Tag Archives: Van Halen

Rob’s Update: Building Things Up

Week 4 of 2021

Greetings all

A really productive and exciting week in Rob-land. Lots of projects happening, and I spent a bunch of it world-building. I don’t want to get too much into this, only it’s going to be something amazing down the road.

I didn’t get as much actual writing done as I hoped, but I did make progress in The Ravening of Wolves. I also laid out several chapters ahead of time, cleared out a bunch of deadwood, and set myself up for some fun explosions.

That’s about all from my personal side of things, though I have quite a bit in the New Mythology section.

What I’m Listening To

Van Halen’s Dance the Night Away on the overhead at Brewbaker’s Bar & Grill in Lenexa. This is my standard writing bar and they take great care of me.

Quote of the Week

Today is Edith Tolkien’s birthday. She’d be 132 today, or a year old than Bilbo Baggins when he crossed the sea to the West.

She died a couple years before JRR did, and he wrote this after her passing. It’s a powerful quote about love.

“I never called Edith Luthien – but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief part of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire (where I was for a brief time in command of an outpost of the Humber Garrison in 1917, and she was able to live with me for a while). In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing – and dance. But the story has gone crooked, & I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos.”
JRR Tolkien, Letters of Tolkien

New Mythology Works in Progress

The big New Mythology news is the release of The Watchers in Exile on the 25th. This is the second in the Watchers of Moniah trilogy. You can get the first book, The Watchers of Moniah, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QRJTHHC.

I’d suggest jumping into this quickly, because the third book of the trilogy comes out on 1 March. If you’re one of those who wants to wait for a series to be finished before getting the first, you might as well get Watchers, because the final story’s going through the mill right now.

Next after that will be Songs of Valor, the second of the Libri Valoris series of anthologies. It’s chock full of great stuff, and that’s coming out 19 March.

After that, we have several in process, including the next Kevin Steverson and an excellent submission we’ll announce soon.

New Mythology Schedule
  • 25 January: The Watchers in Exile (Watchers of Moniah, Book 2) by Barbara Evers (At the Advance Reader Team)
  • 1 March: The Watchers at War (Watchers of Moniah, Book 3) by Barbara Evers (Note this will complete the trilogy)
  • 19 March: Songs of Valor (Libri Valoris, Book 2)

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • The Ravening of Wolves (38,684)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
  • Cynewulf (8,642)
  • Gato (2,312)

Upcoming Events

New Releases

Alex Rath’s Fallen World story, Call Me Mr. Smith comes out in audio form. CKP audio books keep getting pumped out, and this is just the latest. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RS8RG45.

The big release this week, however, is Bill Webb’s The Trashman, the latest novel in his Hit World universe. This is the first of this series to come to CKP but won’t be the last. It’s a universe that includes a little bit of everything, and that makes it a fun sandbox for writers and readers to play. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SVZF2HF.

Today’s Weight: 347.4 (I guess I weigh 347, as I’ve weighed in the 347s for 5 straight days).

Updated Word Count: 4,458

Shijuren Wiki: 725 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.

Have a great week, everyone.

Rob Howell

Currently Available Works
Shijuren

Nick Patara, PI

  • Silent Knight (Nick Patara, PI, Book 1)
  • Under a Midnight Clear (Nick Patara, PI, Book 2) (Forthcoming)
Four Horsemen Universe
The Phases of Mars
Short Stories

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