Tag Archives: Quincy J. Allen

Rob’s Update: The Door Into Winter

Week 20 of 2022

Greetings all

Release week! The Door Into Winter is live! You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09ZK1GR3S/.

The Door Into Winter
The Door Into Winter

In the Halls of Winter, a wounded Giant awaits.

Irina, Ausartxango, Valentin, and Geirr chase him to Svellheim, a land of ice and secrets as old azs the mountains themselves.

The wounded Giant, filled with wrath, is aided by his old and faithful servants, corrupt nobles, and those ruled by greed, hate, and rage. He awaits his pursuers, setting a trap to claim his vengeance.

His pursuers are mighty, but they are merely human. Will their prowess prove enough against the greatest enemy Shijuren has ever known? Or will the Giant bring back an evil thought destroyed two thousand years ago?

It is, of course, the fourth book in the Eldros Legacy. If you haven’t started the series, you can get Khyven the Unkillable by Todd Fahnestock, then read them all!

Outside of the release, this was another foundational week. Getting caught up on submissions, and the overall quality is impressive. Cool new series coming your way in the summer and fall.

Also, this week, the fabulous Marisa Wolf interviewed me about my story in her upcoming Hit World: Valkyries novel. I was actually the supporting actor here because my cat Wynnifred surely stole the show. You can watch my video here: youtube.com/watch?v=lIS9Iaqs9v0.

This is actually the first video on the Chris Kennedy Publishing YouTube channel, so not only do you want to see me (along with my amazing co-star), you want to subscribe to this channel.

This next week I’ll be getting back into the writing groove with Sowing Spring’s Wrath. Time to get some of these ideas on the page.

But for now, I’m basking in another release! Thanks to all who helped make this possible, including my artist Patrick McEvoy, my editor Jonathan A. Miller, Quincy J. Allen for the layout, and a host of others who helped along the way. Thanks everyone!

What I’m Listening To

Take a Chance on Me by Abba.

You’ve caught me. I’m actually a fan of Abba. To be honest, there’s a lot of disco era music I really enjoy. Don’t tell anyone, OK?

Quote of the Week

What the heck, it’s release week, so you get a quote from The Door Into Winter. This is a line toward the end of the book by Geirr Stronghair in the final battle.

“He lifted the flaming sword over his head. ‘You want vengeance, Skadi, come and take it! Else I shall take your winter from you!'”
The Door Into Winter

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
bleav.com/shows/the-dudes-in-hyperspace-podcast/

The latest show includes us just chatting about this and that. And Ian ranting. You don’t want to miss Ian ranting.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Deadly Fortune by Aaron Rosenberg is coming soon!

Currently available:

Get all the Eldros Legacy novels at: amazon.com/dp/B09Z9WVKYV

New Mythology Works in Progress

2023 FantaSci Short Story Contest open call.

The theme is Bonds of Valor, and you story must include deeds of valor centered around bonds between characters. This could be a romantic relationship, a buddy adventure, oaths to kings, or whatever you can come up with.

Deadline: November 30th, 2022
Word Count: 7-10,000 words
Specifics: Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1.5 line spaced.

It must also be a fantasy story. Any type is welcome, urban, epic, high, western, gothic, whatever, it just have to have magic. Finally, it cannot have been published anywhere else before.

I’m currently working on The Door Into Winter, my next novel.

Giveaways
Tales of the Future
Tales of the Future

Tales of the Future

books.bookfunnel.com/maysff001a/hqjxwa6r8l

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • Sowing Spring’s Wrath
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

The Door Into Winter is live! You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09ZK1GR3S/.

This week we also had We Dare 4: Wanted, Dead or Alive, another SF anthology from Jamie Ibson. This includes Rick Partlow, Griffin Barber, and a bunch of other great writers. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09ZH6PWZS.

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 322.2

Updated Word Count: 138,740

Eldros Legacy Archives: 813 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Passing of the Runelord

Week 2 of 2021

Greetings all

Today brings sad news. David Farland was a legend in the realms of fantasy, with his Runelord series one I loved. He passed away today and all of us at New Mythology Press send our condolences to his family. He was one of the giants upon whose shoulders we stood.

Sigh. I’m of the age where friends and acquaintances pass with awful regularity. It’s the way of life, of course, but I was especially hoping that soon I’d be able to learn from David. I have a number of friends who he mentored and hoped to add myself to that list.

