Ambrose & Elsewhere

I was so busy erupting about myself yesterday that I forgot to honor Vesuvius Day as I’d planned. But some have argued that the volcano didn’t actually go off on August 24 anyway. But at some point in 79 AD, Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, among others.

In celebration of this event . . . → Read More: After the Eruption…

… or at least one ballot: that of the World Fantasy Awards was announced this AM and I was genuinely shocked to see that Blood of Ambrose was among the nominees for best novel.

“And at the top of the list,” my son helpfully observed as I sat stunned, mutely pointing at the screen. Which is true, the list . . . → Read More: Catching Ballots with My Teeth…

1. Science.

Not eating or sleeping much for two days makes you kind of tired and sleepy. I have tested this by experiment and know it to be true. Maybe I should test the reverse hypothesis: does eating and resting make you less hungry and tired? But first some food and sleep.

2. Fantasy.

Publisher’s . . . → Read More: Science, Fantasy, and Speculation

Have not I made blind Homer sing to me
Of Alexander’s love and Oenon’s death?
And hath not he that built the walls of Thebes
With ravishing sound of his melodious harp,
Made music with my Mephistophilis?
Why should I die then, or basely despair?

–Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

Repent, possibly. Despair, never. What’s in that for me? . . . → Read More: Doctor Pfaustus Contemplates the End of Summer

According to my rigorous habit of blogging every month or so, it’s time for another post.

It’s been a weird summer, not all bad (despite my divorce)–in some respects, very good. But not very productive writing-wise.

However, now black walnuts are falling from the trees, the temps are settling down to a chilly 90 degrees with fifty-two-thousand percent humidity, the town is filling with returning students, and the fairgrounds roar with the guttural music of the National Tractor Pull. Fall is coming; brain is waking; life is calling.

On the professional front, I’ll be at Dragon*Con in Atlanta over the Labor Day weekend. I just got my schedule, which I’ll put below the jump.

On the home front, it looks like I’m going to have to move the Fortress of Engitude to a new location posthaste. (Fortunately, like Shadowguard in Zelazny’s Jack of Shadows, it’s portable and goes wherever the hero/villain resides.) I have some photographic evidence, which I’ll also put after the jump.

Continue reading A New Engitude