Tag Archives: None Call Me Mother

Rob’s Update: One Little Victory

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

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Rob’s Update: That Dark Night

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

Rob’s Update: Tall and Mighty Towers

Week 18 of 2019

Greetings all

I’d like to begin this update by welcoming a bunch of people who signed up for the list at Planet Comicon. You might wonder why it took so long for you to start getting these emails.

The answer is simple. I put that page in a safe place. Yes, the dreaded safe place! A place I could never forget. This just in: I forgot. Sorry about that.

However, welcome and thanks for joining us.

It’s been a good week around the house. Lots of tidying up and fixing small projects. I’ve already started some new projects in the shop, with the goal to improve my displays especially at SCA events.

However, the main thing I’ve done this week is hammered at None Call Me Mother. I’m doing better than the word count suggests, actually, though I’m over 27,000 words and that’s nothing to sneeze at. I’ve quite a few notes waiting for me to put into the story and flesh out.

I’m getting more and more comfortable with Robert B. Parker’s writing style. He would write a chunk. Then the next day, he’d rewrite that chunk and write another. It’s helped me put out 10,000 words in the last 3 days. It’s good to get in that kind of a groove, and there’s lots more to come.

One thing that might be happening, to foreshadow things, the concluding battle and epilogue of The Feeding of Sorrows clocked in at about 20,000 words. I have a sneaking suspicion None Call Me Mother will be up in the 25-30,000 range. I keep having cool ideas for portions of the battle. Don’t worry, I’m taking notes (see the comments above).

Unfortunately, there’s sad tidings today. A friend of mine who has helped many a fledgling author and artist has been admitted to hospice care. I don’t entirely know how public the announcement is, so I’ll withhold the name for now, but I’m very grateful to him.

Current Playlist Song

Oddly, I’m not listening to any music now. I’m writing this in a restaurant in Bolivar, MO, and they don’t have anything playing. It’s kind of weird to be in a public place anymore without music. I don’t actually like it.

Quote of the Week

Speaking of songs, I used a song lyric in None Call Me Mother today (with permission of course). The song is Cursing the Normans, which was written by Hyrim de Guillon in the SCA. Here’s the lyric, one of many I love in this song:

“Tall and mighty towers by the coast of the sea,
Raise their dark empty spires in forlorn misery.
Crumbling grain by grain to the cold ocean spray,
And cursing the Normans as they wither away.”
– Hyrim de Guillon, Cursing the Normans

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (approx. 27,080)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

  • None this week. If you’re an author, artist, musician, or other creator and you want to be interviewed, connect with me and I’ll send you the new and improved 2019 version.

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on me writing stuff

Today’s Weight: 388.4

Updated Word Count: 1057

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

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Rob’s Update: Off and Running

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

Rob’s Update: 2018 AAR

Welcome to 2019. I’m excited about the upcoming year as I have a bunch of opportunities. Before I get to that, though, it’s time to look back at 2018 and give myself a grade.

I didn’t write enough. My goal was 365,000 published words. I included blog posts with that in part to ensure that I would update the blog consistently. My final total was 245,900. Essentially, I was one novel away from my goal.

I should have, indeed, finished The Feeding of Sorrows. That would have put me around 350k and I would not be too disappointed. However, I did not, nor did I finish None Call Me Mother.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

The good news is that next year I won’t have to move, nor will I start it in a cramped house. Furthermore, I won’t have to replace the flooring in seven rooms of my house. There are still major projects to do, but we’ve made huge progress. It is not unreasonable to admit to myself that I put most of my spoons in late 2018 into getting the house under control.

Next year, however, I can’t allow that to happen again. I need to publish 3 novels. My plan is to finish The Feeding of Sorrows by the end of January. I think I can, though I still have some 60k to go.

Then I will return to Shijuren with None Call Me Mother. I will release that in May. After that, I plan for a new Edward novel in December. When I started Where Now the Rider I had a mystery in mind but went a different direction. It’s time to finish that. Edward has a long way to go.

I don’t know how many short stories I’ll do next year, but I have one scheduled already. I also have several that I’ve been playing with for a while that need to get finished.

I’ll also continue to count my blog words. Again, I do that to ensure I update the blog consistently. The three regular columns will continue. I’ll do a creator interview aiming for Tuesday, a magazine review aiming for Wednesday, and my update for Friday. That regular schedule will start next week.

My goal for 2019 is 400,000. A nice even number.

My other professional goals were to improve both the Shijuren and Four Horsemen wiki. I did well, but like with my writing, not as much as I’d hoped. The Shijuren wiki is up-to-date, but needs to be improved and cleaned up.

