This week I’ll go over some of my goals and plans for the new year. Before I do that, I’ll digress a moment.
It’s been 5 years since Neil Peart of Rush died. His writing, whether in his lyrics or his books, still resonates with me and I haven’t yet gotten over his passing. You can expect the What I’m Listening To section to be only Rush over the next month, as is true every January since 2020.
Anyway, let’s talk about the future! My first goal of 2025 is to clean up and republish the Irina series that began with I Am A WondrousThing. I have 4 books finished, but they’ve been unavailable for a bit because of some false starts along the way.
So, I’ll be re-editing those first 4, plus writing Book 5, the conclusion, throughout the year. My goal is to rapid release those starting somewhere like September and October, finishing the series in early 2026.
Now that I’m done with the Foresters series, I’m probably going to write some new science fiction short stories. I have a number of ideas that might turn into series, and I haven’t written as many short stories in the last couple of years. I’m going to try and put out 4 of them in 2025.
One of those may be another Nick Patara, PI stories. I’ve written 3 of them and they need re-editing, plus I might put them out along with a 4th one as a set. Maybe set it up as a serial in a different type of publishing. I’d like to see other options.
Meanwhile, I’ll continue with the Okkorim stuff as long as Luke and Matt will let me. I love what we’re doing there and can’t wait until we have stuff start rolling off regularly, which will happen this year. Ideally, I can also get another client or two in the gaming world.
Overall, my aim is to get more words out than I ever have before, which means something like 450k. I count edited words in this, but only at 1/4 word, by the way.
I have been working with the Anthony Chamber of Commerce for a few months now. My big goal here is to set up regular processes that don’t rely on a single person. This will help me make the events Anthony has work better. Obviously, I’m investing a lot of my future in this town, and I want to keep contributing here.
On the personal side, now that things are actually settling into a routine, I want to add consistent workouts and losing weight. Obviously, that’s been a goal for a while, but things have been wonky.
My wife and I have never taken a vacation. Yes, we’ve traveled 1000s of miles together and done a bunch of awesome things, but that’s all been part of the SCA, or a thing for either one of us. I’d like us to go somewhere like Venice, Florence, and Rome. Something like that. Maybe that happens in 2025, maybe 2026, but it needs to happen.
I expect I won’t get all of that done in 2025, but these are reasonable things to shoot for. Whatever i get done, I’m excited about how much I get to do!
What I’m Listening To
Closer to the Heart, Rush. I’m no plowman, but I’m trying to be a philosopher who knows my part.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to another musical hero, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.
This particular quote resonates with me as I sit here on a snowy day in Anthony. We took a chance coming here. It was the right decision both based on what we knew and where we are now, but it was a chance. I’m glad we’re here.
“So many people are frightened to take a chance in life and there’s so many chances you have to take.”
– Jimmy Page
Rob’s Works in Progress
Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
Upcoming Events
ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN chattacon.org/ I’m the Toastmaster!
Pennsic War, July 25 – August 10, Slippery Rock, PA pennsicwar.org/
New Releases
This week we have Hero’s Shadow, the second book in Fred Hughes’ Heroes of Britannia series. Admiral Julie Adams has been tasked with ending the Teddy Bear problem, but it won’t be as simple as she—or anyone else—might like! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DRZ6WBB3.
This week’s pre-release is Blood of Her Father by Kacey Ezell and Marisa Wolf, the fifth book in the Ashes of Entecea series. If you’ve read anything by either of these authors (which I have to imagine everyone on this list has), then you know it’s going to be great. When last seen (in The Conqueror’s Promise), Isonei was a spoiled brat who showed promise. Will she live up to that promise? Surrounded by people with their own motives, though, perhaps a better question is, “Will she survive to her majority?”
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 363.8lbs
Updated Word Count: 2,087
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.
First of all, I really dropped the ball in terms of updates in December. I missed two then had one that I didn’t send out, despite having it ready to go.
Some of that is because I had perhaps the most family-filled holiday season I can recall, especially if I include friends and customers in that. We had our store’s birthday party on the 21st (It’ll be December 20th in 2025, so mark your calendars). Then we had an extended time with the moms, the guys, and the grandbaby, which was fun. Baking Christmas cookies with the grandbaby was a delight. Then we popped down to Fayetteville for a couple of days with good friends to celebrate the New Year.
Now, that’s no excuse for not doing my work, but during that time, I was also cranking out a bunch of words to hit a deadline, which I did. In effect, I put the family and the project ahead of updates, which shows good priorities, but not good efficiency on my part. I’ll try to do better in 2025.
In fact, next week, I will lay out some of my goals for 2025, but for today, it’s time to look back on 2024.
