Category Archives: Weekly Update

Rob’s Weekly Updates.

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: ChattaCon

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Week 3 of 2025

Greetings all

It’ll be a shortish newsletter this week as I’m in Chattanooga at ChattaCon. I look forward to seeing a bunch of you here!

The Feasting of Vengeance
The Feasting of Vengeance

But first, here’s a cover reveal for The Feasting of Vengeance, which comes out on February 14th!

Here’s my schedule:

  • Opening Ceremonies starting at 7pm on Friday. I have something special planned. You want to join us!
  • 8pm on Friday: I get to play Tales of the Valiant on stage with Chelsea Steverson, Gaming GOH
  • 10pm on Friday: Victorian Vulgarities. I get to make up appropriate curse words. Bwa ha, bwa ha ha!
  • 2pm on Saturday: I have the opportunity to interview Gail Z. Martin, the GOH
  • 4pm on Saturday: We talk about good secondary characters in Urban Fantasy
  • Noon on Sunday: A discussion of 20th century SF
  • 1pm on Sunday: Final questions for all the GOHs, including me

This is going to be a blast! And now I’m off to hang out with all the cool people here.

What I’m Listening To

I listened to Dragons of Autumn Twilight, book 1 of the DragonLance Chronicles on the trip, and I’ve got it going in the hotel room.

Quote of the Week

Sigh. There are a number of deaths in my sphere this week. Howard Andrew Jones, an excellent author I was looking forward to really getting to know over the years, passed today. So did Bob Uecker.

And so did Bob Hill, my stepfather. I wish I’d gotten to know him too.

I’m in an odd mood where the Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius is a bit of a comfort.

“Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.”
– Marcus Aurelius

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)

Upcoming Events

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 362.2lbs

Updated Word Count: 2474

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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Philosophers & Plowmen

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Week 2 of 2025

Greetings all

This week I’ll go over some of my goals and plans for the new year. Before I do that, I’ll digress a moment.

It’s been 5 years since Neil Peart of Rush died. His writing, whether in his lyrics or his books, still resonates with me and I haven’t yet gotten over his passing. You can expect the What I’m Listening To section to be only Rush over the next month, as is true every January since 2020.

Anyway, let’s talk about the future! My first goal of 2025 is to clean up and republish the Irina series that began with I Am A Wondrous Thing. I have 4 books finished, but they’ve been unavailable for a bit because of some false starts along the way.

So, I’ll be re-editing those first 4, plus writing Book 5, the conclusion, throughout the year. My goal is to rapid release those starting somewhere like September and October, finishing the series in early 2026.

Now that I’m done with the Foresters series, I’m probably going to write some new science fiction short stories. I have a number of ideas that might turn into series, and I haven’t written as many short stories in the last couple of years. I’m going to try and put out 4 of them in 2025.

One of those may be another Nick Patara, PI stories. I’ve written 3 of them and they need re-editing, plus I might put them out along with a 4th one as a set. Maybe set it up as a serial in a different type of publishing. I’d like to see other options.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue with the Okkorim stuff as long as Luke and Matt will let me. I love what we’re doing there and can’t wait until we have stuff start rolling off regularly, which will happen this year. Ideally, I can also get another client or two in the gaming world.

Overall, my aim is to get more words out than I ever have before, which means something like 450k. I count edited words in this, but only at 1/4 word, by the way.

I have been working with the Anthony Chamber of Commerce for a few months now. My big goal here is to set up regular processes that don’t rely on a single person. This will help me make the events Anthony has work better. Obviously, I’m investing a lot of my future in this town, and I want to keep contributing here.

On the personal side, now that things are actually settling into a routine, I want to add consistent workouts and losing weight. Obviously, that’s been a goal for a while, but things have been wonky.

My wife and I have never taken a vacation. Yes, we’ve traveled 1000s of miles together and done a bunch of awesome things, but that’s all been part of the SCA, or a thing for either one of us. I’d like us to go somewhere like Venice, Florence, and Rome. Something like that. Maybe that happens in 2025, maybe 2026, but it needs to happen.

I expect I won’t get all of that done in 2025, but these are reasonable things to shoot for. Whatever i get done, I’m excited about how much I get to do!

What I’m Listening To

Closer to the Heart, Rush. I’m no plowman, but I’m trying to be a philosopher who knows my part.

Quote of the Week

Happy birthday to another musical hero, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.

This particular quote resonates with me as I sit here on a snowy day in Anthony. We took a chance coming here. It was the right decision both based on what we knew and where we are now, but it was a chance. I’m glad we’re here.

