Tag Archives: Rush

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: The Answer

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Week 42 of 2019

Greetings all

It’s cool to me that this year, week 42 starts on 14 October. I knew the answer to life, the universe, and everything had something to do with the Battle of Hastings.

It’s been a good week. I made progress on a short story for the next Phases of Mars story. I had hoped to come up with a third to follow Far Better to Dare and In Dark’ning Storms but I never found a hook. I found a battle, but not a hook. I may follow up with some longer form stuff, because I enjoy where that world went, but short stories require a hook and this would have just been a fight with no interesting end.

I now have a time, place, and a hook. Better yet, it’s in my wheelhouse. It has to do with Anglo-Saxon England, but nothing to do with Hastings. There’s your hint.

I also did a bunch of clearing of deadwood in None Call Me Mother. It’s starting to flow a bit, when I’m not working on short stories.

I talked about my work, or lack thereof, in my update on Sunday. If you haven’t read it, it’s here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1757. Basically it covers my plan to better manage my writing and travel schedule so I don’t get burned out.

But that is in the past. I have ideas and a keyboard. Time to write.

Current Playlist Song

Something for Nothing by Rush from All the World’s a Stage. I remember getting this tape and playing it as loud as I could over and over in my orange 1962 VW bug. Ah, good times.

Quote of the Week

And since it has some of my favorite lyrics, here’s the chorus from Something for Nothing. Especially appropriate for me to remember given my recent funk.

“Oh you don’t get something for nothing
You don’t get freedom for free
You won’t get wise
With the sleep still in your eyes
No matter what your dreams might be”

– Something for Nothing, Rush

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (58,007)
  • HMWH (3361)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AFS (8,088)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Alex Rath, another writer in the Four Horseman Universe. You can find his interview at: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1768.

Today’s Weight: 388.4

Updated Word Count: 167,049

Shijuren Wiki: 874 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

Currently Available Works
Shijuren
Four Horsemen Universe
Short Stories

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Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Birthday Festivities

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Week 29 of 2019

Greetings all

First, the nomination period for the Dragon Awards ends tonight. Please nominate and then vote. You can do that here: http://application.dragoncon.org/dc_fan_awards_nominations.php. I obviously would love it if you voted for The Feeding of Sorrows, but more than anything I want to get people involved.

Second, since my birthday was Tuesday, I’m having a week of sales.

A Lake Most Deep: Free until the end of day tomorrow. It’s here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WYIU6OG/

The Eyes of a Doll: $2.99 for another couple of days. It’s here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018MVZFP8/

And Where Now the Rider: $2.99 for another couple of days. It’s here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071462WXM/

I’ve rewarded myself with work in the shop, though I haven’t done a ton with None Call Me Mother. Ran into another snag that I’ve spent the week clearing up.

And that’s what I’m working on this weekend as I’m mostly packed for Pennsic.

Current Playlist Song

Rush’s The Weapon. The things that we fear are weapons to be used against us.

Quote of the Week

There’s only one possible choice for a quote this week.

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
– Neil Armstrong

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (approx. 50,000)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AFS (2,556)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on

Today’s Weight: 383.8

Updated Word Count: 160,781

Shijuren Wiki: 874 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

Currently Available Works
Shijuren
Four Horsemen Universe
Short Stories

 

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: The Dust is Clearing

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Week 27 of 2019

Greetings all

It’s the Saturday of Hypericon. Tomorrow, I will head home, and I’m ready to be back in my bed. These long trips are efficient, but can be very draining.

So far, Hypericon has been very laid back. A complete contrast to LibertyCon. Of course, I have much less planned here. I also know quite a few less people.

I have an interesting panel coming up at 1, though. Building a Better Monster. I like that idea quite a bit and will probably suggest it in the future. Then I’ll do my take things from one media to another panel at 8. Tomorrow, I have one more, about characters that should be brought back. Then we hit the road.

I need to start remembering just how draining LibertyCon is. It’s amazing and wonderful, but I have been dragging all week. Next year, I may have to plan on this week being a mini-vacation, though it’ll be on the road again, I think.

