Obviously, this week wasn’t any shorter than any other, but it felt that way as I lost three whole days to health stuff. It’s nothing serious, and most of that reason is a standard checkup procedure to make sure I’ve got no unseen issues, it just takes time out of a week.
That being said, I was pretty productive this week. In The Feasting of Vengeance I pulled out some threads from the main document. This allows me to focus directly on those threads and take them basically to the end of Act II and into the final big battle. I haven’t calculated the total words over all three docs, but it’s thousands more on the total with a bunch of cleanup of dead brush. So major progress, IMHO.
Don’t forget, Responsibility of the Fleet by G. Scott Huggins, third in his Endless Ocean series, comes out in two weeks!
I’ve been working on a larger scale project in Okkorim, however, and I needed to get that finished. I uploaded it for the mechanic to make sure I got the game stuff right yesterday.
This particular chunk had been difficult as I hadn’t had a good way to create game rules without making some things out of balance. The mechanic (his name’s Zach by the way), gave me a thought and what had been a slog at the end of last week was a torrent this week. I wrote 5k just on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Of course, this is DragonCon weekend!
There are a bunch of CKP authors there. I’m sure I’m going to miss some, but I know Kacey Ezell, David Shadoin, Marisa Wolf, H.Y. Gregor, Trisha J. Wooldridge, Melissa Olthoff, and Jon R. Osborne all come to mind.
Also there are a bunch of CKP-adjacent authors such as Joelle Presby, Shami Stovall, and Lydia Sherrer.
In other words, if you want to talk to a bunch of cool authors, there’s little better chance than at DragonCon.
I can’ t go this, year, but I did have a consolation prize. Fred Hughes did an interview with me. I’m not sure when it’ll be released, though of course I’ll let you know. We recorded it yesterday and I think it went really well!
In any case, I think that’s all for now. I’m still fatigued from all the stuff earlier this week, so I’ll sign off. Have a great week everyone!
What I’m Listening To
Steeleye Span’s version of King Henry. Steeleye Span is really cool English band playing medieval and traditional music. Their Saucy Sailor is one of my top 20 songs of all time. While this isn’t to that level, it’s still one I listen to quite often.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to John Locke, born on this day in 1632. I’ve read, and admired, much of his writing, and I encourage people to take a look if they’re philosophically inclined, as I am.
“I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
― John Locke
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 am a thing of whimsy wildly careening
New Mythology Works in Progress
So much happening!
Responsibility of the Fleet by G. Scott Huggins comes out September 13th.
Then a trilogy by H.Y. Gregor starting with Reka’s Grasp on October 18th with another November 22nd and the third on December 27th. This is set in Jon R. Osborne’s awesome Milesian Accords series.
And there’s more on the way. The open call from June is bearing fruit and I look forward to tell you of some awesome stuff from that.
Rob’s Works in Progress
Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
The Feasting of Vengeance
Upcoming Events
ChattaCon, January 17-19, Chattanooga, TN chattacon.org/ I’m the Toastmaster!
Pennsic War, July 26 – August 11, Slippery Rock, PA pennsicwar.org/
New Releases
Your pre-release this week is War Criminal, the 11th book in P.A. Piatt’s Abner Fortis, ISMC, series. For those who’ve been following the series (and if you haven’t, why not?), you can pretty much guess that good ol’ Abner will be up to his armpits in trouble as he and Jocko Bender go into the Free Sector to track down two of the war criminals behind the peace rally attack. Remember the world-killer bomb that disappeared? It’s back, too, and fully in play. Will Abner be able to recover it before it goes “boom?” You probably just answered that question wrong… but you’ll have to grab it to find out! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0DFFPZCFX.
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 357.4lbs
Updated Word Count: 205,201
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.
Well, wasn’t that a fun announcement from Chattacon? In case you missed it, they’ve invited me to be Toastmaster for Chattacon 50. I’m excited and honored to be part of the list shown here.
I can’t thank the Regina, Lani, Lee and all the other folks I’ve met at Chattacon enough for giving me this opportunity.
Also this week, we’ve added a new mailing list just for New Mythology Press! Kacey Ezell is running it and she has a bunch of cool ideas for it. She’s much better at this sort of thing than I am, so at the very least, you might want to sign up just to see how she’s setting things up. I’m already learning a ton.
Oh, and there’s a rather nice reader magnet for all who sign up, with short stories by myself, Jon R. Osborne, Kacey Ezell, and David Shadoin. Also, there are some legends from both my Firehall Sagas and Trisha J. Wooldridge’s 27 Kingdoms series. And, of course, snippets, including several from other New Mythology series such as Kevin Steverson’s Balance of Kerr series, Scott Huggins’ Endless Ocean series, and Christopher G. Nuttall’s Heirs of Cataclysm series. There’s no better way to find out what we’re about.
I appreciate all of you who are a part of my mailing list, and one reason I’m so excited about this other mailing list is I think it’ll help me do better by you. Expect some freebies from me coming your way soon, too.
I have yet another announcement! I’ll be at GaryCon in March. I’ll get to talk about Okkorim and, of course, play as much D&D as I can. It is the 50th anniversary of D&D and I suspect I’m going to wallow a bit. However, my big plan will be to hopefully meet a bunch more game producers and designers.
Thanks to Luke Gygax for all these opportunities!