“So many people are frightened to take a chance in life and there’s so many chances you have to take.”
– Jimmy Page

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)

Upcoming Events

New Releases

This week we have Hero’s Shadow, the second book in Fred Hughes’ Heroes of Britannia series. Admiral Julie Adams has been tasked with ending the Teddy Bear problem, but it won’t be as simple as she—or anyone else—might like! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DRZ6WBB3.

This week’s pre-release is Blood of Her Father by Kacey Ezell and Marisa Wolf, the fifth book in the Ashes of Entecea series. If you’ve read anything by either of these authors (which I have to imagine everyone on this list has), then you know it’s going to be great. When last seen (in The Conqueror’s Promise), Isonei was a spoiled brat who showed promise. Will she live up to that promise? Surrounded by people with their own motives, though, perhaps a better question is, “Will she survive to her majority?”

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 363.8lbs

Updated Word Count: 2,087

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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Happy New Year

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Week 1 of 2025

Greetings all

First of all, I really dropped the ball in terms of updates in December. I missed two then had one that I didn’t send out, despite having it ready to go.

The big part is that I missed the release of Chernobog’s Wrath, the 3rd in H.Y. Gregor’s excellent Vechnoye Saga series. Get that here: amazon.com/dp/product/B0DRDYS78R.

Some of that is because I had perhaps the most family-filled holiday season I can recall, especially if I include friends and customers in that. We had our store’s birthday party on the 21st (It’ll be December 20th in 2025, so mark your calendars). Then we had an extended time with the moms, the guys, and the grandbaby, which was fun. Baking Christmas cookies with the grandbaby was a delight. Then we popped down to Fayetteville for a couple of days with good friends to celebrate the New Year.

Now, that’s no excuse for not doing my work, but during that time, I was also cranking out a bunch of words to hit a deadline, which I did. In effect, I put the family and the project ahead of updates, which shows good priorities, but not good efficiency on my part. I’ll try to do better in 2025.

In fact, next week, I will lay out some of my goals for 2025, but for today, it’s time to look back on 2024.

From a personal perspective, there was a lot of settling in to a new life here in Anthony as store owners. We spent a bunch of time, especially at the beginning of the year, figuring out our basic processes, which we’ve generally done.

We started the year with my office in the front where I could more easily help with customers, but we decided a couple of months ago, the efficiency gained with the store didn’t outweigh the efficiency gained with my own office in the back. We made that transition during December and it’s already proving valuable. I won’t be completely settled in until I build the extra shelving I have in mind for this room (basically I want to cover it in shelves), but I’m well on the way to making this space station fully operational.

2024 was not my greatest writing year, but it was a close second. I aim to beat that number handily this year.

Nevertheless, I chunked out nearly 425k this past year, counting the editing in the way I do. I didn’t actually edit as much this year, but I did put out more words than I have since I started tabulating in 2018 (227k). I had better years in 2016-2017, I believe, since I had two novels each of those years, but between 136k in The Feasting of Vengeance and 90k in paid words in gaming worlds, I’m pretty pleased.

The Feasting of Vengeance is the crown jewel, of course. It’s nearly a third of all my production during the year, it completes the Foresters trilogy subseries in the 4HU, and I’m really pleased how it turned out. It’s scheduled to be out on the 14th of February.

I edited and published an anthology (Paladins of Valor) and three novels (Responsibility of the Fleet, Reka’s Grasp, and Tugarin’s Revenge). I made up for less novels by chunking out 19 modules and magazines for GaxxWorx, a number that will go up in 2025 as we’re ramping up there.

I tried some things, notably the Riddle Patreon. I’m pleased with the riddles, but there didn’t seem to be much interest. I want to have a small revenue generation setup using either Patreon or Substack on the side to sort of fill in the cracks, and I’ll talk about my ideas for 2025 there to make that work.

I didn’t go to as many conventions as I have done in the past, mostly because I needed to focus on things here in Anthony. The store, of course, but also simply recovering from such a travel-filled 2023 where I put 45k miles on my car in part because of all the trips up and down during the move. I’ll do more events in 2025, which I’ll expand on next week.

For now, though, remember I’m the Toastmaster of ChattaCon 50. You want to be there. And you especially want to be there for opening ceremonies. Trust me.

Finally, the other big thing I did in 2024 was get involved in the Chamber of Commerce. I’m not the executive director of the Chamber, which means I’ll be running a number of events in 2025, including BalloonFest, which will happen May 10th. I’ll lay out the current plans next week as well.

Over the entirety of my time as a writer there’s always been something major changing my life. I moved 3 times, dealt with the pandemic, started businesses, had my workspace change often, and so on. By the end of 2024, I’m in a place where I think I’ll have a relatively stable foundation for a while.

I put out something like 75k of those words in 2024 in the last two months, and that’s a reflection of finally settling in, at least to a part. If I were to do 75k every 2 months, I’d end up with nearly a million words in a year. I doubt that’ll happen, but we’ll see 🙂

In any case, 2024 was a busy, productive, and eventful year. I’m glad you all were here on the ride with me. Let’s all have a great 2025.

