Most falls, I get a cold. It knocks me back for a bit. This week was the week for that. I got almost no writing done, though I did get a number of side projects done, including some work on my website. I’ve been adding some things in preparation for the release of Farewell, My Ugly, which comes out on November 7th.
Farewell, My Ugly
Did I mention Farewell, My Ugly comes out on November 7th? In that case, it’s time for a cover reveal. Check this out, again from J. Caleb Designs. It’s brilliant, as usual.
I spent this week trying to write on a number of projects. I got some words written here and there, but not much. I’m finally on the other side, though, so this will be a great week.
I did manage to get a bunch of books priced and organized. The store is taking shape. Next week, I’ll have more pictures. We’re only about 3 weeks from opening day.
Exciting times!
Also exciting is for the third time ever, the Texas Rangers advanced to the World Series. The first major league sporting event I ever attended was a Rangers game back in 1974 or so. The stadium was wretched, but I loved it and ran around in all sorts of places I shouldn’t have.
I still recall the names of Toby Harrah (who would’ve been a huge player in today’s time with his excellent walk rate), Jeff Burroughs, Fergie Jenkins, Charlie Hough, and even Lenny Randle and Frank Lucchesi. They weren’t good teams, but they’ve been my team since I had a team.
So, to coin a phrase, #GoAndTakeIt.
With that, I’m going to cut this short. I’ve got bunches of stuff to catch up on, and I’ll get a bit more written tonight. Have a great week.
What I’m Listening To
No football so far tonight. Spending time with the wife and mom-in-law watching older Midsomer Murders. Man, I wonder what the homicide per 100,000 rate is there. Is it worse or better than Cabot Cove?
Happenings in Anthony
Not much to report, as I was in the house all week.
Quote of the Week
Happy OK Corral Day!!! Which of course makes me think of Tombstone, and that makes this week’s quote obvious.
“I’m your huckleberry.”
– Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Updated Word Count: Accounting mostly done. Well over 300k. Exact count net week.
Firehall Sagas Archives: 749 entries
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
Sigh. A good chunk of my writing buddies are in North Carolina today having fun at FactoryCon. With the move and setting up the stores, it wasn’t in the cards this year. Frankly, I haven’t seen them since LibertyCon, and that’s far too long. I’ll get to see a goodly number at 20Books Vegas, and that will be wonderful, but that’s several weeks away.
I’ve still been enjoying the release of Where Now the Rider. Reviews are excellent. Frankly reviews of the whole Firehall Sagas series have been great, and I appreciate it. Get all 3 books here: amazon.com/dp/B0CCKWZKYQ.
This has been a week of various projects. We buy half a cow each year from friends in Iowa. That’s now a two-day trip, so all I could do is some bediting for work. Also this week was Anthony Fall Fest. Makes it hard to make a lot of progress.
However, I did get a few words written along with a bunch of editing on the Ruriksaga. This has been rough sledding, in part because of fatigue, but it’s getting there. Also this week, I started editing I Am a Wondrous Thing.
I got feedback on my sooper-sekrit project and it was very positive. I’ll talk about it when I can, but they really liked the first part.
We also made a bunch of progress on the building. We’re setting November 15th as a tentative opening date. There’ll still be a bunch to do to improve things, but we’ll have stock, working POS systems, and our store areas are looking great.
All in all, it’s one of those weeks where I probably got a lot done, but it didn’t feel like it. Combine that with a long period without a break, and missing my friends, I’ve been a bit down.
But next week will be good. We’ll finish the apartment and that’s a huge load off my brain. I’ll start putting in inventory, ,which will make the shop much more real, and we’ll have the Man Cave going.
But for now, you guys have fun at FactoryCon!
What I’m Listening To
A pretty bland game between the Saints and the Jaguars. I should probably be watching Texas play Houston, but I get so stressed, I decided to let it go for a while. Plus, my superstition is big time games go better if I don’t watch them. It’s not true of course, but sometimes it’s what I do.