I spent this week working on edits for Paladins of Valor and Okkorim. All told, about 10,000 words written this week, which is really nice.
I had intended to get going on The Feasting of Vengeance, but to be honest, I was going so good with Okkorim I didn’t want to break the momentum.
My writing philosophy is basically, get words on the page. Anything that gets in the way, like feeling I have to do all of the writing projects I’ve got going on, should be avoided.
And with that, I’ve got another idea, so I’m going to go do some more.
This week we have a new series! It’s from James Fox, and the series is the Sol Saga. Book 1 is Revolutionand you can get it here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRZ6MZTR.
Your pre-release this week is 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/
Tracked Items
My Weight Today: 364.2 lbs
Updated Word Count: 14,509
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’m going to post a number of pictures today of the store. Most of this week has been spent getting ready for the open house, so here’s some of the cool things we got.
Let’s start with the fun part! We have signs, and here’s the picture of the front of our building plus all the Grand Opening details.
We Have SignsThe signs rock, but let’s see what we have inside.
Here’s what we’ve got in the entryway! Some swag (our cups came out so well), and some other cool stuff.
We have an amazing Christmas Tree thanks to Mockingbird Flowers here in Anthony.
Check out this awesome Saint Nick Quilt!
Now let’s look at our book displays starting with the Chris Kennedy Publishing Display. Such an honor to be a part of this crew.
Here’s a display of my books!
Here’s a display of some great New Mythology Press stuff that I’ve had the honor to work with. At the bottom, so amazing alien romances from C.V. Walter!
But where would we be without our friends! Here’s a display showing off a bunch of the cool stuff from Raconteur Press!
And finally, thanks to Baen Books for sending swag to give out! They’re great folks, and here’s a small display showing some of the used Baen Books we have!
Well, I hope that was fun for you guys! We’re ecstatic and hope you can come visit someday, even if it’s not during our open house tomorrow.
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.
Your pre-release this week is something new in the Four Horsemen Universe. It’s Thicker Than Water from Michael Morton and you can get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0CQ5TC144.
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 360.2
Updated Word Count: 372,565
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.
First, I want to apologize to all the mailing list subscribers. I did everything to get your email out on time except press the “Send” button. It was in the Outbox going, “Well? You gonna hit send?”
In any case, happy 4th of July! Let me tell you, Anthony goes all out for the 4th. The fireworks started in June and the display a few blocks away last night was spectacular.
The title to this week’s update, by the way, comes from The Blacksmith of Brandywine, a fantastic song about a guy in Pennsylvania during the Revolution who helped Washington elude a trap only to lose his family. He then took revenge on the redcoats before dying. Here’s a good link on the story: hoofcare.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-blacksmith-of-brandywine-story-of.html and here’s a link to the best version of the song I can find on the web: youtube.com/watch?v=PpCbxwVjaX0. This isn’t a great version, though. Sabaton really needs to do a proper version because it’s as metal a story as you’ll ever find.
On to the big news. A Hope in Hell, the thrilling conclusion to Christopher G. Nuttall’s Heirs of Cataclysm trilogy, comes out on Tuesday. The advance reviewers have been unanimous that it’s great and a fitting end to this post-apocalyptic swords and sorcery.
It was a very productive week otherwise, too. A Lake Most Deep is in the can and will go out to the advance readers this weekend. The Eyes of a Doll is at the proofer, so it’s ahead of schedule. Where Now theRider went out to the editor today.
And I promised you a cover reveal, so here you go! Jake did an amazing job here, and while it’s similar to the first cover since it’s the same scene, it’s so much stronger. He’s really amazing.
Also, note the cool thing right over the “E” in Lake. Glen Cook, yes that Glen Cook, wrote me out of the blue that since I’d edited him a few times, he thought he’d take a look at the Edward novels. He started his review with, “That’s a damn fine read.”
Yes, my head is still blown.
Glen’s been one of my favorites for a long time, and to have the creator of the Garrett, P.I. series, one of the foundations of the fantasy/mystery subgenre, say that about A Lake Most Deep was astounding.
Let’s see, what else? I finished a sooper-sekrit project and sent it off. We’ll see what fruit that bears. I also mostly finished a new short story which I’ll send out this weekend.
Also this week, H.P. Holo invited me to join her on her podcast on July 22nd. We’ll be talking about A Lake Most Deep and whatever else comes to mind. If you haven’t seen her stuff before, you should check her out. She’s a rock star, as is Jacob, her husband.
And look at the graphic she made for this episode! And here’s the link if you want get updates on Facebook: facebook.com/events/234711226078834.
Whew, so much going on and next weekend might be even more awesome.
What I’m Listening To
Writing this with Law & Order in the background. S. Epatha Merkerson is so good as Anita van Buren. She’s one of my favorite TV characters ever.
Quote of the Week
Here are the original words to Blacksmith of Brandywine from its writer, Pat Garvey.
Original Words by Pat Garvey
Sep 26 – ’63
Chorus Make it one for Washington and all his gallant men And one for the girl that once was mine. Make it one for the darlin’ boy I’ll never see again And don’t forget the Blacksmith of Brandywine.
As we rode down to Brandywine
There was a sight to see
A giant man with a hammer in his hand
Lying dead ‘neath a cherry tree
And all around him on the ground
In fatal disarray
A score of men who would never fight again
Nor travel on the King’s Highway.
