Week 11 of 2021
Greetings all
The big news this week? Well, I took some time off to spend some time with the sweetie. We drove over 600 miles on Saturday, all the way from KC to Hebron, NE and back. Along the way, we visited 9 quilt stores as part of a quilt shop hop.
After the 9th opportunity for my sweetie to buy fabric, I decided she might be in a good enough mood to say yes. And she did. We’re engaged. The ceremonial stuff will happen in 2022, but we’re one step closer to becoming “official.” 🙂
As you might imagine, I didn’t do any work over the weekend and I was still a bit distracted on Monday. So, I really only got 3 days of writing in, but I still managed over 2k per day on The Ravening of Wolves. I’m now over 70k, counting snippets waiting to get put back in. The first four sections are essentially complete (though I will probably pull some stuff from Part V back into earlier sections), and all I’m writing now is the big epic battle.
It’s military SF, the big epic battle should be 20-30k words. Or more. I’m having, if you will pardon the pun, a blast writing it.
I also made progress on another book for New Mythology. We’ll probably announce the details late this month.
Right now, we’re focused on the Watcher of Moniah series, which has received great reviews so far. You can find Watchers at War, the conclusion, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XNF13ZH/. The whole series is here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TV9L1J5
Next week is Songs of Valor, come out on the 19th. This is a fantasy anthology of heroic deeds and valorous acts. It includes stories by Larry Correia, David Weber, Jon Osborne, and many more.
There’s also an Indrajit and Fix story by Dave Butler. If you haven’t heard me gush about those stories, they remind me of a sharper, more colorful Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
However, my favorite story in there is from a series I’ve loved for a long time, from one of my favorite writers. I will say I bounced up and down a bit when Glen Cook sent me a Black Company story. It’s all there, too.
So, yeah. Big names. Check. Great series. Check. The five stories from our short story contest. Check. Epic deeds. Check. Swords, spells, and intrigue? Check, check, check. And yes, this is the second of the Libri Valoris, the Books of Valor, so it’s got people standing valorously against foes they cannot hope to defeat, but still must try.
You’re going to love it.
What I’m Listening To
Speaking of valorous deeds, I’m currently listening to Sabaton’s The Last Stand. If you’re interested in historical-themed symphonic metal, this or The Art of War are the albums to start with.
Currently, it’s playing Shiroyama, which is about the Battle of Shiroyama in 1877. You may very well have seen something about these events, as The Last Samurai is loosely based on the Satsuma Rebellion, of which Shiroyama was the final battle.
The Sabaton version is much more accurate than the movie, which isn’t a surprise, but nonetheless, I really enjoy both.
Quote of the Week
Today happens to be the birthday of Douglas Adams. He’d be 69 today.
You might think this is an awesome person to provide today’s quote. And you’d be right, except for the fact there are too many snippets of sheer genius in his corpus of written works. The number is almost as mind-boggingly big as is space which, as we all know, is much bigger than the walk to the chemist’s.
However, it does seem like there’s one in particular that’s eminently suitable for today’s update.
“This must be Thursday,’ said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer. ‘I never could get the hang of Thursdays.”
―
New Mythology Works in Progress
I mentioned this last week, but it never hurts to announce it again a few times.
New Mythology Press Anthology Announcement
New Mythology is pleased to offer another open call for four spots in our anthology scheduled to be released in late October.
Deadline: 31 July
Words: 7k-10k
Manuscript: In .doc or .docx file format, Times New Roman, 12pt, 1.5 spaced
Send To: rob@chriskennedypublishing.com
Prompt: Write a fantasy story involving a beast or monster. While the story can include elements of horror, it should not be a horror story; it should be a fantasy and lean toward the heroic. Feel free to make the beast or monster your protagonist, but if not, the creature must be a central figure, (like Grendel in Beowulf).
As mentioned, we will choose the top four stories out of those submitted to add to the anthology. This is especially aimed at newer authors, though authors of any experience can enter.
