Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 47

November 17, 2020

New and Better Than Ever!

Newcover700 I’ve just released Hardwired: the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition, which is my most popular SF novel (with fewer typos) plus some essays about the novel’s origins, an essay about the bizarre first German edition, plus a spiffier cover.
The subtitle is a little misleading, since it’s actually thirty-four years since the book came out, and thirty-seven since I started writing it.  But the marketplace likes nice round numbers, doesn’t it?
If you already have the ebook, I believe most ebook retailers ...
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 17, 2020 20:36

November 12, 2020

Record Numbers

So New Mexico today posted another record number of Covid cases.  Most days we post a new record number.
Our lowest numbers were in early September.  Since then, daily reported cases have risen by a factor of 45.  That’s 45 TIMES THE NUMBER WE HAD JUST TWO MONTHS AGO.
The hospitals are at full capacity.  Any more cases, we just toss ’em in tents or something.  There’s some talk of opening up a recently-closed hospital.  There’s enough equipment there, but we’ve run out of medical personnel.  The...
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 12, 2020 21:01

November 8, 2020

Diwali was Early

Next Saturday is the beginning of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.”
I think Diwali came a week early this year.

winners


 

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 08, 2020 15:23

November 1, 2020

Two Bulletins

Fleet-Elements-by-Walter-Jon-Williams-Review Two bit of good news arrived on the same day!  First, a review of Fleet Elements from Booklist.

Fleet Elements.


By Walter Jon Williams


Dec. 2020. 512p. Harper Voyager, paper, $16.99 (9780062467041); e-book (9780062467065)


This follow-up to The Accidental War (2018) fulfills the promise of the first book, which seemed to be more about opera than space, by delivering two exciting fleet battles. Terrans have been declared outlaws by the Convocation of the Praxis and are gathering their battered fo...

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 01, 2020 19:44

October 30, 2020

Last Few Hours

the-accidental-war120 conventions-of-war_120 The $2.99 sale on the ebooks of Conventions of War and The Accidental War will end when October dies, so if you haven’t got copies by now, you should hasten to wherever the ebooks are sold and download yourself a copy or two.
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 30, 2020 12:32

October 29, 2020

World Fantasy

Another weekend, another virtual convention.  This weekend is the World Fantasy Convention, which would be held in Salt Lake City if there weren’t a pandemic, but which will now be held online.
Here’s my schedule:

Norse and Germanic Fantasy: The Northern Thing


Date and Time: Friday Oct 30, 6:00 p.m.
Panelists: Ann Chamberlin, Jessica Day George, Greg Bear, David Drake, Walter Jon Williams
​Norse and Germanic fantasy has held British, American, and Northern European readers in thrall for centu...
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 29, 2020 21:35

October 28, 2020

Black Ice

Kathy had an appointment in Albuquerque on Monday, and I had some business in town as well, so we drove up together.  We knew the weather would deteriorate over the course of the day, but Kathy’s business should have been over by 2pm, and that would have got us to our warm hearth in plenty of time.
Unfortunately Kathy’s appointment time was delayed by four hours, so we didn’t leave till six, at which point the snow was pouring down and a nasty cold wind was blowing.  The highway was coated in bl...
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 28, 2020 22:31

October 22, 2020

At MileHiCon

I am at MileHiCon this weekend, at least in virtual.  The guests of honor Rebecca Roanhorse, Mur Lafferty, Cory Doctorow, and artist Alan Pollack.  It’s a full weekend with lots of programming and begins at 10am Friday, Mountain Time.
Here’s my schedule:
Fri, 1:00-2:00pm: NeverlandPlanning Your Series

You have an idea – and it’d make a great trilogy, or longer! Now what? Join our panelists as they discuss how to successfully plan and plot a series that your readers will be excited about and c...
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 22, 2020 22:58

October 10, 2020

The Word From Annie

Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester, MA, has kindly offered me an Author’s Spotlight Interview.
Annie rejoices in the slogan “The little bookstore that’s bigger on the inside,” so they very likely have what you want  Please consider Annie’s for all your bookshop needs.
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 10, 2020 22:46

October 8, 2020

Sanity Trip

IMG_5155 I badly needed a sanity trip, so I drove to the Ski Valley and checked into a condo.  I’ll be alone up here for several days, self-isolating in nature.  I may meet some folks on the trails or whatever, but I’ve got a mask for that.
As for why I needed this trip, just look at the headlines for the last couple weeks.
Trump’s income taxes were excavated by the New York Times, and weren’t that much of a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention the last five years.  They also revealed that I pa...
3 likes ·   •  1 comment  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 08, 2020 23:05