This week I’m in Chattanooga at Chattacon. I have a fairly busy schedule, which I’ll post in a separate blog post tomorrow to make it easy for me to find when I forget where I’m supposed to be.

I made progress in The Door Into Winter this week. Only about 5000 words, but much of that is because I edited a bunch of my notes out. Often, anymore, I’ll make a note that I need to do something and continue onward. This character needs a name, make sure I put the revolver in act 3 in act 1, that sort of thing. By doing this, I get the main thoughts out without always getting bogged down in details, but every so often I have to clear up all those details.

I did take time off this past Monday to watch the CFP Playoff Game. This is just a guess, but I have a sneaking suspicion Kevin Steverson will want to discuss that game on the next Dudes in Hyperspace podcast, which we’ll record next week. We’ll also have Craig Martelle of 20Booksto50K and IASFA fame joining us.

Well, I’m in Chattanooga now. I guess it’s time to go schmooze. I suspect more than a few beverages will be raised in David’s honor.

What I’m Listening To

My normal work mp3 list, which is currently Midnight Rider by the Allman Brothers. I’m in Tennessee, so maybe I should just have a Southern Fried Rock weekend.

Quote of the Week

Today’s quote is from David Farland, who encapsulates my philosophy about writing and publishing here.

“I’d like to emphasize that when a reader finishes a great novel, he will immediately begin looking for another. If someone loves your book, it increases the chance that he or she will look at mine. So there is no competition between writers. Another writer’s success helps build a larger readership for all of us.”

– David Farland

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show includes an interview with Bob Sturm of the Athletic and 1310 the Ticket in Dallas/Fort Worth. We talk about the NFL playoffs, which start this weekend.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Seeds of Dominion is still the new hotness. You can find it here: amazon.com/dp/B09PK1QYDY.

Currently, the plan for February is to shore up the foundation and make sure we’ve got all our processes worked out. Hence, we’ll have a number of interesting announcements along the way.

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on The Keen Edge of Valor, which will come out at FantaSci in March.

Giveaways

One thing I like about these giveaways are the cool images they create for banners and I think this might be my favorite one yet. But then, I’ve always liked blue.

New Year New Books
New Year New Books

New Year New Books

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/83bfa224-5490-11ec-9670-d7d28aa2a33a

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (75,912)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

This week is another 4HU novel, Tempest Rage by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy. It’s not just any 4HU novel, though, but rather the conclusion of the epic Guild Wars series after 17 books. See what’s all the rage at: amazon.com/dp/B09PV4B3TX.

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 331.2

Updated Word Count: 2716

Eldros Legacy Archives: 813 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Seeds are Sown

Week 1 of 2022

Greetings all

Seeds of Dominion is out! This is the second Eldros Legacy novel and it’s by Quincy J. Allen. It covers events in Daemanon, the continent that Quincy created, and it stars Rellen of Corsia, who has already appeared in a couple of anthologies, When Valor Must Hold and Songs of Valor.

In my opinion, this is the best thing Quincy’s ever written, and if you’ve read his other stuff, you know that’s saying something.

You may have noticed that Seeds of Dominion is Book One of the Legacy of Deceit while Khyven the Unkillable Book One of the Legacy of Shadows. There are five continents on Eldros, and each of the five continents have their stories to tell at the start. If you would like an analogy, think of Marvel with separate stories involving Ironman, Hulk, Thor, and all the others.

We did this, by the way, not simply because the stories demand it, but also because when we really get going, we want to make sure readers know in what order to read all the books.

Major progress this week in The Keen Edge of Valor. I’ll be announcing the list of authors at Chattacon next week in the Chris Kennedy Publishing Year Ahead panel, which happens on Saturday at noon. I’ll post that list the week after.

I will say that I’m blessed to get to work with some of the best in the business.

I made some progress in The Door Into Winter, though I’ll freely admit I didn’t do as much over the holiday weekend as I should have. We got a new reclining loveseat this past weekend. There were bowl games, including the CFP semifinals, plus the NFL. I may have gotten distracted.

I also did my 2021 AAR, which you can find here: robhowell.org/blog/?p=2523.

Next week will be a little off-kilter, in terms of posting online because, as I mentioned, I’m going to Chattacon. I have a great schedule lined up, which I’ll post next Thursday.

What I’m Listening To

Xanadu by Rush. Because of course I am.

Quote of the Week

Like us all, I’m mourning the passing of Betty White. This is, I think, a fitting quote on the topic.