Then quietly we dug a grave
And gave him burial there
And passed the day a ridin’ on our way
Till we met with a musketeer.
From him we learned the story of
A brave and angry man
Who undertook the British enemy
With a hammer in his hand.
Chorus
There lived a man in Chester town
Away from the cannon’s roar
Of manner mild, he’d a woman and child
And he loved them twenty times o’er
Till a Tory spoke of a plot one day
To waylay Washington
He left his home and family alone
And to the General he did run.
When he returned the next morning
A horror struck his eyes
His family slain by Tory gun
And his house it burned the skies
The Blacksmith reached for his heavy sledge
And gave a practice swing.
Next day at the line on the field of Brandywine
You could hear his hammer ring:
Chorus – Pat Garvey, Blacksmith of Brandywine
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Current Schedule of New Mythology Press
Of note, this now includes our recent releases, so if you’re not sure what we’ve put out lately, you can go here and check.
Rob’s Works in Progress
Sowing Spring’s Wrath (3,213)
OG (2,379)
Hyarkeen (2,991)
Farewell, My Ugly (73,704)
Rick Blaine (8,845)
The Feasting of Vengeance (3,405)
Upcoming Events
Pennsic War, July 28 – August 13, Slippery Rock, PA, pennsicwar.org
Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy came out a couple weeks ago. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/1648557732. This is book 2 in Trisha J. Wooldridge’s amazing Asian-themed epic fantasy, and focuses on the fey of her world in a battle against an evil prince.
And don’t forget, A Hope in Hell by Christopher G. Nuttall comes out on Tuesday!
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 351.6
Updated Word Count: 204,881 (I went back and caught up with some stuff I should have added a while ago)
Firehall Sagas Archives: 737 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 Wednesday, which is about right. I need at least a few days to recover from the awesomeness that is LibertyCon. I hated missing it last year, but I suppose I made the right choice. I am still married, after all.
Anyway, before I get going into my weekend, I want to take a moment to thank all the crew at LibertyCon. Brandy Hendren is a rock star among rock stars, and her crew is the single best organized con crew out there. I deal mostly with Rich Groller (programming) Matthew Fanny (gate) because I never get a chance to go to the best con suite around (Vonn Gants and crew), the art show (Ann Robards), or the game room (Misty Kat Gutierrez-Waller). And that doesn’t count all the behind the scenes folks.
That crew is amazing, but it’s not really a surprise. We often talk about how much LibertyCon is a family, and this is the core of the family. They’ve all done the job for a while, helping their family members have a great time.
I thank them all the time, but it’s really never enough.
Anyway, I was so ready for LibertyCon that last Tuesday night I couldn’t sleep. It was like Christmas Eve, so I gave up the ghost, got up at 430am and was on the road by 5 to Murfreesboro, my stop on the way. It’s good to have friends to crash with, especially when they make chicken and mashed potatoes for a weary traveler.
I got to the hotel early on Thursday and did a bunch of work in the room before heading down to the lobby.
The lobby at the LibertyCon hotel on Thursday night is a trap. A great trap, a wonderful trap, a trap worthy of Grimtooth, but a trap nonetheless.
There are friends there I haven’t seen in at least a year, lots of them! I flitted from friend to friend, getting snatches of conversation, talking business, the past year, beer, writing, and all the other things in swirling conversations that make the Thursday night at LibertyCon one of the single most important days of the year professionally.
We closed down the bar and then went to a room party. This was an oft-used plan by many at the bar. Marriott might want to reconsider closing the bar right at midnight.
Friday was breakfast at the City Cafe. Sadly, they’re being forced to move a few blocks away. It’s a shame as it was only a block away from the hotel and it is really good.
Then I got into panels starting at 1pm. This was the Out of the Trailer Park anthologies panel led by William Joseph Roberts. He’s a really smart dude and the driving force behind Three Ravens Publishing. If you haven’t checked that company out, do so. They’re really good.
Anyway, I’m not saying I committed myself to writing a redneck version of Beowulf, but I committed myself to writing a redneck version of Beowulf for a future anthology.
After that, I was generally off until 8pm and my Author’s Alley stint from 8pm to 10pm. I was really pleased with how this went. I only sold 4 books, but I talked to a bunch of folks and that’ s a big part of why I do those slots.
More importantly, I had bought a rolling toolbox to make setup and teardown go smoothly. It holds 4 stacks of books, so about 40 or so without difficulty. It also came with a smaller case that holds promo and setup stuff like the Wandering Signature Chart and the big d20. I can bungee two racks on top and it was really easy, so that’ll be a help going forward.
I was originally scheduled to be on Author’s Alley until 11pm, but the CKP Year Ahead panel went from 9pm to 11pm, and I skipped my last hour (actually I donated it to Cedar Sanderson, who couldn’t make the con) to go do the New Mythology portion of the presentation.
And that’s where I lost my name.
I showed up to find they were mostly through the New Mythology portion and that Kacey Ezell had impersonated me. Apparently, she’s a better me than me.
So I took her tiara and tagged in. I got there in time for not one, but two cover reveals. The first was for A Hope in Hell, the conclusion to the Heirs of Cataclysm trilogy by Christopher G. Nuttall. This comes out on July 11th and it’s the post-magical-apocalypse swords and sorcery series you didn’t know you’d love but you will. The art, by the way, was done by Laercio Messias.