Happenings in Anthony
We’ve settled on Nobody of Consequence for our trivia team name. We really need people who know movies and music, because those two categories kill us. We do great on the other ones, but it’s tough when you’re dropping 20% of the possible points off the top.
This week is the town clean up. I’ll be dropping off chairs and some other stuff to clear up the place.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthdays to L.E. Modesitt, Jr. and John le Carré. Heck of a lot of great stories come from this day.
Anyway, here’s a quote from le Carré about how writers and spies are alike.
A spy, like a writer, lives outside the mainstream population. He steals his experience through bribes and reconstructs it.
– John le Carré
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
New author alert! Final Assembly by Dennis M. Myers, the first book in his Rise of the Automated Empire series, is set in a post-scarcity society on the moon in the distant future, where no one lacks for anything, and everyone gets along. Right? Not so fast… Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CKVFR1PL.
Updated Word Count: Still need to do an accounting
Firehall Sagas Archives: 743 entries
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
My goodness, what a week! Around 7,000 new words in a number of projects, plus so much else going on.
I got some great feedback on Where Now the Rider. Check out this review: “I shouldn’t have started this book at 2230. I should have known better. I do know better. All three of these have done violence to my sleep, and I did it willingly. I look forward to another.”– Greg Gagnon, KU Reader.
The first story I ever wrote was in 1997 and it was done only to fill a quire in the program for Neocon 8. It was, at the time, wretched and required a goodly amount of hubris to put it there.
Still, it filled the quire almost exactly and now that it’s been edited after all this experience, I’m quite pleased with it. Thanks to Nick Steverson and Marisa Wolf for including it in Thirteen Stories of Horror, which comes out tomorrow!
Stay tuned tomorrow for both the release link and details of a fun podcast with a bunch of the authors on Saturday evening at 7pm Central.
I’ll be there for part of it, but I’m going to be pretty busy on Saturday. It’s Anthony’s Fall Fest and I’ll have a booth in front of Pack N’Flavor restaurant. Come get books from me and some of the great cookies they sell there.
We made huge progress on our personal library this week, which is basically a long hallway extending from my den, which is behind my desk in the bookstore. I also got a big step up on the bookstore layout, plus put up new lights in the store. I’m making progress actually putting books on shelves. The vast majority of them are in stacks of their categories. Next week will bring a bunch of labels, more organization, and my checkout counter.
Oh, and stay tuned for cool new logos coming next week.
We’re starting to get a whole bunch of things in their actual place!
Oh, and we have a new assistant.
Bella
What I’m Listening To
The Chiefs beating up on Denver. Man, the Broncos simply aren’t a good offense. I don’t know what their overall problem is, as I don’t really study them, but they’re just not good.
Happenings in Anthony
Fall Fest 2023
Anthony Fall Fest! Click the thumbnail for the larger image.
Well, Team Nobody of Consequence didn’t, quite, defend their title at trivia last night. We were just too far behind after the music and entertainment categories. However, we almost made a miracle comeback, running the entire last category and getting a full 16 points. Lost by 2, 37 to 35. We’ll get ’em next week.
Quote of the Week
On this day, in 322, Demosthenes died. Demosthenes was one of the world’s greatest orators. I don’t have time here to give more than a quote, be he’s well worth looking into.
And, of course, you can read Jack McDevitt’s excellent A Talent for War to get a perspective on Demosthenes.
In any case, this is perhaps the most true quote I’ve ever posted, and something we all have to work against.
Nothing is easier than self-deceit.
– Demosthenes
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Your pre-release this week is a new series from a new author! It’s Final Assembly by Dennis M. Myers, the first book in his Rise of the Automated Empire series. This series is set in a post-scarcity society on the moon in the distant future, where no one lacks for anything, and everyone gets along. Right? Not so fast… Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CKVFR1PL.
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 355.8
Updated Word Count: Did too much to do that full accounting, but will try to do so next week.