“People have told me, ‘Betty, Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with old friends.’ At my age, if I wanted to keep in touch with old friends, I’d need a Ouija board.”
– Betty White

Now where’s my Ouija board. “Hey, Betty, I need some help…”

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
https://www.sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show is our holiday episode and includes an interview with a member of the USO.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy
Seeds of Dominion
Seeds of Dominion

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Seeds of Dominion is out! You can get it here:amazon.com/dp/B09PK1QYDY.

Don’t forget to leave reviews and like the reviews that you found helpful.

If you haven’t already, please do the same for Todd Fahnestock’s Khyven the Unkillable, which is here: amazon.co.uk/dp/B09N288DCC.

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on The Keen Edge of Valor, which will come out at FantaSci. I’ll make the full announcement of the author list at Chattacon.

Giveaways
Adventure-Action-Intrigue

Adventure-Action-Intrigue

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/4b5c160a-59c8-11ec-935c-77d1c581f5d8

Free Fantasy and Science Fiction
Free Fantasy and Science Fiction

Free Fantasy and Science Fiction

storyoriginapp.com/bundles/d3f41fc2-538c-11ec-949a-23f5e84cb858

The Neighbor You Don't Know
The Neighbor You Don’t Know

And we’re trying something new here. This is a preview of The Neighbor You Don’t Know, by Shane Shepard. You can find it here: storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/da9e03f0-1bbb-11ec-92e4-7fd845c8a81b

If you get a chance, please go take a look. He’s doing me the kindness of advertising one of my own stories.

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (70,243)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

Seeds of Dominion is out! You can get it here:amazon.com/dp/B09PK1QYDY. The second novel in the Eldros Legacy.

Also out is the next Lunar Free State book, The Next Crusade, by John Siers. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09PD8SCCH

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 329.6 (Not a typo, been under 330 all week. W0000tttt)

Updated Word Count: 1,954

Eldros Legacy Archives: 813 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

2021 AAR

Greetings all

2021 was the biggest year of my publishing career, but I suspect I’ll write the same exact words next year with all that’s happening. Nevertheless, here’s what I was involved in that came out in 2021:

2021 Mosaic
2021 Mosaic

This mosaic, by the way, doesn’t include stuff that’ll come out in 2022 which I worked on, such as Quincy J. Allen’s Seeds of Dominion, coming out on Tuesday.

By my reckoning, I put out 384,836 total words in 2021. Now, there are some statistical points to be made, out of honesty.

  • I only wrote 139,340 words of new stuff. That’s 1 novel, and only 6 short stories.
  • I keep track of my blog posts too, as it’s one way to ensure I’m putting out consistent content. That was 49,811.
  • The remaining 195,685 is 1/4 of the words in books I edited for New Mythology Press in 2021, 4 anthologies and 5 novels. I agree I should keep some track of that, as if I hadn’t done all that I would have definitely written more. I’m not convinced 1/4 is the right number. I’m thinking I may go to 1/5 in 2022. We’ll see.

Still, any way you want to stack it, that’s not a bad year. Add on to that I spent many hours helping develop the Eldros Legacy and learning how to do a bunch of new things for New Mythology Press, and I would say it wasn’t a wasted year.

That’s especially true since I only count things I’ve finished in a calendar year. This total doesn’t include, for example, the 70k or so I’ve got written in The Door Into Winter nor the editing I’ve done for The Keen Edge of Valor, as they aren’t yet finished.

I’m proud of all the stories I wrote and helped put out in 2021. This is highlighted, of course, by The Ravening of Wolves. This novel really came together, I think, thanks to a bunch of tales given to me by friends who’ve seen the challenges behind the scenes in the military. Much of what went into that book are inspired by actual SNAFUs, because the main universal truth in military history that I can find is: “Shit happens.”

Of my short stories, I tried a number of whimsical things. For example, Careful With That Axe, E.U. Gene included over 200 song and band references hidden within about 9000 words. The biggest result, of course, is The Incomparable Treasure, which comes out at some point in 2022 as part of Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell’s next SF/F noir anthology, No Game for Knights. This is a huge honor for me, and I’m really excited about it.

I certainly learned a ton with New Mythology Press this year. I can’t thank Chris Kennedy enough for the opportunity and I hope I live up to his expectations.

I would say I earned a B- grade for my work as publisher in 2021. I tend to be a harsh grader, but as I look back I see areas I can improve upon. Now, to be fair, the biggest area I need to improve upon is simply experience, and that’s happening, but I could have accelerated my learning curve in places.

