Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 214

Baby Head to Bed

So I have now delivered Mister Baby Head (otherwise known as Dagmar III).
So I'm going off to celebrate.  Drink some champagne, maybe.  Or maybe just sleep around the clock.
Check you later.

Another Glorious Voice Heard From

Paul Stotts has written an extremely perceptive review of This Is Not a Game.    (Extremely perceptive because he agrees with me, okay?)[The] interconnection between reality and fiction is masterfully explored in Walter Jon Williams' latest novel This Is Not A Game, a beautiful multi-layered novel, both vastly entertaining and
It's a fascinating sociological experiment, an exploration of large-scale problem-solving by a community of minds. An ode to the Hive Mind and the power of...

Your God Has Smelly Armpits!

This one's been around for a while, but I hadn't seen it.  Maybe you haven't, either.

Tycho Brahe Has Risen From the Grave!

A few years ago I made an effort to visit the crypt of pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, which is located in a moderately obscure Prague church called Our Lady Before Tyn.  Tycho's meticulous astronomical observations, all with equipment he designed and built himself, were so good that his Rudolphine Tablets were used well into the 20th century.Tycho was also a swashbuckler who lost part of his nose in a duel and who possibly left Denmark for Prague because he'd had an affaire with...

Advice that could have saved so many people hours and hou...

Advice that could have saved so many people hours and hours spent in darkened theaters.

Fiction Factory

Wanna write a novel for a $250 advance?  Apparently a lot of people would.There are these organizations in our business called fiction factories.  They are run by people called "packagers," who basically operate very much like Hollywood producers.  They come up with an idea for a book, or more likely a series, then sell the package to a publisher, hire a writer to do the actual work, and then collect something like half of the earnings.   They also try to sell the package in other media.When ...

Taos Toolbox 2011

I'm happy to announce Taos Toolbox 2011!
Our lovely two-week master class in science fiction and fantasy will take place July 10-23 in Taos Ski Valley.  Teaching will be Nancy Kress, Walter Jon Williams, and Jack Skillingstead.
Applications are accepted beginning December 1.
Write!  Submit!  Tell your friends!

We Are Moved!

Walter Jon William's blog has been moved to this new address! Please bookmark it, and--- if the mood strikes--- send lots and lots of money!All the old posts and replies have been moved to the new location, so if you want to revive any old arguments or look through the archives in search of some perfect bit of wisdom you vaguely recall my having written, you can do it over there.Comments will be

Please to Maintain

Due to some changes going on in the electronic neighborhood, I won't be posting here for a few days. I'll be making some New, Improved Posts when the wave function reduces to a single state.

Salander. Sula.

We went to the movies this afternoon, and the theater was packed. But as I looked around I realized that no one in the theater seemed to be under fifty. Okay, so the cheap Sunday matinees are attractive to people living on a pension. But why this movie, rather than the others in the multiplex? What was bringing a whole crowd of middle-aged to elderly people out to the cinema?The answer? A