Then came the most exciting part of the presentation. I’m re-releasing all of my books under New Mythology Press starting with A Lake Most Deep on July 25th. This is the first of the Edwardsaga, the fantasy mystery series.
The Firehall Sagas schedule starts like this:
July 25th: A Lake Most Deep
August 29th: The Eyes of a Doll
October 3rd: Where Now the Rider
November 7th and every 5 weeks afterward for a good while, something else.
No surprise that I’m excited. These books have updated art, maps, new edits, and a better layout. Basically, I’m taking all that I’ve learned over the last decade and refreshing them. I’ve said a number of times that while I love A Lake Most Deep because I created good characters, a great setting, and a challenging mystery, I didn’t execute the writing well. No surprise there, it was my first novel. Now, however, I’m as proud of the writing as I am the story and this is true for all the rest.
Did I mention art? Here’s the other cover reveal. This art is by J. Caleb Designs, one of my favorite cover artists around. I think you can see why. It’s much the same cover as before, but it’s so much more energetic and strong.
On top of this, I’ve been pleased to get a couple of blurbs from other authors. Glen Cook, yes that Glen Cook, the one who wrote the Garrett, PI series, said A Lake Most Deep is “a damn fine read.”
Yes, my head exploded when I got that email.
Also, at LibertyCon, Larry Correia gave me a writer blurb: “Rob mixes intrigue, murder, and magic in to his own cool blend.” Plus, Dave Butler agreed to get me a blurb as well. I’m honored by their trust and hope to live up to everything they expect of me.
Back to LibertyCon. Following the CKP panel, we had a CKP YouTube internet thing. This was a hoot. I sat in the back and heckled, not that it needed my heckling to be hilarious. Check it out here: youtube.com/watch?v=x35cP0ir34M. Uhhh, not safe for work, or your ribs from laughing too hard.
Saturday started with the brunch. We had a fun table including Gary Shelton the donut god, Ann Margaret Lewis (who’s releasing her first CKP title soon), and Scott Huggins, writer of the Responsibility series.
The theme for our table was, “Dammit, Scott!!!” The banquet was set up so each table would go up in succession, with the table number drawn randomly. Scott said he had terrible luck with this sort of thing and we’d go last, so every time another table was called, we yelled, “Dammit, Scott!!!” Then Scott McIntosh-Mize got in line and we yelled it at him too. He was appropriately confused. Then they said the last table to be called would get a prize, so we yelled “Dammit, Scott!!!” when we were second to last. We may have had to wait, but we had more fun than all the other tables.
Scott’s working on book 3 in his Responsibility series right now, by the way.
At noon I had a reading with Patrick Chiles. He’s a hard SF author writing with Baen and his first reading reminded me of Inherit the Stars, at least it had the same sort of awesome puzzle from James P. Hogan. That’s still one of my favorite books, even if some of the scientific basis hasn’t entirely held up in the nearly 50 years since it came out.
For myself, I read the new first chapter of A Lake Most Deep, which is much stronger then the first chapter of Farewell, My Ugly.
Then I had another long break until panels at 7, 8, and 10pm. The first was a panel on Writing from the Perspective of a Historian. In general, I enjoyed the panel, and David B. Coe did a good job of moderating it.
I think the key thing to remember about this topic is that history doesn’t have to make sense, but fiction does. Also, there’s always another level to the history, and at some point you have to cut that off in fiction to keep the reader in the story.
Then there was another panel on history, this time writing for history, and again moderated by David B. Coe. It wasn’t an exact reply, though, as it was focused more on worldbuilding.
He asked what 3 things we start with, and my answer is that all the worldbuilding has to provide kinetic energy to the story. Hence, I start with foundational stuff like the magic system and also the ancient history that is hidden in the epic fantasy quest. Then I start with regional stuff to create trade routes, political tensions, and such. Then I mention my Wikipedia random article process to create a database of ideas for characters, places, and events.
Then came the Great Tiara Exchange of Ought-23 and me getting a new name.
On the schedule it was the Valkyries panel where a bunch of authors in The Valkyrie Protocol anthology talked about their story. Kacey Ezell introduced herself as Rob, so I took her tiara again. This, by the way, was a huge blue-stone studded tiara as opposed to the simple circlet from the previous night.
I rocked it the rest of the night.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, as the Joelle Presby introduced herself as Rob. Then Melissa Olthoff introduced herself as Rob. So I introduced myself as Kacey Joelle Olthoff to much rejoicing.
All the while wearing the tiara balanced on my head. Did I mention it didn’t fit? It was just perched there, but I never once had it fall off.
Back to the panel, which had some business moments. Marisa talked about the plan to keep writing in that world, and that a number of books were coming out along these lines, ultimately concluding with an Avengers-like book with all the characters kicking ass. I don’t have time to write a book, but Vigdis hasn’t saved her last soul.
Side note: www.irocktiaras.com is available and I might need a new website.
Following the Valkyries panel, we retired to the bar to close it down. Then went to room parties. Then we went on an excursion!
I skipped right over the part where Trisha J. Wooldridge was at her first LibertyCon with her brand new release, Shadows, Ash, and Prophecy. She seemed to have a great time and is a great addition to the CKP crew. She’s also working on book 3 in that series right now.
Here’s the cover, by the way.