Nevertheless, I did learn and improve as the year’s gone on. I’d better, as I have a bunch of things to publish in 2022, which I’ll talk about in another blog post.

I am most proud of Responsibility of the Crown, I think. It was the first novel I’d ever edited, and I think it came out fantastic. It helps that G. Scott Huggins is a great writer, but I do think I contributed.

It was nerve-wracking for me, in some ways, but the results really fired me up. Like many writers (and now as publisher), I suffer from constant self-doubt and seeing the difference between the original draft Scott sent me of Responsibility and the final draft helps me believe I have some skill in this process. Again, though, it’s not a great story without Scott doing the heavy lifting.

I’m also proud of the Talons & Talismans anthologies. They were a challenge, one that made Chris shake his head and chuckle at my expense a time or eight.

However, those anthologies did much of what I wanted. I got involved with experienced writers I hadn’t worked with before, like Aaron Rosenberg, who I hope to publish a bunch more times down the road. I got a bunch of new writers opportunities, like Michael Gants, who I think you’ll be seeing fairly often in the future.

I also got to rummage around in the process of making anthologies at a much more detailed level. I’d done two prior to Talons & Talismans, but this was more, and I needed it.

On the behind the scenes side of things, I had a couple of hiccups with my mailing list, but I’m pleased with where I’m at now. I started working with the Writers House of Corrections to build that mailing list even more. Long term, I think that list and this blog, not Facebook or other social media platforms, will be my primary forms of interaction.

I learned a ton about how book art gets made. I knew some of it from self-publishing my first six novels, but there’s always more to learn. I’m amazed at what artists like Melissa Gay and Jake Caleb constantly produce.

Most fun of all is getting to know the editing staff of Chris Kennedy Publishing better. Mia Kleve is an amazing bedrock of competence. It was she, in fact, who created the above mosaic of covers, within like 2 minutes. Tiffany Reynolds is incredibly fast and skilled. I didn’t get to work with Beth Agajew as much in 2021, but I’ve had the pleasure before. We brought in Jonathan Miller too. He edited Seeds of Dominion and we have more plans for him.

I also got to interact with the advance readers more. Shawn Carey is a machine. He is an unseen, but much appreciated member of the team. Another is Zach Ritz, who routinely catches a bunch of errors that have slipped past all of our editors, including me. That’s a much less common skill than I think people realize.

A long time ago, I realized writing was about creating a team around the writer. That’s even more true about publishing. If I want to point at any one single thing I’m pleased with in 2021 it’s the creation of a new team around me, one which I’m already blessed to be a part of.

I’m just going to conclude that I’m looking at my shelf of books, the shelf holding books I’ll be selling at conventions. There’s Jon Osborne’s Milesian Accords series, including The House Between Worlds which I helped publish. There’s Khyven the Unkillable, by Todd Fahnestock, first of the Eldros Legacy novels. There are Four Horsemen Universe titles, especially The Ravening of WolvesAnd there’s all sorts of titles produced prior to 2021. There’s a lot of titles there, but a bunch more are coming.

2021 was the start of something awesome.

Rob’s Update: Auld Lang Syne

Week 52 of 2021

Greetings all

Welcome to the final week of 2021. I hope you had a great year and I wish you an even better year in 2022. For me, it was a huge year, and I will do a separate blog post next week about it, followed by one discussing my goals for 2022.

This was not my most productive week, but it was a healthy one. I spent time with the family, enjoyed Christmas, got a some cool things, gave out cool things, and ate a lot. Somehow, I managed not to eat too much that I gained a bunch of weight.

Seeds of Dominion
Seeds of Dominion

I owe all of you on my mailing list a bit of an apology. I do have Fleece Navidad ready to send out to you, but I’m trying to arrange a better way of getting it to and that has been a bit of a learning curve. Again, this was something I’d intended to do over the past weekend, but got distracted. I’ll have it sent out to you next week.

I’ll also send out the links for Silent Knight or Under a Midnight Clear, the previous two Nick Patara, PI stories. Again, these are free for those on my mailing list.

Seeds of Dominion releases on Tuesday and we’re really excited. It’s by Quincy J. Allen and over the years I’ve seen a goodly amount of what he’s written. I think this novel is the best thing of his I’ve read, and the advance reviewers agree.

