DC area friends, tonight Troy Hughes has a book launch (+sip of one of his fine distilled products) at Bold Fork Books in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood: boldforkbooks.com/products/mak...

Got my covid and flu shots. Worth getting done whatever speed bumps they throw into the process.

Last day at @capclave.bsky.social ! It's been a fun convention--thank you to all who worked on it in any fashion.

Today, I'll be at @capclave.bsky.social, the DC science fiction convention. Joe Haldeman (of The Forever War fame) and Naomi Kritzer are guests of honor. If you want a convention where you can actually meet and talk with all the writers, this one's for you. www.capclave.org

It’s not a chilling effect. It would only be chilling if you had something horrid to say, and you don’t, do you? Certainly nothing critical of the regime, and absolutely no paraphrasing, not of anyone, not at this time!

The Stephen Fry character in V for Vendetta had already been on mind for the past few months, and that has only been amplified recently.

Re: Robert Redford, there's an interesting bit in Robert Pirsig's Lila where he meets with the actor/filmmaker about a possible Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance movie (which would've been odd). IIRC, it's an interesting take on what it's like to encounter fame even in its most benign aspects.

Today at 11am, I'll be on the Twisting History panel at the #BaltimoreBookFestival!

Reupping this to tag @sarahavery.bsky.social - very excited to be working with her!

This Saturday at 11am I'll be at the SFWA Stage of the Baltimore Book Festival on a panel about speculative fiction & history with some marvelous folks: @miriamseidel.bsky.social, @alansmale.bsky.social, @afrostorian.bsky.social, and @nicolegloverauthor.bsky.social! www.sfwa.org/the-sfwa-sta...

Now viewing The English tv series. It's good, but odd--a mix of spaghetti and other classic western cinematography with dialogue where folks say things a lot more bluntly and at length than they might've, but also a healthy shifting of the lens in terms of protagonists.

A little dodo 🦤 told me that the Capclave preregistration ends on Thursday, September 11th at 11:59 pm EDT. capclave.org/capclave25/e...

Just a heads up that if you're coming to Charm City Spec tomorrow night--and you should! Look at that lineup!-- the bike race has falls road closed from Hampden to northern parkway and Northern parkway closed falls to Roland Ave. You can still get to the ivy if you come from the north.

Still available:

I'm so excited to be moderating this panel with such a fantastic group of SFF folks at the #BaltimoreBookFestival, Saturday 9/13! @tomdoyle.bsky.social @alansmale.bsky.social @afrostorian.bsky.social @nicole-glover.com

Why yes, I will be appearing on the SFWA Stage at the Baltimore Book Festival on Saturday 13th with these fine people, talking about alternate history, historical fantasy, and who knows what else? We're doing the Twist! (Pro tip: the rest of the BBF schedule is terrific, too.)

Where I'll be the weekend after this!

Caught Stealing makes clever use of all the bits of plot on the mantelpiece, with some nice '90s homages in casting and other details. The violence seems darker than similar films with higher body counts--there are plenty of funny bits, but it's not a comedy with violence.

On the plus side at Nats Park, Teddy threw a sandwich at somebody. On the minus side, I'm suspicious that they're using some AI-generated "music" for filler when it's not a walkon song, etc.

Re-upping this again, please spread far and wide:

Typical--our fascists work at making the trains not run on time.

Audio version now available for preorder. @univpressofkansas.bsky.social @tantoraudio.bsky.social

@marthawells.com just checking: is this you on X or an imitator? @Writer_Wells001

Both are far from accurate re: vikings, but I'm very fond of original How to Train Your Dragon and The 13th Warrior. They'll sneak little details into the goofiness that show they know the real deal too (e.g., runes that transliterate to the words they're supposed to, dialogue right out of Beowulf).

More info and pre-order "Leave No Trace" here! randeedawn.com/books/leave-...

Hey @mayadeane.bsky.social, at the last 1/4 of Wrath Goddess Sing. Thank you for making the world of heroic epic as alien and weird as it should be. Folks tend to domesticate the old tales, but the canon should remain strange. Also, what you've done is fun. Reminds me of what the Noah film did.

Hey folks, SF/F author Chuck Gannon is sharing the first of 3 segments from the opening of my twisted space opera Border Crosser on for Tier 4 members of his patreon page! www.patreon.com/posts/jul-ti...