She was staying at a neighboring hotel, so we formed a party amoeba and escorted her home. Then we returned to the room party.
I usually do my major night of reveling on Thursday, but apparently I was too hyped to stop. I closed out the room party, then spent time helping Nathan Balyeat edit a story. A drunk editor can be good, but he either sacrifices his editing skill or his ability to phrase things nicely. Fortunately, Nathan didn’t kill me, but I was like a director yelling, “cut, cut, cut!”
Then I realized it was 6am and I had planned to drive to Fayetteville, AR after the con.
Ooops.
Well, I packed my stuff up except just what I’d need and took it down to the car. Went to the breakfast buffet, which opened at 630. Then I caught a few hours of sleep to join the Kaffeeklatsch.
After that was the Four Horsemen panel and suddenly, the tables turned.
They started the presentation and were introducing all the people up on stage when they came to an empty chair. Kacey Ezell’s chair.
Yes, I jumped up and did my best Kacey impersonation. To be fair, she’s a much better me than I am of her. I apparently can’t do a soft, higher-pitched voice without doing it in Southern. Still, it was a lot of fun and most of the crowd had been to the previous panels so was in on the joke.
At that point, I got out of Dodge as quickly as I could because I was already tired. I figured if I got out early, I could stop for a nap or two, which I did. However, leaving LibertyCon is not a fast process, something I appreciate. Lots of people to hugs, lots of goodbyes, and even a homemade cookie.
The trip home wasn’t terribly eventful, though I did make a detour when I saw the weather going through the middle of Arkansas. I ended up going north around it and getting a hotel in Mountain Grove, MO instead of stopping at a friend’s house in Fayetteville. Ah, well, I got home safely.
Overall, LibertyCon was as awesome as usual, maybe even more so since I’d missed it last year. Never again, unless I can’t help it.
All the business things I’d hoped to cover got covered, and more. I got to hang out with a people I haven’t had much of a chance to before, including Patrick Chiles, Howard Andrew Jones and the Holos. I met a bunch of new folks, too.
So, can we go back next week? I already miss my family.
Lilies was great, as to be expected. Overall, weather as good as could be hoped for and a bunch of opportunities to sing. I’m rusty around a singing circle so I’m spending July practicing.
But now it’s on to LibertyCon. I left Wednesday morning at 5:07am. I intended to leave at 6am but I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep. It was like sleeping on Christmas Eve.
It’s been four years since I’ve been able to come to LibertyCon. This is such an important event for me, both professionally and sentimentally. I came here first in 2015 in order to help get a feel for how to be a pro writer. I’d never have the career I have without it. It is also one of those cons where things get done in a myriad of conversations.
Anyway, there’s a ton going on this week, so let’s get to that. Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy is Live! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/1648557732. This is book 2 in Trisha J. Wooldridge’s amazing Asian-themed epic fantasy, and focuses on the fey of her world in a battle against an evil prince.
Coming soon is A Hope In Hell. It’s the conclusion to Christopher G. Nuttall’s action-packed post apocalyptic swords and sorcery series the Heirs of Cataclysm. I’ll have a cover reveal here at LibertyCon Friday night in the CKP Year Ahead.
Two weeks after that is A Lake MostDeep, book 1 of the Firehall Sagas by yours truly. I’ll reveal that cover tomorrow night as well.
As most of you know, this is a re-release of my fantasy series. That means we’ll have a bunch of them out in sequence, including not only the 7 currently published novels but more. Much more. The Eyes of a Doll, book 2, is coming out August 29th. Where Now the Rider, book 3, is scheduled for 3 October. And something more every 5 weeks after that for a while. A long while.
Exciting times for me.
Back to the CKP Year Ahead. Not only will I have the two cover reveals, but I know Chris has a number of surprises too, so you won’t want to miss it. It starts at 9pm in CC Ballroom E on Friday night.
Alan Parson Project House of Usher. Let’s start the weekend with some Poe.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to one of the forefathers of my profession, born on this day in 1856. Might be time to read the Allen Quatermain adventures again. In the meantime, here’s a quote from King Solomon’s Mines.
“It is far. But there is no journey upon this earth that a man may not make if he sets his heart to it. There is nothing, Umbopa, that he cannot do, there are no mountains he may not climb, there are no deserts he cannot cross; save a mountain and a desert of which you are spared the knowledge, if love leads him and he holds his life in his hand counting it as nothing, ready to keep it or to lose it as Providence may order.”
― H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon’s Mines
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Current Schedule of New Mythology Press
Of note, this now includes our recent releases, so if you’re not sure what we’ve put out lately, you can go here and check.
Pennsic War, July 28 – August 13, Slippery Rock, PA, pennsicwar.org
New Releases
Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy is out! Get it here: amazon.com/dp/1648557732. This is book 2 in Trisha J. Wooldridge’s amazing Asian-themed epic fantasy, and focuses on the fey of her world in a battle against an evil prince.
The big release this week is a whole new set of threads in the Four Horsemen Universe. Thought we were done? Not at all. Check out The Phoenix Initiative: The First Missions for seventeen! stories totaling 160,000 words! You won’t want to miss it, so get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0C7YZCFCK.
New Author Alert! Please welcome Nic Plume to CKP Factory by checking out her Shadows of Peace series. Your pre-release this week is Tinaree: Trial by Inferno. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0C8SDFJR5.