From a personal perspective, there was a lot of settling in to a new life here in Anthony as store owners. We spent a bunch of time, especially at the beginning of the year, figuring out our basic processes, which we’ve generally done.
We started the year with my office in the front where I could more easily help with customers, but we decided a couple of months ago, the efficiency gained with the store didn’t outweigh the efficiency gained with my own office in the back. We made that transition during December and it’s already proving valuable. I won’t be completely settled in until I build the extra shelving I have in mind for this room (basically I want to cover it in shelves), but I’m well on the way to making this space station fully operational.
2024 was not my greatest writing year, but it was a close second. I aim to beat that number handily this year.
Nevertheless, I chunked out nearly 425k this past year, counting the editing in the way I do. I didn’t actually edit as much this year, but I did put out more words than I have since I started tabulating in 2018 (227k). I had better years in 2016-2017, I believe, since I had two novels each of those years, but between 136k in The Feasting of Vengeance and 90k in paid words in gaming worlds, I’m pretty pleased.
The Feasting of Vengeance is the crown jewel, of course. It’s nearly a third of all my production during the year, it completes the Foresters trilogy subseries in the 4HU, and I’m really pleased how it turned out. It’s scheduled to be out on the 14th of February.
I edited and published an anthology (Paladins of Valor) and three novels (Responsibility of the Fleet, Reka’s Grasp, and Tugarin’s Revenge). I made up for less novels by chunking out 19 modules and magazines for GaxxWorx, a number that will go up in 2025 as we’re ramping up there.
I tried some things, notably the Riddle Patreon. I’m pleased with the riddles, but there didn’t seem to be much interest. I want to have a small revenue generation setup using either Patreon or Substack on the side to sort of fill in the cracks, and I’ll talk about my ideas for 2025 there to make that work.
I didn’t go to as many conventions as I have done in the past, mostly because I needed to focus on things here in Anthony. The store, of course, but also simply recovering from such a travel-filled 2023 where I put 45k miles on my car in part because of all the trips up and down during the move. I’ll do more events in 2025, which I’ll expand on next week.
For now, though, remember I’m the Toastmaster of ChattaCon 50. You want to be there. And you especially want to be there for opening ceremonies. Trust me.
Finally, the other big thing I did in 2024 was get involved in the Chamber of Commerce. I’m not the executive director of the Chamber, which means I’ll be running a number of events in 2025, including BalloonFest, which will happen May 10th. I’ll lay out the current plans next week as well.
Over the entirety of my time as a writer there’s always been something major changing my life. I moved 3 times, dealt with the pandemic, started businesses, had my workspace change often, and so on. By the end of 2024, I’m in a place where I think I’ll have a relatively stable foundation for a while.
I put out something like 75k of those words in 2024 in the last two months, and that’s a reflection of finally settling in, at least to a part. If I were to do 75k every 2 months, I’d end up with nearly a million words in a year. I doubt that’ll happen, but we’ll see 🙂
In any case, 2024 was a busy, productive, and eventful year. I’m glad you all were here on the ride with me. Let’s all have a great 2025.
What I’m Listening To
Where’s My Thing? Part IV of the Gangster of Boats Trilogy. It’s another of the great Rush instrumentals like YYZ, Malignant Narcissism, and Main Monkey Business. Basically, they’re opportunities for Rush to play around and do cool things.
Quote of the Week
Instead of a normal quote, I’ll just put this here which I saw on X.
2025 is clearly the year where it’s hip to be square.
2025
Dragon’s Tidings
We’ll talk about our 2025 plans soon, so in the meantime, check our website (www.reddragonquilts.com)!
Rob’s Works in Progress
Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
Upcoming Events
ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN chattacon.org/ I’m the Toastmaster!
Your pre-release this week is from Fred Hughes, as this week’s pre-release is Hero’s Shadow, the second book in his Heroes of Britannia series. Admiral Julie Adams has been tasked with ending the Teddy Bear problem, but it won’t be as simple as she—or anyone else—might like! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DRZ6WBB3.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 368.2lbs
Updated Word Count: 1,183
Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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.
I spent most of this week moving! Well, moving my office from the front of the store to a room in the apartment on the main floor. It’s ideal for me, big enough for my desk, bookcases, my comfy chair, and a guest bed.
So yes, I was moving pictures. Did you think I wouldn’t make that reference?
I’m already nesting. It is much like the room I had in Olathe, with its own bathroom and a small kitchenette. Only difference is that it’s a bit bigger and is shaped in a more convenient way. It will also serve as the best jumping off point for events that I’ve ever had.
I’m really pleased.
It’s also already my lair, something I hadn’t realized I missed so much. I had a great setup up front, but it was never my lair.