What I’m Listening To

Where’s My Thing? Part IV of the Gangster of Boats Trilogy. It’s another of the great Rush instrumentals like YYZ, Malignant Narcissism, and Main Monkey Business. Basically, they’re opportunities for Rush to play around and do cool things.

Quote of the Week

Instead of a normal quote, I’ll just put this here which I saw on X.

2025 is clearly the year where it’s hip to be square.

2025
2025

 

 

Dragon’s Tidings

We’ll talk about our 2025 plans soon, so in the meantime, check our website (www.reddragonquilts.com)!

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)

Upcoming Events

New Releases

This week we have Chernobog’s Wrath, the 3rd in H.Y. Gregor’s excellent Vechnoye Saga series. Get that here: amazon.com/dp/product/B0DRDYS78R.

Your pre-release this week is from Fred Hughes, as this week’s pre-release is Hero’s Shadow, the second book in his Heroes of Britannia series. Admiral Julie Adams has been tasked with ending the Teddy Bear problem, but it won’t be as simple as she—or anyone else—might like! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DRZ6WBB3.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 368.2lbs

Updated Word Count: 1,183

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Moving Pictures

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Week 49 of 2024

Greetings all

I spent most of this week moving! Well, moving my office from the front of the store to a room in the apartment on the main floor. It’s ideal for me, big enough for my desk, bookcases, my comfy chair, and a guest bed.

So yes, I was moving pictures. Did you think I wouldn’t make that reference?

I’m already nesting. It is much like the room I had in Olathe, with its own bathroom and a small kitchenette. Only difference is that it’s a bit bigger and is shaped in a more convenient way. It will also serve as the best jumping off point for events that I’ve ever had.

I’m really pleased.

It’s also already my lair, something I hadn’t realized I missed so much. I had a great setup up front, but it was never my lair.

Anyway, moving is never easy, but thanks to one of the guys whose been gaming here on Tuesday, we got the big stuff all moved on Sunday and at this point, I’m effectively fully operational. I still have some organizing to do, but to be honest, some of that organizing is from the original move here.

I have my SF/F magazines behind me and a good place to sit and read. I may very well start nibbling away at my To Be Read pile.

Obviously, I’m still enthused about sending The Feasting of Vengeance to Chris last week. As a reminder, it’s on the schedule for the 14th of February.

But of course, publish or perish, and I spent my time this week working on a fairly major project for Okkorim. I can’t wait to show off what we’re doing, and we’re gonna have it by GaryCon.

As we approach the end of the year, I’m doing my evaluation of what worked and what didn’t. I’m also figuring out some new things to add to my content. I’m a content creator, I need to create more content. Expect some announcements going forward.

I also spent this week getting ready for Kris Kinder. Hope to see some of you there.

But forget all that! We’re coming up on our first birthday party here at Red Dragon Quilts and Dragon’s Den Books! If you’re in the area, come by. We’ll have specials like buy one, get one used books, pizza, and some giveaways.

It’s a week from Saturday on the 21st! Come join us!

Birthday Party
Birthday Party

What I’m Listening To

Niners vs Rams in the new setup. It’s nice.

Quote of the Week

Mako’s birthday is December 10th. That’s close enough for me to use as a quote his opening to Conan the Barbarian. Yes, it’s one of my favorite films, and yes I love Mako in it.

Come to think of it, I can’t remember a single time I’ve seen Mako in a show or movie that he didn’t make it better.

“Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to bear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!”

– Akiro the Wizard in Conan the Barbarian

Dragon’s Tidings

Birthday Party, December 21st, Anthony, KS

Also, check our website (www.reddragonquilts.com)!

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
  • Okkorim Sourcebook (2,974)

Upcoming Events

  • Kris Kinder, December 14, Kansas City, Mo
  • Red Dragon Anniversary Party, December 21, Anthony, KS
  • ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN
    chattacon.org/
    I’m the Toastmaster!
  • FenCon, February 14-16, Dallas, TX
    fencon.org/
  • Gulf Wars, March 8-16, Lumberton, MS
    gulfwars.org/
  • GaryCon, March 20-23, Lake Geneva, WI
    garycon.com/
  • LibertyCon, June 20-22, Chattanooga, TN
    libertycon.org/
  • Pennsic War, July 25 – August 10, Slippery Rock, PA
    pennsicwar.org/

New Releases

This week we have The Darkness, the second book in William S. Frisbee, Jr.’s series, The Conglomerate Trilogy. Did you like the Last Marines? Then you’re going to love this series! Bad things lurk in the darkness, and they aren’t going to be content to stay there much longer. Luke is going to need a lot of help if he’s to keep the darkness at bay… so what is he going to do when Topa Suresh suddenly disappears? Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DPL2BDNR.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 364.8 lbs

Updated Word Count: 392,000

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Lots of Feasting

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Week 49 of 2024

Greetings all

First, sorry about no update last week. I simply didn’t have time. I was too busy feasting!