Firehall Sagas Archives: 743 entries
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
This is book 3 of the Edwardsaga. Edward made a promise and the time has come to fulfill it despite the fact that everyone wants him to leave the past buried. The trail leads to something he never expected, and maybe the bad guy isn’t the worst thing out there.
One of my favorite parts of writing this novel is that since it is the third, there’s a lot of depth within Achrida I can use. For example, Edward gave the promise in question during his investigation in A Lake Most Deep. The answers he got in that mystery may not have been worth the cost.
The Edwardsaga
In any case, the Edwardsaga now has 3 books with a 4th (Farewell, My Ugly) coming out on November 7th. And all that I just said about building on top of things for Where Now the Rider is that much more true about Farewell, My Ugly. This started as an homage to Dick Francis and ended up an homage to Bernard Cornwell. From Sid Halley to Sharpe.
Next week, I’ll have another release: Thirteen Stories of Horror. This is an anthology coming out on Friday the 13th. My story is actually the first story I ever wrote in a moment of pure hubris way back in 1997. That’s long before I ever thought I might be a writer. I wrote it only to fill a quire in the program for NeoCon 8.
I’m in the middle of two projects right now. One I’m just going to call The Seven, as the project is Sooper Sekrit. The other is The Ruriksaga, which will be the next Firehall Sagas release, aimed at December 12th. It’s a collection of all the short stories I’ve written in Eard, along with some other tidbits.
Making progress on the stores, too. Mostly this week I’ve started the early sorting of books into their categories. I was mostly caught up but got 2 more totes and 4 boxes today. Today was actually a Wichita excursion, which got me the books, some excellent bookshelves, and a variety of things to finish projects around here.
We haven’t decided anything yet, but I’m hoping to have the ribbon cutting as close to my return from 20BooksVegas as possible.
One last thing. Thanks to Consortium of Genius for inspiring this update’s title. If you haven’t checked them out, they’re the best hard rock supervillain comedy band I know of.
And with that, I better get writing.
What I’m Listening To
Bears kicking the tails of the Washington Football Team. I like it.
Happenings in Anthony
We won trivia this week!!! The Civil War category was right up my alley but, I think, no one else.
Weekend after next is Fall Fest, and the decorations are making Main Street look pretty cool. Pics in a couple weeks.
Quote of the Week
Today is the anniversary of the R101 airship disaster in 1930 and that, of course, makes me think of Iron Maiden.
Because they wrote an epic song about that event called Empire of the Clouds.
“Now a shadow on a hill
The angel of the east
The empire of the clouds may rest in peace
And in a country churchyard
Laid head to the mast
Eight and forty souls
Who came to die in France”
– Iron Maiden, Empire of the Clouds.
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
I’m back on the horse. September was simply just too busy but we’ve definitely turned the corner.
This week we have D.T. Read’s Ganwold’s Child. This is not the next book in her excellent Seventh Shaman series, but is actually book one in the Sergey Chronicles. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CJDLJ4H2.
The pre-release this week is a new 4HU novel. It’s Gunpowder Geishas by Carolyn Kay. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CKF8BP29.
Updated Word Count: I’ll do a full accounting next week, but it’s getting up there.
Firehall Sagas Archives: 743 entries
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
For the first time in far too long, I finished a novel. In the last 6 full months, I only wrote about 34,000 words in that, plus a few here and there on other stuff. That’s really slow for me.
Farewell, My Ugly comes out on November 7th.
Before that, of course, we have Where Now the Rider, which comes out on Tuesday! Edward has to fulfill a promise, though no one wants him to dig under that particular stone.
Of course, we all know I had reasons for that, not excuses. Still, it’s nice to fell like I’m really getting back into the flow. I’m even more excited for once we get to a normal keel, which should be sometime in early 2024.
So we’ve got a while yet, but each week gets us farther along. Here are some pictures of where we’re at.