Anyway, moving is never easy, but thanks to one of the guys whose been gaming here on Tuesday, we got the big stuff all moved on Sunday and at this point, I’m effectively fully operational. I still have some organizing to do, but to be honest, some of that organizing is from the original move here.
I have my SF/F magazines behind me and a good place to sit and read. I may very well start nibbling away at my To Be Read pile.
Obviously, I’m still enthused about sending The Feasting of Vengeance to Chris last week. As a reminder, it’s on the schedule for the 14th of February.
But of course, publish or perish, and I spent my time this week working on a fairly major project for Okkorim. I can’t wait to show off what we’re doing, and we’re gonna have it by GaryCon.
As we approach the end of the year, I’m doing my evaluation of what worked and what didn’t. I’m also figuring out some new things to add to my content. I’m a content creator, I need to create more content. Expect some announcements going forward.
I also spent this week getting ready for Kris Kinder. Hope to see some of you there.
But forget all that! We’re coming up on our first birthday party here at Red Dragon Quilts and Dragon’s Den Books! If you’re in the area, come by. We’ll have specials like buy one, get one used books, pizza, and some giveaways.
It’s a week from Saturday on the 21st! Come join us!
Birthday Party
What I’m Listening To
Niners vs Rams in the new setup. It’s nice.
Quote of the Week
Mako’s birthday is December 10th. That’s close enough for me to use as a quote his opening to Conan the Barbarian. Yes, it’s one of my favorite films, and yes I love Mako in it.
Come to think of it, I can’t remember a single time I’ve seen Mako in a show or movie that he didn’t make it better.
“Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to bear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!”
Pennsic War, July 25 – August 10, Slippery Rock, PA pennsicwar.org/
New Releases
This week we have The Darkness, the second book in William S. Frisbee, Jr.’s series, The Conglomerate Trilogy. Did you like the Last Marines? Then you’re going to love this series! Bad things lurk in the darkness, and they aren’t going to be content to stay there much longer. Luke is going to need a lot of help if he’s to keep the darkness at bay… so what is he going to do when Topa Suresh suddenly disappears? Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DPL2BDNR.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 364.8 lbs
Updated Word Count: 392,000
Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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.
The exciting news this week is Bureau 42, the new anthology in the Four Horsemen Universe. Lots of great action as the Peacemakers deal with a host of cold cases.
In my case, Dan Bridgwater and I wrote a story with Rick Blaine on the trail of Kukuluki. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t go smoothly!
More news: I’m finished with the first pass of Responsibility of the Fleet, coming out on September 12th. Oh my goodness, the action in the second half of the story simply doesn’t let up. Great stuff!
I wrote a goodly amount this week, but to be honest, I got distracted by a story that has been pushing out of me for a while. Get the words on the page even if they’re not the ones you planned on.
Plus, I wrote I bunch of stuff for Okkorim this week, some of the most fun stuff I’ve ever created for a gaming world. I’m really excited about what it’ll turn out to be. Looks like I’m leveling up there as well.
We also made huge progress on my woodshop. I need to do work in it next week and you know what, I’ll be able to do so. Been a while since I could.
For now, have a great week everyone!
What I’m Listening To
Ted Lasso. The wife and a friend are spending a lot of the week at a big weaving conference in Wichita, so I decided to get the trial period of Apple TV to watch a show I’ve been looking forward to seeing for a while: Ted Lasso.
I’m 7 episodes in and it’s as brilliant as I’ve heard. It’s got that balance of comedy and heartwrenching moments of the best M*A*S*H episodes. It’s that good.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to E.B. White, born on this day in 1899. I’m sure glad he was because Charlotte’s Web was one of my favorite books growing up.
Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.
– E. B. White
Rob’s Riddles
Like challenges? Think you’re smarter than me? Then see if you can answer my riddles!
You can find them by signing up for my Patreon here: patreon.com/rhodri2112. Not sure what I mean? Then check the sample riddle and see if you get the answer!
First Line of Current Riddle:
Over and under Upside and downside
But wait, there’s more! You get new riddles on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday, but on the other Tuesdays, you get snippets of works in progress.
This week’s snippet is Chapter Two of The Feasting of Vengeance.
Rob’s Works in Progress
Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
The Feasting of Vengeance (34,791)
The Rattler Strikes (4,112)
Upcoming Events
Pennsic War, July 26 – August 11, Slippery Rock, PA pennsicwar.org/
ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN chattacon.org/ I’m the Toastmaster!
This week’s pre-release is Bureau 42, the new anthology in the Four Horsemen Universe. Lots of great action as the Peacemakers deal with a host of cold cases.
In my case, Dan Bridgwater and I wrote a story with Rick Blaine on the trail of Kukuluki. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t go smoothly!
