Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 64

It All Comes Down to Luck

So after forty years earning a living in the creative arts, I have one primary insight to offer: It all comes down to luck. Luck matters more than talent.  I know any number of extremely gifted writers who just had shitty luck, and whose careers failed on takeoff or blew up in midair.  Likewise I know any number of less-than-gifted writers who just wrote the one right book at the right time, and whose career took off.  I know others who basically blundered their way to success— they were neve...

It’s Huge!

My biggest book— both in terms of length and in terms of ebook sales— is now a very, very long audio book! Just in time for filling all those long hours during your summer vacation!

Pop-Up Concert

Tonight we took a short drive up State Highway 314 to attend a baroque concert.  This was by Antigua y Moderna, a group of professional musicians who do pop-up concerts in people’s homes.  So on a mere 48 hours’ notice we drove to a lovely, large passive solar home, partook of snacks and wine, and then sat down to listen to the music.  As befit the occasion, I was dressed with formal elegance— in a vintage aloha shirt. Since attending concerts in Europe I’ve always thought chamber music is he...

The Land of 10,000 Cute Lakes

So there’s something call MinnRoast, which I’m guessing is a kind of charity event in the Twin Cities.  This year Emily Larson, the mayor of my home town of Duluth, had a little something to say about the contrast between Duluth and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Y’know, I think she could have a career in standup if the political thing works out. Plus, bonus points for being a politician who actually knows when she’s being absurd.

Hellooo, South China!

So it’s not every day that I find myself mentioned in the . Of course the article’s mostly about George RR Martin and the talented Terran Prize winner, Zhou Wen, but then if I’m going to end up as a footnote in the career of another writer, I could do a lot worse than George.

Joiks!

See, that’s pronounced “yoicks!”, which is why it’s funny.  Sort of.  (Never mind.) Joiking is a highly improvisatory vocal style from the Arctic Circle, and combines throat singing, chanting, and folk music to produce, well, the effects that it produces. I should stop trying to explain and just let Wimme sing, y’know?  So here he is.

 

This Week’s Rainbow

Here’s the rainbow from a few nights ago. According to Oz Drummond, who is married to a meteorologist, the Middle Rio Grande Valley has experienced 660% of its normal rainfall so far in 2019. And here I thought it was Florida that was supposed to be sinking.

I Fail to Achieve Divinity

So it was a gloomy day on this gloomy, ramshackle freighter chugging over a gray, listless sea.  The freighter was this old rustbucket, World War II vintage maybe, 5000 tons or less.  My fellow passengers were listless, and all they wanted to do was talk about their deeply uninteresting lives while rattling the ice in their highballs.  The crew were mostly silent.  The sky was swathed in dark cloud. The weird thing was that just behind us was a much more impressive ship, a beautiful white st...

Uh-Oh

Looks like a security camera caught me when I was on one of my recent missions.

D&D

My life these days might best be described as D&D, by which I mean Dull and Dutiful.  It’s not like I’m not accomplishing stuff, it’s just that the stuff I’m accomplishing isn’t very exciting to write about. Apparently I’m saving all my insights for a novel. While I deal with the dullness of my duty, please enjoy the retro stylings of Miss Caro Emerald and “Tangled Up.” (Which could also be titled “Tango Up,” but never mind.)