Rob’s Update: The Excalispork

Week 4 of 2021

Greetings all

Sorry about not posting last week. I’ve been under the weather since ChattaCon. My turn in the Covid box, which I’ve long expected. To be frank, it wasn’t bad for me, just draining. I’m certainly on the mend now.

I did manage to get the base manuscript for Keen Edge of Valor complete and sent off to the editor. That will be released at FantaSci, and to ensure we have print copies there, we needed it done early. Which it is.

I’ve been working on Deadly Fortune, by Aaron Rosenberg. Due to some need to shift things around, this will be the next Eldros Legacy novel. It’s set in Shijuren (my continent), and it involves piracy, murder, treachery, intrigue, and all sorts of great things like that. To coin a phrase: “Killed by pirates is good.”

Side note: we watched Princess Bride over the holidays again. It’s been a month and I’m still basking in the great quotes, as you can see.

I haven’t really had a chance to do much writing and it’s been gnawing at me. The good news is that once I get my portion of Deadly Fortune and Keen Edge of Valor done, I have February basically open for writing. I do owe a short story by the end of the month, but I will get bunches done in the The Door Into Winter too.

I had planned to do a full ChattaCon AAR, but there isn’t much to discuss. The con organizers did all they could and worked their tails off, but attendance was down. No panel was particularly well attended that I saw. Again, not the fault of the organizers.

I had one panel go really well, and that’s the Iron Writing Panel, which was basically a Whose Line style story creation thing where I kept adding/changing characters and settings and events. Quite fun. Long live the Excalispork!

That will be among the cards in the next version of this game.

Also, part of why I don’t have much to say is that I left early to get ahead of the weather. I’m really glad I did as I had smooth sailing, which wouldn’t have happened had I stayed throughout.

I’m glad I went, especially since I got to hang out more with William Joseph Roberts. He’s a smart man who’s doing real cool things.

Anyway, I think it’s time for me to edit.

What I’m Listening To

Not surprising, but since I was sick and not able to focus on work, I’ve been watching Rush concerts and documentaries, so it’s the current thing on the playlist. I’m mostly listening to it in whole album chunks and I’m currently on Power Windows. Like always, I hear one of Rush’s albums and two things happen. One, I remember just how good that album was especially since I always hear some intricacy I hadn’t heard before. Two, I remember that particular time in my life in sharper focus. Every new Rush album marked my life like signposts.

Quote of the Week

Fifty-five years since the mission that never flew, Apollo 1.

“If we die, we want people to accept it. We’re in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.”
– Gus Grissom

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
https://www.sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show includes an interview with Craig Martelle of 20Books and IASFA.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

We’re doing some consolidation of the process right now, meaning there will be some special things happening in February. I’ll talk more about that soon.

Khyven the Unkillable is here: amazon.com/dp/B09N288DCC

Seeds of Dominion is here: amazon.com/dp/B09PK1QYDY/

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on Keen Edge of Valor for release at FantaSci.

Giveaways

Lots this week because I missed last week.

Sci-Fi Generation
Sci-Fi Generation

Sci-Fi Generation

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/bd544624-6341-11ec-bae8-9fe13dd3b276

Warriors for Good
Warriors for Good

Warriors for Good

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/1b13bb6a-1418-11ec-9a16-9f45996aea4e

Start the year with an adventure
Start the year with an adventure

Start the year with an adventure

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/4f277d00-693c-11ec-81b9-7fb7fa4bcdef

January Sci-Fi Giveaway
January Sci-Fi Giveaway

January Sci-Fi Giveaway

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/e9d06e20-63fb-11ec-a3ca-8bb708dff2d2

Unlimited Reading
Unlimited Reading

Unlimited Reading

books.bookfunnel.com/unlimitedreading/cp9vd3wqhr

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (74,029)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

Two new releases this week, mostly because I didn’t do one last week. The first is A Rupture In Time by Mike Jack Stoumbos, the second of the This Fine Crew series. You can find it here: amazon.com/dp/B09QPJJ7XC.

Next is The Magnetar by Jo Boone. This is the first in the Combined Service series. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09QC78PLJ.

By the way, these are two recent additions to the CKP stable. Chris is always keeping an eye out for you guys. You want good stories and he wants to give them to you, and here is proof.

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 318.2 (Not a typo. I was already trending down a bit and then I got sick and haven’t eaten much. Not ideal to lose that much that fast, and I expect it will creep up some in the next weeks, but it’s still exciting to be under 320)

Updated Word Count: 3,696

Eldros Legacy Archives: 813 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Chattacon Schedule

Wow, I have a great schedule for Chattacon this year!

