interior soundtrack that’s running through my head more or less all the time. The other day I awoke with “The Chicken Dance” echoing in m...

Looking Up

Things are looking up, so here’s a view upward, in a photo I took in York Minster some years ago. The rest of the week is going to be very busy, and culminate in Bubonicon 47, New Mexico’s annual science fiction convention, where I shall be in attendance, and (judging by the schedule) rather occupied. All of which means I probably won’t be posting much here for the next few days, so keep looking up!

C’est Moi!

I should actually use a Finnish translation of “c’est moi,” but apparently this sentiment cannot be expressed in Finnish, at least according to every Finnish online dictionary in existence. The closest I can get is “I’m here,” and I think you already know that I’m here, so there seems little point in announcing it. All of which is an over-rambling way of getting around to saying that I’m going to be the Guest of Honor of the 75th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held August 9-13, 2017...