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We did, by going up to Wichita to visit the parents, feasting, and then napping.

After napping, I continued working on The Feasting of Vengeance. On the 14th of November, I reported here that I sat at 96,101 words. Over the next three weeks, I wrote 40k, ending up at about 136k.

Nearly all of that 40k was the final battle of Feasting, and I am beyond happy to report that I sent off the manuscript to Chris yesterday. This battle is tough, intense, exciting, and explosive. I loved re-reading it during the editing process.

We even have a planned release date of February 14th. Better yet, that happens to be the first day of FenCon, in Dallas!

So we’re having a 4HU party there, and if you’re coming to the con, make sure to join myself, Kevin Ikenberry, Fred Hughes, and hopefully other 4HU authors there.

This past weekend was also Anthony’s Market Fair, which I ended up running. It went reasonably well, but was exhausting.

Over this week, besides a bit of recovery, I’m turning my attention to Okkorim and maybe churning out a whimsical short story for Christmas.

Also going on, of course, is the upcoming release of Chernobog’s Wrath, which is the 3rd book of the Vechnoye Saga trilogy. That comes out on December 27th.

But  you can’t enjoy book 3 without feasting on the first 2! Get the Vechnoye Saga here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4F2K5N.

Have a great week everyone!

What I’m Listening To

We’re binging Hercule Poirot with David Suchon this week.

Quote of the Week

Happy birthday to Walt Disney! Here’s a great quote from him, one of quite a few.

“Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.”
– Walt Disney

Dragon’s Tidings

We have our 1st birthday party coming up on December 21st!

Watch this spot for an extra special web deal for all you who’ve been along with the ride here.

Also, check our website (www.reddragonquilts.com)!

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)

Upcoming Events

  • Kris Kinder, December 14, Kansas City, Mo
  • Red Dragon Anniversary Party, December 21, Anthony, KS
  • ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN
    chattacon.org/
    I’m the Toastmaster!
  • FenCon, February 14-16, Dallas, TX
    fencon.org/
  • Gulf Wars, March 8-16, Lumberton, MS
    gulfwars.org/
  • GaryCon, March 20-23, Lake Geneva, WI
    garycon.com/
  • LibertyCon, June 20-22, Chattanooga, TN
    libertycon.org/
  • Pennsic War, July 25 – August 10, Slippery Rock, PA
    pennsicwar.org/

New Releases

This week’s release is the anthology Express Elevator to Hell, edited by Chris Kennedy and April Kelley Jones, with stories by 15 different (and amazing) authors. This is the first book in a new series called Universes at War, and I’m pretty proud of the stories we collected for you. There are eleven standalone stories (set usually in the authors’ own universes), as well as a 4-story braided novella. Inside you get a Buzzer War story from Kevin Ikenberry, a Prince of Britannia story from Fred Hughes, a Lost Marine story from William S. Frisbee, and much, much more! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DMCQS1TL.

This week’s pre-release is The Darkness, the second book in William S. Frisbee, Jr.’s series, The Conglomerate Trilogy. Did you like the Last Marines? Then you’re going to love this series! Bad things lurk in the darkness, and they aren’t going to be content to stay there much longer. Luke is going to need a lot of help if he’s to keep the darkness at bay… so what is he going to do when Topa Suresh suddenly disappears? Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DPL2BDNR.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 363.8lbs

Updated Word Count: 391,000

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: What a Week!

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Week 48 of 2024

Greetings all

Tugarin's Revenge
Tugarin’s Revenge

Just a few hours until book 2 of the amazing Vechnoye Saga comes out. It’s Tugarin’s Revenge by H.Y. Gregor has a really cool by Alexandre Rito as you can see.

And you can get it a little early here: amazon.com/dp/B0DNLDK58K.

Then, on December 27th, you’ll get Chernobog’s Wrath to complete the series!

Exciting stuff!

As exciting to me is the progress I made on The Feasting of Vengeance. I made a post on X (@Rhodri2112) that writing is so much fun if you know what you’re writing. That was after a 3,000 word day, which is a lot for me.

Well, it’s not been the only 3k day this week, and overall I went from 96k to almost 111k.

And that’s not all. I edited a bunch of it too. I do, basically, two editing passes. One is the churn pass where I go back over what I’ve written with the aim of improving, expanding, and filling in gaps. This isn’t really a pass, per se, but a number of smaller passes along the way that end up as a full edit.