I have been writing a bit, but not much. Mostly, I’ve been reviewing where I was, which means editing. Not much word change but I’m prepping to hit the ground running on Monday and Tuesday.

Time for me to get back to that.

Current Playlist Song

By-Tor and the Snow Dog from Rush in Rio. Fun song, and maybe one day I’ll write it in story form.

Quote of the Week

Today is John Paul Jones’s birthday. Today’s quote isn’t his most famous, but it’s perhaps my favorite by him.

“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.”
– John Paul Jones

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (approx. 55,000)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AFS (2,556)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Those in Peril. I’m getting happier and happier with my contribution to To Slip the Surly Bonds, which is in the process of editing. “In Dark’ning Storms” follows the events of “Far Better to Dare,” plus there are a number of other follow-up stories in the second volume that you’ll get more out of if you’ve read the first one.

Today’s Weight: 388.4

Updated Word Count: 158,282

Shijuren Wiki: 874 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

Currently Available Works
Shijuren
Four Horsemen Universe
Short Stories

 

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Uncategorized

Rob’s Update: One Little Victory

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Week 25 of 2019

Greetings all

Well, so it’s been more like the monthly update recently. I apologize, there’s just been so much going on.

The biggest news is The Feeding of Sorrows, my first full length novel in the Four Horsemen Universe, came out last Friday. It got up to number 3 in new releases in Action and Adventure and it’s still at number 4. To say I’m pleased is a huge understatement. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T3B8BGB/.

To Slip the Surly Bonds Cover
To Slip the Surly Bonds Cover

Also released since my last update (sheesh, I’m so easily distracted), is We Dare, a collection stories of augmented humanity. My story in there is called “The Chaos of Well-Seeming Forms.” If you get the reference, you’ll have some clue how it goes down, but more than anything I was influenced by the Finnsburh Fragment and Episode, two bits of Old English poetry. Also, I had a chance to pay an homage to Dick Francis, and I took it. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SK6WKM1/.

I’m currently working on “In Darkening Storms,” the follow up to “Far Better to Dare” from Those in Peril. The new anthology will be called To Slip the Surly Bonds. For those of you reading this message, if you go to my blog, you can see the cover art there.

If you’re wondering about None Call Me Mother, I was just too ambitious. The new date to get it to the editor is the end of July with the hope to have it published in September. Thank you for your patience.

I was at Lilies War last week. I had a great time, did way too much, sold some stuff, and came home with a number of projects for Pennsic. The good news is right now I’m looking as ready for Pennsic as I have ever been and I don’t leave for five weeks.

Next week I head to LibertyCon. This year my mom gets to join me. I will, of course, be very busy there, thanks to the hard work of Rich Groller. You can find my schedule here: http://www.libertycon.org/programming/pros3.php?pid=326.

After LibertyCon, I’ll be at Hypericon in Nashville. This will be my first time there, but I’m looking forward to it. After all, if Terry Maggert is the Guest of Honor, things have to be whimsical.

While I have more to chat about, that’s probably enough. That’s what I get for not sending out a weekly message. Next message will come from the Marriott in Chattanooga.

See you all out and about.

Current Playlist Song

Rush’s One Little Victory. This always reminds me of the final show of the Vapor Trails tour. They played this song to open the second set, and it was a reminder of all the challenges Rush had gone through the previous five years, especially Neil.

At one point, simply picking up drumsticks was a little victory for him, and yet at that moment he had managed to not only record a new album with Alex and Geddy, he had made it through an entire tour.

It was, and is, one of the most emotional moments of life.

Quote of the Week

Might as well quote from the song, too.

The measure of the moment
Is a difference of degree
Just one little victory
A spirit breaking free
One little victory
The greatest act can be
One little victory

-Rush, One Little Victory

News and Works in Progress

  • IDS (5,483)
  • None Call Me Mother (Approx. 60,000)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AFS (2,556)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

  • I need to get back to doing my interviews and mag reviews.