Friday

5-6pm: When to Argue with an Editor (Wisdom Boardroom)
7-8pm: Websites: References and Tools for Writers (Vision C)
8-10pm: Iron Storyteller (Vision A)

Saturday

12-2pm: Chris Kennedy Book Tour (Vision A)
3-4pm: Ultimate What IF Party (Vision B)
6-7pm: The Art & Craft of Anthology Curation (Vision C)

Sunday

11-12pm: Publishing: Self, Small Press, or Agent (Wisdom Boardroom)
12-1pm: Book Signing (Motivation Meeting Room)

I hope you all come by and join me.

Rob’s Update: Passing of the Runelord

Week 2 of 2021

Greetings all

Today brings sad news. David Farland was a legend in the realms of fantasy, with his Runelord series one I loved. He passed away today and all of us at New Mythology Press send our condolences to his family. He was one of the giants upon whose shoulders we stood.

Sigh. I’m of the age where friends and acquaintances pass with awful regularity. It’s the way of life, of course, but I was especially hoping that soon I’d be able to learn from David. I have a number of friends who he mentored and hoped to add myself to that list.

This week I’m in Chattanooga at Chattacon. I have a fairly busy schedule, which I’ll post in a separate blog post tomorrow to make it easy for me to find when I forget where I’m supposed to be.

I made progress in The Door Into Winter this week. Only about 5000 words, but much of that is because I edited a bunch of my notes out. Often, anymore, I’ll make a note that I need to do something and continue onward. This character needs a name, make sure I put the revolver in act 3 in act 1, that sort of thing. By doing this, I get the main thoughts out without always getting bogged down in details, but every so often I have to clear up all those details.

I did take time off this past Monday to watch the CFP Playoff Game. This is just a guess, but I have a sneaking suspicion Kevin Steverson will want to discuss that game on the next Dudes in Hyperspace podcast, which we’ll record next week. We’ll also have Craig Martelle of 20Booksto50K and IASFA fame joining us.

Well, I’m in Chattanooga now. I guess it’s time to go schmooze. I suspect more than a few beverages will be raised in David’s honor.

What I’m Listening To

My normal work mp3 list, which is currently Midnight Rider by the Allman Brothers. I’m in Tennessee, so maybe I should just have a Southern Fried Rock weekend.

Quote of the Week

Today’s quote is from David Farland, who encapsulates my philosophy about writing and publishing here.

“I’d like to emphasize that when a reader finishes a great novel, he will immediately begin looking for another. If someone loves your book, it increases the chance that he or she will look at mine. So there is no competition between writers. Another writer’s success helps build a larger readership for all of us.”

– David Farland

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show includes an interview with Bob Sturm of the Athletic and 1310 the Ticket in Dallas/Fort Worth. We talk about the NFL playoffs, which start this weekend.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Seeds of Dominion is still the new hotness. You can find it here: amazon.com/dp/B09PK1QYDY.

Currently, the plan for February is to shore up the foundation and make sure we’ve got all our processes worked out. Hence, we’ll have a number of interesting announcements along the way.

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on The Keen Edge of Valor, which will come out at FantaSci in March.

Giveaways

One thing I like about these giveaways are the cool images they create for banners and I think this might be my favorite one yet. But then, I’ve always liked blue.

New Year New Books
New Year New Books

New Year New Books

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/83bfa224-5490-11ec-9670-d7d28aa2a33a

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (75,912)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

This week is another 4HU novel, Tempest Rage by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy. It’s not just any 4HU novel, though, but rather the conclusion of the epic Guild Wars series after 17 books. See what’s all the rage at: amazon.com/dp/B09PV4B3TX.

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 331.2

Updated Word Count: 2716

Eldros Legacy Archives: 813 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Seeds are Sown

Week 1 of 2022

Greetings all

Seeds of Dominion is out! This is the second Eldros Legacy novel and it’s by Quincy J. Allen. It covers events in Daemanon, the continent that Quincy created, and it stars Rellen of Corsia, who has already appeared in a couple of anthologies, When Valor Must Hold and Songs of Valor.

In my opinion, this is the best thing Quincy’s ever written, and if you’ve read his other stuff, you know that’s saying something.