At this point, I’ve edited all the way up to 106k on The Feasting of Vengeance. Basically, I’m writing one day, editing it the next, which is feeding the new writing. This is why things are going fast.

This is also the sort of thing that happens when I get close to the end. I don’t have to deal with the mystery or intrigue, I don’t have to worry about getting the characters from A to Z, I just have to make a great fight and conclusion.

But wait, there’s more! My main final editing pass is what I call bediting. Basically, it means I’ve lain in bed reading the work on my phone in the Kindle app. I’ve found that reading the book this way is incredibly good for me to see mistakes. This isn’t to say I don’t miss some, of course I do, but this has proven to be very useful. At this point, I’ve bedited up to 91k with maybe a chapter or two more later on.

In short, I’m aiming to send this off to Chris so I can enjoy Thanksgiving, and I think I will.

I’ll let you know in next week’s update, and also I’ll be talking about it at Anthony’s Market Fair, which is a week from tomorrow.

Then, after that, I jump into a new project in Okkorim. Oh, speaking of which, it looks like I’ll be running an Okkorim thing at FenCon in February in Dallas.

Oh, wait, did I forget to mention I’m got everything set up to go to that con as well this week? Oh, and we’re announcing our anniversary party one month from today!

I mean, look at that upcoming event list below. I’ll be everywhere, man. I’ll be everywhere.

I hope you all had a great week too, but for now, I’ve got a battle to finish. Have fun everyone!

What I’m Listening To

Browns v. Steelers. I have to admit, AFC North games are often old school, especially on snowy, cold nights.

Quote of the Week

This is kind of a fun day for science, with Ole Rømer presenting the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light (XXX), Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes making the first untethered hot air balloon flight (1783), and Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph (1877).

But wait, there’s more. Albert Einstein’s paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik (1905).

And oh yeah, the first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI (1969).

And it’s the birthday of Stan Musial and Ken Griffey Jr., Christopher Tolkien, Harold Ramis, two Hall of Fame quarterbacks (Sid Luckman and Troy Aikman) and a Hall of Fame quarterback chaser (Michael Strahan). Plus, of course, the source of today’s quote, Voltaire.

Seriously, November 21, leave something for the other days.

Anyway, here’s some great advice from Voltaire.

The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.
– Voltaire .

Dragon’s Tidings

Market Fair on the 30th.

Also, check our website (www.reddragonquilts.com)!

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
  • The Feasting of Vengeance (110,811)

Upcoming Events

  • Market Faire, November 30, Anthony, KS
  • Kris Kinder, December 14, Kansas City, Mo
  • Red Dragon Anniversary Party, December 21, Anthony, KS
  • ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN
    chattacon.org/
    I’m the Toastmaster!
  • FenCon, February 14-16, Dallas, TX
    fencon.org/
  • Gulf Wars, March 8-16, Lumberton, MS
    gulfwars.org/
  • GaryCon, March 20-23, Lake Geneva, WI
    garycon.com/
  • LibertyCon, June 20-22, Chattanooga, TN
    libertycon.org/
  • Pennsic War, July 25 – August 10, Slippery Rock, PA
    pennsicwar.org/

New Releases

This week we have Tangled Webs by Mark Wandrey, the fifteenth book in the Phoenix Initiative series of the Four Horsemen universe. This story follows Oort, the Tortantula, so you may want to review Weaver and Winged Hussars. You don’t have to, though—the story is fine as a standalone. And, as with the last couple of books, there is a lot of new information in this, with more and more coming as we approach Exodus, the final series in the 4HU.

Your pre-release this week is Tugarin’s Revenge by H.Y. Gregor. This is book 2 of the amazing Vechnoye Saga and you can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DNLDK58K.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 364.8lbs

Updated Word Count: 250,653

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: New Frontiers

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Week 47 of 2024

Greetings all

Tugarin's Revenge
Tugarin’s Revenge

It’s just a week until we get the 2nd book of the  amazing Vechnoye Saga. It’s Tugarin’s Revenge by H.Y. Gregor has an amazing cover by Alexandre Rito as you can see.

Then, on December 27th, you’ll get Chernobog’s Wrath to complete the series!

It’s been a very productive week with The Feasting of Vengeance. The overall word count won’t necessarily show it, given that it’s at only about 96K, but I’m in what I call the pressing of the toothpaste tube and bediting stage.

By pressing of the toothpaste tube, I mean I go back through and make a full editing pass from the start. This obviously clears out some deadwood, but I also see a bunch of stuff that needs to be there for the final battle.

Once a chapter is done, I can do a bediting pass, which has become my final pass. Right now, I’m about 90% done with the toothpaste tube pass and 50% done with the bediting pass, meaning I’ve got about half the book in its final form.