Multipurpose Room BeforeMultipurpose Room After
Let’s start with the multipurpose room. This will have classes, game nights, and temporary office space. The first picture is after we cleaned it out, and it needed cleaning, but before we put the subfloor down. The second is after the floor went in along with the new lighting. It went from a dreary room I didn’t like going into to a great place to do stuff. Perhaps my favorite transformation so far.
Quilt Store Pews 1Quilt Store Pews 2
Now here are some pictures of the quilt store. When we bought this place, it was an open room filled with a bunch of pews. As you can see, we found great use for these. They stack nicely, and already had holes drilled to screw in place. They’re amazing shelves. By her calculation, we can put over 800 bolts on display at any given moment. That seems like a lot to me, but what do I know?
Quilt Store FrontBolts on Pews
As you can see, stacking them works perfectly for bolts of cloth.
Then we get to a broader look at the room with a picture aimed toward the front. We’re adding all sorts of shelves and displays on the ends and up front, but this serves as the core.
Quilt Store Battleship RowLoom Goddess Assembling a Floor Model
Now to the important part of the room, which is opposite the stacked pews. I call this Battleship Row, though I suspect the wife has a different name for it. Speaking of the Loom Goddess, here she is assembling a floor model and telling me just what she thinks of me taking her picture.
In the back, you can see the longarm quilting machine, a sewing machine setup, then we have the big loom (the one that wouldn’t fit in the van), then another loom for making rugs. As mentioned, we’ll have other looms to try out, along with a variety of other toys along that front wall.
And we haven’t even talked about the side walkway. We’ll get to that eventually.
Front of Bookstore
I suspect many of you have been curious about the bookstore. My side isn’t as organized yet, though by the end of next week it’ll be much closer. Here’s the front, where I have 3 sets of 4 shelves plus 2 on the end and a shorter one in the window. I’ll be adding endcaps to each of the 3 sets, probably where I put some of the small publishing displays.
SFF Books Getting Sorted
Here’s a picture of the main wall of SF/F, along with horror and possibly mystery. This is just a start at getting all that alphabetized, and intermixed are new books plus books I’m keeping. For now, just getting this all sorted is a huge step.
I’m waiting on brackets to put up all the shelves. There’ll be 8 total 10ft long shelves here. The top is 12in wide for storage and fun displays. It’s to tall for me to reach easily, so it’s mostly just for flavor stuff. Yes, that’s a Munchkin figure as the first thing. Seems appropriate.
The next shelf down will likely be too tall for many readers, so again, that’ll be for displays. However, that leaves 60 linear feet of space, which should do for SF/F, at least for the moment.
By the way, some of you eagle-eyed folk might spot titles by friends. Again, this is a mass sort, and the books given to me by other indie/small press authors are going onto a bookshelf in the break room. The break room will serve as a place for those waiting on people shopping at the quilt store to relax. It’ll have comfy chairs, books, and a TV. Hopefully, they’ll check out some of your guys’ stuff.
This idea, by the way, comes from the quilt companies in Hamilton, MO, who have a storefront dedicated entirely to getting non-quilters a comfy place to wait. Pictures to come when we get this somewhat close to done.
Office and Counter
Finally, at least for this set of pictures, is my desk and the counter of the store. Some friends might recognize the counter, which was made by some awesome people in Canada for their Pennsic set up. They decided it was too much, and I pounced. I think it’s an amazing piece of furniture and will proudly display their heraldry in my store.
Then there’s my desk. It’s a mess, but again, each day a few things get put into the right place. It’s a comfy, productive setup, so that part’s nice.
Through the open door is our shipping station and then also a small den for me to relax in (and watch football without disturbing the wife). Most importantly, it has a chair that serves equally well for naps and bediting. Bediting, by the way, is when I edit on my phone, and the small screen really helps me see stuff I don’t on the computer.
So that’s a small tour of the building so far. It’s exciting. Not as exciting as typing “The End,” but it’s up there.
What I’m Listening To
Empire of the Clouds, by Iron Maiden. It’s an epic song about the R101 airship disaster.
Happenings in Anthony
Fall Fest is in a couple of weeks.
