From both of us—and Dash, who is the sole surviving member of The Pack, as we called it when there were four of them, barking like they were seventeen and not four every time the doorbell rang.
Ok, it’s a day late, but still our best wishes to everyone who reads this blog and my books, or who just knows us from the good ol’ days, most of which, while good, are getting pretty damn ol’. 2026 is a significant year for us: Carol and I both graduated from grade school in 1966—sixty years ago!—and our fiftieth wedding anniversary falls on October 2 of this year. We’re planning two parties: one here in AZ and another back in Chicago, where all of our surviving family lives.
2026 is also the Semiquincentennial (half of 500, in other words) or maybe the Bisesquicentennial or Sestercentennial; take your choice. 250 years of protecting our rights as individual citizens of all categories from kings, arrogant royalty, ruling class slackers, dictators, and various other scum-of-the-earth species. Our nation has survived a long list of misleading and sometimes mass-murderous isms, and will continue to do so. This year we will celebrate our 250 years of victory.
Here at home, I’m deciding what major writing project to take on next. I have a little list, and a whole new concept sheet on The Molten Flesh, which tops that list. My unfinished novel Old Catholics predicts the first American pope…a cardinal from Chicago, yikes! I decided on that in 2005; if I publish it now, people won’t believe that I predicted it 20 years ago. So it will probably stay on the shelf. Beyond that…I’m still thinking. Any decisions will be announced here, so stay tuned.
Health issues prevented me from getting a great deal done in 2025, though I managed to get The Everything Machine into the Amazon gumball machine back in March. I rewrote and extended “Whale Meat,” and have two more finished works that I’m not entirely sure what to do with: “Morning Man” and “Volare!” I wrote the first draft of “Morning Man” back in 1985, and it’s about an AI who works as a DJ for a small-town radio station. That was science fiction back in 1985. I’m not sure what to call it today. “Volare!” heh, not sure what to call it, either. I started it in the late 1980s and abandoned it. Earlier this year I finished it. It’s a Simulation story, though that term did not exist in 1986. Once I can nail down a cover I intend to publish it as a standalone, 10,000-word novelette.
Beyond that, who knows? 2025 wasn’t all bad, and 2026 should be better. Hang around. It’s a beautiful world out there. Take in as much of it as you can, and celebrate your private triumphs. I’ll be here cheering you on!
Any notable science fiction books that came off copyright this year?
I asked grok and the only one it found was Last and First men by Olaf Stephenson.
Never heard of it but will download a sample.
Grok said that most science fiction in 1930 came out in magazines. And is already public domain?
First off: Copyright is complicated. There was a time (ending in 1963) when copyright holders had to renew their copyrights, or their works would fall into the public domain. Text published since 1964 does not need renewal.
The issue of whether individual stories originally published in magazines remain in copyright is tricky, as individual authors could renew copyrights on their stories, although many did not. If you’re looking for old stuff that’s out of copyright, check Project Gutenberg, which has almost 80,000 public domain works ready to download. If it’s on Project Gutenberg, it’s public domain. Not all of it is ancient; for example, they have 24 pre-1964 Keith Laumer stories that were not renewed. May not be his best work, but it’s available. Ditto Harry Harrison. The Stainless Steel Rat is public domain; I wouldn’t have guessed that. They’ve got 14 things by him, not all of it obscure. Charles L. Harness has one story there. Etc. Go up and poke around. If you find anything obscure but good, let me know!
It’s possible for authors to release their work into the public domain, but it isn’t done often.
On the other hand, I keep waiting for the lawsuits to fly over AI ignoring copyright. Exactly how is something generated by an LLM not a derivative work?
It seems to me that the practice by AI — so far largely unchallenged — nullifies copyright.
Happy New Year to you and Carol, and best wishes for the coming year!
Best wishes to you and Carol for 2026, and thank you for your informative and interesting diary.
The most significant event of 2025 for the wife and I was moving from Utah to Arizona. Not an easy task for senior citizens, but family, friends, and the mild AZ weather, made the move as painless as possible.
I decided on that in 2005; if I publish it now, people won’t believe that I predicted it 20 years ago.
Jules Verne “predicted” that three men would be launched into space from central Florida, orbit the Moon, return to Earth, splash down in the Pacific, and return in triumph on a US Navy ship. He was only off by 100 years.