Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 163

Jet Lag

I’ve been back in the States for a few days now, and am almost over the jet lag. I’ve always found East-to-West a lot harder to get over than West-to-East.
One of the joys of returning to my home is that I can finally sit in a room with enough light to read. Three weeks in Britain, and I never found myself in a room that was less than murky. Which wasn’t on account of the weather— though the weather was depressingly cloudy and cold for most of the trip— but because the British seem to speciali...

Nobody Asked Me

I’m still in England, and will be for another couple days. The news here is dominated by two huge stories, and though absolutely no one asked me for my opinion, I’m going to give it anyway.
The ghastly, pointless bombing in Boston has filled me with sorrow for the victims and their families, but mostly it’s pissed me off. The perpetrators were feeble-witted jackasses who sacrificed lives for no other purpose than air time. The bombings do not threaten the U.S., do not make us more or less safe...

Stay Dench, My Friends

Still On The Road

No reason you can’t enjoy some music, though.

Toolbox Strikes Again!

I should offer somewhat belated congratulations to Taos Toolbox grad Saladin Ahmed, whose Throne of the Crescent Moonhas been nominated for a Hugo Award, mere weeks after having been nominated for a Nebula.
Saladin did what writers are supposed to do. He had a great idea, he wrote the book, he worked through revisions, and he made a sale and got himself some nominations.
But first, he brought the novel to Taos Toolbox. Because he was serious about his writing, and learning about his craft is wh...

Dracula Slept Here

I am currently in a part of the world where towns have names like Grewelthorpe, Winksley, Buttertubs, Reeth, Scab Hill, Copsgrove, Giggleswick, Todmorden, and Bakup.
Honestly, it’s as if PG Wodehouse invented the whole country.
These are the ruins of Whitby Abbey. Historians know this as the home of St. Hilda and the Venerable Bede, and site of the Synod of Whitby, which was the showdown between followers of the Irish and Roman versions of Catholicism. (I won’t go into how that turned out excep...

Looking to the Skies

Neil Armstrong planting the American flag on the Moon, as discovered on a ceiling boss on the York Minster cathedral’s north transept. Begun in the 13th Century, FYI.

Gas Masks For Pachyderms

Or so I thought, anyway, as I turned the corner in the Royal Armory and came face-to-face with this fellow.
But no, it’s elephant armor from the Mughal Empire.
It’s bad enough facing one of these things. A whole division of them charging, and I’m taking the next train to Hyderabad.

Clothes Horse

Here I am in a rather Churchillian pose, modeling the lovely bespoke waistcoat given me by the Eastercon committee. It’s even got a pocket for my pocket watch.
Got to say, I look pretty magnificent.
The convention is over, and the friendships and greetings were warm despite the freezing weather. As GoH, I felt quite literally honored. And I haven’t had to pay for a drink yet.
Starting tomorrow, I get to play tourist for a while.

Whereat I Shall Be

I’m flying off on Wednesday for thatroyal throne of kings, that sceptred isle,

that earth of majesty, that seat of Mars, that other Eden, demi-paradise, that fortress built by Nature for herself against infection and the hand of war.
Which is to say, England. Where I will be Guest of Honor at EightSquaredCon, this year’s Eastercon, or national convention. Which will be held in the rusting post-industrial hulk of Bradford, the very name of which (I am told) causes English people to break out in...