Our team name in trivia this week was “Even Mom Don’t Know.” We did really well, actually, missing out by only one point.
Quote of the Week
On this day, in 935 (maybe 928), Wenceslas I was assassinated. This is the Good King Wenceslas and the events around his death are interesting to any writer. Also, there’s a picture of his skull used for a ceremony on the Wikipedia page here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenceslaus_I,_Duke_of_Bohemia, and how cool is that?
Speaking of cool, here’s a link to Heather Dale’s version of the song, which is just amazing. youtube.com/watch?v=3W2vn6RlXMQ.
And here’s the 4th verse of the song, the one I like the best.
Sire, the night is darker now,
and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how;
I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, my good page.
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
freeze thy blood less coldly.
– Good King Wenceslas, Václav Alois Svoboda, translated by John Mason Neale
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
This week’s pre-release brings us back to the amazing Salvage Title universe. It’s Alex Rath’s Tails of Revenge, and you can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CJYGPJ9S.
D.T. Read’s Ganwold’s Child is out. This is not the next book in her excellent Seventh Shaman series, but is actually book one in the Sergey Chronicles. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CJDLJ4H2.
Your pre-release this week is
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 353.8
Updated Word Count: xxx,xxx
Firehall Sagas Archives: 743 entries
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
Another productive week! Almost ready to send Farewell, My Ugly to the editor. Soooo close.
Where Now the Rider
First, I’m really excited about Where Now the Rider. It comes out on October 3rd, and is the 3rd of the Edward novels. In this one, Edward fulfills a promise made in A Lake Most Deep. Unfortunately, that promise involves asking questions most everyone thinks are better left forgotten. Edward ends up facing a foe who’s been plotting against Edward for far too long.
The ARC went out to the advance team this week, so if you’re on the team, check your inboxes. If you’re not on the advance team, but want to read new stuff before anyone else, drop me a line.
This is one of those “negative” writing weeks, in that I ended up with less words. However, somewhere around 85% of the story is polished so I’m getting there. Today, for example, I did my “that” search. I eliminate as many “thats” as I can, which ends up getting rid of a whole bunch of wasted verbiage. I did that for a couple other phrases/words that often just clog up the reading.
This is also the part where I’m starting to really love the story. I start with a cool idea, then I get to about 70k, and things get slow and boggy. Frustration sets in a bit as it’s tough. Then I get over the hump, and the story pops of the page again.
I’m at that point, which is always a great feeling.
Also close is the layout of the bookstore. By this time next week, I should have all the shelves constructed and start sorting books by category. Hopefully, next week, we’ll have a bunch of the layout of the quilt shop done. Also, might have our POS computers up.
What we did finish is the big multi-purpose room floor. It looks good. I’ll have pictures next week after we have the lighting redone. It has a dropped ceiling and we’re putting in 2x2ft LED panels that are really nice. We also put these in the AirBNB.
We aim to have the AirBNB ready at some point in October. We’ll be painting it next week, and might even have part of the floor done there too.
Progress, progress, progress.
What I’m Listening To
49ers v. Giants. Right now, the step-spawn is yelling at the TV.
Happenings in Anthony
I’m starting a new category this week, and that’s a local report from Anthony, KS.
We’ve started going to the Idle Hour’s Wednesday night trivia and half-price wings. Our name last week was, “We Don’t Have One.” This week it’s “We Still Don’t Know.” We’re doing okay, though it’s just the two of us and we have no clue about popular music. If you know popular stuff, come join us!
Speaking of trivia night, the city is hosting a trivia night on November 4th as a fundraiser. More details next week.
Quote of the Week
Today is Bill Murray’s birthday, and that’s a fact, Jack!
Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you’re donating blood.
– Bill Murray
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Your pre-release this week is D.T. Read’s Ganwold’s Child. This is not the next book in her excellent Seventh Shaman series, but is actually book one in the Sergey Chronicles. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CJDLJ4H2.
