Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 120
September 7, 2015
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...
September 5, 2015
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...
September 3, 2015
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.
September 1, 2015
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...
August 25, 2015
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!
August 22, 2015
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...
August 20, 2015
In the Giving Vein
Trail of lit bulbs and Red shoe
It’s not enough that I’ve dropped the price ofAngel Station to 99 cents. No! I’m far more generous than that! I want you all to be happy, so I’ve now dropped the price of my Nebula-winning “Daddy’s World” to zero. Yes, it’s free! Download it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, iBook, Smashwords, and/or Google Play!August 19, 2015
News From the Marketplace
Okay, news from the marketplace issupposed to be both good and bad. While theideal of the marketplace, as Adam Smith remarked, is to increase the world’s store of happiness (by permitting deals that both buyer and seller can be pleased with), the reality is that the market also creates winners and losers. e.g.: Amazon. Amazon has always maintained an uncompromising Darwinian approach to its business. It treats its market environment as a zero-sum game: they’re not interested in increasing any...
August 15, 2015
Cthulhu Cave
When I was in the Black Hills a few days ago, I paid a visit to the Jewel Caves, which is the third largest cave system in the world, with more than 177 miles of rooms, corridors, and . . . terror? While I saw only a tiny portion of the cave, what I did see was disturbing.
Not only did passing through the cave entrance resemble a journey through the epiglottis of a vast, cyclopean subterranean creature, but a great number of the cave formations suggested tentacled beings, or an acrodont with...
August 14, 2015
Reviews Too Late: The Bone Clocks
As a writer, your first success is your Fate. You can write any damn thing you want until you actually succeed at something. If your first successful novel is science fiction, then you’re a science fiction writer pretty much forever, and that’s sort of that. People will break your bones with baseball bats to keep you in your designated straightjacket. To become anything else requires a complete reinvention, which is a lot of work and trouble and probably won’t work anyway. And— as I discovere...