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on The Feeding of Sorrows, of which I’m very proud.

Today’s Weight: 383.8

Updated Word Count: 147,777 (I actually updated this)

Shijuren Wiki: 874 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

Currently Available Works
Shijuren
Four Horsemen Universe
Short Stories

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: That Dark Night

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Week 19 of 2019

Greetings all

Last week, I mentioned sad tidings of a friend going into hospice. Tim Bolgeo passed on Sunday and if you didn’t get the chance to meet Uncle Timmy, you have my condolences. He was a fascinating guy to talk to. He knew a ton about a number of topics, both of science and science fiction, especially the things turning from fiction to fact. He founded LibertyCon, was heavily involved with a number of other conventions, and in short was someone who helped science fiction and fantasy grow.

He was also very helpful to new writers. If you look at the stories about him, you’ll find, time and again, a writer remembering how Timmy helped them. I’m one of those. He was great at seeing good networking connections and making them happen. I said this on Sunday, but it bears repeating. He’ll have a share of the success I achieve in this field.

Thanks Uncle Timmy, we’ll catch you on the flip side.

I couldn’t be at his memorial yesterday, as it was in Chattanooga, but I remembered him this week by wearing LibertyCon shirt after LibertyCon shirt and writing a ton. The main total of None Call Me Mother will only show 14,000 or so words added, but there are a bunch more as I started a separate thread to input to the main document this week. I figured out the vast majority of the threads and it’s coming along nicely.

This week we had the stepdaughter visit and I took her to a Royals-Rangers game. Of course I picked the one game of the series the Royals won. Ah, well. It was good to go as I haven’t been to a MLB game in quite some time.

A couple of event notes. You might have noticed that I added a couple of events last week. First is Lilies, and I’ll be there the whole week, so come on by. Also added is HyperiCon in Nashville, where I’ll follow on the incomparable Terry Maggert’s coattails.

Current Playlist Song

In Xanadu did Kublai Khan, a stately pleasure dome decree.

In Massey Hall did Geddy Lee, a stately pleasure dome did sing

I love this song, by the way. In grade school, I was the kid who loved it when we got to Coleridge because if he was good enough for Rush to sing about Xanadu and Iron Maiden to do a version of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, then he was good enough for me.

Quote of the Week

Might as well have a baseball quote. This one is a great one for a new writer.

“Never allow the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game!”
– Babe Ruth

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (41,454)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

  • I just wrote. I’ll do the same next week.

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on my sweetie, who’s having to suffer through me hammering through this novel.

Today’s Weight: 388.4

Updated Word Count: It feels like a zillion

Shijuren Wiki: 874 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 543 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

Currently Available Works

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Off and Running

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Week 18 of 2019

Greetings all

I’m off and running on None Call Me Mother. I only have 14,291 words in the main file, but I have quite a few notes yet to add. Still aiming for the end of the month.

Writing this one is kind of odd for me because I basically devised the plan for each of the main characters while working on Brief Is My Flame. I don’t usually plot that far ahead, but I kind of needed to do so while writing it.

That means the pace of writing has been pretty good. However, it also means I have mornings like today where I’m standing in the shower realizing I could have put more clues in both the first two in the series that would really kick up the ending a notch. It would also provide more fun for those, like me, who enjoy re-reading things.

None Call Me Mother is my main focus right now, of course. However, I’ve been playing around in the back of my head the story I’ll write for the second in the Phases of Mars anthologies. The first was Those In Peril, which came out in February and focused on alternate naval history. The new one is focused up in the air, and I have a story idea that will be fun, but I need to make it work with the technology of the era. Not sure yet how I’m going to play with it, but Phil Wohlrab really got me thinking about things in a conversation at FantaSci.

Speaking of short stories, I ended up calling the one for the We Dare anthology “The Chaos of Well-Seeming Forms.” The other title was good, but this one is much better for a number of reasons. You’ll see why when you read it.