This week we get more from John E. Siers in his excellent Lunar Free State series. I actually played a bit of hooky from reading fantasy to go through this series. In this one, Three Player Game, a new group of nations has joined the space race, and it’s going to upset the apple cart!. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0D76SLN6B.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 368.2lbs
Updated Word Count: 155,000
Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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.
A pretty productive week here despite taking some time off for Memorial Day. Once again, thanks to the memory of those who sacrificed for us all.
I’m over 20k on The Feasting of Vengeance and it’s still flowing smoothly. It’s a blast to write, will be just as much a blast to read with as many blasts, explosions, and rounds downrange as I can fit inside.
I Smell a Rat
And there’s more in the Foresters saga coming! July 12th, we have Bureau 42, which includes I Smell a Rat by myself and Dan Bridgwater. Check out the amazing image Dan made using the cool cover art!
Also this week, I received Responsibility of the Fleet, book 3 in G. Scott Huggins’ excellent Endless Ocean series. I don’t have a firm release date, but I’m excited to see this amazing trilogy get finished. Don’t have the first two? Get them here: amazon.com/dp/B095CXTH85.
I also spent this week catching up on some smaller projects. I’ve needed to update the cards I hand out at events, so here’s the front and back. As you can see, they’re much flashier than the Firehall Sagas cards I was handing out, plus it’s got all my relevant social media and Amazon details. I really like how they turned out.
I did a goodly amount of Okkorim work as well. By the way, there’s some special stuff coming out soon that I can’t wait to talk about from some folks you might already know. Exciting times!
Man, I’m enjoying having all this work. I’ve had times in my life where I didn’t have enough to do and I much prefer it this way.
Nothing, actually. I was only going to sit down and do a short task, so didn’t pop up my MP3 player, but got to doing things and didn’t notice until now.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to Mel Blanc! He’s be 116 today.
It’s amazing just how good Looney Tones really was. Great characters. Good stories. Images that remain with us.
“We didn’t make pictures for children. We didn’t make pictures for adults. We made them for ourselves”
– Mel Blanc
Rob’s Riddles
Like challenges? Think you’re smarter than me? Then see if you can answer my riddles!
You can find them by signing up for my Patreon here: patreon.com/rhodri2112. Not sure what I mean? Then check the sample riddle and see if you get the answer!
First Line of Current Riddle:
I dash to and fro Daring dire perils
But wait, there’s more! You get new riddles on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday, but on the other Tuesdays, you get snippets of works in progress.
The current snippet is Chapter 1 of The Feasting of Vengeance.
Pennsic War, July 26 – August 11, Slippery Rock, PA pennsicwar.org/
ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN chattacon.org/ I’m the Toastmaster!
New Releases
New stuff from Bill Fawcett and Casey Moores! It’s the second book in Bill’s Blood and Armor series called No Fail. Get it here:https://amazon.com/dp/B0D3VLLPB6.
Your pre-release this week is from Kacey Ezell and Chris Kennedy. It’s The Conqueror’s Promise, the third book in their amazing Ashes of Entecea series. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CW1HTN4M/.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 372.0lbs
Updated Word Count: 107,439
Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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.
For those who may not know, GaryCon is a large gaming convention in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin named after Gary Gygax, inventor of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s basically a megadungeon in its own right.
Players Handbook 1E
It started after the passing of Gary. His friends and family were all together and decided to play in his honor. Then they did a small con the following year. Then it grew, much like dragons.
I was there entirely thanks to the opportunities provided by Luke Gygax. I’ve spent the last few months helping in his Okkorim setting (which is already really cool and getting better all the time. Not only did I get the chance to play and schmooze, I also got to DM a couple of games, which is the first time I’ve done so at a con since the 90s. I’ve missed that quite a bit.
Anyway, let’s get into what all happened!
I originally planned to get there on Wednesday, but I’d heard there were some things going on during Tuesday, so I moved my plans up a day. It’s well I did, because not only did I get to hang out with some folks, I also got in an early game.
This game was with Stefan Pokorny and was one of the highlights of the week. He is the founder of Dwarven Forge, a company that makes terrain for RPGs. I’d seen it before but this was the first time I’d ever played a game with it. It’s really something cool.
Besides having a whole dungeon laid out, he had two special iconic pieces. One was the demon from the first edition Player’s Handbook (the one at the top). If you’ve been playing D&D for a while, you know this image well.
The more fun piece was doorway in the mouth. The one from Tomb of Horrors. Spoiler alert: This particular encounter has probably killed more player characters than any other single encounter in D&D. If it hasn’t, it’s close.
Tomb of Horrors
The mouth here is… well… if you know you know.
And all of us knew. It was a door we could have gone through but because we knew, we went around it. Which of course was the wrong way to go. Brilliantly done by Stefan.