Yesterday it finally dawned on me that "Nights in White Satin" is a waltz. This would've been terribly significant in some way to teenage Tom, but old Tom has no clear idea what to do with this info.

Listening to @adrianmckinty.bsky.social's Falling Glass--lots of things I like, including what feels like a distant echo of Le Carre's Honourable Schoolboy (but it's been over 40 years since I read that, so maybe not?). Also, cool that McKinty, like Heinlein and MCU, has a universe now.

Now listening to Wrath Goddess Sing by @mayadeane.bsky.social--its premise is that the time Achilles spent among the women wasn't an attempt to flee destiny so much as a life aspiration, and goes from there. Interesting Mycenaean(?) pronunciations of names in the audio as well as variations on myth

Today at @readercon.org, I have a 1pm panel on Speculative Egypt. This has been a great convention!

Today at @readercon.org: I'll be moderating an Orpheus panel at 11am, then listening to various folks read throughout the day.

ICYMI, Have you seen the AMAZING solicited short story writers for the Uncanny Magazine Year 12: Fly Forever, Space Unicorns! Kickstarter?!? YOU WILL WANT TO READ THESE STORIES!! Help us make this happen! buff.ly/cU4kQIq

Heard @dynamicsymmetry.bsky.social (Sunny Moraine) read last night--a story that reminded me of the '60s and '70s positive future visions of gender/trans/sexual possibilities and choices in SF/F, and as Sunny said, how they've become more necessary again.

I've arrived @readercon.org! Tonight I'll be giving my presentation on apocalyptic and anti-apocalyptic fiction at 8pm, followed by my reading at 9pm.

If you're heading to @readercon.bsky.social this year, here's a starter pack of all program participants I could find on Bluesky. Tell me if I missed anyone! I will be there, and hope to do some at-con interviews as I have in the past. Looking forward to seeing and meeting folks! go.bsky.app/TJVbCC8

Happy Book Birthday: LACRIMOSA OF DANA: CASTAWAY TALES! Available now from all major retailers in hardcover and digital formats. Preorders open for paperback. Order a copy autographed by the author at www.ys-books.com

My @readercon.org schedule this weekend! schedule.readercon.org

It's Bastille Day, and this hits hard this year. A lot of the folks in this scene are real-life refugees from fascism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-E...

Your occasional reminder that if you find me entertaining here, I also write science fiction books. books2read.com/u/mBB0QZ?for...

@hotgpod.bsky.social Congratulations on episode 200! That's an achievement that very few have accomplished (e.g. History of Rome was only 179) and I don't think anyone has done it better. And thanks again for the rabbit holes--glad to hear I wasn't alone in that.

Here's the most gentle way I can comment on the current moment, and also give context to a common photo meme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKc...

Nice touch in season 1 #Pachinko captioning--translated Japanese uses a light blue font, but the Korean words in an otherwise Japanese sentence show up as bright orange--and those words are so core (mother, father, my country).

@mollyjongfast.bsky.social I'm listening to The Last Dangerous Visions anthology, and just hit the stories by your father and grandfather. I've been reading a lot of your posts over the last few years, so just wanted to send my compliments to your family--thanks!

We're running a sale on the website. Get 25% off your order with promo code Molly at checkout. Here's some of the books we have in stock. carpelibrumbaltimore.com

Very excited for my first time as a Readercon program participant!

1/? @hotgpod.bsky.social I enjoyed today's podcast about the Netherlands et al. In response to your question, I personally don't think the historical detours are detours, but the essence of good history. The sections on things like the Hansa, the Hussites, the regional histories...

I recommend #TheLifeOfChuck, but I don't want to say that much about it. It's not because of spoilers/twists, but because much of the pleasure is in the series of small discoveries, so going in cold is best. Also, it's a film that gives a lot to talk about afterwards, so best enjoyed with others.

Folks, @adrianmckinty.bsky.social is posting Sean Duffy stories on his substack! Besides the 2 below (one of which is also on Audible), he posted a work in progress today. adrianmckinty.substack.com

@stephenking.bsky.social and @markhamillofficial.bsky.social, thank you so much for #TheLifeOfChuck.