Week 15 of 2021
Greetings all
It’s a really exciting time for me. I have completed the first draft of The Ravening of Sorrows! Well, almost. I decided today to add one more battle scene, but I should get that done this weekend, along with major progress on the editing. I hope to have it off to the editor next week.
The last bits tend to go fast because it’s a series of event to event that’s been set up. In this case, the reason I want to add a battle is to punch up the tension one last time, to make it that much more of a hill to climb, but it’s really the cherry on top. Of course, since this is military science fiction, it’s the extra explosions on the top.
Next will come a short story for Kevin Steverson’s Salvage Title universe, with a couple of stories for New Mythology anthologies to follow. Then another Shijuren novel, and there are big doings there.
This week, David Lucas was gracious enough to have me on his Writer’s Wrap Up interview series. Here are the links, in case you missed it.
On the publishing side, it was a slower week, but that’s because Responsibility of the Crown is on it’s way and I’m already done with it.
Of course, there’s also the release of Accepted, by Kevin Steverson and Tyler Ackerman, which was Monday. This is a fun series, full of slightly twisted fantasy tropes, action, and heroes you’ll root for.
What I’m Listening To
Right now, nothing except the computer exhaust fans. I don’t normally want quiet, but for some reason, I do right now.
Quote of the Week
Some days are the anniversary of few interesting things. April 15th is not one of those days. Lincoln dies (1865). The Titanic sinks (1912). Sacco and Vanzetti’s robbery (1920). Beginning of the Teapot Dome scandal (1922). Insulin becomes available (1923). First flight of the B-52, which they intend to use at least up to 2050 (1952). McDonald’s opens (1955). And more besides.
But I’m a baseball fan, so this is always the day that Jackie Robinson took the field as a Brooklyn Dodger in 1947 so I’ll take a quote from Jackie that is really important to me. When I’m down and depressed, this quote pushes me to get back going.
“Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.”
― Jackie Robinson
New Mythology Works in Progress
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: 12 April: Accepted (Book 2 of the Balance of Kerr series by Kevin Steverson and Tyler Ackerman. You can find it here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/book/accepted/.
- 21 May: Responsibility of the Crown (Book 1 of the Endless Ocean series by G. Scott Huggins)
Recent Titles
- Songs of Valor (Book 2 of the Libri Valoris anthologies with Larry Correia, David Weber, Glen Cook, Dave Butler, and Sarah Hoyt). You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z7Z3KT1
Rob’s Works in Progress
- The Ravening of Wolves (95,346)
- 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
Accepted (Book 2 of the Balance of Kerr series by Kevin Steverson and Tyler Ackerman. You can find it here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/book/accepted/.
Then there’s John Siers’ The Ferryman, third in the Hit World series. You can find it here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/book/the-ferryman/.
Today’s Weight: 338.2
Updated Word Count: 17,002
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