Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 14

Not Charging

The day started with my car crapping out due to a broken starter. So the rest of the day consisted of me waiting for AAA to try to start the car, then calling local garages to see where I could get it fixed, then finding out the earliest anyone could take it was Tuesday.

Because I have to drive to Albuquerque for treatment nearly every day, that means a car rental. i drew a sexy-looking black Dodge Charger and almost immediately got reminded why black is not a good color for a state like New...

14

I have lain in the embrace of Mr. Zappy 14 times now, which means I’m now more than halfway through the 26 radiation treatments in my program.

I have to say it’s been trouble free. The side effects have been minor, verging on negligible.

The worst is that I’m tired all the time. My naps have increased in number and length. And I’m physically weaker, with less stamina. A couple years ago I could run on the elliptical machine for 50 minutes, but now I struggle to run for 20.

I’m ...

Meet Mr. Zappy

Here’s the machine I visit most mornings to get zapped with x-rays. (I’ve had nine treatments so far, seventeen to go.) I lie on the gurney-thingie in the lower right, and am rolled more less into the middle of the array, after which I am orbited by scanners and projectors and some things which I haven’t worked out yet. (Most of them aren’t visible in this photo.) The procedure is short, painless, and rather dull. After which I usually have lunch in a local restaurant, then make the ho...

Distant Voice

Looking through some boxes I discovered a partial I wrote nearly 50 years ago. My agent sent it back, saying it needed a rethink.

Glancing through it, I’m thinking it’s overwritten.

Which won’t stop me from enjoying reading this message from my younger self.

Meet Mr. Photon

Today was my first day of radiation. (25 to go) The machine was very large, but it was in a cavernous room, and when the machine was in operation, the operators scurried away to a control room behind their lead or concrete shields.

The treatment room was called HOPE.

My job was twofold. First, I was to lie down while large, glossy white sub-machines moved around me, like clumsy, slow-moving satellites bumbling around their primary. To make it even more science fiction-y, they were...

Assassins

Glancing through the latest offerings on Netflix, I came to the conclusion that Netflix has more shows and movies about fictional assassins than there ever were real assassins in all history.

Happy 80th Birthday, Joni Mitchell!

FUCK CANCER!

Well. Got that off my chest, anyway.

Last spring I received a diagnosis perhaps best expressed as a good news/bad news joke.

THE BAD NEWS: You have cancer.

THE GOOD NEWS: It’s in your prostate! Yay!

Yay?

Well yes. Prostate cancer is the only cancer that can be detected with a blood test, which means it can be found early. A test a couple years ago confirmed that my PSA was high, and so I was kept under “observation” —meaning I saw a urologist once a year— till this year, wh...

Roistering

The rollicking Extended Birthday Party, otherwise known as World Fantasy Con 2023, has come to an end, and I’m home trying to pick up the threads of my actual life.

Here I am on the mezzanine, with brilliant ideas forming over my head like little silver cannon balls.

The convention was wonderful, certainly the best I’ve attended since before the pandemic. The dealers’ room didn’t have enough books, and the art show was small, but the con was filled with friends I haven’t seen in ye...

World Fantasy Schedule

I’ll be spending the weekend in Kansas City, at the World Fantasy Convention. I’m on a couple programming, items, so if you want to see me, here’s where I’ll be.

READING 3:30PM Thursday, Chouteau Room A

(I’ll be reading from Heaven in Flames, the third Metropolitan book, so if you’re into that series, you might want to check this out.)

PANEL WHERE HAVE ALL THE SHARED WORLDS GONE? 11 AM Sunday, Empire A/B

The rest of the time, I’ll be wandering around the convention looking for adv...