Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 141

New Star on the Horizon

My novelette “Video Star” is now available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and Amazon. Smashwords has probably already distributed it to iBooks and various other sites.
It’s a mere $0.99! Which is practically nothing these days! You can get this story forpractically nothing!
“Video Star” is set in the same world asVoice of the Whirlwind—in fact, it used to be in the samebook. ”Video Star” was originally a subplot inVotW, but it grew too long, and I replaced it with the chapter where Stewar...

Arrow

You thought from the title that this was going to be about the TV show, didn’t you?
Nope, I’m here to introduce you to an invertebrate. This is an arrow crab (Stenorhynchus seticornis). You can see the pale stripe across the carapace that gives it its name.
It’s maybe six inches across if you stretch those incredibly thin legs out to their maximum extent. I gave my macro lens a workout on my recent dive trip.
The picture has been pretty seriously Photoshopped, because the photo was taken at nigh...

Strange Invader

A sea monster, perhaps one designed by Jim Henson, has invaded the Silent World!

Accented

Those of you who intend to go to the London worldcon, or anyone else planning to visit Britain, might pay particular attention here.
It has always struck me as unfair that the inhabitants of the United Kingdom spend their entire lives learning to speak charming and distinct dialects, only to have ignorant North Americans lump them all together as “a British accent.”
Here’s Siobhan Thompson to help you sort one from the other.

1960-2014

Lee Sprague, who was my Kenpo teacher for eight years in the Nineties, died yesterday of a massive heart attack. He was 53. I’ve just come from his memorial at a local karate school.
Lee A.W. Sprague— who rejoiced in the acronym L.A.W.S., plus of course his nickname “Lethal”— stepped into a school that could fairly be described as “troubled,” and transformed it through his dynamism, personality, dedication, and energy. In fact he so blazed with energy that I figured he’d burn out in two to thr...

Substitution: Oliver

I’m exhausted and feeling grumpy, so I’m calling on John Oliver to substitute tonight. Here he is on the subject of net neutrality.
Be sure to watch to the end. ”Fly, my pretties! Fly!”

Please Help George

When I mention the name “George R.R. Martin,” I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Hey, didn’t he write some good stories back in the Seventies?”
Yes, yes he did. He wrote somegreat stories. And then George moved out to California, and stuff happened, and . . . well . . .
But whatever happened back then doesn’t matter, because I’m happy to tell you that George isback! He and Gardner Dozois (who has won all the editing Hugos of all time, just about) have a new anthology out, calledRogu...

Majeure Release

My novelThe Rift is now available as part of an e-book collection,Force Majeure, in which it takes its place among five other disaster novels by Russell Blake, Karen Dionne, Melissa F Miller, Toni Dwiggins, and Phoenix Sullivan.
And the kicker? You get all six books for 99 cents! And even if you’ve already read my book— which of course you have— you getfive others. How cool is that?
Available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo.
This collection is available For A Limited Time Only. So le...

Computers and Morays

Here’s the biggest spotted moray I’ve ever seen. His head and neck seemed kinda large, and then I saw the huge tail folded up clear on the other side of the coral lump he was hiding in, and I was deeply impressed. He’s not as big as some of the green morays I’ve seen, but for a spotty guy he was huge.
In fact I thought he might be so big that he was stuck in the coral, because he didn’t move at all while I floated around him taking pictures.
When I was on Sun Dancer I did five dives nearly ever...

Land Legs

I’m back on land, though I won’t be home for another day or so. And I still have my sea legs— the whole world pitches and rolls just a little bit when I stand up or walk.
It was a terrific week, and you’ll be reading about it for a while. And in the meantime, here’s a photo taken from 130 feet down the famous Blue Hole, 50 miles out in the Caribbean.