I made a little progress on The Door Into Winter. I’m not entirely happy with what I wrote though. For the first time since I started writing it, i think I’ll need to do a big rewrite of a chunk. It’s normal for this to happen, and I’ve sort of been waiting for it, but I’m really pleased I got this far into the book before running into a messy chunk.

Next week, I’m looking forward to my 7th New Year’s with my sweetie. I’m also looking forward to a goodly amount of football this weekend, which we’ll surely discuss on next week’s Dudes in Hyperspace.

For now, I’m going to some more words written. Have a great New Year’s everyone.

What I’m Listening To

Michigan State v. Pitt. I hope this game is as exciting as the Tennessee – Purdue game that just finished. It ended up at 48-45 in overtime! The last half of the 4th quarter was bonkers, with huge play after huge play.

Quote of the Week

This week’s quote comes from traditional New Year’s song. It is, again, my hope that all of you have a wonderful 2022.

We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
– Robert Burns

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
https://www.sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show includes an interview with Todd Fahnestock, one of the Founders of the Eldros Legacy.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Seeds of Dominion out Tuesday!

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on The Keen Edge of Valor, the next Libri Valoris anthology.

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (67,243)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

This week’s release is Assault, by Mike Massa, the next in Chuck Gannon’s Caine Riordan universe. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09NZSH7X9.

And remember, Seeds of Dominion is out on Tuesday!

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 330.2

Updated Word Count: 383,210

Eldros Legacy Archives: 806 entries (there will be more coming next week from Seeds of Dominion)

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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Happy Holidays

Week 50 of 2021

Greetings all

It was a very productive week here. I finished the first pass through Embers & Ash, the third book of the Eldros Legacy. This one is by Marie Whittaker, who’s a fantastic writer.

I also finished Fleece Navidad, which will be going out to my subscribers on Saturday. I really do appreciate all of you who have subscribed to my mailing list, and I hope you enjoy these Nick Patara, PI stories.

I got about 5k in The Door Into Winter. That’s not really reflective of how easy this story is to write. I’m having trouble finding time to write on it during the holiday season with so much going on, but man I’m chunking out words whenever I do. I really like where it’s going.

I also started the real editing for The Keen Edge of Valor, the next of the Libri Valoris anthologies.

My sweetie and I went on a big hunt this past weekend. The game? The right loveseat and couch for the big TV room downstairs. Wednesday night is date night, and more often then not we enjoy watching BBC mysteries together. We’re such party animals. However, we hadn’t really had a way to sit together. But we found a great set, on clearance, and it comes tomorrow. It is exactly the right thing for us, and we both got in our steps on Saturday and Sunday hunting for it.

Plus, of course, all the Christmas prep. We’re not doing a huge thing, in part because it’s just me, my sweetie, my mom, and my stepdad. Still, I’ll grill steaks, we’re cooking a ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a bunch of other fixins. The sweetie has decided to make not one pie (blackberry, her favorite), not two (bourbon pecan, not quite my favorite, but close), but three pies (she found just the right lemons at CostCo to make her special lemon pie.

So much for my carb count. Ah, well, it’s the season for eating… errr… I mean giving. Anyway, I hope you all have a great holiday season.

What I’m Listening To

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I had a chance to see them with the Marshall Tucker Band in Wichita a little more than two years ago. I’d never seen them live before, and I’m really glad I went, as it was a heckuva show.

Quote of the Week
This is one of my favorite quotes, by one of my favorite people. If you want a fun story about Charles Schulz, by the way, go look up the time that Stephen Pastis, who writes Pearls Before Swine, fanboyed him.

“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”
Charles M. Schulz

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
https://www.sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show includes an interview with Emily Bernson of the USO, our memories of 2021, and what we’re looking for in 2022. Side note, Ian definitely hadn’t gotten the memo of my plans for 2022.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Seeds of Dominion
Seeds of Dominion

I finished my pass on Embers & Ash, the next Eldros Legacy book. This one’s by Marie Whittaker, and it will introduce the continent of Pyranon.

Of course, we’re all looking forward to Seeds of Dominion, by Quincy J. Allen, in less than two weeks.

Next week, we’ll have the Daemanon map reveal, so stayed tuned for that.

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on The Keen Edge of Valor, the third in the Libri Valoris anthologies for release at FantaSci.

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (63,611)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

This week’s big new release is Ally, the next 4HU novel, by Kacey Ezell and Marisa Wolf. The Depik are back! And they brought friends. Get it here: www.amazon.com/dp/B09NN53QLN.

