hen I was a kid, I wanted to be lots of things when I grew up. Among them: a science fiction writer, an astronomer, an airline pilot, an architect1. The problem is, of course, that often you have no idea what you really want to do until you try it out–and sometimes, if not too…
cience fiction writers can be a contentious bunch. We always have been. Go back to the early letter columns of Astounding and Amazing in the 1930s and 1940s and what you’ll witness is akin to a modern day flame war. It can be both amusing and enlightening. But science fiction writers also have each other’s backs. Despite…
ater today, the Baseball Writers Association of America will come out with their Hall of Fame ballot for 2013. I have a feeling that for only the third time since 1965, there may be no one on the list. Included among the eligible candidates this year are Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa. While…
id you get any gadgets for the holidays? iPads, iPhone, Blu-Ray players, HDTVs, remote control helicopters, Kindles, Android devices, ice cream makers, new computers, routers, GPS devices. The holidays seem to be a big time for technology devices. And when the dust (and wrapping paper) settles, you are left with figuring out how to make…
ack in August, I decided the time was right to refinance our house. The time was probably right sooner, but I didn’t look forward to the process. But then we learned about the streamlined process for FHA loans, and so we took advantage of that. “Streamlined” meant a minimum of paperwork and all told, throughout…
ast year, I had two fairly simple goals for my fiction writing: (1) write 500 words each day; and (2) concentrate entirely on short fiction. I certainly managed to achieve the second goal, but I was very, very far from achieving the first. Still, I had my best year ever in 2012, in terms of…
managed to get my chaotic desktop more-or-less back into shape. I always feel like I can concentrate better with a clean, neat desk, than with a chaotic one.
hile I was away on vacation, the following book arrived in the mail. It is Farseed by Pamela Sargent, the second book in the “Seed” trilogy. It comes out in February by TOR books.
y usually neat desktop is in a state of disarray. I am still catching up on things after returning from vacation. Three week’s worth of mail. Lots of stuff has accumulated. This is what my desk looks like at this moment: You’ll notice the wall in front of my desk is completely blank. I like…
took a sick day today. Although I was back in the office yesterday I still wasn’t feeling great. The cold is gone and while the cough is lingering, it’s a shadow of what it was. No, it was my ribs that were bothering me, injured from the violent coughing and re-injured yesterday, it seemed, while…