Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 54

Pre-orders Away!

Fleet Elements, the next Praxis book, is now available for pre-order! (And the cover they sent me says Volume 4, which it isnt.  Oops.)

Free Audio

Normally I’d have a contest or something for this, but I’m up to my elbows in tax forms right now and don’t have the mental leisure. I happen to have here some codes for the audiobook ofQuillifer the Knight, read by the wonderful Ralph Lister. So the first three people to reply to this post will get codes for free downloads of QtK. How you redeem the code is to go to this page, scan down to the bottom, enter the code, and click. Then go here, clickbuy,and Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, as they say,...

Alternate Reality Show

So when the Wild Cards series was relaunched in the early 21st, one of the plot elements involved a reality show called American Hero, in which 28 super-powered individuals competed for a million-dollar prize. The program followed the conventions of the form, with plenty of soap opera and conflict between the participants, participants doing “confessionals” straight into the camera, and everyone being anxious about their ranking. All was set for some big-time hit TV. Those of who who have...

Is Music Math?

Lately there’s been a blizzard of litigation about violations of song copyright, all based on the melody of pop tunes. I thought the Chiffons had a point when they claimed “My Sweet Lord” infringed “He’s So Fine”— listen to them back to back and I bet you’ll agree— but now there are so many online music platforms, and we’ve seen amateur musicians who’ve uploaded their work to some site or other claiming that major songwriters have infringed their melodies, whether those songwriters have ever...

Groove Me

Getting a jump on Mardi Gras, it’s Etta James, Dr. John, and the ever-dapper Allen Toussaint on “Groove Me.” All passed now, alas. I was surprised to see Dr. John on guitar. The legend has it that he started as a guitar player, but had to switch to piano after some of his fingers were sliced up in a knife fight. I guess he healed. The guitar is a Les Paul Deluxe with minihums. (Whatever those are.)

Scottish Cyrano

Last night I thought I’d see what’s up with Britain’s National Theater, so I nipped up to Albuquerque to see James McAvoy in a new adaptation ofCyrano de Bergerac. This was a performance of the play, allegedly live, broadcast to select theaters in North America. I’m not sure about the live part, because that would have meant the curtain went up at 1 or 2 in the morning in London, but at least it was a recording of a live play, which you could tell because the actors’ mistakes weren’t edited...

I Am Invaded

I’m in a general state of non-compliance with the universe right now, a result of a full schedule of panels, meals, malt beverages, and fun at Boskone, plus jet lag following yesterday’s ten hours in a steel tube crossing the country while battling a 120-knot headwind, which turned the aircraft into a kind of hard-sided bouncy castle of the air. But I don’t want you to go without entertainment, so here’san interview with me on the Invaders From Planet 3 podcast. It should be up oniTunes,...

Boskone Schedule

This weekend I will be at Boskone 57, which I imagine is the longest-lasting Boston SF convention. And guess what! Unlike some conventions— I’m looking at you, Worldcon—I’m actually on the schedule! So if you want to see me at any point, here’s where to look. Memorable Minor Characters Format: Panel
14 Feb 2020, Friday 15:00 – 15:50, Burroughs (Westin) Genre literature is full of striking minor characters — from Jaqen H’ghar (A Song of Ice and Fire) to Wedge Antilles (Star Wars) to Agrajag (...

Getting Serious About the Toolbox

There are still places available at Taos Toolbox, master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy, taught this year by Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams, with George RR Martin and indiepub guru EM Tippetts. Taos Toolbox has a proven record of helping writers develop into full-fledged professionals. If you’re serious about writing for a living, you’ll want to get serious about Toolbox. Also, the Terran Award, sponsored by George RR Martin, is still available to any writer hailing...

Miss Shelley Presents

I’ve had an interest in Mary Shelley and her circle for something like ever, an interest that resulted in my novella “Wall, Stone, Craft.” (Which I recommend to you all.) But I also recommend to you this intriguing Kickstarter project, a graphic novel series calledMaryShelley Presents. Each of the four volumes will feature Mary Shelley and her monster introducing a horror story by a Victorian woman writer, a writer celebrated in her time but (mostly) forgotten now. The adaptations will be by...