As for the Four Horsemen Wiki, I had hoped to do more. It stands at 479 entries. My goal for 2019 is to get that up to 1500 or so. That’s about 20 entries per week, which I was doing for a while in 2018 before things got too busy.

I’ll continue to travel as much as I can fit in during 2019. I will be at ShadowCon in Memphis this weekend and ChattaCon at the end of the month. In March, I’m excited to be one of the featured panelists at FantaSci, which is the first Four Horsemen Universe convention. There’ll be lots more, including LibertyCon, which of course I’ll announce here and on my mailing list.

My personal goal in 2019 is much like what it was in 2018, improve my health. I started 2018 at 384.8. I ended it at 387.2. In other words, I held steady. Give all the upheaval of 2018, I call that a win.

Along the way I also spent much of the fall getting myself a good relationship with a local doctor. I haven’t had a standard doctor in well over a decade, and it’s nice to get that relationship going. It meant I had about fifteen different medical visits during the fall, including a colonoscopy.

My next step is to consistently exercise. My basic daily goal is to get 1000 and one. That’s 1000 words and one mile of walking. That’s the minimum I aim for each day. Most weekdays, I’ll hope to do more, lots more when it comes to writing, but it’s an easy to remember daily goal. If I do that, then at least the day hasn’t been a waste. Can’t waste days in this business.

Overall, my professional grade for 2018 is C-. I didn’t write enough, nor did I do enough of the background stuff. Personally, I would give myself a B+. I’m in better shape, both physically and mentally than I was in 2017. I’m in a comfortable home, with a great sweetie, and things are going well. My final grade for myself in 2018 is a B-. I can do more, but it wasn’t awful.

Now to go do more.

Have a great year everyone. May we all do more and smile doing it.

 

 

Rob’s Update: Happy Holidays

Greetings all

It’s Christmas Eve and I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season. Thanks for making my holidays better.

I apologize for the lack of updates the past few weeks. It’s been extremely busy, but also extremely productive. We completed most of the projects in the house, and for the first time since I bought the house, I feel like I’m on the downward curve. I knew this house would be a major undertaking from the day we walked into it, so it was no surprise that it would take years. It’s a great feeling to see so much progress.

That’s my biggest Christmas gift to myself. I had a great deal of fun getting gifts for my family. We have ten here this year: my sweetie, her parents, her daughter and son, her brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and my mom. It’s been great and Christmas isn’t even here yet.

I also had fun sending out gifts to readers. I hope the recipients all enjoy their loot.

I’ve also done better than you might expect with writing as those tasks got finished on the house. Since several of the tasks were something like: “finish the room, then unpack the moving boxes intended for the room,” we’ve actually been able to get close to fully unpacking from the move. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re almost nested. It’s a good feeling, and I think the work and need to nest bothered me more than I realized.

I’m over 40k on The Feeding of Sorrows now with scenes popping up. Better yet, I haven’t even written the battle scenes, and I’ve noticed that writing battle scenes are usually the easiest parts. I’m targeting the end of January to finish it.

I’ve also made progress on None Call Me Mother. That story is writing itself in my head, and I’ve had some scenes jump at me to get it written. I’m not sure on any kind of date yet, but it’s coalescing.

Last week, I got asked to contribute to another anthology. I had the germ of a story jump out at me on that one as well. I expect it will be published in the summer.

I’ve two other short stories that are coming along in my head, along with some of the older ones I’ve dabbled with. This pleases me, as I need some more of the short fiction foundation. There are some Shijuren stories, too, and I’m planning on a Shijuren anthology hopefully by the end of 2019.

This isn’t a full update, but I plan on a full 2018 in review and list of 2019 plans in the next two weeks, and will return to normal updates following that.

Again, thank you for reading my books, giving me reviews, and generally making this possible for me.

Have fun these holidays and I wish you all a great 2019.

Rob

Rob’s Update: Thanksgiving

Week 46 of 2018

Greetings all

We’re coming up on Thanksgving and I want to start by thanking all of you. I can’t do this job without you guys reading my stuff, giving me reviews, and talking me up.

And since this is the season of giving, I’ll be sending out some prezzies. I’ll do a drawing and send out gifts to the lucky winners. I’ll randomly choose 5 of those who are on my mailing list or who are regular readers of my blog. If you’re a regular reader and not on the mailing list, I suggest you add a comment and I’ll put you into the pool. Or, you could just subscribe to the mailing list. In any case, I’ll do the drawing in a couple of weeks, so that I can make sure to get your prezzie to you by Christmas.

Thanks to all of you. I really appreciate you.

Back to the news. I missed last week’s update. Sorry. It’s that time of the year that I routinely do a bunch of house improvements. I host an SCA party every year in early December and like to clear up a bunch of things to make the house ready. Also, this Christmas, my sweetie and I are hosting her family along with my mom.