I still have a bunch to write in the last battle yet. One of the reason I do the editing pass now is to make sure I fire all the guns I put into earlier acts. In a MilSF book, that’s almost literal, as I put in various weapons for them to fight with and have to make sure they all get used.

Still, I can see the far side of the hill now, which is exciting.

What I’m Listening To

In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel. I love this song, especially the tumbling along of the chorus. Brilliant stuff.

Quote of the Week

Happy birthday to Frederick Jackson Turner. If you’ve taken a historiography class, you know exactly who I’m talking about and why we talked about him. He was one of the foundational historians of American history. He posited the “frontier thesis,” or the idea that the frontier shaped America, in 1893.

As with any historical theory from 130 years ago, it’s been argued, rebutted, and in general fallen out of favor. Nevertheless, he shaped much of the discussion in the latter half of the 20th century and is still relevant in the background today.

“The frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history.”
– Frederick Jackson Turner

Dragon’s Tidings

Come see us at Market Fair. We’ll have a booth in Municipal Hall on November 30th along with a bunch of cool crafters!

New Mythology Works in Progress

Tugarin’s Revenge, book 2 of the amazing Vechnoye Saga by H.Y. Gregor has an amazing cover by Alexandre Rito as you can see. It’s out on November 22nd!

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
  • The Feasting of Vengeance (96,101)

Upcoming Events

  • Market Faire, November 30, Anthony, KS
  • Kris Kinder, December 14, Kansas City, Mo
  • ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN
    chattacon.org/
    I’m the Toastmaster!
  • Gulf Wars, March 8-16, Lumberton, MS
    gulfwars.org/
  • LibertyCon, June 20-22, Chattanooga, TN
    libertycon.org/
  • Pennsic War, July 25 – August 10, Slippery Rock, PA
    pennsicwar.org/

New Releases

This week we have Salvage Harbinger, the second book in the Salvage Title Universe’s new series, The Invasion. Like the first book, it was written by Nick Steverson and Jason Cordova, so you know it’s going to be a great read (and that the body count is also probably going to be pretty high.) Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DM4DHSMQ.

And don’t forget Reka’s Grasp! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4.

Your pre-release this week is Tangled Webs by Mark Wandrey, the fifteenth book in the Phoenix Initiative series of the Four Horsemen universe. This story follows Oort, the Tortantula, so you may want to review Weaver and Winged Hussars. You don’t have to, though—the story is fine as a standalone. And, as with the last couple of books, there is a lot of new information in this, with more and more coming as we approach Exodus, the final series in the 4HU.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 360.8lbs

Updated Word Count: 244,000

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Veteran’s Day Soon

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Week 46 of 2024

Greetings all

My grandfather served in WW1, so Veteran’s Day resonates with me not just for the remembrance of those who died serving the country, but also remembering the Great War. 11/11 is a few days from now, and I’ll have thoughts as I always do.

Tugarin's Revenge
Tugarin’s Revenge

Moving on, it’s time for a cover reveal! Tugarin’s Revenge, book 2 of the amazing Vechnoye Saga by H.Y. Gregor has an amazing cover by Alexandre Rito as you can see.

This book comes out on November 22nd, so about two weeks. Then, on December 27th, you’ll get Chernobog’s Wrath to complete the series!

I had a good week of progress on The Feasting of Vengeance. I’m getting close now, sitting at nearly 93k. I’m in the final battle, which is large sprawling, and a whole lotta fun. I’ve also got to go back and clear up a number of rough spots and various notes, but I’m getting there.

Elsewise this week, I had an interesting time popping down to Stillwater, OK to hang out with a guy in my fantasy football. I started that league with some people I knew but also with a number of internet friends. At this point, I’ve now met nearly all of them, which I think adds to the fun of the league.

As a side note, this league has been really interesting, unlike many fantasy football leagues. To be fair, I created it, which means I shaped it the way I want it. It’s highly complex, using more players than any other league I’ve seen and with more categories that any other league I’ve seen. It also has a large number of keepers, which are players you get to keep from year to year. I like all these things, so it suits me well. I also like that we’ve had a different winner, I think, every one of the seven or so years it’s been around.

Back to the trip, we met at Eskimo Joe’s, which is a bit of a local legend down there. I got matching sweatshirts for me and the wife. How romantic am I?

Note some new additions to my upcoming schedule below. I extended it out to Pennsic, but the key thing to note is that I’m set to go to Gulf Wars again in 2025! I hope to see a bunch of you there.

With that, I’ll say goodnight as I just thought of a scene to write.

What I’m Listening To

Bengals against the Ravens. Lots of interesting players to watch in this one!

Quote of the Week

Happy birthday to Guy Gavriel Kay, a great writer and a major influence on my writing. Here, he espouses one of the tenets I aspire to in my own stuff.

