We’ve worked with Nnedi Okorafor a few times now and consider her a true friend and talented author.
So when she asked that we help spread the word for her family’s gofundme page we were happy to help out.
Please take a look and consider donating.
ON BEHALF OF THE OKORAFOR FAMILY:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-future-for-chinedu
This message has been brought to you by the Minions of Fevre River.
It’s finally time to open the doors officially for Santa Fe Sky Railway, and we’re all proud as punch about it!
It was a hard road but well worth it when we finally get to see the train pull up to Santa Fe station for the first time, come check us out down at the Santa Fe railway to find out more about what rides are available and what’s coming next year.
Come on down and check out our fabulous engines the Wolf and the Dragon and set up your next railway experience!
Tickets now available for Pablito’s Christmas Train and the Exodus Experience.
https://www.facebook.com/SkyRailway/
This message has been brought to you by the Minions of Fevre River.
The Stagecoach Foundation continues to impact New Mexicans and provide pathways into the film & TV industry, but we can’t do it alone; it’s only with our partners that we can provide quality training & job placement. One such partner is Stan Cassio and his post-production company, Mango NM.
Stagecoach Foundation and Mango NM’s collaboration creates opportunities for New Mexicans in the post-production arena. Having a pool of post-production professionals is essential to a thriving film industry. Mango NM has donated 5 editing bays, a teaching station and is committed to training and hiring New Mexicans – Oh, and did we mention the training is FREE?
Mango NM is a state-of-the-art, full service post-production company providing digital dailies for Santa Fe Studios and Q Studio on productions such as Perpetual Grace, Goliath and Roswell, NM.
Stan Cassio’s generosity and expertise are essential in our success, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you, Mango, NM!
Find out more about Stagecoach Foundation and how you can make a difference too.
Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving for all my friends, fans, and readers.
It has been another wretched year, but most of us still have a lot to be thankful for. I certainly do.
Enjoy your meat and mead.
Current Mood: 
loved
On December 3, right here in New Mexico, we will be opening the Sky between Santa Fe and Lamy.
Sky Railway, to be precise.
That’s the new name of the old Santa Fe Southern, the historic short-haul railroad originally build by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe back in the nineteenth century. Largely moribund since 2012, the railway was acquired in 2020 by a group that included me, Bill Banowsky (founder of Magnolia Films and Violet Crown Cinemas), bestselling mystery author Douglas Preston, and five other prominent Santa Feans (Margaritas may have had something to do with our decision). We’ve been busy ever since restoring and refurbishing the cars, repairing the tracks and tressels, replacing old seats, fixing broken windows, even installing a new engine into one of our old locomotives. All of which took longer and cost more than we had originally anticipated… but hey, that’s pretty much always the case.
(I almost titled this post “I’ve been working on the railroad,” but my readers would have taken that the wrong way… and, anyway, it isn’t true. I am one of the owners. Mostly what I have been doing is throwing out ideas and writing checks. Sky’s employees, an energetic and enthusiastic crew, have been doing the work, all those things I mentioned up above and lots more besides. I have not driven a single spike, laid a single rail, reupholstered a seat, crawled under a coach to check the wheels, and I won’t be selling tickets or driving the trains either… though I do reserve the right to blow the whistle now and again. Nor have I been in the kitchen with Dinah. I have working, yes, yes… but not on the railroad. I have been writing WINDS OF WINTER, editing three new Wild Cards books, sitting down with some amazing screenwriters and showrunners to create three hundred and seventeen new GAME OF THRONES successor shows for HBO and HBO Max, and serving as executive producer on various other television and film projects in various stages of development, including DARK WINDS for AMC, JOKERTOWN for Peacock, ROADMARKS and WHO FEARS DEATH for HBO. Oh, and I was the executive producer on our (recently wrapped) short film of Howard Waldrop’s NIGHT OF THE COOTERS. So I have been working. Maybe too bloody hard, but that’s another tale for another blog post… though these days even finding the time to blog is hard).
But I digress. Let us get… ahem… back on track.