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 331.8

Updated Word Count: 382,460

Eldros Legacy Archives: 804 entries (expect this to jump next week as we get close to Seeds of Dominion)

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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Speak Softly

Week 49 of 2021

Greetings all

I made a mistake last time because I didn’t double-check something. Shame on me. I said Seeds of Dominion is coming out on the 2nd of January, but it is, in fact, coming out on the 4th of January. My apologies for the confusion, but the good news is that it’s the best thing of Quincy’s I’ve ever read, and he’s got a lot of cool stuff out there.

This was also not my most productive work week, largely in part to Christmas-y stuff, along with pet stuff. I basically lost all weekend and all day today. Pets are totally worth the effort, but man, they can be exhausting.

Still, I’m basically done with the first draft of Fleece Navidad, my freebie story which I’ll be sending out to all of you on my mailing list. I also made progress on Embers & Ash, by Marie Whittaker, which is the third Eldros Legacy book. I also did some foundational work, but still, not as much as I’d hoped. Some weeks are like that.

We also recorded a special Dudes in Hyperspace, finishing the episode tonight. We interviewed Emily Berson, who is a USO rep. That’s quite an honor for me, and they do so much cool stuff for our service members.

Of course, we’ve been enjoying the response to Khyven the Unkillable. It’s done very well, despite Amazon having not one, but now two AWS outages. It’s too hot for them to handle, apparently.

Seeds of Dominion, by Quincy J. Allen, is the next Eldros Legacy book, and it’s basically ready to go and comes out on the 4th of January, as I clarified above. See below for the cover reveal.

I think that’s it for now. Everyone have a great week, and I’ll touch base again next Christmas Eve Eve.

What I’m Listening To

Chiefs at Chargers. It’s a heckuva matchup and I’ve been looking forward to it. I’ve liked the Chargers as sort of a second team since the Dan Fouts/Kellen Winslow/Charlie Joiner/Chuck Muncie days. That was such a fun team to watch.

Quote of the Week

The Great White Fleet began it’s circumnavigation of the world on this day in 1907. That means there’s only quote appropriate for the day.

“Speak softly, and carry a big stick.
– Teddy Roosevelt

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
https://www.sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show includes an interview with Emily Bernson, a member of the USO, though it won’t be live until tomorrow, the 17th.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Khyven the Unkillable is out and getting great response from its readers. You can find it here: amazon.co.uk/dp/B09N288DCC.

Seeds of Dominion
Seeds of Dominion

But the big thing this week is the fantastic cover of Seeds of Dominion. Jake Caleb created the art, and you can see just how awesome he is.

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on getting Embers & Ash and The Keen Edge of Valor.

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (58,990)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
  • Fleece Navidad (7,151)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

OK, OK, I realize it was last week, but I’m still excited about Khyven the Unkillable. You can get it here: amazon.co.uk/dp/B09N288DCC.

Two releases from the boss this week. First, there’s Jurassic Jail from William Alan Webb. He’s such an innovative guy, and he’s in charge of the non-fiction publishing of CKP now because he’s just that sharp. You can find Jurassic Jail here: amazon.com/dp/B09NFN84BP.

And then there’s the first book by Mike Jack Stoumbos with CKP. It’s entitled The Signal Out of Space, and starts the Fine Crew series. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09N8VHGFP.

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 332.8

Updated Word Count: 355,326

Eldros Legacy Archives: 802 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Khyven the Unkillable

Week 48 of 2021

Greetings all

Khyven the Unkillable
Khyven the Unkillable

Now, I’m not saying the Khyven the Unkillable by Todd Fahnestock is so good that it broke Amazon, but it is the case that Amazon’s back end went down on the day of Khyven‘s release and it is that good. You can find it here: amazon.com/dp/B09N288DCC.

It’s a great start to the Eldros Legacy, and Seeds of Dominion, coming out on the 4th of January is a great follow-up. That will go out to advance readers in the next few days.

For me, this was a fantastic week. I updated my website, robhowell.org. I had to add the Eldros Legacy, after all.

I also committed to ChattaCon in January. I can’t wait, wasn’t sure I was going to be able to go. In February, I’ll be at Superstars and then in March, I’ll have Gulf Wars and FantaSci. It’s starting to feel like a schedule again.

I got 4k written in The Door Into Winter. Things are shaping up nicely. I’m at about 59k and I see no sigh of slowage, so maybe this Save the Cat thing is helping.

