Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 30

Summery

Dinner salads by Kathy and Aperol spritzer by me.

Cheers!

Less Than Four Bucks

For the next 26 days, the audio book of the Author’s Preferred Edition of The Praxis, read by Stefan Rudnicki, will be available on Chirp for a mere $3.99.

But why wait 26 days? Download it now, and give your ears a treat.

Newly Launched

The second audio book of my Privateers & Gentlemen series, Brig of War, has just been released from Blackstone Audio. Narrated, like the first, by Bronson Pinchot.

It was originally released as The Raider, but now I’m the boss, and I can use the title I like.

I think the book is probably the best in the series, but you should listen to all of them to find out for sure!.

Rowing

It’s Mother’s Day, and here’s a picture of my mom messing about in a boat.

I have written elsewhere about my mother’s escape from poverty and superstition, and the hard work and dedication it took her to give me something like a perfect childhood.

Mom, here’s to you. Enjoy your Day!

Gent

Another photo of Kathy’s grandmother Estelle, this time ready for a drag act at New York’s Hippodrome.

“Male impersonation, complete in every detail!” as the emcee might have said.

Totally True

Here we have a history of Finland’s totally genuine fake hero, St. Urho. Who was born in a Minnesota town called Virginia.

This is true fake history. You should know this.

Mermaid in the Family

We have Mom’s Day this coming Sunday. I don’t know if there’s a Grandma’s Day anywhere in the calendar, but after looking through some of Kathy’s old family photos the other day, I thought this might be an opportune time to celebrate her grandmother Estelle Fenn, who sometimes used the stage name Estelle du Pres.

She appeared regularly at the New York Hippodrome, which claimed to be the largest theater in the world— so large that it had its own troupe of performing elephants. People ...

Running Wild

Marvel will be presenting a graphic novel adaptation of the Wild Cards books by writer Paul Cornell and artist Mike Hawthorne. The narrative will start in 1947, just like the first of the books, and carry on through history.

The first volume will adapt stories by Roger Zelazny, George R.R. Martin, and Howard Waldrop. I expect my Nebula-nominated story “Witness” will be adapted in a later volume.

The last day for ordering Volume I in comic stores will be May 14.

Don’t be a deuce...

Save Yourself Some Bucks

From April 20 to April 22, Barnes & Noble will be discounting preordered books by 25%.

Guess who’s got a book available for preorder?

Sympathetic

James Davis Nicoll has made a favorable mention of Metropolitan in his Tor.com article “5 Sympathetic Science Fiction Bureaucrats.” My ambitious button-pushing heroine Aiah has finally got a bit of respect.

The article mentions only five bureaucrats, but the comments offer many more. It seems that SF might be more sympathetic to bureaucracy than you might think.