With that, it’s off to celebrate Mother’s Day a bit early.

Current Playlist Song

Vapor Trails by Rush. I don’t think I’ve ever anticipated an album quite as much as this one. It was 2003. Rush had not made any music for years because of Neil’s tragedies. We never really knew if they would make any more. Then the rumors came out that Neil had started to play again. And they were in the studio. And then that they would release Vapor Trails. It’s title track is wonderful, but just one of many great songs on it.

Quote of the Week

It’s May 4th. What else would today’s quote be?

“May the Force be with you.”
– Star Wars

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (14,291)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Robert J. Waters. You can find his interview here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1705

Today’s Weight: 388.0

Updated Word Count: I really need to tabulate this, but it’s got to be around 140k.

Shijuren Wiki: 874 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 543 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

Currently Available Works

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: Warp and Weft

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Week 43 of 2018

Greetings all

Lots of catching up to do. I realized this weekend that I my office had gotten cluttered and I did a bunch of cleaning up and arranging. This included a bunch of unpacking (still).

I’ve been fighting The Feeding of Sorrows. I have put a bunch of words on the page, and then cut them out. This seems normal anymore, though, since i seem to reach this point with every novel. Just gotta keep fighting through.

I’ve had a lot of fun with #FourHorsetober, but I’ll be glad when it’s done. Doing one interview is easy. Doing one a day gets challenging, especially when you’re juggling other stuff.

Still, I’m really excited about the release of Luck Is Not a Factor. That’s a fun story that I hope you all enjoy.

Well, I have to take the sweetie to dinner. She’s been working on new weaving techniques this weekend and she has lots to tell me.

Current Playlist Song

The Pass by Rush. It has one of the most powerful lyrics I’ve ever heard, which you’ll find in right below in the Quote of the Week.

Quote of the Week

No hero in your tragedy
No daring in your escape
No salutes for your surrender
Nothing noble in your fate
– Rush The Pass, Presto

News and Works in Progress

  • RTM (3,416)
  • The Feeding of Sorrows (approx. 20,000)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AFS (2,556)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

One more full week of #FourHorsetober, so take a look at all the interviews above.

Today’s Weight: 388.4

Updated Word Count: 228,712

Shijuren Wiki: 874 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 443 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

Currently Available Works

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Interviews

Interview: Jon R. Osborne

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Jon R. Osborne is currently editing his draft of When the Axe Falls, his next Four Horsemen novel. You’ll want to read it when it comes out, because I’ve enjoyed his other stuff. He’s also a fun guy to stand next to at a con.

Interview: Jon Osborne
Jon Osborne
Jon Osborne

What is your quest?

I run cinematic games, relying heavily on ‘theater of the mind’, seeking to tell a fun and immersive story. When I write, I try to bring the readers into the world – I want them to see the action and hear the characters’ voices – and have fun along the way.

What is your favorite color?

As my stories are character-centered. I like for characters to have distinctive traits. I feel it not only makes the story more immersive, it helps the readers readily identify and keep track of the characters.

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?

My biggest challenge is focus – it is hard to banish the squirrels and be more productive. I admit, I am a little envious of the output of some of my fellow authors. (Rob’s Note: Me too, brother. me too.)

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?

I think character interaction is my strength. The relationships between my characters are organic – I want them to feel like real people.

Lightning Round

  • Favorite Muppet? Animal
  • Crunchy or Creamy? Crunchy
  • Favorite Sports Team? Colts
  • Cake or Pie? Pie
  • Lime or Lemon? Lime
  • Favorite Chip Dip? Chipotle Hot Salsa
  • Wet or Dry? Huh?
  • Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Patty Gurdy
  • Whisky or Whiskey? Whisky
  • Favorite Superhero? Wolverine
  • Steak Temperature? Medium
  • Favorite 1970s TV show? Battlestar Galactica
  • Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall
  • Favorite Pet?  (provide pictures if you want) I don’t have one
  • Best Game Ever? D&D
  • Coffee or Tea? Coffee
  • Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Yes

What question(s) would you like to ask me?