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 351.2
Updated Word Count: 117,862
Firehall Sagas Archives: 737 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’m sending this via the magic of scheduling. I’m at Lilies War, so instead of talking too much about my week, I’ll hit a couple of high points then give you the first chapter of Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy.
A Hope in Hell and A Lake Most Deep are in progress. Expect more details next week.
By the way, last week I typed July 24th instead of July 25th as the release date for A Lake Most Deep. To be clear, it comes out on the 25th, which is a Tuesday, not the 24th, which is not.
And with that, here’s the first chapter of Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy, book 2 in Trisha J. Wooldridge’s excellent Asian-themed epic fantasy series, The 27 Kingdoms.
* * * * *
Chapter One – Things That Shouldn’t Be
In swirling darkness, fear redefined itself for Blessedhunter Koki.
Her insides twisted in one direction, her body the other. Images and memories—familiar and foreign—pelted her foggy awareness.
Byria, her Byria; Byria’s dragon; poisoned illness; mountains and giants’ magic; shaking, breaking earth.
Reflective black stone made by fire in a cave of boiling water.
Mokin’s spiritcall rune drawn in blood.
Years of muscle memory allowed Koki to land in a stable crouch that at least felt familiar. Her stomach heaved. She spit out burning bile. Smells assaulted her, smells she knew intimately, smells that carried yet a different fear.
Years of experience sharpened Koki’s mind and senses with her next breath. She was still in danger. This danger she knew well.
She was in Lakan’s home.
A particular room in Lakan’s home, though light hardly penetrated its walls—walls within walls, for it was a room hidden in the central strangler fig lattice within the Magicleader’s large hut. Blood of beast and person mingled with pre-storm air. Sticky, still, and prickly.
She needed to leave. Now. No. As soon as it was safe, as soon as she wouldn’t be discovered. Panic had its purpose in survival, but this wasn’t the place. Her heart beat faster than the wings of hummingbirds.
The cut on her hand from which she’d drawn Mokin’s spiritsigil pulsed. Not pain, but something through the tacky blood still seeping over her palm tugged at her attention. Like a thread or string. Pulling.
Like lightning, Mokin’s spiritcall rune flashed in her vision, illuminating the secret room.
Koki flinched deeper into a crouch, barely containing a gasp.
A person-sized reflective surface, like the stone the dragon had fired, balanced upright on a stand of Ancestor Wood. Her stomach twisted even more. Ancestor trees were never to be harmed. What had become of the souls entrusted to this tree?
Had Lakan always had such a thing?
It had always been after sundown, darker than now, when she’d pulled Mokin from this room. Tied, bleeding from the runes his father had carved into his flesh, and writhing from painful magic burning his blood. She’d observed their surroundings only to ensure their safety.
That sensation in her cut hand yanked at her heart. No, not quite. Like a string from her heart to her hand, something tugged her in the direction of the room’s hidden entry.
Koki crept closer to the hinged wall. Dizziness clung to her movement, forced her to focus more on moving her body than attending to her surroundings. The silence of the hut was more distracting than the loudest spring birdsong raucous.
Trembling climbed her limbs, and she had to stop and lower to a knee, lest she fall. I need to get out of here! Koki mentally shouted at her uncooperative body. I need to find Mokin! As if to confirm her intuition’s declaration, another pulse rippled from her heart to her hand toward the wall.
But she couldn’t move.
Koki shook as if from fever, or when she’d lost all that blood from the leopard fight. If she were discovered—and discovery was more likely if she tried to move in this state—she’d be in danger worse than that attack. What that danger was, she didn’t know, but she trusted her instincts.
“You know what you need to do.”
Mokin?
He’d spoken into her mind a few times when it had been necessary. This didn’t feel quite the same, though she perceived the thought in his voice.
The thought was correct.
Koki closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She willed herself to be unseen, unheard, undetected. Glamour rippled around her.
Breathing, breathing, she knelt on both knees, a more stable posture. The ground within this room was damp, almost muddy. She thanked her sharp senses for noticing such a detail and thought no further on the observation. It wasn’t immediately necessary for her survival.
Still no sounds.
Per the light that did filter in, it was daytime. Lakan’s hut was just outside the village, somewhat isolated, as was the home she and Mokin had built—as far from his father as possible. The sounds of the village wouldn’t reach the house. But…
There were no birds, no animal movement. Not even at a distance.
It was more silent than the barren lands heading toward the mountains. The silence swirled Koki’s nausea like a spoon stirring a pot.
Wrong.
Considering what Koki knew Lakan had done in this room, he’d likely glamoured it to buffer noise coming in or going out.
Ancestors and gods! Koki began the thought as a profanity. Then, like when instinct positioned her spear before she focused on a target, she gestured in prayer. Ancestors and gods, all blessed spirits and souls, please… Please, what? Just please, with my heart and spirit. Please…
The sting of tears and her bleeding palm impinged upon her awareness.
Pulling a cloth from a belt pouch, she wrapped her cut hand and got to her feet, doing her best to smooth the almost-mud and hide any blood she’d spilled. Proper washing could come later.
Her instincts spoke more primally, and Koki surrendered to them. As if she stalked prey, her feet found the quietest, most secure steps. Her bandaged hand slipped below her leopard tunic, palm pressing to where her heart beat behind her chest bone.