In fact, I would have done more, but I also got 6k written in the new freebie story for my newsletter recipients. I have just the final battle scene to write and then it’s in the editing stage It’s another of my Nick Patara, PI hardboiled Santa Claus stories entitled Fleece Navidad.

That’s my favorite title yet, by the way.

I also cleaned a bunch of the house, as we’re having guests for the weekend. This is the time of a major local SCA event, and while I can’t go to the event, I do get to have a bunch of people over. I can’t wait to see them.

What I’m Listening To

The Main Monkey Business by Rush. It’s off of Snakes and Arrows, their penultimate studio album. I’ve been on a kick of listening to Rush albums lately, not simply putting all my Rush on shuffle. We sometimes forget in this day of digital music how much some artists put into making an album work as an album and not simply a collection of songs.

Quote of the Week

One of my all-time favorite quotes this week. Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday to Neil Innes.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ive suffered for my music … now its your turn.
– Neil Innes

Dudes In Hyperspace

Follow the Dudes In Hyperspace here:
https://www.sharkflight.com/dudes/

The latest show includes an interview with Todd Fahnestock, one of the Founders of the Eldros Legacy.

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Khyven the Unkillable came out on Tuesday! You can find it here: amazon.com/dp/B09N288DCC. It’s a great start to the Eldros Legacy.

Next week, I’ll have the cover reveal for Seeds of Dominion.

New Mythology Works in Progress

We have no current open anthology calls but will have a new one in January.

I’m currently working on Embers & Ash, the next book in the Eldros Legacy.

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (58,990)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
  • Fleece Navidad (5,945)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

Khyven the Unkillable came out on Tuesday! You can find it here: amazon.com/dp/B09N288DCC. It’s a great start to the Eldros Legacy.

Also this week, the book 4 of P.A. Piatt’s Abner Fortis, ISMC series, entitled Gnamma, came out. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09MT3HB8T.

Speaking of releases, The Ravening of Wolves, my second Four Horsemen novel, came out on audio last week. Thanks to the awesome Daniel Wisniewski and Chris Kenneday for all their work making this happen. You can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B09MSWF9K1.

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 333.8

Updated Word Count: 354,545

Eldros Legacy Archives: 802 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Thank You

Week 46 of 2021

Greetings all

A simple title for a simple thing, but so important. Thank you, everyone, for helping me grow as a writer and carve out a niche in this field.

(Carve. See what I did there? Ha, I slay myself)

Anyway, we’re having a huge Black Friday sale at CKP to express our thanks. All 13 of these titles are on sale right now for $0.99.

Here’s a single link where you can add all of them at once.

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you all have as much to give thanks for as I do. Most of all, I hope that great things happen for all of you.

Khyven the Unkillable
Khyven the Unkillable

Was a good week for The Door Into Winter. Not a ton of words, but a bunch of cleanup and arranging. I expect there to be a huge week upcoming as I’ve laid out several lines that need to get written.

We’re getting really close to Khyven the Unkillable. This is, of course, the first novel in the Eldros Legacy. We’re so excited to bring this to you, and Todd Fahnestock gets us off to an amazing start.

Seeds of Dominion is getting close to done, and it’ll be coming out on the 2nd of January. If you’re a part of the Eldros Legacy mailing list, you’ll get to see a sneak preview of the art in that, which comes out tomorrow. Want to be a part of that list? Go here: https://www.eldroslegacy.com/contact/newsletter/.

With that, I’m going to watch football, spend time with the sweetie, and make her steak and fixin’s for dinner.

Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!

What I’m Listening To

It’s Thanksgiving, so I’m watching football. I’m sure you’re all shocked.

Quote of the Week

I’ve used this quote before (way back in 2016, actually), but it’s at least as true today.

“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.”
– Erma Bombeck

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy

Get five free stories and signed up with the Eldros Legacy mailing list! Here There Be Giants is at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Khyven the Unkillable a week from Tuesday!

Seeds of Dominion by Quincy J. Allen in five weeks.

The steamroller is a-coming.

New Mythology Works in Progress

Current open anthology calls:

Last few days to submit! Bring me your stories. I’m looking forward to seeing them.

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (47,004)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

Something from the big boss this week. Chris Kennedy has a new novel in Chuck Gannon’s Caine Riordan Universe entitled Insertion. You can get it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M32WQ3W/

Not a new release, but I certainly hope you take advantage of our Black Friday sale. Here’s a single link where you can add all of them at once. .