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 351.6
Updated Word Count: 212,924
Firehall Sagas Archives: 743 entries
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
It’s amazing how productive I can be during weeks where I don’t have to travel. This was a very good week, and for the first time in a long time, I averaged over 1000 new words a day.
The main work was in Farewell, My Ugly, where I added over 7000 new words, plus did final edits on over half of it. The end and off to the editor should happen next week.
It’s finally coming around the bend. Thank goodness.
I also did work on the project coming out after that. I’ll talk about it more, but I started a short story in it and I got about 1600 words written in that one too.
Where Now the Rider
The big news this week, however, is I have a cover reveal! Where Now the Rider comes out on October 3rd, and here’s the cover. Many thanks to J. Caleb Designs for yet another great cover. As, of course, we expected because he is one of the best cover artists in the business.
This was also a great week for working on the building. We started laying floor in the big room. I expect we’ll have pictures next week because we’re done.
We also got the AirBnB cleaned out. We’re aiming for that to be available in October, but there’s a long way to go.
Finally, at some point next week, I can start organizing books. Plus there’s stock coming in for the quilt store. Hopefully next week we’ll have a logo to show off.
It’s been a great week. I hope yours go just as well!
What I’m Listening To
With our current setup, it’s really easy for me to watch Thursday Night Football and do my update. So, guess what I’m doing now?
Quote of the Week
“Give me a ping, Vasily. One ping only.”
Happy birthday to Sam Neill, who played Vasily Borodin in The Hunt for Red October. Here’s a quote from him, something I’m glad I’ve learned along the way.
“Failure is never quite so frightening as regret.”
– Sam Neill
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
I’ve done a bad job here, this week. Been focused on Farewell, My Ugly.
Your pre-release this week is book 4 of Kevin Ikenberry’s Guardian Covenant series. It’s entitled Volunteer Fury and you can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CHZ14TWK.
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
At least, what the Rob kneeds now. He needs to not hurt his knee and then drive over 2000 miles over a weekend. Sadly, that’s exactly what Rob did this past weekend. Hard to have an especially productive week when you lose 4 full days between the trip and the recovery.
The Eyes of a Doll
Still, I did get some writing done. I got a couple thousand written on Farewell, My Ugly plus about 1500 on a short story I’ve wanted to write for a while.
I want to thank all of those who are part of New Mythology’s ARC team. I say it sometimes, but not enough. They do a great job helping up have great releases. I especially want to thank them for all the help getting The Eyes of a Doll released. You can get that here: amazon.com/dp/B0CGMV3B91.
We could use a few more on our ARC team, though, so if you’re interested in contributing to what we’re building, hit me up. You get to read cool stuff and be part of the magic.
I did a goodly amount of work on this house this week too. We’re ticking off things, despite the normal challenges of DIY stuff. By the end of next week, we’ll be kicking it into hyperdrive organizing the stores. I’ll have shelves. We’ll have storage. Exciting times.
Also next week, we’ll be ramping up for the release of Where Now theRider, book 3 of the Firehall Sagas. Edward’s back and this time has to fulfill a promise he made in A Lake Most Deep, despite the fact that Zupan Vukasin really doesn’t want to see that happen.
Expect a cover reveal next week, too.
Also coming soon is an announcement about an anthology that includes, quite literally, the first story I ever wrote. It goes back to 1997, long before I thought I’d ever really write for a career.
For now, I’m going back to work.
What I’m Listening To
The Chiefs v. the Lions. The NFL is back, and I’m here for it.
Quote of the Week
One of my favorite songs to sing in the SCA is Conn MacNeil’s Crusader’s Song. Today happens to be the anniversary of the Battle of Arsuof, which is more than enough excuse for me to quote from that song.
“At Arsouf on the coastline we met with the Paynim,
We won the battle, though many men fell,
And one was a Baron with lands that need tending,
Now they are mine, and I’ll tend them well.”
– Conn MacNeill, Crusader’s Song.