“After a while, you start to realize that you should write a book you would want to read. I try to write a book I would enjoy.”
– Guy Gavriel Kay

New Mythology Works in Progress

Tugarin's Revenge
Tugarin’s Revenge

Tugarin’s Revenge, book 2 of the amazing Vechnoye Saga by H.Y. Gregor has an amazing cover by Alexandre Rito as you can see. It’s out on November 22nd!

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
  • The Feasting of Vengeance (92,799)

Upcoming Events

  • Market Faire, November 30, Anthony, KS
  • Kris Kinder, December 14, Kansas City, Mo
  • ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN
    chattacon.org/
    I’m the Toastmaster!
  • Gulf Wars, March 8-16, Lumberton, MS
    gulfwars.org/
  • LibertyCon, June 20-22, Chattanooga, TN
    libertycon.org/
  • Pennsic War, July 25 – August 10, Slippery Rock, PA
    pennsicwar.org/

New Releases

This week we have Shadow Wired: Alliance by Gustavo Bondoni, the third book in his Shadow Wired series. This has been one of my surprise series of the year—some series have good individual books but not a good finish and vice versa. Not Shadow Wired! Each individual book is a great story, and all three lead up to a great finish to the trilogy. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DLBWJRYP.

This week’s pre-release is Salvage Harbinger, the second book in the Salvage Title Universe’s new series, The Invasion. Like the first book, it was written by Nick Steverson and Jason Cordova, so you know it’s going to be a great read (and that the body count is also probably going to be pretty high.) Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DM4DHSMQ.

And don’t forget Reka’s Grasp! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4.

Your pre-release this week is

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 362.4lbs

Updated Word Count: 243,000

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Happy Halloween!

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Week 45 of 2024

Greetings all

I hope everyone is having a happy Halloween. The grandbaby’s getting loot right now and will be in a costume contest in a bit. She’s adorable.

I, of course, RAWRed at her. I am Opazilla!

Before I get into the update, here’s a shout out to all at FactoryCon! Wish I could be there.

This was a week of errands for me, so was less productive than normal, but it was to be expected. One of those errands involved running up to Iowa and back in sort of a Smokey and the Bandit kind of thing. It’s a good thing, though, that helps us all out through the year.

Reka's Grasp
Reka’s Grasp

We’ve had a great couple of opening weeks with H.Y. Gregor’s Reka’s Grasp, which you can get here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4. It’s a fantastic book and I’m honored to be a part of it, and in fact, a part of Jon R. Osborne’s excellent Milesian Accords universe.

The best part of it all right now is we’ve just about got Tugarin’s Revenge in the can! Yep, this is book 2 of the Vechnoye Saga and it comes out in three weeks.

Stay tuned next week for a cover reveal.

But wait, there’s more! Chernobog’s Wrath, the conclusion to the Vechnoye Saga comes out on December 27th. It’s like an extension to Boxing Day.

Side note: Does anyone really know what Boxing Day is? Sure, I could look it up, but what’s the fun in that. You all tell me, because I’m curious.

Oh, and there’s even more! I just got House of Owls, the 6th book in the main thread of the Milesian Accords from Jon this week so it’s in the pipeline.

All the magic, myth, and mayhem you could ever want over the next few months!

Anyway, we’re about to roll into the holiday season and I’ll be honest, it’s been a long time since I looked forward to a holiday season as much as this one. Last year, the grandbaby and parents hadn’t yet moved to Anthony, so while we had some great times, it was only when they could come visit.

This year, however, I’m getting to be a part of it all on a daily basis. Best thing ever, I have to say.

What I’m Listening To

Tool’s cover of Led Zeppelin’s No Quarter. This is such a great song, and Tool’s version is even darker than the original. Fantastic stuff.

Quote of the Week

October 31st also happens to be the birthday of one of my favorite authors, Dick Francis. He had quite a life, becoming a pilot in the RAF during WW2 and a champion steeplechase jockey before earning status as one of the best mystery writers ever.

By the way, if anyone wants to give me a few thousand dollars so I can go to the Cheltenham Festival some day, I’ll let you. I’ve not actually seen a steeplechase race live and it’s one of those things you need to see from close up.

Anyway, here’s a great quote from The Edge, one of Francis’ best where an investigator for the Jockey Club goes undercover on a train traveling across Canada.

“Thought before action, if you have time”
– Dick Francis, The Edge

Dragon’s Tidings

Quilt Guild day on Saturday. Show your guild membership card for 10% and get cookies!

New Mythology Works in Progress

Reka’s Grasp is out. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4.

Tugarin’s Revenge is out on November 22nd.

Chernobog’s Wrath on December 27th.

It’s going to be epic.