Do you find it as hard to write about yourself as some authors (myself included) find it?

Rob’s Answer: Depends on the question. If we’re talking about my philosophies, not really. I like good philosophical discussions. I can also talk about things I’m fanatic about, like Rush or the Dallas Cowboys or Firefly.

But there’s a lot of questions I ask that I’ll struggle with when I do my own one of these. Also, some of the questions other authors ask me are really tough. I’m awful at tooting my own horn, so much so that it hurts my sales dramatically. It’s something I need to work on, actually.

Tell me again where we can find your stuff? 

And where can we find you?

DragonCon 2018 is the last con for a bit.

Do you have a creator biography?

Jon R. Osborne has been gaming since he was thirteen. He studied journalism in high school and majored in journalism in college. Many years later, he finally combined writing and story-telling with his first published work, a short story in the military science fiction Four Horsemen Universe.

A year later, Jon has had a second story published, as well as two novels in his urban fantasy series, The Milesian Accords. The second book, A Tempered Warrior, is a Dragon Awards finalist for Best Fantasy Novel.

Jon lives in Indianapolis, where he continues to play role-playing games, and is working on the third book of The Milesian Accords as well a novel in the Four Horsemen Universe. You can find out more at jonrosborne.com.

Thanks to Jon for taking the time to answer my questions.

If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.

Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.

Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.

Have a great day.

Rob Howell

Four Horsemen Universe, Interviews

Interview: Eric S. Brown (Rerun)

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Greetings all

This week I’m interviewing Eric S. Brown who is, among other things, one of the many writers like myself writing in the Four Horsemen Universe. He’s also written a bunch of horror, military science fiction, and kaiju stuff.

And when I say a bunch, I mean it. Take a look at his Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Eric S. Brown/e/B004G6XP7E/. You’ll find twelve pages of books there.

Eric, what is your quest?

I am a professional horror and SF writer.  I’m also a collector of all things comics and SF.  David Drake is my hero.  I learned how to write by reading his work when I was younger.  One could blame my whole career on Dave.

What is your favorite color?

I like the color green.  I also like to scare people with words.  I’ve been writing horror for about 17 years now.  I write the type of stories I want to see as a fan.  That’s how my book Bigfoot War came about.  I had been writing zombie stuff for a long time and even did a Z novel for Simon and Schuster (War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies).  I was burnt out on zombies and really wanted to do something different.  Bigfoot War is that.  It makes Sasquatch truly frightening beasts and unleashes hordes of them upon the world.  Bigfoot War (Bigfoot Wars on IMDB) was adapted into a feature film by Origin Releasing with C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders) and Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club).  While the paycheck was nice, I really didn’t care for the movie and it didn’t have a lot to do with my then series of Bigfoot War books.

Eric S. Brown
Eric S. Brown

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?

I like to think that the books I write are FUN above all else.  From Bigfoot War to Kaiju Apocalypse to Casper Alamo (set in Chris Kennedy’s Four Horsemen Universe) my books are about guns and monsters with loads of action and more than a little gore.  I have a Mech/Psionics/Vampires book coming out later this year entitled Psi-Mechs Inc.  I am biased but I think it’s the best thing I have ever written.  It’s about mech pilots and psychics who hunt monsters.

Lightning Round (answer any or all, be as verbose and whimsical as you wish)

Casper Alamo cover
Casper Alamo cover
  • Favorite Muppet? The Shrimp guy.
  • Favorite Sports Team?  I don’t do sports so I am going with The Micronauts on this one.
  • Cake or Pie?  Cake
  • Lime or Lemon? Lime
  • Favorite Chip Dip?    Don’t have one.
  • Wet or Dry? Wet.  Always wet.
  • Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of?   Sorry but to me music consists of Rush, more Rush, and a little more Rush. (ed. note: I knew I liked him for a reason)
  • Whisky or Whiskey?  Don’t drink.
  • Favorite Superhero? Wonder Woman for DC and Daredevil for Marvel.
  • Steak Temperature? Well Done. (ed. note: Sigh)
  • Favorite 1970s TV show? Battlestar Galactica.
  • Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall.
  • Favorite Pet?  (provide pictures if you want) I love cats.  The favorite cat of my life was Howard, named after Lovecraft.  I had him for seven years but he passed from health issues.
  • Best Game Ever? I don’t really game so I will go with 2nd edition D&D from back in the day.
  • Coffee or Tea? Coffee!!
  • Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Sci-Fi all the way.