Gotta make sure the house is acceptable for *both* moms. That’s only mildly terrifying.

As for writing, I’ve been going through a tough patch. It happens, sometimes, and all I’ve found to do is throw bad words at the page. I’ve also had a couple of really nice things happen on the professional front of late. They’re small, but it’s often the little things that make my brain weasels nag at me, so it’s nice to see that small things can pacify them sometimes.

As I said, I’ve written some awful words recently, but the short story that I recently submitted is a notable exception. It should be released 1Q of 2019 and I’m excited. It’s one of those stories where the muse just told me what to write. It doesn’t happen often, but in this case it leapt out at me.

I shelved The Feeding of Sorrows for a couple of weeks to work on None Call Me Mother. I made some progress but am turning back to Sorrows this week. I just needed a break and some ideas are coming back to me.

And with that, it’s time for me to go throw those ideas onto a page.

Current Playlist Song

They’ve set the Pandora Station at Brewbaker’s to disco and right now they’re playing the Spinners I’ll Be Around. Good song, but a little creepy when you read the lyrics.

Quote of the Week

I’m saddened to hear of the passing of William Goldman today. This has been a horrible week of celebrity deaths, as he joins Roy Clark and Stan Lee.

Because I enjoy black humor, I’ll choose my quote from The Princess Bride.

Miracle Max: Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there’s usually only one thing you can do.

Inigo Montoya: What’s that?

Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.”
The Princess Bride

Thanks to all three of you for brightening my life. Your stuff gave us a bunch of ‘loose change’ to treasure forever.

News and Works in Progress

  • None Call Me Mother (approx. 15,000)
  • The Feeding of Sorrows (approx. 25,000)
  • CB (8,418)
  • AFS (2,556)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

The interviews listed above conclude #FourHorsetober. It was a lot of fun to do, and included 24 authors delivering over 33 thousand words about their careers, interests, and writing techniques. Many thanks to all of htem.

Today’s Weight: 381.4

Updated Word Count: 237,958

Shijuren Wiki: 874 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 479 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

Rob’s Update: Grey My Way

Week 27 of 2018

I’m in Indianapolis at the Lincoln Square Pancake House getting ready to load in for InConjunction. They have a take on biscuits and gravy involving jalapeno cornbread and queso. I had to try it.

Anyway, I’m slowly recovering from LibertyCon. What an amazing time. My detailed after-action report is here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1224. LibertyCon is so good, that all 750 tickets for 2019 sold out in 6 hours yesterday. Actually, 5 hours, 52 minutes, and 20 seconds, but who’s counting.

I’ve got mine, don’t worry.

The big result, from my perspective, is a slight change in priorities and focus. I’ve got two books currently planned, None Call Me Mother and The Feeding of Sorrows (working title for the Four Horsemen novel). However, I’m going to turn more focus on some short stories.

This weekend is InConjunction, which is a much different con. I’ll be involved in a variety of panels plus I’ll be selling in the author’s alley next to Jon Osborne, another writer in the 4HU. Then I get home as quickly as I can. I should be back to Olathe on Sunday night.

I’m ready. It’s been a crazy last two months, and I still have a month or so to go. It’s been productive, and I’m really happy with the direction everything is going, but I am so glad I don’t have anything huge scheduled for a while after Pennsic.

Anyway, the stories aren’t going to write themselves, so I better get back to work.

Current Playlist Song

Something too low to hear over the voices of other guests, but with the occasional country twang.

Quote of the Week

I heard this song on the drive yesterday, and as my birthday approaches, it seems more and more relevant.

My life is slipping away
I’m aging every day
But even when I’m grey
I’ll still be grey my way
– Rush, “I Think I’m Going Bald”

News and Works in Progress

  • CB (6560)
  • TAV (2,007)
  • AFS (2,681)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s interview was with Rob Hobart, an amazing gamer and now a writer. You can find the interview here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1229 and his Amazon page at: https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Amatsu-Empire-Moon-Book-ebook/dp/B07CWKP2LW/.

Today’s Weight: 386.8 (Last week)

Updated Word Count: 154,715 (Finally totaled up everything)

Shijuren Wiki: 874 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 376 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

ConQuest AAR

Greetings all

I’m finishing my recovery from ConQuest this evening by sitting in Brewbaker’s getting ready to work while the Golden State Warriors play the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of their series.

I was a big NBA fan in the 80s and early 90s, but as the greats of the Dream Team disappeared, so did my interest. However, the new style that focuses so much on long-range shooting has piqued my interest, and these two teams are both three-point shooting teams. Should be a great game.

And I need a bit of a break, given my silliness. I know I shouldn’t have a dealer’s booth *and* do panels at the same convention, but that’s what I did. Things went well, though I do feel somewhat stretched thin, like Bilbo did with the One Ring.