Santa Fe is the City Different, and we wanted Sky, the reborn Santa Fe Southern, to be the Railway Different. We had two big old diesel locomotives, so right off we decided we would run two trains: the Wolf and the Dragon. And to paint them, and give each its own character and a look unlike any other train in the country, we hired Santa Fe’s own JORAEL NUMINA, an amazingly gifted muralist and graffiti artist. You can check out Joerael’s own website at https://www.joerael.com/ He’s been climbing all over our trains for the best part of the last year, and we think he’s produced something extraordinary.
Our swanky new paint job is not the only thing that will set Sky Railway apart, however. It’s eighteen miles from Santa Fe to Lamy, a distance that we will cover in, oh, about an hour and a quarter at our blazing speed of fifteen miles an hour. It’s nice ride, and our passengers can just buy a ticket and look out the windows at the passing scenery… pretty much the way it was on the old Santa Fe Southern, and every other tourist railroad in the country, give or take a few. We’re planning to offer more than that, however. We’re planning murder and mayhem on some of our trains, and unless Hercule Poirot buys a ticket, the passengers will have to solve the mysteries themselves. Some of our trains may well be robbed; there are gangs of outlaws down by Lamy. Expect ghosts and zombies next Halloween, and maybe even a hanging. We will have jazz trains, country music trains, cocktail trains (we will offer our own unique cocktails), costume trains, circus trains…. There may be pirates. There may be gunslingers. There may be… most anything. Especially if Exodus Ensemble is involved. Which they will be. https://www.exodusensemble.com/
Most of that will be coming next year. This year, well, Christmas is on hand, and Sky is building a Christmas Village for the kids down in Lamy. Most of our trains will leave from there, at least through Christmas. There will be hot chocolate and bells. Santa Claus will be on hand, and maybe his friend Pablito the Purple Dragon. The trains start running DECEMBER 3.
To keep track of all we’re doing, check out Sky’s new website at:
And, yes… tickets are now on sale.
Write it down. DECEMBER 3. The Wolf will howl. The Dragon will roar.
Ride the Sky. Santa Fe’s adventure train.
Current Mood: 
accomplished
It will be a wild weekend at Beastly Books and the Jean Cocteau… a WILD CARDS weekend, that is.
Two new Wild Cards books are being released this week by our friends at Tor… or rather, two old Wild Cards books, unavailable for decades, are being re-released with smashing new covers. Looking to complete your Wild Cards collections? Your days of searching for old used copies on ebay are over. Pick up the new editions, and enjoy the read.
Both of these new/old books are solo novels.
DEATH DRAWS FIVE, by John Jos. Miller, was volume seventeen in the series, the second (and last) of the two originals published by iBooks, released a bare week before iBooks went under. Very few copies were ever distributed back then. John’s novel features the return of Fortunato, star turns from Billy Ray (Carnifex) and Jerry Strauss (Mr. Nobody), and introduces John Nighthawk and the unforgettable Midnight Angel (that’s her on the cover). The fate of John Fortune… and the world… hangs in the balance.
The new Tor edition is a hardcover.
TURN OF THE CARDS, by the late great Victor Milan, is the other novel to return this week. Volume twelve in the series, this globe-trotting adventure features Mark Meadows… aka Cap’n Trips… and all of his “friends,” including an old friend and a brand new one. It’s Vic at his finest, and it’s another volume that has been very hard to find since its original publication. The Tor edition is a trade paperback.
It goes without saying… we are celebrating the release of these two favorites with a cool event this Saturday (NOVEMBER 13) at the Jean Cocteau Cinema and Beastly Books, on Montezuma Street in scenic Santa Fe.
The festivities will start at 4:00 pm with a Happy Hour. Come meet the writers and your fellow Wild Cards fans.
At 5:00 we will shuffle into the JCC auditorium, where John Miller will talk about DEATH DRAWS FIVE, his Wild Cards characters, and his other work. After that we will have a panel, “Remembering Vic Milan,” wherein John and I and Melinda M. Snodgrass will share some memories of our lost friend and the stories he left behind him.
Finally, at 6:00 PM, we will adjourn next door to Beastly Books for the booksigning. John and I and Melinda will all be on hand, and there’s a chance a few more of your favorite Wild Cards writers may also swing by. Cross your fingers.