What question(s) would you like to ask me? 

How did you get into interviewing people?

My answer: I had been interviewed by other people, and I wanted some more content on my blog. Also, it turns out that perhaps the most time-consuming aspect of writing my weekly email is finding someone to spotlight. This way, I don’t have to worry about it.

Do you love the rebooted BSG as every right thinking SF person should?

My answer: Oddly no, mostly because I haven’t actually seen it. Much like Eric, I loved the original and I found it hard to give it a chance. Also, I don’t watch many TV shows. Usually, my personal preference is something to do with sports.

Tell me again where we can find your stuff?

The Squad cover
The Squad cover

And Where can we find you?

I try to attend Liberty con every year.  Aside from that, I am a very stay at home sort of writer.

Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not? 

My newest release is The Squad.  It’s a Bigfoot horror book set in the south.  Other books I have had released this year as Casper Alamo, Day of the Sasquatch, Bigfoot, and a dark fantasy, Lovecraftian Roman novel entitled Beyond Night.

Thanks to Eric for taking the time to answer my questions.

If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.

Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.

Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.

Have a great day.

Rob Howell

 

Weekly Update

Rob’s Update: A Single Perfect Sphere

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Week 39 of 2018

Greetings all

The good news is that I reached my 50th birthday this summer. The bad news is that reaching 50 comes with some new, fun routine medical stuff. One of those things happened this week. I had an unpleasant Tuesday, a worse Wednesday morning, and a stoned Wednesday afternoon. Suffice to say, while I’m glad I did it, I didn’t enjoy it despite the doctors and nurses doing a great job taking care of me.

That slowed me down this week, but I still had a productive week. I sent off a short story to an editor this morning. I *think* it’s pretty good. The story certainly jumped into my head and demanded to be written. However, I never know if a story is any good until someone else sees it. Now all I have to do is wait until the editor reads it and gives me some feedback. Argh.

Anyway, I didn’t do much with The Feeding of Sorrows this week because I wanted to get that story out of the door. What I did do was add some scene ideas. I discovered that while I’ll never plot huge details, I am having some success scribbling scene/chapter ideas on 3×5 cards. I used a similar technique when heralding an SCA court and I’ve already seen some benefits.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a writer it’s that there’s one true way of writing and that’s what gets words on the page. Unfortunately, that one true way is not necessarily obvious and I keep trying to improve my methods. Keep plugging away.

Speaking of plugging away, Tales from the Lyon’s Den was released today. I’m not in it.

However, I’m in the second of these two anthologies, which will be called Luck Is Not a Factor, which is coming out in about a month. The Four Horsemen Universe is huge, and I’m glad I get to play in that sandbox.

I head down to the Great Plains Renaissance Festival in Wichita today. I’ll be in the Author’s Pavilion, so if you’re out there, come on by.

Have a great week, everyone.

Current Playlist Song

The Trees by Rush. Lots of listening to Rush lately. Shocking, I know.

Quote of the Week

I mentioned it yesterday in my Magazine Review this week, but it’s such a good quote I’m going to use it again.

“Let the truth of Love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the Heart and Mind united
In a single perfect sphere”
– Cygnus X-1, Book 2: Hemispheres, Rush

News and Works in Progress

  • The Feeding of Sorrows (approx. 20,000)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AFS (2,556)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Wes Yahola. You can find his interview here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1418

Today’s Weight: 380.8

Updated Word Count: 203,126

Shijuren Wiki: 874 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 417 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

Currently Available Works

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