For the record, our reasoning was sound, if incorrect in this case.
Anyway, we had a great time, and then I had about a day and a half of schmoozing. The central bar at the Grand Lodge is a pretty nice place, along with several restaurants.
Thursday is when the con really started for me. At 8am, I ran A1: Sinister Sands, a low-level adventure in Okkorim. This group was cagey and also got lucky. It included a couple of players I’d met in the game with Stefan. In any case, they did a bunch right and managed to win in the end without too much stress, though there were a few moments where the dice failed them.
Once that was done, I had a race to run. Let me explain.
The Lodge at the Grand Geneva is a pretty neat place. Overall, the resort is huge, and the Lodge itself is massive. I discovered this at about 12:53pm on Thursday as I was hustling to get to my next game. The Forum hallway is over a quarter mile from Maple Lawn A, and that’s if you go straight to it instead of winding through the various corridors and stairs inside the hotel. I’ll know not to plan an event immediately after another separated by that much again.
My schedule at GaryCon included as many different game systems as I could fit in so I could get a taste, and this was one I was looking forward to. It’s called Fate of the Norns and it’s got a really neat mechanic. You have a certain number of runes, and these are all the things you can do. To move, you play a rune; to attack, to cast a spell, to do anything, you play a rune.
One challenge to Pathfinder 1E is there are so many different action types, you can sometimes lose track of what you can and can’t do. This system had none of that.
It had a number of neat twists, too, especially to someone like me who’s read so much of Norse, Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon cultures. It had a great flavor to me, but even without the flavor, having a physical token that shows how many more actions you have remaining was something I may add to my personal versions of D&D.
After that I went to the dealer’s room. It was right next to the game I’d just played, and I had a break anyway. I found all sorts of deals and brought back quite a bit at half off or used or whatever ever. This was great shopping! However, then I had to sherpa it all back to my car. Did I mention it was really, really far away from where most of my stuff was happening?
Anyway, I got dinner, then I went to one of the games I’d really been looking for. It was a D&D 2E Descent into Menzoberranzan. If you’re a D&D player, you know that name. I chose the samurai character since there wasn’t a paladin (and I’ve been reading Rob Hobart’s Japanese fantasy series).
It was a really fun adventure until the final battle. This was entirely due to the whims of fate, not anything the DM could control. I did what the Lawful Good samurai would do and jumped in to save a hostage. Then I missed a saving throw (by a lot) that basically took me out of the fight.
I’d do what I did again, as it exactly fit the character. Luck, good or ill, is part of the game. Overall, I hope I can play more with that DM.
I had a fun moment, though. I played a lot of 2E back in the 80s and 90s. We even played it at my first bachelor party (I’m such a wild, wild guy). I had so much of the Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide memorized.
That was 30 years ago, though. I figured I’d have huge problems remembering things and I did, until about 2 hours in. Then, suddenly, my brain shifted and I was rattling off spells like mad. That was so much fun, just having that mesh with the memories of games long past.
Anyway, I was exhausted and went back to my hotel. I stayed, by the way, at Timber Ridge, which is the waterpark resort hotel part of the overall resort that the Lodge was just a part of. It wasn’t ideal, and I doubt I’ll stay there next time, but there were advantages.
I started Friday off with my second running of Sinister Sands. This was a fun group in many ways, but they made a tactical decision that made it challenging for me. They were at the hideout of the bad guys and instead of scouting, sneaking, or even just attacking, they knocked on the door.
I’d considered a bunch of tactical setups. That wasn’t one of them. It ended up being a really tough fight for them, but they pushed through.
After that, I played in the Introduction to Castles and Crusades scenario. This is one of the games I’ve been intrigued by. In many ways, it’s simply D&D 1E, but there are some twists. Notably is the concept of primary stats. Many games have this concept, but C&C emphasizes it by making rolls involving these stats at, essentially, +6 as opposed to rolls against other stats. I like that quite a bit.
Next I went to probably my favorite game system of the week, Hyperborea. It, too, is a derivation of D&D 1E but with a bunch more flavor and revamped classes.
I played a runegraver, which is sort of a cleric but without healing spells. Basically, you get to cast all the support spells, plus a couple wizard spells, without having any slots aimed at cure wounds spells.
I like playing clerics, and Pathfinder 1E’s concept of spontaneously converting spells to cure spells so the cleric can take advantage of their versatile spell list is something I appreciate. The runegraver takes that another step by not even giving them the option.
The particular scenario we played was about as Norse as you can get. We were all vikings adventuring in Jotunheim. Again, this was right up my alley. I’m absolutely investigating this game system more.
Anyway, that was basically 11-12 hours of gaming and I was beat.
