Monthly Archives: February 2025

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Rob’s Update: March Upcountry

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Week 9 of 2025

Greetings all

Sorry about the lack of an update last week, but that’s a harbinger of things to come. I’ve been reviewing my processes, and for the time being, I’m going to try sending out my updates every other week. The nature of what I’m doing doesn’t require as many updates, at least for the moment, and I don’t want to infringe upon my subscribers’ time.

It’s a bit of a moot point over the next month or so, given my schedule. I’d miss every other weekend in March anyway, so now’s a great time to try something new for a few months.

The Feasting of Vengeance
The Feasting of Vengeance

Speaking of something new, obviously I’m ecstatic about the release of The Feasting of Vengeance. It’s already up to 41 reviews and sales are still going well, so thanks to you all!

Right now, I’m getting ready for Gulf Wars and GaryCon. I’ll be marching upcountry and downcountry and hither and yon. It’s going to be a great, if exhausting trip and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll be driving from here to Hattiesburg, MS, then up to Lake Geneva, WI.

I’ll have my booth in the heart of Merchant’s Row at Gulf, and I hope to see a bunch of you there. Then there are others who might find me at GaryCon, where I’m running modules on Thursday then relaxing and meeting people the rest of the weekend.

And, oh yeah, we might very well have hard copies of the Chentoufi primer. I’ve seen the proof and it looks amazing. I’m honored to be a part of it.

I spent this week editing several modules for the March G20 release, which will come out next month as well. What a busy time for releases right now! Kinda pretty neato if you ask me.

Finally, this past weekend was also neato. First, we had friends up to stay with us for a local SCA event. It’s the thing I miss most about our old house was hosting friends all the time, so this was delightful.

At the event, I got to hear a scroll I wrote read into court. It’s for my friend Vasilii, as you can see, and it’s in a style derived from the Russian epics like those of Ilya Muramets.

Since writing these texts were what got me into this profession in the first place, I thought I’d put it here so you could see an example. Russian epics, by the way, are reliant upon repetition to create much of the rhythm, not syllable counts, rhyme, or alliteration, so it’s different from what we’re often used to.

In the kingdom of the falcon
There lived the young Vasilii
He dressed himself handsomely
He armed himself proudly
He hunted with his bright spear
Hunted with sharp spear in southern fields
Hunted with sharp spear in east and west
Hunted with sharp spear in fields of Lilies
In open fields he fought dragons
In open fields he fought oceans
In open fields he fought white rams
He bloodied his spear for Calontir
He proved his skill to Calontir
He stood shoulder to shoulder with Calontir
So Orren Velikii Kniaz
Took Vasilii in the month of harshing
Nine and fifty years after first hunting
So Lyra Velikaia Kniaginia
Sat Vasilii in the halls of dragonflies
Where falcon host assembled
Where falcon host honed skills
They gave him dark beer
They gave him roasted deer
They gave him solemn words
Bogatyr true you are
Bogatyr mighty you are
Bogatyr axes you must wield
When they praise you in our songs
Huscarl they will call you
This We say in our songs
This We proclaim in our songs

And now, have a great couple of weeks! I’ll update from the forests of Mississippi next week.

What I’m Listening To

Inspector Lewis, one of our favorites. Frankly, the Endeavor, Morse, Lewis trilogy is really good if you like these sorts of mysteries.

Quote of the Week

Happy birthday to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and here’s one of his most inspiring quotes.

“Success is not something to wait for, it is something to work for.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Upcoming Events

New Releases

I’m still stoked about The Feasting of Vengeance! This is the third book in my Foresters Trilogy, which is part of the Four Horsemen Universe. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DWV68DQK.

This week’s release is Any Given Doomsday by Michael LaVoice, the first book in his new Gladius Leagues series. In a galaxy where humanity decommissioned its armies and navies, imagine if WWE met Monday Night Football as the way for planets to settle their grievances in a “trial by combat” methodology. And then the aliens showed up and decided to kill everyone. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DXTBNDXD.

This week’s pre-release is Reunion, the debut book for Chris Kennedy’s new Kingdom Lost series. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DXD8HXGV.

Want to know what it’s about? Well, here’s the free prequel short story for Kingdom Lost that was referenced above! Get either the ebook or audio book (yes, audiophiles, it’s available in audio!) for Betrayal, the short story prequel to Kingdom Lost, here: chriskennedypublishing.com/betrayal/.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 366.4lbs

Updated Word Count: 30,000

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: Kukuluki’s Time Has Come

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Week 7 of 2025

Greetings all

The Feasting of Vengeance
The Feasting of Vengeance

The Feasting of Vengeanceis live! This is the third book in my Foresters Trilogy, which is part of the Four Horsemen Universe.

The hunt for Kukuluki continues.

In a galaxy where treachery and double-dealing is the normal way of conducting business, Kukuluki is in a league of his own. And if you get on his bad side, like the Queen Elizabeth’s Own Foresters have, he’ll use those skills to make sure you regret it.

The time has come for vengeance. The Foresters and their allies are arming themselves to rid the galaxy of his evil.

But first, they have to find him. Then avoid all the traps he’s surely set in their path. And then defeat all the mercs one of the richest beings in the galaxy can afford.