You may have noticed that Seeds of Dominion is Book One of the Legacy of Deceit while Khyven the Unkillable Book One of the Legacy of Shadows. There are five continents on Eldros, and each of the five continents have their stories to tell at the start. If you would like an analogy, think of Marvel with separate stories involving Ironman, Hulk, Thor, and all the others.

We did this, by the way, not simply because the stories demand it, but also because when we really get going, we want to make sure readers know in what order to read all the books.

Major progress this week in The Keen Edge of Valor. I’ll be announcing the list of authors at Chattacon next week in the Chris Kennedy Publishing Year Ahead panel, which happens on Saturday at noon. I’ll post that list the week after.

I will say that I’m blessed to get to work with some of the best in the business.

I made some progress in The Door Into Winter, though I’ll freely admit I didn’t do as much over the holiday weekend as I should have. We got a new reclining loveseat this past weekend. There were bowl games, including the CFP semifinals, plus the NFL. I may have gotten distracted.

I also did my 2021 AAR, which you can find here: robhowell.org/blog/?p=2523.

Next week will be a little off-kilter, in terms of posting online because, as I mentioned, I’m going to Chattacon. I have a great schedule lined up, which I’ll post next Thursday.

What I’m Listening To

Xanadu by Rush. Because of course I am.

Quote of the Week

Like us all, I’m mourning the passing of Betty White. This is, I think, a fitting quote on the topic.

“People have told me, ‘Betty, Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with old friends.’ At my age, if I wanted to keep in touch with old friends, I’d need a Ouija board.”
– Betty White

Now where’s my Ouija board. “Hey, Betty, I need some help…”

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
https://www.sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show is our holiday episode and includes an interview with a member of the USO.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy
Seeds of Dominion
Seeds of Dominion

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Seeds of Dominion is out! You can get it here:amazon.com/dp/B09PK1QYDY.

Don’t forget to leave reviews and like the reviews that you found helpful.

If you haven’t already, please do the same for Todd Fahnestock’s Khyven the Unkillable, which is here: amazon.co.uk/dp/B09N288DCC.

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on The Keen Edge of Valor, which will come out at FantaSci. I’ll make the full announcement of the author list at Chattacon.

Giveaways
Adventure-Action-Intrigue

Adventure-Action-Intrigue

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/4b5c160a-59c8-11ec-935c-77d1c581f5d8

Free Fantasy and Science Fiction
Free Fantasy and Science Fiction

Free Fantasy and Science Fiction

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/d3f41fc2-538c-11ec-949a-23f5e84cb858

The Neighbor You Don't Know
The Neighbor You Don’t Know

And we’re trying something new here. This is a preview of The Neighbor You Don’t Know, by Shane Shepard. You can find it here: storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/da9e03f0-1bbb-11ec-92e4-7fd845c8a81b

If you get a chance, please go take a look. He’s doing me the kindness of advertising one of my own stories.

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (70,243)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

Seeds of Dominion is out! You can get it here:amazon.com/dp/B09PK1QYDY. The second novel in the Eldros Legacy.

Also out is the next Lunar Free State book, The Next Crusade, by John Siers. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09PD8SCCH

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 329.6 (Not a typo, been under 330 all week. W0000tttt)

Updated Word Count: 1,954

Eldros Legacy Archives: 813 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

2021 AAR

Greetings all

2021 was the biggest year of my publishing career, but I suspect I’ll write the same exact words next year with all that’s happening. Nevertheless, here’s what I was involved in that came out in 2021:

2021 Mosaic
2021 Mosaic

This mosaic, by the way, doesn’t include stuff that’ll come out in 2022 which I worked on, such as Quincy J. Allen’s Seeds of Dominion, coming out on Tuesday.

By my reckoning, I put out 384,836 total words in 2021. Now, there are some statistical points to be made, out of honesty.

  • I only wrote 139,340 words of new stuff. That’s 1 novel, and only 6 short stories.
  • I keep track of my blog posts too, as it’s one way to ensure I’m putting out consistent content. That was 49,811.
  • The remaining 195,685 is 1/4 of the words in books I edited for New Mythology Press in 2021, 4 anthologies and 5 novels. I agree I should keep some track of that, as if I hadn’t done all that I would have definitely written more. I’m not convinced 1/4 is the right number. I’m thinking I may go to 1/5 in 2022. We’ll see.

Still, any way you want to stack it, that’s not a bad year. Add on to that I spent many hours helping develop the Eldros Legacy and learning how to do a bunch of new things for New Mythology Press, and I would say it wasn’t a wasted year.