However, unlike Friday morning where my first game was noon, I was originally scheduled to get there 8am for another 12 hour set. Worse, game 1 was another Fate of the Norns scenario all the way in the Forum followed by a game in Maple Lawn A.
I couldn’t do it. I skipped out of the first one. There was literally the opportunity to schedule games nonstop, and I succumbed to the temptation. I missed some at the end because of simple fatigue. I apologize to those DMs I skipped out of, and I’ll plan better next year.
White Plume Mountain
However, the first game of Saturday was one I’d been looking forward to. It was a retouched version of an old adventure, White Plume Mountain.
I wanted to play in the module for its own sake, but I was also looking forward to playing with Brand, a great guy from Ealdormere. If there was any doubt we’d have fun gaming together, this game dispelled that, much like a high-level cleric with a zombie.
But to be honest, I was not as sharp as I’d been previously. I did not sleep well any night at the con, which is one reason I doubt I’ll stay at Timber Ridge again. I simply never could get comfortable.
In any case, I was slowed by fatigue. I popped in and out of activity whenever I could, but I walked out of it thinking about the 2 other scenarios I had scheduled with dread.
So I was smart. I went back to my hotel room for a nap and a shower, then came back for a real meal and to socialize as much as possible Saturday evening.
This was so much the smart move. I ended up sharing a table with the DM from the C&C game and we got to chat for a while.
I also got to unlock an achievement. For the first time ever, I met a Twitter friend I didn’t already know prior to Twitter in real life. Yodanno is one of my favorite follows there, posting all sorts of old school D&D stuff. He’s a good guy IRL and I’m really glad I got to finally meet him. I gave him a copy of A Lake Most Deep, too.
In fact, I took 20 copies of A Lake Most Deep to give away. I gave the last two to Yodanno and his friend who was really excited about the hardboiled private eye in medieval fantasy idea.
I wish I’d had more stamina, but around 10pm, I was running down. Plus, I’d realized I might be able to get on the road early enough to get home last night.
Sadly, this meant I missed Stefan’s Black Sabbath tribute party. I’d have had a blast, and if he does something like that next time, I’ll plan better.
I went because Luke gave me the opportunity and I could help out with Okkorim. However, I had other items on the agenda.
I believe the best writing these days is coming from publishers at the CKP range. We’re good, we’re professional, but we’re not locked down into the big corporate ways.
I believe the same is true for the game world. I’m not much of a fan of what WOTC is putting out. It’s bland, boring, and simple. It’s basically McDonald’s. Sure, every once in a while, you eat at a McDonald’s, but it’s not really something you get excited about.
But Frog God Games? Troll Lord Games? Goodman Games? All the others in that range? Great stuff. It’s innovative and aims at making it all cool and fun. You may or may not like their flavor, just as you may not like the flavor at certain restaurants, but they’re packed with spice and energy.
I went with the hope I could meet with these folks and get more opportunities to write and edit. I had a number of good conversations and hopefully, the follow up conversations will prove fruitful. I have really enjoyed working in Okkorim and maybe this grows into something more.
For now, though, I think it’s time for me to relax for the rest of the day. I made it home at 1am last night with no particular issues. In fact, right now, I’m as fresh as I could hope.
That’s partly because this was just a really good time for me. Nostalgia, professional advancement, new friends, and fun all wrapped into a great big package.
Another productive week in Robland. I did a bunch of work in Okkorim, completed the bulk of the behind the scenes work on Paladins of Valor, and organized a bunch of books donated by a local library.
Side note: We have a bunch of new romance, westerns, and young adult, plus many other titles in different genres. The sweetie glommed on to the cookbooks. Sorry.
The big thing this week, of course, was the prep for Planet Comicon this weekend. It’s at Bartle Hall in KC, and if you’re in the area, come chat. I’ll be the big guy wearing a Rush shirt. If that’s not enough, my booth number is 1746.
I’ve actually got a fantastic location this year. I got a corner spot, which was generous of them. It’s close to the West Dock, which is fantastic from a logistics perspective. Plus, there’s a restroom about as close as I could hope.
Gonna be a great weekend!
One note on Paladins of Valor. I sent the art to Chris Kennedy so he’d have it when the time came to upload. His response, in his best Captain Kirk voice, was, “That. Is. GORGEOUS!”
As usual, he’s absolutely correct. Cover reveal in a few weeks.
Most of this week’s writing and editing focused on Okkorim, however. We have a bunch of content coming out in March, including 3 new modules plus a slew of other Okkorim content.
And we’re just ramping up. We’re making a whole new world and I’m so honored to be a part of it. If you want to see it grow, join the Gaxxworx Patreon at: patreon.com/GaxxWorx.
With that, I’ll wish you a great week. I’ve at least a couple hours to throw some words at the page in one of my most productive places ever. More on that in a moment.