- Just Released: 1 March: The Watchers at War (Book 3 of the Watchers of Moniah Series by Barbara V. Evers)
- 19 March: Songs of Valor (Book 2 of the Libri Valoris anthologies with Larry Correia, David Weber, Glen Cook, Dave Butler, and Sarah Hoyt)
- 12 April: Accepted (Book 2 of the Balance of Kerr series by Kevin Steverson.
- 21 May: Across the Endless Ocean (Book 1 of the Endless Ocean series by G. Scott Huggins)
Rob’s Works in Progress
- The Ravening of Wolves (44,113)
- Rick Blaine (8,845)
- CB (8,418)
- Cynewulf (8,642)
- Gato (2,312)
Upcoming Events
- FantaSci, 21-23 May, Durham, NC
https://fantasci.rocks/ - LibertyCon, 27-27 June, Chattanooga, TN
https://libertycon.org/ - DragonCon, 2-6 September, Atlanta, GA
https://www.dragoncon.org/ - 20BooksTo50K, 8-12 November, Las Vegas, NV
http://20booksvegas.com/
New Releases
Lots happening this week. First, Luck is Not a Factor, an anthology in the 4HU, is available for free on Kindle for a little longer at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K2BKLR9/. This includes my story “A Sword for Striking,” about the battle on Peninnah between the Foresters and the Zuul.
Also free for a day or two more is Reclaiming Honor, Book 1 of The Way of Legend series by Marc Edelheit and Quincy Allen. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z6JTTKV/.
Quincy and I, by the way, are working on a sooper-sekrit project right now.
I’m also working on a sooper-sekrit project with Todd Fahnestock. He normally writes fantasy, but he spent a goodly amount of time walking the Colorado Trail and then writing a book about it. You can find Ordinary Magic here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Y64MZQH.
Finally, this was the release week of Redacted Vice by Kevin Ikenberry and Kevin Steverson. Of course, it seems like you all know that already. It went straight to the top of the new release chart by 4am on release day. Wow! Anyway, if you haven’t gotten your copy, you can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XX1R1YX. At this rate, Amazon might run out of e-copies, so you might want to hurry up 😉
Whew, what a week.
Today’s Weight: 339.6
Updated Word Count: 11,020
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
Author of the Shijuren-series of novels
- Website: www.robhowell.org
- Blog: www.robhowell.org/blog
- Shijuren Wiki: https://shijuren.org/tiki-index.php
- Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/robho
well.org/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhodri2112
Currently Available Works
Shijuren
- A Lake Most Deep (Edward, Book 1)
- The Eyes of a Doll (Edward, Book 2)
- Where Now the Rider (Edward, Book 3)
- I Am a Wondrous Thing (The Kreisens, Book 1)
- Brief Is My Flame (The Kreisens, Book 2)
- None Call Me Mother (The Kreisens, Book 3)
- “What’s in a Name” in When Valor Must Hold (An Edward prequel story)
- “An Oath’s Other Edge” in Dragons and Dribbles : A Corner Scribblers Flash Collection w/ guest author, Rob Howell
Nick Patara, PI
- Silent Knight (Nick Patara, PI, Book 1)
- Under a Midnight Clear (Nick Patara, PI, Book 2) (Forthcoming)
Four Horsemen Universe
- “Where Enemies Sit” in For a Few Credits More (Revelations Cycle, Book 7))
- “A Sword for Striking” in Luck Is Not a Factor (Four Horsemen Tales, Book 6)
- Fire From Fire Quickened” in The Gates of Hell (Four Horsemen Saga, Book 4)
- The Feeding of Sorrows (Four Horsemen Tales, Book 11)
The Phases of Mars
- “Far Better to Dare” in Those In Peril
- “In Dark’ning Storms” in To Slip the Surly Bonds
- “Here Must We Hold” in Trouble in the Wind
Short Stories
- “A Gift of Crimson” in Hand of Gold and Other Stories (Pussy Katnip)
- “The Chaos of Well-Seeming Forms” in We Dare
- “Nor War’s Quick Fire” in We Dare II: Semper Paratus (Forthcoming, 2020)
If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org