The beating slowed, as did her shaking, with each breath Koki took. She cracked open the secret room’s door, and sounds filtered in to her heightened senses.
Unfamiliar birds cooed nearby, as if from a coop. Odd, as Mokin’s family had never kept birds, but not immediately important. From farther away, she picked up the sounds of the village common.
Even considering the distance, the sounds of her people seemed… less. Not muted, but… fewer?
More worrisome than unexpected birds, but still not an urgent concern.
No one was nearby. She could leave unseen and unheard, so she did.
That string sensation pulled her heart and wrapped hand to the east, toward the Ritual Circle that held council and holy meeting huts, the Blessing Pools, and the speaking and ritual dais. Swallowing hard, Koki followed the call, trusting it like her hunting senses.
She cringed upon passing a pile of decomposed bamboo and branches—once the hut at which Mokin had apprenticed under Motherhealer Choli, his mother. Koki was surprised anything still remained of it—that Lakan had never removed it—after over a century of abandonment.
Reaching for her spear, Koki found only air and scowled. She vaguely remembered being unable to hold her spear after pulling the poisoned arrow from her shoulder and running. She cursed.
Then again, no weapons were permitted in the sacred areas.
Willing glamour to cover her, she broke into a jog with surprisingly less pain than she expected. Koki gave thanks that she’d lost her spear. The last thing she needed was to offend the gods and ancestors.
* * * * *
Have a great week everyone!
What I’m Listening To
The sound of singing around a campfire.
Quote of the Week
This is a line from one of my favorite campfire songs, Battle of Maldon by the amazing Rosalind Jehanne
For our hands shall be the harder, and our will shall be the wiser
And our hearts shall be bolder as our strength must end
Come and follow me to glory, so that when they tell the story
We shall not be forgotten in the halls of men
– Rosalind Jehanne
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
First Line of Next Riddle:
With fierce heart Defend I your soul
Latest Snippet: Chapter 1 of Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy
Pennsic War, July 28 – August 13, Slippery Rock, PA, pennsicwar.org
New Releases
This week we have New Horizons by Chris Kennedy. This is a collection of sixteen of his best short stories. You don’t want to miss it. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0C7BP8PJ3.
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 351.8
Updated Word Count: 116,537
Firehall Sagas Archives: 737 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.
Hey, look, I remembered today is Thursday. Go me! I’m back on schedule, except for the fact that there’ll be no regular update next week as I’ll be at the War of the Lilies and not have enough internet access to post.
However, I’m going to try something out, so expect something special.
I’ve had another great week and there’s so much coming out soon!
Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy went to the ARC readers yesterday. If you’re on the team, check your email. This is the 2nd book in The 27 Kingdoms by Trisha J. Wooldridge. It’s Asian-themed epic fantasy with dragons, fey, and as you can see on the cover, a tough bad guy.
By the way, with all that’s coming down the pike, I’m going to need a bunch more ARC readers. If you’re interested in becoming part of the advance team, send me an email at: rob@chriskennedypublishing.com.
But wait, there’s more! A Hope In Hell, the high-powered conclusion of Christopher G. Nuttall’s excellent Heirs of Cataclysm trilogy, is in process. The target date for release is July 11th.
And yet, even more!The Firehall Sagas, the re-release of the former World of Shijuren is nigh.
A Lake Most Deep by yours truly gets re-released on July 25th. It’s got a new cover, an editing pass to streamline the story, but with all the same mystery and adventure.
Expect the rest of the Firehall Sagas to come out in sequence, about every 5 weeks at least through 2023 from that point.
I can’t tell you all how excited I am with this release. I love A Lake Most Deep, but it suffered from normal first-novel issues. The characters, mystery, and setting are great, but I wasn’t as good a writer in 2014 and 2015 as I am now. Not only that, it has a new opening scene I really love.
Plus wait until you see what J. Caleb Designs did for the cover. It’s amazing.
There’s also been a bunch of unpacking and organizing here. Bit by bit, the boxes are getting emptied. We can even sit at a pew or two.
Now all I have to do is learn how to back up a trailer. This hasn’t gone well yet, but I’m learning.
As you can see, Richard Groller and the rest of the programming staff have given me a great list of things to do. By the way, I’ll be reading the brand new opening scene to A Lake Most Deep.
With that, I better get back to work. Lots to do before leaving for Lilies. Have a great couple of weeks, everyone!
What I’m Listening To
Take the Long Way Home by Supertramp. Seems fitting now that I’ve move back to the Wichita area after all those years away.
Quote of the Week
Happy birthday to Jerry Stiller. You may remember him from Seinfeld, King of Queens, or as Ben Stiller’s dad.
I remember him from the videos he made for Rush concerts. Here’s one to start with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Cz9VjjvCE.
“Did I miss the band? Where’s the band? Where’s my man Lerxst? Hit me baby. And the skinny guy, Dirk. Give it to me. And the other guy. Yeah, the Professor! Where are you guys?”
– Jerry Stiller
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Pennsic War, July 28 – August 13, Slippery Rock, PA, pennsicwar.org
New Releases
This week we have Pirates & Payback from Nick Steverson and Melissa Olthoff. This is the second of their Salvage Treasure trilogy in the Salvage Title universe originally created by the amazing Kevin Steverson. Get your fast space opera action here: amazon.com/dp/B0C6QWXCB6.