Have a great week!
What I’m Listening To
Longtime readers will have some idea just how many days I spent in Brewbakers over the last decade.
Well, since I’m in KC for Planet Comicon, I get a chance to claim my booth for a day.
So I’m listening to the overhead random music they play. Just now, they had Call Me by Blondie. A favorite song from my past. And, of course, Debbie Harry. Happy sigh.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to Elizabeth Moon! She’s one of my favorite writers. Her space opera Heris Serrano series is brilliant and her Deeds of Paksenarrion series is even better. It is one of those series *every* fantasy author should read just to see her breathtaking skill and attention to detail.
Anyway, here’s her paying attention to, well, you’ll know when you read it.
“Sometimes I wonder how normal normal people are, and I wonder that most in the grocery store.”
― Elizabeth Moon
Dragon’s Tidings
OMG, we have so much new stock. A bunch of the fabric that’s been on order arrived. Send best wishes to our poor FedEx guy who had to push it all into the building.
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.
As I mentioned, I ended last week with a nasty cold. It knocked me back on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. However, despite all that, I had a really productive week, though not necessarily on everything I anticipated.
Divine Revelations
Let’s start with Okkorim because I have art to show off!
Over the last few months I’ve been fleshing out the pantheon of gods in Okkorim. This batch included 10 major gods and 30 lesser ones, and is over 60,000 words of description, dogma, new spells, new magic items, and religious institutions.
Okkorim is already a cool setting, but I can absolutely tell you there’s some amazing stuff in here. Divine Revelations is a small primer of the cosmology of Okkorim available to Luke’s Patreon followers. He wrote most of it, but I’m also editing a bunch of stuff they have, as I did with this.
Mirelie
Next is Mirelie, the deity of magic among other things. Luke came up with the basic concept, but this supplement is the fuller depiction of Mirelie. What do the priests do? What symbols represent the deity? Where are their major religious sites? What are the religious orders who follow Mirelie? And of course, several new spells and magic items.
I’m excited about what I’ve been able to contribute, and I think it’s going to be something players of D&D 5E and Castles and Crusades will love.
Again, if you’re interested, go to: patreon.com/GaxxWorx and sign up for at least the Silver Membership ($5/month). That gives you all the G20 magazine stuff that comes out, and let me tell you, I’m editing a ton.
Let’s turn to Paladins of Valor. It’s basically in the can and goes to the editor next week. Just waiting on a few edits.
I’ll give you a tease of two authors I was excited to work with in here. First, there’s Edie Skye, the author of the Titan Mage fantasy romance series. Here stories can be spicy or not, but they always have a lot of action.
On a completely different note, we also have Glen Cook returning with another Black Company story. I’ve been honored over the years by his support.
Speaking of New Mythology Press, we’ve been kinda quiet lately. This has been because we’re rearranging some of the foundational stuff in the background to make it work smoother for us to produce and cooler for you to read.
I can’t yet get into specifics, but I’ll tell you this, the schedule for later in the year is starting to come together.
One of the changes, by the way, is that we’re moving the bigger announcements and stuff to New Mythology’s mailing list, as I announced some time ago.
Also, I started another sooper-seekrit project this week. It’ll be some months before I can talk about it, but I think it’ll be really.
Oh, one last thing. The local historic theater is going to show Star Wars on Saturday, May 4th. We’re planning a shindig and I have a question for you:
What is your favorite Star Wars-themed food?
Quote of the Week
Still hits me in the feels 43 years later.
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
– Al Michaels on February 22, 1980, as time ran out in the USA-USSR hockey game in Lake Placed.
This week’s release takes us back to the Fallen World, as Brisco Woods continues his saga of the first nanite-enhanced Specialist in Truth and Consequences. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CVNF5F6R.
That’s the 20th book in the Fallen World now! Wow!
Your pre-release this week is book 2 in James Fox’s Sol Saga universe. It’s called Retaliationand you can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CW29B39G.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 371.4 lbs
Updated Word Count: Need to update the spreadsheet, somewhere around 40k this year so far.
Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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.
It’s another productive week, but it wasn’t how I expected to go. There’s also news.
Most important, we started the process of getting the kid, her guy, and the grandkid down to Anthony. We’ve been hoping this would happen for a while, and now it’s in progress.
Second, more news about GaryCon. I’ll be running a couple of gaming sessions which is great. It’s been a while since I’ve run games at cons, but that was 20-30 years ago and I can’t wait.
That’s in part because game nights have done well twice in a row with me DMing in the Firehall Sagas. It’s a chance for me to build the world and build the local community at the same time.
More and more gets done with Paladins of Valor every week. Mostly, we’re in the stage where authors are doing edits, but I’ve been also assembling it. I had the pleasure of editing Howard Andrew Jones’ Hanuvar story this week, and man is it good.
