November 2009
Official Story Chronology ...For Now
Hunting Harkonnens (Short-Story)
The Butlerian Jihad
Whipping Mek (Short-Story)
The Machine Crusade
The Faces of a Martyr (Short-Story)
The Battle of Corrin
House Atreides
House Harkonnen
House Corrino
Dune
A Whisper of Caladan Seas (Short-Story, takes place during 'Dune')
Paul of Dune
The Road to Dune (Short-Story by FH)
Dune Messiah
The Winds of Dune
The Throne of Dune (TBA)
Children of Dune
Leto of Dune (may be changed to The Golden Path of Dune ...TBA)
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse Dune
MYKONOS AND EGYPT
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Leaving Istanbul, we had a short stop at the Greek island of Mykonos. We boarded one of the ship’s small boats, or tenders, and rode to shore.
ISTANBUL
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Byzantium/Constantinople/Istanbul — I’ve wanted to see this place since I was a kid reading adventure stories…the epitomy of exotic lands. Photos of the jaw-dropping Blue Mosque on the harbor with its piles of domes and fairy-tale minarets inspired a lot of my fiction, particularly recent books like Crystal Doors: Sky Realm and the Terra Incognita novels.
NAPLES, SORRENTO, CAPRI
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It was an early morning — Rebecca and I left for our tour of Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri at 7:15 AM (after a rushed breakfast in the buffet). We boarded one of eight buses and rode from Naples to Pompeii, where we wandered the astonishing ruins in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. The air was filled with a pall of smoke…nothing to do with volcanic eruptions, just agricultural fields being burned. Pompeii was as incredible as I had hoped it would be.
Mediterranean trip report
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THE MEDITERRANEAN
I’ve been keeping a journal of the last week’s travels, but haven’t had a chance to post a blog until now. The cruise ship’s internet connection is much too slow to upload photos; I’ll post highlights when we’re back in the US.
ITALY
Music in My “Office”
For a feature in next month’s issue of Prog magazine, the photographer spent many hours setting up a photo shoot of me with part of my music collection in my writing office. Since I do most of my writing outside in nature, we felt this shot was most representative.
Superstars Writing Seminars
Over the years, Rebecca and I have taught thousands of students in various writing workshops, and many of the attendees have gone on to become successful bestselling authors themselves. Many of you have listened to us lecture at DragonCon or other conventions, and we’ve given our seminar on “Things I Wish Some Pro Had Told Me When I Was Starting out” for many years at the Writers of the Future workshop.
Las Vegas Library Talk, Thurs. Nov 5
I will be giving a talk, Q&A session, and book signing at the Clark County Library (1401 E. Flamingo Rd) in Las Vegas tomorrow night (Thurs, Nov 5). I hope you can join me. The first 25 people will receive free Terra Incognita tote bags. I’ll be signing Enemies & Allies, The Winds of Dune, Terra Incognita: The Edge of the World, and anything else you would like to bring. Rebecca will also be there, if you want to bring any of our Young Jedi Knights, Crystal Doors, Grumpy Old Monsters, or Rebecca’s solo books.
Challenger Point (14,081 ft) Hike
This has been a tough hiking season for me—mainly because I’ve done so much traveling and book-touring during the best summer months in the mountains. Also, the weather turned cold and nasty very shortly after I finished the Winds of Dune tour and DragonCon the first weekend in September.