Also in Kevin Steverson’s Salvage Title universe, It Takes All Kinds, an anthology of fun races including my story Careful with that Axe, E.U. Gene. Get it in, electronic, paper, or audio formats here: https://books2read.com/u/bQApGE.
Your pre-release this week is New Horizons by Chris Kennedy. This is a collection of sixteen of his best short stories. You don’t want to miss it. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0C7BP8PJ3.
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 351.8
Updated Word Count: 115,029
Firehall Sagas Archives: 737 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.
What a great, productive week! So much so I completely lost a day in there somewhere. Well, actually, I remember yesterday, as I was falling asleep, “Wait, today’s Thursday!”
So I apologize for getting this out a day late, but as I said, I got a lot done.
Let’s start with a cover reveal, and let me just say, this is one of my favorite covers I’ve seen so far. It’s the cover for Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy by Trisha J. Wooldridge, which comes out on the 20th.
Isn’t that amazing?
It’s from J. Caleb Designs, one of the best cover artists out there. You’ve seen his work with the Valor anthologies, the Balance of Kerr series, and now this.
Side note: There’s another cover coming next month from him that’s awesome, though I might be biased. But we’ll get to that in due time.
Trisha and I spent a great deal of time putting the final touches on Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy and I’m excited with this story. It’s set in The 27 Kingdoms and is a great follow up to Heart, Wings, andFire, and focuses on the fey allies and enemies Byria gained in that book.
Trisha did a great job of creating a culture with Asian influences, especially Taiwanese, that still has the alien feel that the fey should have.
But wait, there’s more! I’ve also been working on A Hope in Hell. This is by Christopher G. Nuttall and is the conclusion to his first trilogy in the Heirs of Cataclysm series.
This will come out on July 11th, so it’s coming soon!
On the home front, there’s been a bunch of unpacking and the barest hint of organizing. Getting there. I also spent a day getting a trailer hitch put on the car and then a pretty epic shopping trip across Wichita. Amazing how many steps when you go through Sam’s, Wal-Mart, Aldi’s, and Ollie’s.
A great week indeed!
What I’m Listening To
Pandora’s Classic Prog Rock channel has gotten me of late. Rush, Jethro Tull, Yes? Sign me up.
Quote of the Week
I learned today that both Morena Baccarin (1979) and Jewel Staite (1982) were born on the 2nd of July. Any day is a great day for a quote from Firefly, but this seems perfect!
Kaylee: No, it’s shiny! I like to meet new people. They’ve all got stories… Jayne: Captain, can you stop her from being cheerful please? Mal: I don’t believe there’s a power in the ‘Verse can stop Kaylee from being cheerful. Sometimes you just want to duct tape her mouth and dump her in the hold for a month. Kaylee: I love my captain.
– Firefly, Pilot
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
I got a bonus riddle out last week and I’m back on track.
Pennsic War, July 28 – August 13, Slippery Rock, PA, pennsicwar.org
New Releases
Your first release this week is Pirates & Payback from Nick Steverson and Melissa Olthoff. This is the second of their Salvage Treasure trilogy in the Salvage Title universe originally created by the amazing Kevin Steverson. Get your fast space opera action here: amazon.com/dp/B0C6QWXCB6.
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’m up and operational! Not fully, in the sense of everything arranged, but I’m at the point where I can work then procrasticlean. I’ve an office, and maybe I’ll take a picture or two of it next week
Most importantly, I’ve been working, actually working, instead of simply moving.
I spent much of this week working on Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy, by Trisha J. Wooldridge. This returns to here lush, intricate setting of The 27 Kingdoms.
This comes out on June 20th, if I’m remembering dates correctly. Stay tuned next week for a cover reveal.
I had a great time at Anthony’s Balloon Fest. We had a beautiful day for meeting people, watching a parade, and selling a few books. I expect it’ll be a normal thing for us going forward.
We have a couple small things left at the old house, but they’re so minor, I’ll worry about them over Lilies.
It’s such a relief to finally be settling in. Tonight is my first night having a late worknight in my new office, but right now, it’s time for a beer at the Idle Hour. Probably a Stone Arrogant Bastard, because I clearly need to be more arrogant!
What I’m Listening To
Langt Nord I Trollebotten by Lumsk. This is one of my favorite songs, a combination of intricate Scandinavian folk styles and crunching guitar riffs. I stumbled upon it, and Lumsk, from a Pandora selection. The song was so good I immediately bought the album.
We’ve had a number of celebrity deaths of late, including the amazing Tina Turner. However, you might have missed the passing of Rick Hoyt. He and his father formed Team Hoyt. The father ran marathons pushing his son Rick, a paraplegic.
Rick said that during these events, around 1000 races, he felt like his disability disappeared. He also said this, and it doesn’t get much more powerful.
“The best that has happened to me in my life has come from handling the worst that’s happened to me in my life.
– Rick Hoyt
Rob’s Riddles
I have a Patreon where I write Old English style riddles and provide snippets of my work. You can find it here: patreon.com/rhodri2112, along with a sample riddle.
Your pre-release this week is C.S. Ferbuson’s The Province of Danger, book 2 in his Transhuman War. Get it here: amazon.com/dp/B0C665BS1P.
Tracked Items
Today’s Weight: 346.8 (Not a typo. Amazing what happens when I’m not driving all the time)
Updated Word Count: 113,461
Firehall Sagas Archives: 737 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.