I didn’t write as many new words in Okkorim as I have in past weeks, but about 4,000. Also, I did a bunch of editing and setup as we transition to the next phase. It’s really an awesome project and I’m honored to be a part of it.
New and Cool
I haven’t eaten cereal in a decade, but I tried the GrainBerry Multi-Bran flakes on a lark recently. I rather like it. I’ve had more cereal in the last week or so than I had since the 80s.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to Jules Verne! Might have to re-read 20,000 Leagues again.
Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.
– Jules Verne
Dragon’s Tidings
A fun week here. We keep getting new stuff every week. This week was a bunch of new fabric, along with expanded drink selection for the game nights.
This week we have Wolf Legion by William S. Frisbee, Jr., the ninth book in The Last Marines. Holding Earth continues to get harder, and everyone is against the last Marines, but will they give up? Never! Check out the entire series here: amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5WRRMPB.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 370.2 lbs
Updated Word Count: 21,693
Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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.
Was a bit of a dreary week this week because we’ve had mostly gray days. One drawback to the new building is its lack of insulation, so not only has it been gray, it’s been chilly inside.
My wife thinks it’s hilarious, though, as when we lived in Kansas City, I never wore sweaters at home. Now, I often do. She likes to knit, but she’d never make me one that I wouldn’t wear. Now she just taunts me with it a bit.
I spent much of this week helping not only write Okkorim stuff but assisting with G20, which is the newsletter that Luke Gygax puts out. If you’re part of his Patreon, you can see some of what I’ve written for his world, plus get other tidbits. His Patreon is here: patreon.com/GaxxWorx.
I did about 5,000 new words in Okkorim, plus started reading through the notes for The Ravening ofWolves.
I also made great strides with getting Paladins of Valor done. I feel odd a bit this year, as I feel like I’m really late. However, FantaSci is a month late, so I’m really exactly where I should be.
I did some reading this week too. I’ve been getting back to my roots, and currently I’m re-reading the Barsoom books from Edgar Rice Burroughs. Also, I spent a lazy afternoon re-reading The Ghost of Dibble Hollow. This was a book I read in 4th grade or so, one of the many things I pestered my parents about during the Scholastic Book days, and it was one of my favorites as a kid.
I hadn’t read it since the early 80s, at least, and I was a bit nervous that it might not have aged well. However, it’s still a great kids book, even if the editing of 1965 used different standards than I do nearly 60 years later. The book has action, mystery, suspense, rivalries, and of course, a ghost. I’m keeping it to read to the grandkid.
And hey, tonight, I’m going through making this newsletter under the thumb of viewers. A couple of writers who are on the New Mythology Discord joined me as I typed it up. I showed them my methods, and hopefully it’ll help them.
Really, it’s been another one of those weeks where I didn’t think I got much done, but in retrospect, we did a goodly amount.
And with that, I’m going to go introduce myself to the wife.
New and Cool
Did I mention G20 from Luke Gygax on Patreon? This month’s issue, edited by me, along with a lot of my content, comes out in a few days. Sign up here: patreon.com/GaxxWorx.
Quote of the Week
It’s been 7 years since Mary Tyler Moore passed, but I still love watching reruns of shows she’s in. Plus she provided all creators with a great quote here.
Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.
– Mary Tyler Moore
Dragon’s Tidings
We had our first game night at the store. Sadly, as it was the first and the weather was wretched (cold, gray, and icy), we only got one person. However, I expect that’ll grow as we go along.
Every Monday night starting 5ish to 9ish.
Tonight, we’ve got the second session of the wife’s Beginning Quilting class. Also, we have some paper piercing classes coming. If you’re interested, check out our class schedule at: reddragonquilts.com/calendar.htm
New Mythology Works in Progress
I had an incredibly hard time choosing the winners of this year’s open call for Paladins of Valor. So many stories I wanted to publish, but here are the four I finally selected as the best.
Chris Hepler with High Water Mark
Nathan Balyeat with Welcome to Detroit
David Birdsall with The Passing of the Mantle
Chad Boyer with Apprentice in Trouble
I’ve edited all of these at this point, and I’m pleased to say they’re even better than I realized.
More 4HU awesomeness this week in Foiled Ambitions from John M. Olsen. This is the eleventh book in the Four Horsemen’s Phoenix Initiative. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CSKNY8FS/
Your pre-release this week is Stolen Dreams from Dennis M. Myers, the 4th and final book in his Rise of the Automated Empire. Get it here: amazon.com/gp/product/B0CT5V8G8M.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 368.2lbs
Updated Word Count: 15,467
Firehall Sagas Archives: 758 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.