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 332.0

Updated Word Count: 352,963

Eldros Legacy Archives: 797 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series

Rob’s Update: Riding the Whirlwind

Week 43 of 2021

Greetings all

It is an absolute whirlwind for me right now, in a great way.

Talons and Talisman II
Talons and Talisman II

The House Between Worlds came out on the 26th. The reviews are great (4.7 out of 5), as I expected, because it’s a great book. You can get it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09K4RRMP6.

Talons & Talismans II comes out next Tuesday, the 9th. Already heard back from some reviewers and they’re excited, not just about the window into the Eldros Legacy. Here’s the great cover done by J. Caleb Designs. A Manticore, a Goblin, and a Unicorn, oh my!

Speaking of the Eldros Legacy, our first monthly newsletter went out last week. That’ll be the fourth Thursday each month and you’d like to join, go here: https://www.eldroslegacy.com/contact/newsletter/.

Khyven the Unkillable, by Todd Fahnestock, the first Eldros Legacy novel, goes out to advance readers late next week. They’re gonna love it.

Showed the Eldros Legacy Founders J. Caleb Design’s art for the 2nd EL novel, Seeds of Dominion, this week. Ooohs and ahhhs from all, especially Quincy J. Allen, the author.

Oh, and there are FOUR giveaways this week, not counting Here There Be Giants.

Didn’t write as much this week as I wanted to, mostly because I was recovering and re-adjusting to home after the trip. This is not surprising. In fact, it’s something I’ve come to expect and plan for. I normally work two or three half-shifts a day to let my mind refresh. I allowed myself a couple days of only one this week to recover.

But I’m completely back now and excited to go. So I better toss words on the page.

What I’m Listening To

Stuff overhead at Brewbaker’s. Speaking of which, I’m going to have something fun to announce about this place coming soon.

Quote of the Week

Happy 142nd to Will Rogers! He has so many quotes. Here’s one, and, well, I know which category I fall into.

“There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin’. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”

– Will Rogers

Cool Stuff In Eldros Legacy
Khyven the Unkillable
Khyven the Unkillable

Talons & Talismans II has eight Eldros Legacy stories, and the advance readers have already shown their enthusiasm to me.

if that’s not enough, you can get five free Eldros Legacy stories here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/qabsr57lq3+.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen it already, here’s the cover for Khyven the Unkillable, coming out on 7 December.

New Mythology Works in Progress

Current open anthology calls:

I’m currently working on Seeds of Dominion, book 2 of the Eldros Legacy. It’s getting there. After that, I’ll be turning toward Embers & Ash by Marie Whittaker, book 3.

I’m also starting work on something that will, I hope, occupy a large chunk of our production schedule of 2022. Let’s just say I finished the first novel in one night because I couldn’t put it down. How’s that for vaguebooking?

Giveaways
Free Mythology Stories (Fantasy & Paranormal)
Free Mythology Stories (Fantasy & Paranormal)

Free Mythology Stories (Fantasy & Paranormal)

https://books.bookfunnel.com/egyptianmythology/w2c325jld3

Free Fantasy Reads + Paperback Giveaway
Free Fantasy Reads + Paperback Giveaway

Free Fantasy Reads + Paperback Giveaway

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/BGHNnLI

YA & NA Books
YA & NA Books

YA & NA Books

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/AXjbPHj

X-MYSTERY FILES
X-MYSTERY FILES

X-MYSTERY FILES

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/gKKvsB8

Rob’s Works in Progress
  • The Door Into Winter (25,797)
  • Rick Blaine (8,845)
  • CB (8,418)
Upcoming Events
New Releases

It’s a double week at CKP, with new stuff in our two biggest franchises.

First, there’s It Takes More Kinds, an anthology in Kevin Steverson’s Salvage Title universe. This is the follow-up to It Takes All Kinds, which included my story “Careful With That Axe, E.U. Gene.” Like the first anthology, It Takes More Kinds is an anthology of new alien races in this universe. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KPF57JN.

Second is Harbinger from Kevin Ikenberry. This is the 10th book in the Rise of the Peacemakers thread within the Four Horsemen universe. This thread starts with Redacted Affairs, which is a must read for all 4HU fans. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KGFDFLN.

Whew! What a week!

Tracked Items

Today’s Weight: 332.8

Updated Word Count: 322,472

Eldros Legacy Archives: 797 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

Founder in the Eldros Legacy series