However, things went very well. I moderated two panels, one on how a costumer interprets the writer’s vision and the other on LIGO and gravity waves. I asked to do the first one because I thought I’d learn something, and I did, but I didn’t realize how much I might have to contribute. Next year, I’ll ask to be on that panel because it will go better with a writer and a costumer comparing experiences. The LIGO panel went far better than I expected, given that I had no idea what to ask. Fortunately, the panelists all had good contributions and I really just had to stay out of their way.

On Saturday night I was put on a Geek Trivia panel. This was a lot of fun, and I came in second place. I’m pretty good at trivia in general, but sometimes geek trivia gets incredibly obscure, and frankly, there are large swaths of geek culture I know very little about, like comic books. Still, I did pretty well, losing out in the end to Van Allen Plexico, who was clearly better than all the rest of us.

The exciting part is that it is supposed to be broadcast on a syndicated radio station. I’ll let everyone know when I find out about the details of that.

On Sunday, I had my only regular panel where I was a participant, this time about historical costuming. I was again a little concerned that I didn’t have much to contribute, but it turns out that through osmosis and a general understanding of how to research stuff, I’ve got a goodly amount to contribute. I even got to name drop Drix and Calontir Trim.

The last thing on the schedule I participated in was my reading. That went very well. I chose the chunk involving Olga, which includes sarcasm, pottery, and a battle. There were five people there, and they listened throughout.

I also tossed out the riddle, which I need to add to the front page of my website. I’m offering a challenge. I’ll give a signed copy of the entire trilogy of The Kreisens to anyone who answers it before I reveal it in None Call Me Mother.

Sales were reasonable, and I netted a little money. I spent it immediately on new product, though.

I’ve added some CDs to my selection. Currently, I have the Bedlam Bards, Pandora Celtica, and Consortium of Genius with a number of other artists coming soon.

I also had Hand of Gold, the new Pussy Katnip anthology including my story “A Gift of Crimson.” My table is starting to have a decent selection, and I look forward to expanding that with Brief Is My Flame very soon.

I didn’t do a lot of socializing after the main stuff because I was simply too tired. However, I got to meet a number of good writers and spend time with Chaz Kemp of Pandora Celtica for the first time in years. Wonderful to meet his wife.

I was tired and frazzled afterwards, but all in all, a very good weekend.

 

Rob’s Update: The Far, Unlit Unknown

Week 15 of 2018

Greetings all. Sorry about mailing my update on Friday. I was wrestling with my taxes last night and I lost track of time.

I had originally planned on these updates to come out every Wednesday, but it is becoming clear that Thursday fits my normal schedule better. This is in part because on Tuesday I’m now putting out an interview on Tuesday and on Wednesday I’m doing an update post on the Four Horseman Wiki in a different forum. So, I’m just going to plan on doing them every Thursday, and stop growling at myself for being a day late. Or in this case, two days late.

Anyway, things are going well here. I crossed the 60k mark with lots coming to mind with Brief Is My Flame. I’m on track to have it done by Pennsic. I had hoped to have None Call Me Mother done by then as well, but fall is a more realistic date.

The big news here is that we finally have a resolution about my house situation. In June, I decided to move up to Omaha to be with my sweetie. At the time, there were arrangements in place to sell my house in KC so we could get a place up here.

Unfortunately, those plans did not work out. Fortunately, though, there have been two changes. One, my sweetie passed the Missouri bar. Two, my sweetie’s company is transferring her to the KC office so she can use that license. So, in a case of everything old is new again we’re moving back into the KC house.

I’m really excited, in part because we get to arrange everything in a way based off of knowing how that house flows after living there for seven years. I’m also excited to have a kitchen again, where I can cook for my sweetie. We’re even hosting the joint family Christmas get-together.

Exciting, but I predict the next couple of months will be “interesting.”

Current Playlist Song

Ironically, given that we’re moving back into a subdivision, the current song is Rush’s “Subdivisions.” This was such a huge song for me, as the lines: “Nowhere is the dreamer, Or the misfit so alone” fit me both when the song came out and often enough now.

Quote of the Week

So, maybe this my reason too…

“I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else.” – G.K. Chesterton

News and Works in Progress

  • TAV (2,007)
  • AFS (2,681)
  • Brief Is My Flame (60,562)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Todd Fischer, who joined me for an interview earlier in the week. You can find his interview here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1029 and you can find his work on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Todd-H.-C.-Fischer/e/B079TZDYY3 and his home page is here: http://www.todd-fischer.com/.

Today’s Weight: 389.6

Updated Word Count: 26,423

Shijuren Wiki: 756 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 268 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

Currently Available Works

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