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
Edward returns and all he has to do is find a little girl’s doll. There’s no way that ends up involving Achrida’s crime lords, murderous servants of the emperor, and an ancient evil, right? Right?
It was a pretty good week of writing, almost 5000 words more in Farewell, My Ugly. I hope to do better next week, but I’ve been faced with so much around the house.
I spent this week wishing for one man more. Or woman. And I got it. With lots of help, we got a ton done around the house.
The big news here is that the classroom/temp office/storage/game room is ready to lay floor. This room is about 1000 square feet, and it was sort of a catchall room. But it’s been cleaned out, carpet floor strips removed, floor trim salvaged, and we have the underlayment ready to install.
This is one of the biggest dominoes we’ve needed to fall, because once it’s built, we can set up her fabric storage shelves. Just getting all the fabric totes out of the big room will be a huge step.
I also managed to get my woodshop to the point where I can putter without necessarily having to move something first. Some of its shelves are up and ready to go, and I can use the table saw, which will be needed for the underlayment of the big room.
The previous owner had bought some windows for our apartment area, and we got those installed. This is a major thing in terms of heating and air, as it’s a bank of 4 big west-facing windows.
Also, now we can set up the bar.
We made major progress cleaning out the AirBNB room, too. Some of that is the simple fact the windows were stored in there, but there’s a bunch more that’s gone.
A big help today was the arrival of Autumn from Prairie Rose Mortuary. This is the other mortuary in Harper County, and I asked her to come over and take all the things she might want, like coffin inserts and such.
The place we bought was a mortuary, by the way, if you didn’t know. Prairie Rose is the reason we were able to buy this place, because Anthony is… wait for it… a one-hearse town.
I’m pretty proud of that one.
And if you need an out-of-date style coffin for your Halloween, hit me up.
What I’m Listening To
The Cult, She Sells Sanctuary. This isn’t in my top 10 songs of all time, but it ain’t far off.
Quote of the Week
Happy Deathday to Henry V. Okay, so maybe deathdays aren’t as enjoyable as birthday, but he died August, 31, 1422, and if you think I’m going to pass up a chance to quote part of the Crispin’s Day speech, well, now you know.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
– Henry V, Shakespeare
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
It’s been a hectic week. I spent a goodly amount of it in North Dakota with family. There was more than a little cuteness with a grandbaby and a kitten, but a bunch of stuff to do.
The Eyes of a Doll
It was so busy I barely mentioned my new release. Last Friday, Imagine That!, the new collection of postcard nanostories released by Raconteur Press, came out. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CFX7XPPW.
I’ve also hardly mentioned that The Eyes of a Doll, sequel to A Lake Most Deep, comes out next Tuesday. How did it get to be late August already?
Nevertheless, the Firehall Sagas continues! The Eyes of a Doll does come out in only 5 days. Edward is back and all he has to do is retrieve a lost doll. Nothing could go wrong with that, right?
And if you want the first in that series, A Lake Most Deep, you can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CCKVLPBL. Following that, by the way, will be Where Now the Rider, coming out on October 3rd.
I’m getting back into the groove finishing Farewell, My Ugly. About all I could do during much of the recent traveling was editing it, so I’m farther along on that than I normally in, but behind on the new content. I’m actually down on my count from last week, cutting several thousand wasted words out, but I expect to get those back tomorrow or the day after.
I have a number of other irons in the fire right now, but I’m still recovering from a month on the road, so for now, I’ll wish you all a good week.
What I’m Listening To
The Steelers v. the Falcons in preseason. Football is almost here, baby!
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to Stephen Fry!
“You are who you are when nobody’s watching.”
– Stephen Fry
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Your pre-release this week is more 4HU, and it’s from a new author in the universe, William S. Frisbee. Get Brass, Inc.here; amazon.com/dp/B0CGCJQXKS.
And remember, The Eyes of a Doll comes out on Tuesday!
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 356.6
Updated Word Count: 209,934
Firehall Sagas Archives: 743 entries
Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.
