Going west-ern

Since writing THE SPARROW, I’ve attended a number of science fiction conventions and enjoyed them hugely, but I’ve never been one to wear Spock ears or dress up as an Imperial Stormtrooper. This reluctance to live out fantasies in public could be a sign of...

Don’t diss Dodge City!

The Ohio Supreme Court has just ruled that Ohio cities cannot pass restrictive gun ordinances that go beyond those passed by the state government. Sometime today, someone will say, “This will turn Cleveland into Dodge City!” Actually, Dodge City had very...

Starting the next novel…

I always seem to do two books in each genre. After resisting the pattern for months, I have bowed to the inevitable. DOC, which will be out in May, focuses on one half of the West’s most famous friendship, telling the story of Doc Holliday’s short and...

The Sparrow — movie news

As you may know from an earlier post, I’ve written a screen adaptation of The Sparrow in partnership with Karen Hall. Director Scott Derrickson has been a fan of the novel for many years, but it wasn’t until the screen rights reverted to me this year that...

Do any of you play the horses?

I have a question about hedging bets. Random House and a dozen or more friends have done a lot of editing and fact-checking for DOC, but I don’t think any of us actually plays the horses. So I’m not 100% certain that I got this right: “We hedged our...

Your tax dollars at work.

I’m getting my records organized so I can calculate my 4th quarter estimated tax payment for 2010. For a long time, I’ve wished that the IRS would include a survey at the end of our tax forms where we could express spending preferences. I’d like to...

Utter, absolute, glorious JOY

No, I am not announcing that Johnny Depp has called, pleading to play Emilio Sandoz in a movie adaptation of The Sparrow, although that would merit the same subject heading. I am simply wanted to share this YouTube video of a 3-year-old boy “conducting”...

Wiki Leaks Seriously Unshocking

So far, I’ve yet to be startled by anything in the leaks. In fact, my take on international politics is being validated. Kim Jong Il is bat-shit crazy. Angela Merkel is kind of boring. Nobody likes Mr. Imadinnerjacket. Vladimir Putin is hand-in-glove with the...

First Day of Chanukah

And here’s the Russell household’s gift to you. Don and I love the NPR show WAIT, WAIT… DON’T TELL ME. We also enjoyed Animal Planet’s show Emergency Vets, which featured Kevin Fitzgerald, DVM. For big laughs, click on this:...

First interview about writing DOC

Last September, I had a grand time with the incoming Honors students at Rutgers University. A journalist named John Connelly asked if he could do a follow-up interview about the new novel. The interview will be published in the Rutgers Review in December, 2010, but...