Week of 23-30 October
Greetings all
I’m glad I have a good editor. Once again, she has proven her worth. I sent her a draft for Where Now the Rider and she told me it wasn’t up to my usual standards. The story is good, but I simply rushed the writing.
So, I’ll be moving back Where Now the Rider to make sure it’s up to at least my usual standards. I have been pushing pretty hard and I simply need to put it down for a couple of weeks and come at it with fresh eyes. In fact, just making the decision to postpone it has already freed my mind and given me some new ideas and new scenes to make it stronger.
Again, many thanks to Kellie Hultgren for her honesty.
I’m also taking a bit of time off in the sense that I leave for World Fantasy Con tomorrow. I’ll be there from Wednesday through Sunday. I will be in the Dealer’s Room most of the time, but also will be involved in a couple of panels. I’ll be moderating a panel on Thursday at 4pm about The Fantasy of the American Heartland with Karen Bovenmyer, Lynne Cantwell, Gary K. Wolfe, and Stephanie Loree. Then, on Saturday at 5pm I’ll be moderating again a panel discussing How George R. R. Martin Has Changed Fantasy with Dan Koboldt, Ginjer Buchanan, Betsy Dorbush, and Christopher Husberg. I’ll be attending a few things once the Dealer’s Room is done, but I haven’t yet decided though I will probably read the riddle from I Am a Wondrous Thing in the open poetry reading. If you have any questions you’d like me to ask as moderator, send them on over.
I think that’s it for now. Off to Columbus in the morning.
Quote of the Week
One of the reasons I needed to push back Where Now the Rider is because I burned out. I did that because I’m too much my mother’s son at times, which makes this quote apt. I also had reason to reference this song because of something said to Beth Waggoner Patterson, which is why I’m thinking about it today. Sometimes writing is as much as anything about fighting and defeating the enemies within.
Things crawl in the darkness
That imagination spins
Needles at your nerve ends
Crawl like spiders on your skin
Pounding in your temples
And a surge of adrenaline
Every muscle tense to fence the enemy within
I’m not giving in to security under pressure
I’m not missing out on the promise of adventure
I’m not giving up on implausible dreams
Experience to extremes
Experience to extremes
– The Enemy Within, Rush
News and Works in Progress
– I will be making a decision on the best way to do the audiobook for A Lake Most Deep this week. There will be news on that front soon.
– A short story on the time when Edward met Deor. I will explain the horse’s role in saving Edward’s soul.
– I got a chance this week to actually listen to the Write Pack Radio podcast and I really enjoyed it. I hate hearing my recorded voice but it sounded much better than I expected. You can find it at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/writepackradio/2016/10/16/what-makes-a-good-noir-and-thriller
Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions
-Not much, though you can anticipate a couple of things this week.
Upcoming Events
– 27-30 October: World Fantasy Convention
– 19 November: Toys for Tots
– 10 December: Kris Kinder
– 27-28 January: Market Day in Birka
Spotlight
Since I’ve already mentioned her, let’s spotlight Beth Waggoner Patterson, a fantastic musician with impeccable musical taste (she’s also a huge Rush fan). You can find her music at:
http://www.bethpattersonmusic.com/
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: http://www.shijuren.org/World+of+Shijuren+Home
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/robhowell.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhodri2112
Currently Available Works
A Lake Most Deep (Edward, Bk 1)
The Eyes of a Doll (Edward, Bk 2)
I Am a Wondrous Thing (The Kreisens, Bk 1)