Both sides know the stakes. It’s time to be tenacious and versatile.

I’m really pleased with this book. It has more action than any other book I’ve written, with characters I really care about risking their lives. Spoiler alert: Not all of them survive, and I had some emotional moments during the writing process.

Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DWV68DQK.

Again, many thanks to Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey for letting me play in their sandbox. All told, the Foresters saga will end up being over 400,000 of the best words I’ve ever written.

It’s time for a beer after that!

And I’m having one here in the hotel bar at FenCon. It’s going to be a great weekend and here’s what I’ve got planned:

  • Friday  4:00 PM  – 5:00 PM  Teak
    Facts Behind Folklore and Urban Legends
  • Saturday  2:00 PM  – 3:00 PM  Ebony
    Founding Fathers and Mothers
  • Saturday  4:00 PM  – 8:00 PM  Game Room
    Running the Okkorim 5E Module Rogue’s Gambit
  • Saturday  10:00 PM  – Whenever  Terrace Bar & Grill
    4HU Hangout
  • Sunday  1:00 PM  – 2:00 PM  Ebony   
    Noir: The Enduring Legacy of Gritty Fiction

It’s going to be a great weekend!

This past week was not productive at all because there was so much going on. I edited some stuff for Okkorim, but didn’t get a chance to do any writing or editing of my own stuff.

Things clear up a bit when I get back next week, though. I’ll be working on some editing, dabbling on a new writing idea, and finishing some Okkorim stuff for this quarter. Plus, I’m going to do some woodworking.

But for now, I’m going to bed so tomorrow I can talk about my new release!

What I’m Listening To

Nothing actually, except the hum of machinery in the hotel.

Quote of the Week

Happy birthday to Chuck Yeager. Here’s a quote from him that’s true of everything. You have to work at it, one way or another.

 There’s no such thing as a natural-born pilot.
–  Chuck Yeager

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)

Upcoming Events

New Releases

This week we have the Feasting of Vengeance! This is the third book in my Foresters Trilogy, which is part of the Four Horsemen Universe. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DWV68DQK.

And Interstellar Pawn by Dawn Chapman, the first book in her Through Steel and Stars series. In addition to being a great story, I think it has the best CKP cover EVER. I almost stole it from her, just because. I don’t have a story for it—I just love it! “Interstellar Pawn” is also something new for CKP—it’s a LitRPG scifi novel. Give it a look here: amazon.com/dp/B0DT3GD1Q4.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 364.8lbs

Updated Word Count: 8,000

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: Vengeance on the Horizon

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Week 6 of 2025

Greetings all

A week from now, I’ll be in DFW, looking forward to an amazing Friday!

The Feasting of Vengeance
The Feasting of Vengeance

The Feasting of Vengeance comes out then and I’ll be at FenCon. What a great combination.

I look forward to seeing a number of you then. I’ll be doing a release party and a 4HU panel, plus I’ll be running Rogue’s Gambit, a module I helped write in Okkorim. Plus other panels and hanging out with a great crew down there.

This has been a week of distractions, however. It seems like every time I turn around there’s another thing going on. Kinda crazy, and I didn’t do as much as I’d hoped. Still, we did a bunch in Okkorim and I got some editing done, so it wasn’t a waste.

This weekend, I’ll be at an SCA event where I’ll step down from the position of Gold Falcon. It’s the kingdom principal herald, which basically means I’m the herald in charge of the kingdom.

I had a number of great ideas to liven up the position, and some of them went well. However, I took the job about a week before we came and looked at the house down here. Shockingly, the move and subsequent life changes took away from my work in the SCA.

That being said, I am proud of some things I did. In fact, I’ll probably publish a collection of my monthly letters. They were usually fun, whimsical discussions of heraldry. I doubt I’ll sell many of them, but as I said, I’m proud of them and I do have a small market.

It’s a little bittersweet, because it was something awesome, but it’s definitely past time for me to step down.

Anyway, time to go. Have a great week everyone.

What I’m Listening To

The Metro done by System of a Down. Honestly, while I love the original, this cover is so good.

Quote of the Week

It’s a really interesting day for birthdays, including Babe Ruth, Ronald Reagan, and Bob Marley.

However, it’s also Coronation Day for Elizabeth II. In 1952. What a reign. And what a person.

When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.”

– Queen Elizabeth II

Rob’s Works in Progress

  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)

Upcoming Events

New Releases

This week we have Opening Moves, the 2nd book in Chris Kennedy’s Symbiote Wars series. Fighting in both space and on the ground, giant monsters, and evil bad guys—it’s got it all! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DSTYXDJC.

This week’s pre-release is Interstellar Pawn by Dawn Chapman, the first book in her Through Steel and Stars series. In addition to being a great story, I think it has the best CKP cover EVER. I almost stole it from her, just because. I don’t have a story for it—I just love it! “Interstellar Pawn” is also something new for CKP—it’s a LitRPG scifi novel. Give it a look here: amazon.com/dp/B0DT3GD1Q4.

Tracked Items

My Weight Today: 363.8lbs

Updated Word Count: 7,000

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