Come join us if you can. And if you can’t, well, signed copies of all the Wild Cards books, old and new, are always available via mail order from Beastly Books in Santa Fe. And hey, Christmas is coming up soon … autographed books make GREAT gifts.
https://jccwildcards.eventbrite.com/
Current Mood: 
pleased
Bestselling author JOHN SEDGWICK is coming to Santa Fe.
Beastly Books will be hosting a mixer and booksigning for him on Friday (November 12) from 4:00 to 5:00 pm.
John’s latest book is FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, a riveting account of the railroad wars of the nineteenth century, when the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe battled the Denver & Rio Grande for control of the Raton Pass, New Mexico, Santa Fe (Lamy!), and the road to California and the sea. It’s a great read, full of colorful characters and outrageous confrontations back when the west was still wild.
And we’ll have signed copies at Beastly.
ALL ABOARD!
https://jsedgwicksigning.eventbrite.com/
Current Mood: 
busy
It is always good to see the Giants win one… though the season’s record is 3-6 even after Sunday’s upset victory.
Still, still, most commentators gave Big Blue no chance against the Los Angeles… er, Oakland… er, Las Vegas Raiders, the high-flying silver-and-black leaders of the AFC West. It was nice to prove the talking heads wrong.
Credit for the win really belongs to the defense. The Raiders outgained the Giants by a considerable margin, but time and time again the Gmen stiffened inside the red zone and forced Carr and company to settle for field goals in place of touchdowns. In the end, that made all the difference. A couple of key interceptions and a forced fumble and recovery at game’s end helped a lot as well.
Daniel Jones played an okay game, but most of the Giants offense came from the run. That was especially encouraging since Saquon Barclay was still out, a positive test for covid coming in on top of his ankle woes.
Whether this represents any kind of positive omen for the rest of the season is hard to say, but it really doesn’t matter much. This season is pretty well gone already. But a hard-fought victory that comes down to the final seconds… that does put me in a considerably better mood.
Let us just say… life is full of ups and downs.
Maybe. Probably. (We hope, we hope).
We made a little short film of Howard Waldrop’s classic short story NIGHT OF THE COOTERS back in August, right here in Santa Fe. From a script by Joe R. Lansdale, directed by and starring Vincent d’Onofrio. Shot the whole thing green screen, then turned it over to the wizards at Trioscope Productions (https://www.trioscopestudios.com ) who are adding… well, pretty much everything except the actors and the horses.
The film probably won’t be finished until next March. Maybe February, if we are lucky.
But Howard Waldrop is going to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention in Montreal, the first weekend of November. He will not be able to attend to accept in person, alas… but we wanted to mark the occasion somehow, so we’re working as fast as we can to finish a short teaser / trailer for NIGHT OF THE COOTERS that can be shown at the con. A little treat for all the Waldrop fans.
I hope we finish it in time. I hope those of you attending the con will see it. I hope you will love it.
Did I mention that this honor for H’ard is well deserved? And long long overdue?
Current Mood: 
bouncy
And who is Pablito, I hear you asking?
He’s a dragon. A friendly purple dragon who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
And he’s also the hero of SANTA’S DRAGON, a lovely new children’s book by Douglas Preston, the New York Times bestselling author of numerous mysteries and thrillers, including (with Lincoln Child) the Agent Pendergast series, the latest installment of which just debuted at #1 on the Times list. This is Doug’s first children’s book.
His partner is this endeavor is the amazing Raya Golden, whose illustrations were last seen in the STARPORT graphic novel and before that in the Hugo-nominated MEATHOUSE MAN, both adapated from my work.
SANTA’S DRAGON will be going on sale for the first time on Saturday, November 6, at Beastly Books at 418 Montezuma Street in Santa Fe. Raya and Douglas will both be on hand from 1:00 to 3:00 pm to meet you and sign your copies. And for those who cannot make it, signed copies will of course be available afterward from Da Beast, via mail order.
If you’re in the neighborhood, do come by next Saturday to find out how Pablito helped Santa save Christmas for all the children of New Mexico. And bring the kids!
Current Mood: 
cheerful
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