That’s especially true since I only count things I’ve finished in a calendar year. This total doesn’t include, for example, the 70k or so I’ve got written in The Door Into Winter nor the editing I’ve done for The Keen Edge of Valor, as they aren’t yet finished.

I’m proud of all the stories I wrote and helped put out in 2021. This is highlighted, of course, by The Ravening of Wolves. This novel really came together, I think, thanks to a bunch of tales given to me by friends who’ve seen the challenges behind the scenes in the military. Much of what went into that book are inspired by actual SNAFUs, because the main universal truth in military history that I can find is: “Shit happens.”

Of my short stories, I tried a number of whimsical things. For example, Careful With That Axe, E.U. Gene included over 200 song and band references hidden within about 9000 words. The biggest result, of course, is The Incomparable Treasure, which comes out at some point in 2022 as part of Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell’s next SF/F noir anthology, No Game for Knights. This is a huge honor for me, and I’m really excited about it.

I certainly learned a ton with New Mythology Press this year. I can’t thank Chris Kennedy enough for the opportunity and I hope I live up to his expectations.

I would say I earned a B- grade for my work as publisher in 2021. I tend to be a harsh grader, but as I look back I see areas I can improve upon. Now, to be fair, the biggest area I need to improve upon is simply experience, and that’s happening, but I could have accelerated my learning curve in places.

Nevertheless, I did learn and improve as the year’s gone on. I’d better, as I have a bunch of things to publish in 2022, which I’ll talk about in another blog post.

I am most proud of Responsibility of the Crown, I think. It was the first novel I’d ever edited, and I think it came out fantastic. It helps that G. Scott Huggins is a great writer, but I do think I contributed.

It was nerve-wracking for me, in some ways, but the results really fired me up. Like many writers (and now as publisher), I suffer from constant self-doubt and seeing the difference between the original draft Scott sent me of Responsibility and the final draft helps me believe I have some skill in this process. Again, though, it’s not a great story without Scott doing the heavy lifting.

I’m also proud of the Talons & Talismans anthologies. They were a challenge, one that made Chris shake his head and chuckle at my expense a time or eight.

However, those anthologies did much of what I wanted. I got involved with experienced writers I hadn’t worked with before, like Aaron Rosenberg, who I hope to publish a bunch more times down the road. I got a bunch of new writers opportunities, like Michael Gants, who I think you’ll be seeing fairly often in the future.

I also got to rummage around in the process of making anthologies at a much more detailed level. I’d done two prior to Talons & Talismans, but this was more, and I needed it.

On the behind the scenes side of things, I had a couple of hiccups with my mailing list, but I’m pleased with where I’m at now. I started working with the Writers House of Corrections to build that mailing list even more. Long term, I think that list and this blog, not Facebook or other social media platforms, will be my primary forms of interaction.

I learned a ton about how book art gets made. I knew some of it from self-publishing my first six novels, but there’s always more to learn. I’m amazed at what artists like Melissa Gay and Jake Caleb constantly produce.

Most fun of all is getting to know the editing staff of Chris Kennedy Publishing better. Mia Kleve is an amazing bedrock of competence. It was she, in fact, who created the above mosaic of covers, within like 2 minutes. Tiffany Reynolds is incredibly fast and skilled. I didn’t get to work with Beth Agajew as much in 2021, but I’ve had the pleasure before. We brought in Jonathan Miller too. He edited Seeds of Dominion and we have more plans for him.

I also got to interact with the advance readers more. Shawn Carey is a machine. He is an unseen, but much appreciated member of the team. Another is Zach Ritz, who routinely catches a bunch of errors that have slipped past all of our editors, including me. That’s a much less common skill than I think people realize.

A long time ago, I realized writing was about creating a team around the writer. That’s even more true about publishing. If I want to point at any one single thing I’m pleased with in 2021 it’s the creation of a new team around me, one which I’m already blessed to be a part of.

I’m just going to conclude that I’m looking at my shelf of books, the shelf holding books I’ll be selling at conventions. There’s Jon Osborne’s Milesian Accords series, including The House Between Worlds which I helped publish. There’s Khyven the Unkillable, by Todd Fahnestock, first of the Eldros Legacy novels. There are Four Horsemen Universe titles, especially The Ravening of WolvesAnd there’s all sorts of titles produced prior to 2021. There’s a lot of titles there, but a bunch more are coming.

2021 was the start of something awesome.