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • The Feasting of Vengeance (87,339)

Upcoming Events

  • Market Faire, November 30, Anthony, KS
  • Kris Kinder, December 14, Kansas City, Mo
  • ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN
    chattacon.org/
    I’m the Toastmaster!

New Releases

This week we have a new (old) series from William S. Frisbee, Jr., the Conglomerate Trilogy. It’s a previously released series but with new edits, new art, and new awesomeness. If you liked The Last Marines series, you’ll love The Return, first book in the series. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DKP5V9MT.

This week’s pre-release is Shadow Wired: Alliance by Gustavo Bondoni, the third book in his Shadow Wired series. This has been one of my surprise series of the year—some series have good individual books but not a good finish and vice versa. Not Shadow Wired! Each individual book is a great story, and all three lead up to a great finish to the trilogy. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DLBWJRYP.

And don’t forget Reka’s Grasp! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 364.2lbs

Updated Word Count: 242,000

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Reka In Your Grasp!

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Week 43 of 2024

Greetings all

This week is all about the release of Reka’s Grasp, which comes out tomorrow! However, that’s the official date. For subscribers, you can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4.

Reka's Grasp
Reka’s Grasp

The devil lies in still waters.

Grad school applications are Nikita Baird’s biggest problem—until a friend dies in her arms after a sinister accident. Rusalka and Baba Yaga were just fairy tales—until they aren’t. Soon Niki can’t deny the truth. Something inhuman lurks in the river.  

Worse, her own roommate just might be the killer.

Ryan Fortner, Crypto Division, works alone since his partner died on their last case together. Now he needs Niki’s help, even if he doesn’t want it. Together they plunge into a realm of shrouded histories, dredging up more than just folklore.

Niki and Ryan must navigate the currents of myth, tragedy, and redemption to stop the drownings—before the river’s grasp can’t be broken.

Be prepared for me to blast that out on Facebook and Twitter, along with having a link for it next week here in this space. H.Y. Gregor knocked this out of the park, and it’s a worthy addition to the already awesome Milesian Accords universe created by Jon R. Osborne.

For me, this was a week of getting things done. I made good progress on The Feasting of Vengeance, though it’s one of those weeks that the total didn’t really rise because I realized a chunk just didn’t work and cut it out. I wrote a new chunk, a better chunk, to replace it though.

We also had two days of errands this week. One was a fairly normal Wichita go to all the places thing, but the other was to deal with maintenance of our big quilting machine. It needed the work and the closest place is Hennessey, OK, which is about an hour and a half away.

The wife and I took this time to do the trip together, and we did a number of other errands. One of those was replacing my phone. I had a Note 9 from 2017 or so and I’d have kept using it except it was getting really difficult to charge. I’m still dealing with the frustrations of “improved technology.” It’s an S24 Ultra, for those who’re interested.

Anyway, I’ve still got things to do for the RedFish festival, so I’m off!

Remember, Reka’s Grasp is awesome!

What I’m Listening To

Losing It, by Rush. This is a truly amazing elegy about people who were once brilliant at something, but age has taken away some of their skill.

Here’s a particularly relevant lyric to me now:

The writer stares with glassy eyes —
Defies the empty page,
His beard is white, his face is lined
And streaked with tears of rage.

Thirty years ago, how the words would flow
With passion and precision,
But now his mind is dark and dulled
By sickness and indecision

And he stares out the kitchen door
Where the sun will rise no more…

Whoof. The song came out on Signals in 1981. Me in junior high didn’t really grok that song, but now, it really resonates.

Quote of the Week

I might as well give the closing quote from Losing It. It’s too powerful not to include it.

Sadder still to watch it die
Than never to have known it
For you — the blind who once could see —
The bell tolls for thee…
– Rush, Losing It

Dragon’s Tidings

We’ll be at the RedFish Festival in Harper on Saturday!

New Mythology Works in Progress

Reka’s Grasp is out. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4.

Tugarin’s Revenge is out on November 22nd.

Chernobog’s Wrath on December 27th.

It’s going to be epic.

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • The Feasting of Vengeance (82,009)

Upcoming Events

  • Market Faire, November 30, Anthony, KS
  • Kris Kinder, December 14, Kansas City, Mo
  • ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN
    chattacon.org/
    I’m the Toastmaster!

New Releases

This week’s release is Shadow-Wired: Doomsday, the second book in Gustavo Bondoni’s Shadow Wired series. Do you like non-stop action in a techno-thriller? If so, this book—and this series—is for you! This series left me saying, “Give me more Gustavo!” and has caused a number of our early readers a lot of lost sleep as they just couldn’t put it down! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DJQB6V69.

Your pre-release this week is Reka’s Grasp! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DK4JWFL4.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 360lbs

Updated Word Count: 237,000

Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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

Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe