Rob Howell's Blog, page 46

Interview: Thaddeus Nowak

Thaddeus Nowak is another KC-area writer. He and I had tables near each other at Planet Comicon and we got a chance to chat with each other about writing philosophies and styles. You’ll find some similarities in the way we like to write.

Interview: Thaddeus Nowak

What is your quest?

To be a lumberjack? Or maybe to get funding for my walk?  Not decided yet.

Thaddeus Nowak

As a writer, my aim has always been to write what I like to read and that tends toward realistic fantasy. I want a somewhat gritty world that has echoes of our own world’s conflicts and struggles mixed with a magic system that obeys balanced rules. I want to feel the character’s struggles and know they have to use their minds to overcome what they face.

Some of my favorite books include The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, The Firekeeper Saga by Jane Lindskold, and many of the books by Barbara Hambly. In those series, the magic remained subdued, few people in the worlds mastered the power, and most did not fully understand how it worked. To me, that helped to keep the world in balance and forced the characters to be deeper and more well-rounded.

I do enjoy other genres, including scifi and urban / high fantasy. I even made a trip to England to buy the English copy of Harry Potter (okay, I was there for other reasons, but I bought the whole set and shipped it home when I was there).

A theme across all the genres I read is a desire for stories with strong female protagonists. I grew up in a neighborhood where my family had the only boys and all my friends at an early age were girls. That has greatly influenced what I like to read and write. The key here is to make the protagonist someone who makes decisions and who inspires others to follow her. I really get turned off by indecision.

What is your favorite color?

Heirs of Cothel

I like subtlety. I want to be nudged in the correct direction and allowed to make the connection before it is revealed—if it is ever fully revealed at all. It is a hard thing to do because you have no way of knowing just how much a reader does or does not know, and therefore, some hints might miss the mark. You don’t want to leave the reader wondering why something came out of seemingly nowhere, but you also don’t want to hit them over the head with facts that they feel are obvious.  The needed understanding must gradually show up as the story progresses.

I also love Easter Eggs. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was a fun story filled with little bits of geekdom that simply resonated with me. I enjoyed both the book and the movie, and while that story was specifically about paying homage to countless parts of my childhood, I like other books that slide in one or two items for the geek in all of us.  It is a good way to share a common bond.

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?

Failure is such a friend of mine. I remarked the other day that the best way to learn is to pound your head on the keyboard for a few hours until you find the very obvious mistake you made. Granted, that was in reference to some C# code I was working on, but the same applies to writing. Failure is the greatest of teachers, as long as you can step back and take a clinical look at why you failed and how you were able to overcome it. You cannot wallow in it, even if you want to.

Another challenge I continue to face is one of perfectionism. My first manuscript got eaten up the edit loop and bloomed into more than 200k words and was only a third of the way done. I made a few calls and put a hit out on my internal editor. It wasn’t cheap, but it helped.

Another change I made while the editor’s body was dragged off was that I moved from being a discovery writer to being more of an architect (just at a high-level outline). I won’t advocate one form over the other for anyone, but if you are struggling, try changing your writing style from one to the other. Give it an honest attempt and see if it works. When I did, I finished writing Mother’s Curse in two months.

 (Rob’s note: There’s one true way of writing, and it’s whatever helps *you* get words on the page. Thaddeus is absolutely right. If you’re stuck, change something. It could be your style, environment, chair, music, food, medium, whatever, just change something.) 

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?

I am excellent at counting to five—three.

When I moved to the architect style of writing, I found that I was able to very accurately judge the word count I wanted for a given scene. I would get a reasonably idea of what I wanted the scene to do from my outline and based on how I wanted the pacing to go (fast, slow, or in between) I would come up with an estimate on the number of words / pages it would take me to write the scene. When I plotted out Mother’s Curse, I was aiming for 100k words. The final word count came in at 96.5k and I was proud to have been so close (as well as under my estimate).

Another realization I had when writing my series is that when you have royalty or powerful people involved in the story, you suddenly have another major character to keep track of: the general populace. When a normal person does something publicly, few people will notice or care, but when a person of influence is seen in public, word will spread, and as a result, the citizens of the world will have a reaction, quite often a mixed one depending on their personal perspective. This means I had to calculate societies responses, how fast the information would travel, and look at the political agendas of everyone who would learn of any given event or statement.

  Lightning Round

Pip

Favorite Muppet? The old grumpy guys. (Rob’s note: Statler and Waldorf)
Crunchy or Creamy? No peanut butter for me.  Caramel instead.
Favorite Sports Team? Sporting KC
Cake or Pie? Tea and cake, not death.
Lime or Lemon? Mostly lemon, but lime on certain things.
Favorite Chip Dip?  Don’t laugh, but I like sweet pickle relish on chips.
Wet or Dry? Wet.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? The Rogues (best pipe and drum music around)
Whisky or Whiskey? You want me to choose between the Scots and the Irish?
Favorite Superhero? Hard one. I’ll go with Hit Girl
Steak Temperature? Medium well
Favorite 1970s TV show? Monty Python’s Flying Circus of course … though I watched more WKRP in Cincinnati
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall
Favorite Pet?  (Right now, Pip (named after Chiana in Farscape)
Best Game Ever? 1990, Risk, six people, New Year’s Eve
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Fantasy

What question(s) would you like to ask me? 

What is your favorite obscure event in history?

My Answer: The easy answer here is the Martin Koszta Affair which many of you have seen me discuss in panels at conventions. I had a to do a project in grad school based on the letterbook of the USS St. Louis during the time of the Koszta Affair and I became perhaps the world’s leading authority on this particular event. That’s not actually hyperbole, oddly enough.

However, I have so many other ones I could choose. I modeled Edward to an extent on Imma from Chapter XXII of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Imma gets knocked unconscious in a battle and wakes up in a pile of dead including his lord and all his brother warriors. He is sworn to die before the lord, which does not happen. However, he is limited in what he can do after the fact because of the oaths he has sworn as a Christian. I love when characters have competing oaths that cannot be reconciled.

In all honesty, I get curious about everything. There are too many fun and wonderful moments in history to limit myself to just one.

Tell me again where we can find your stuff?

Website: https://thaddeusnowak.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thaddeusnowak
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThaddeusNowak
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5756105.Thaddeus_Nowak
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thaddeus_nowak/?hl=en
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00YT1I080

And where can we find you?

Usually at Planet Comicon.  My schedule this year is light because of some local moves I am making.  Next year I plan to be back on the convention train.

Map of Cothel

Do you have a creator biography?

Thaddeus has always been interested in fantasy and science fiction. Early on, when just starting high school, his avid reading grew into a desire to write. A desire which has turned into a lifelong pursuit.

When not reading or writing, he enjoys hiking in the mountains, landscape photography, drawing, and spending time with his wife and two demanding cats.

He has degrees in Chemistry, Computer Information Systems, and Business Management and has held a handful of jobs: some in retail, some in healthcare, but primarily in the technology fields.

Thaddeus currently lives in Kansas with his wife and two cats, but wishes there were more mountains visible on the horizon.

Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not?

What are your current and/or upcoming project?

Life events have delayed me about a year, but I am working on two different pieces. The first is another series set in the same world as The Heirs of Cothel Series, but with new characters living in the far north. I am borrowing bits from Norwegian and Scottish history and culture and the main character is living in an occupied country and she has to figure out what she wants to do about that.

The second item is an urban fantasy that involves a young woman who has been living off the grid with her parents deep in the Rocky Mountains. However, both of her parents die and she has to discover the modern world and why her parents isolated her from everyone.

Finally, let me know any suggestions or comments you have about this interview format so I can keep tweaking it.

Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: http://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326.

If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.

Also, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.

 

Interview: Jesse Oak Rise

Greetings all

This week’s interview is with Jesse Oak Rise, an author and videographer I met in Pittsburgh last year when I went to Confluence during the middle of Pennsic. I was struck in our conversations about how much they have studied technical details of making videos, something I know very little about and Jesse taught me about.

Interview: Jesse Oak Rise

What is your quest?

Presently I run a blog dealing with topics surrounding the trans and non-binary community, mental health, and Crohn’s Disease. In the future I have several plans for my YouTube channel, The Knighted Nerd, which are creating video reviews of trans related media as well as video game content through a trans perspective. This would include Let’s Plays of various games. Interviews with trans and non-binary community leaders. Hopefully gain interviews with politicians and political leaders. Attend trans and mental health related conferences and, hopefully, document them.

I wouldn’t say I have success. My influences, however, are as follows: Lyndsey Sickler, educator and advocate, among other things. Created and runs TransPride Pittsburgh. The late Nancy Evelyn Gold, who inspired me in the first place to learn Adobe Premiere Pro / Final Cut. Anthony Q. Artis, author of The Shut Up and Shoot Freelance Video Guide and The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide, Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It’s Like Behind the Mic by Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt, The Art of Voice Acting: The Craft and Business of Performing for Voiceover by James Alburger.

Also these YouTubers: Caleb Wojcik, creator of FIT Video Guy, DSLR Video Shooter, Lindsay Ellis, Chase Thomas, PushingUpRoses, MarzGurl, and, of course, Markiplier / Jacksepticeye

What is your favorite color?

I’m, by no means, a professional videographer, voice actor, or YouTuber. What I am is a person that has worn many hats.

No matter which of these you do or want to do the biggest lessons I’ve learned in all three are: Make sure your audio is on point. No $10 microphones. Go for a Blue Snowball or  Yeti. If you want to go XLR,  go for Rode Mic with a usb interface. Make sure you’re audio is shielded in some way, even if you have to build makeshift plywood walls to stick soundproofing on, it’s better than having anything under or over your voice.

Video, depending how you want to do it, look for either a quality web cam or a camcorder. If you got the bucks, look into getting a DSLR camera. Look into 3 or 4 point lighting. This will bring your video game up a notch.

If you’re going to do green screen, YouTube and your local library are your friend to learn. These are how I have learned everything I know now.

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?

What do you mean? African or European paint brush?

The biggest challenge I have has plagued me all my life: money. I don’t have the funds to do the things I want to do the things I mentioned above, much to my dismay.

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?

I’ve been taught all my life that I’ll never amount to anything. Over the last two and ½ decades I’ve learned that I have an innate ability to quickly learn almost any skill quickly. With this tool I know I could succeed at almost anything, if given the opportunity.

Lightning Round

Favorite Muppet? The mahna mahna guy
Crunchy or Creamy? Both at once
Favorite Sports Team? What’s a sports?
Cake or Pie? Piecake
Lime or Lemon? Lemon
Favorite Chip Dip? French onion
Wet or Dry? Yes.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Myself, Jesse Oak Rise.
Whisky or Whiskey? Jagermister
Favorite Superhero? Deadpool
Steak Temperature? 650
Favorite 1970s TV show? All in the Family
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall, cause every day is Halloween
Favorite Pet?  Can I own Death as a pet?
Best Game Ever? Will it blend
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Yes

What question(s) would you like to ask me?

Have you thought about adding authentic transgender characters in your writings?

My Answer: Thought about it, yes? Done it? No, because it’s never been relevant to the story I’m telling. Given that I write hack and slash, swords and sorcery action novels, I generally focus on whether my characters are strong, smart, fast, tough, or wise because those things matter in a fight. Rarely does plumbing of any type affect the outcome of a fight or a story, so I don’t talk about it much. 

If it ever matters to a story, I have no problem including transgender characters. However, I’m not going to throw one in simply to throw one in. I think that sort of thing is dishonest and disrespectful if the only reason to do so is to say, “Here, look at me, I put in a transgender character, aren’t I awesome!” If and when I put a transgender character into a story, it’s because the “transgender” part matters. Otherwise, transgender people are simply “people.”

It all boils down to what makes a good story. If a character being transgender makes a better story, I’ll make that happen in a heartbeat. If it doesn’t, I already try to strip everything I can in my writing that doesn’t push the story along.

Tell me again where we can find your stuff?

I can be found at

https://theknightednerd.tumblr.com/
https://www.patreon.com/TheKnightedNerd
Facebook The Knighted Nerd
Twitter @theknightednerd
And, until I get a proper channel name link m.youtube.com/channel/UC1jjM_igZJ4kbE8YO4M2eAg

And where can we find you?

Currently I only attend Confluence in Pittsburgh, PA

Do you have a creator biography?

Presently on my blog, which needs work

Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: http://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326.

If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.

Also, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.

Wichicon AAR

I went down to Wichicon this past weekend. Overall, I did far better than break even, though it was not entirely because of sales.

Traffic was sparse on Sunday, at least early on, and it was an odd crowd for a con. Wichicon is part of the Wichita Riverfest, which is a week long thing that’s been going on as long as I can remember. It’s got all sorts of stuff that in general is not related to SF/F/comics/anime at all.

Entry to the con only required a Riverfest button, which in general gets you into everything. Nominally, those are $10, but they’re in just about every radio competition, given away as parts of specials in stores, and many businesses just give them to all of their employees and their families.

I expected that would mean a completely different flavor of crowd, but in general, I saw little difference between that crowd and that of Planet Comicon. The primary difference was a much smaller percentage of cosplayers. In my suggestions to the con, I will suggest that they do more to make it fun for them, which I think will improve traffic for us all.

I did, in the end, break even with my sales. Cost for the artist/author table was $80, so it wasn’t a terrible risk anyway. Also, since one main reason I attended was to visit my mom, I did not have to worry about hotel expenses, and those vendors who did have hotel rooms probably did not break even.

The big profit from the weekend was the interview that ConCast did for their podcast. I don’t look completely stupid! And it’s a video. As soon as I have a solid link, I’ll be posting it everywhere.

Many thanks to ConCast for doing that.

The best news, I think, is that the Riverfest wants to make Wichicon a success. I was asked by quite a few officials at a variety of levels how I was doing and how to make things better. This came from actual Riverfest people and the normal organizers of SF/F/comic type things in the Wichita area. Everyone seems to be all in.

So here are the criticisms I see that they can fix.

One, the Bob Brown Expo Hall was too big for Wichicon. The good news is that they also held a gaming event this past weekend. The plan is to combine the two. This is all e-gaming, but the crossover is there. Plus, if they reach out to the local game stores there shouldn’t be a reason not to have more than just Magic: The Gathering tabletop gaming going on.

The load-in could have been better. Primarily, the big thing is Friday setup. It turns out a bunch of people were allowed to set up Friday, but they did not mention that and I didn’t think to ask. It made Saturday morning far more hectic than it should have been. I have a lot more patience when I have a whole evening and morning to set up than a 7am to 10am window, and it would reduce the hit on the dock.

Wichicon did not do enough to support cosplayers, as I mentioned. Some specific changes I’d suggest is making the cosplay contest a big thing. They had one, but make it as big as they can make it within the structure of the Riverfest. Perhaps even inviting cosplayers to walk or ride in the parade the Friday before Wichicon opens.

Whatever else, cosplayers add a level of wow to cons that brings people in, and I’d like to see more of them.

Oddly, since some of the con organizers are in a pirate band, there wasn’t any music. They had a stage set up for panels, but only one. It would seem like that stage, which was too big for most of the panels, could be used for music.

Panels, on the other hand, might be able to go along another wall. The expo hall, as far as I know, is one big open space, but one wall has some half-contained areas that might work for at least one panel room.

There was absolutely room to have an SCA demo, plus other similar groups like belly dancers and such. Put it this way, we vendors occupied about 1/3rd of the hall, and we were not squished together. They were 8ft tables, which meant rows were 20ft wide (8ft table – 4ft gap – 8ft table), then about 50 feet long (5 8ft tables with 2ft gaps between them). Plus some endcap sections which were something like 20×20.

In other words, they could add a ton to the event and it wouldn’t feel squished at all.

Overall, I had a good time. I doubt it will ever be hugely lucrative for me, though some vendors did pretty well. I do think it can be expanded, though, with maybe even some cross-overs I’ve not thought of.

Rob’s Update: The Swooping Spotted Hawk

Week 22 of 2018

Greetings all

I had a great time at ConQuest last weekend. Met some cool people, sold a few books, learned some things. Good stuff. My complete AAR is here: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1142.

The first edited copies of Brief Is My Flame are starting to come in. I’m truly humbled by all the work my Advance Reader Team is doing for me. Thanks for helping me make a better book.

It’s clear to me that I’m getting more skilled at the technical aspects of writing. I have dramatically reduced certain mistakes that I commonly made in A Lake Most Deep. I still have a long way to go, of course, but it’s progress. I may not be designing better furniture and it may not have fantastic decoration, but at least I’m building the items better than ever.

This weekend is Wichicon, a small con held as part of Wichita’s Riverfest. I don’t that it will be a great selling con, but Wichita is home and it’s a chance to see Mom.

Today, I’ll start going through some of the edits, though next week will be when I start focusing on that. I’ve also started the short story for the next 4HU anthology. I’m in the throw words at the page and wait for me to make some sort of connection that actually turns into a story.

Current Playlist Song

“Piano Man” by Billy Joel. I know it’s overplayed, but I really appreciate the line “they’re sharing a drink called loneliness.” I’ve been there often enough.

Quote of the Week

Today is Walt Whitman’s birthday, so this quote seems obvious to me. He was so good with evocative language. We remember this part of Song of Myself mostly because of the “barbaric yawp” and perhaps Robin Williams in Dead Poet Society, but here’s more just to give the ‘yawp’ its context.

The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering.

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,

I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

The last scud of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow’d wilds,

It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk.

I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,

I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,

If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.

You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,

And filter and fibre your blood.

Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.

– Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

News and Works in Progress

TAV (2,007)
AFS (2,681)
LD (819)
Brief Is My Flame (106,000 exactly)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

ConQuest AAR: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1142
Gray Rinehart Interview: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1145

Upcoming Events

2-3 June, Wichicon, Wichita, KS http://www.wichicon.com/
29 June-1 July, LibertyCon, Chattanooga, TN https://libertycon.org/
6-8 July, InConjunction, Indianapolis, IN http://www.inconjunction.org/

(ed. note: InConjunction instead of Battlemoor)
13-15 July, O Comic Con, Omaha, NE https://www.ocomiccon.com/
27 July-12 August, Pennsic War, Cooper’s Lake, PA http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn47/
15-16 September, TopCon, Topeka, KS http://www.topcon.us/

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Gray Rinehart, a talented musician, editor, and writer. You can find my interview of him at: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1145 and his website is: http://graymanwrites.com.

Today’s Weight: 392.4

Updated Word Count: Too many computers, the count file is on the desktop

Shijuren Wiki: 756 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 349 entries

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.

Have a great week, everyone.

Rob Howell

Author of the Shijuren-series of novels

Website: www.robhowell.org
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rhodri2112
Blog: www.robhowell.org/blog
Shijuren Wiki: http://www.shijuren.org/World+of+Shijuren+Home
MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/rob.howell1
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/robhowell.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhodri2112



Currently Available Works

A Lake Most Deep (Edward, Book 1)
The Eyes of a Doll (Edward, Book 2)
Where Now the Rider (Edward, Book 3)
I Am a Wondrous Thing (The Kreisens, Book 1)
Brief Is My Flame (The Kreisens, Book 2) Forthcoming 2018
None Call Me Mother (The Kreisens, Book 3) Forthcoming 2018
“A Gift of Crimson” in Hand of Gold and Other Stories (Pussy Katnip)
“Where Enemies Sit” in For a Few Credits More (The Four Horsemen Universe)

Weekly Update Archive

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Interview: Gray Rinehart

This week’s interview is with Gray Rinehart. My first experience with Gray was at LibertyCon, where he was the toastmaster. He performed a fun filk of Major Tom so I listened to some of his other music. It’s very good, and even appeared on the Dr. Demento show. I intend to add some to my booth in future events.

He’s also a writer and editor, currently serving as Baen’s ‘Slushmaster General’  while publishing a number of short stories and a novel. Oh, and he was in the Air Force, serving a career that sounds fascinating, though probably the kind of thing he can’t entirely discuss.

Anyway, let’s hear from the man himself.

Interview: Gray Rinehart

What is your quest?

I seek the Grayl … it’s a bit like a Grail … no, to be honest, it’s nothing like a Grail … it’s uglier, and less useful.

More seriously (perhaps too seriously?), my writing quest is to write things that ring true.  Obviously nonfiction ought to do more than “ring” true, and the “truth” of music is something a bit different from the truth of a text, but we’re mostly talking about fiction.  In my fiction, I want the story to feel real, to feel true, to the reader even when it’s obviously not true.  I want to convey a sense of reality even in the unreality of the story.

Gray Rinehart

What is your favorite color?

Grey!  No, wait:  orange!  [Aaaah….] (Rob’s note: Finally, someone with the right answer

ConQuest AAR

Greetings all

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rob’s Update: A Stately Pleasure Dome

Week 21 of 2018

Brief Is My Flame went to my editor and Advance Review Team. They’ll have it until the 8th, at which point, I’ll do my edits and get it out the door.

I don’t have the cover art yet, but it’s on the way. I’ll pass that on here where I get it.

Other than that, I’ve been focused on the move. I didn’t email yesterday for the simple reason that I decided not to look at anything on the computer related to this. I did do a bunch of work, getting set up for ConQuest, but other than that, not much.

The move is proceeding. The Pod is emptied and gone. The storage unit in Omaha is mostly emptied. I’ll go up next week and get the last stuff. That’ll mean no more expense there.

However, that still leave’s my sweetie’s house. Going to be an interesting time here over the month.

Anyway, I’m off to ConQuest. I’m in the Dealer’s Room with a bunch of new things, including the new anthology I’m in and also some SCA/Ren Faire/Convention CDs.

Have a great day.

Current Playlist Song

I’m on hold. Why is it that hold music is not only bad, it’s also coming through skewed or staticy, so even if it was good to listen to, it would be irritating. The only reason I can think of with today’s technology is that it’s a way to get people to stop calling and instead go to the internet. I may be a bit cynical, but I can’t think of a better reason.

Quote of the Week

This poem was published today. Little did Coleridge now he would become my favorite poet, of course it helped that this poem was made into a song by Rush and Rime of the Ancient Mariner was made into a song by Iron Maiden.

“In Xanadu did Kublai Khan

A stately pleasure dome decree

Where Alph, the sacred river ran

Through caverns measureless to man

News and Works in Progress

TAV (2,007)
AFS (2,681)
Brief Is My Flame (106,000 exactly)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Interview – J. Edward Neill: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1129
I thought I was going to add to the wiki this week, but it’s likely going to be in a couple of weeks that I do the major add of characters and places for Brief Is My Flame

Upcoming Events

25-27 May, ConQuest, Kansas City, MO http://www.conquestkc.org/
2-3 June, Wichicon, Wichita, KS http://www.wichicon.com/
29 June-1 July, LibertyCon, Chattanooga, TN https://libertycon.org/
6-8 July, InConjunction, Indianapolis, IN http://www.inconjunction.org/

(ed. note: InConjunction instead of Battlemoor)
13-15 July, O Comic Con, Omaha, NE https://www.ocomiccon.com/
27 July-12 August, Pennsic War, Cooper’s Lake, PA http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn47/
15-16 September, TopCon, Topeka, KS http://www.topcon.us/

Spotlight

This week’s interview was with J. Edward Neill. You can find the interview at: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1131 and his websites are (art and books): http://downthedarkpath.com and (art, philosophy, and humor blog): http://tesseraguild.com.

Today’s Weight: 388.4

Updated Word Count: Not sure, will know next week

Shijuren Wiki: 756 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 342 entries

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.

Have a great week, everyone.

Rob Howell

Author of the Shijuren-series of novels

Website: www.robhowell.org
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rhodri2112
Blog: www.robhowell.org/blog
Shijuren Wiki: http://www.shijuren.org/World+of+Shijuren+Home
MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/rob.howell1
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/robhowell.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhodri2112



Currently Available Works

A Lake Most Deep (Edward, Book 1)
The Eyes of a Doll (Edward, Book 2)
Where Now the Rider (Edward, Book 3)
I Am a Wondrous Thing (The Kreisens, Book 1)
Brief Is My Flame (The Kreisens, Book 2) Forthcoming 2018
None Call Me Mother (The Kreisens, Book 3) Forthcoming 2018
“Where Enemies Sit” in For a Few Credits More (The Four Horsemen Universe)

Weekly Update Archive

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Interview: J. Edward Neill

One of the best parts of this profession is getting to meet all sorts of creative people. J. Edward Neill is one of those people. I really enjoy his covers, and I think 22 May is the perfect day for me to interview him here.

Interview: J. Edward Neill

What is your quest? To seek the Grail…of full-time creativity! I’m an author and artist, and my subject matter varies wildly. For my books, I like my readers to enjoy vivid, approachable stories while maybe…subtly…encountering moments of introspection. Meaning, I like to dip into philosophical discussions without anyone really knowing it. As for my art, I prefer to explore darker themes. Beauty coupled with death. Peaceful suffering. Unholy deathpunk machine demons. You know…the usual.

Dark Art of J. Edward Neill

What is your favorite color? Ever heard of sculpted paintings? No? Yeah, I get that a lot. Used to be, I’d paint typical 2D images on flat canvasses. By typical I mean portraits, monsters, weird abstract trees and cities. But in the last two years, I’ve paired with another artist to create 3D paintings. We use paper mache and spackle to build up images atop canvasses, and then we go nuts with a variety of dark, metallic acrylics and soupy watercolors. It’s crazy and loads of fun. I recommend everyone try it. (ed. note: Much like the Dread Pirate Roberts feels about masks)

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush? Time, time, time. There’s never enough of it. In trying to balance writing full-length novels, creating philosophy handbooks, painting every night, and enduring the perils of single-fatherhood, I find myself permanently stretched. If I spend too much time writing, I crave to pick up a paintbrush. If I fall too deep into a new canvas, I beat myself up for not hammering out more words. And then there’s my son, who just wants to sword-fight in the backyard. He always gets to be Link. I’m just a lousy Bokoblin.

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade? I’ve definitely (along with my art-partner) achieved some pretty cool successes with 3D art. Our styles, whipped together in a blender, are both light and dark, beautiful and terrifying. Last year we spent about a month sculpting and painting a giant, futuristic robot-spider hanging inside a web of machinery. It was exhilarating to finish! As for my books, I think I’ve struck a chord with my Coffee Table Philosophy books. I researched these, quite literally, by going to various Atlanta bars and asking tipsy strangers to answer philosophical questions. The results were…well…interesting.

Sticky the Laser Eyed Cat

Lightning Round

Favorite Muppet? Animal!
Crunchy or Creamy? Crunchy. I like my food to break beneath my teeth.
Favorite Sports Team? Chicago Cubs. 2016, baby!
Cake or Pie? I’m a cake guy. Marie Antoinette speaks to my soul.
Lime or Lemon? Lemon. Especially Chik-Fil A lemonade, aka diabetes in a cup.
Favorite Chip Dip? Queso with mega-spicy jalapenos.
Wet or Dry? I’m an ocean lover. Despite the jellyfish. Wet.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Robert Rich. He makes these trippy, gloomy soundtracks. Absolutely perfect to paint by.
Whisky or Whiskey? Scotch whiskey. The older, the better. Balvenie 21 Port.
Favorite Superhero? My grandmother. Faster than cancer. Stronger than a speeding Alzheimer’s. (ed. note: The hero Gotham needs, not the hero it deserves)
Steak Temperature? Medium. But really, I’ll eat any steak in the world if there’s scotch involved.
Favorite 1970s TV show? Was Lost in Space from the 70’s?  I can’t remember.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall. I like to enjoy long runs in the woods with the leaves tumbling all around me.
Favorite Pet?  Sticky, the laser-eyed cat!
Best Game Ever? Magic the Gathering. I’m a recovering addict. (ed. note: I had 3 of the Moxes. Then I gave them away *before* they got valuable)
Coffee or Tea? Tea. Strong and sweet.
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Oooooo…tough question. I’ll go with fantasy, if only because the possibilities are even greater.

What question(s) would you like to ask me? I’m looking at your website, and I’m thinking you might like to LARP. True or false?

My Answer: One might make the case that there’s little distinction between LARPing and the SCA. And the case would be a good one in many ways. This year marks my 20th anniversary of joining the SCA, and it has helped me grow, including as a writer.

I have done very little of actual LARPing, though I did get to help run one at GenCon in the 90s. I was a designated NPC, and at one point they told me to “die interestingly.” So, I died half-on, half-off an elevator. And then they did the body tape thing. People who were just in Milwaukee, not there for Gen Con, got to the hotel elevator and there was half a body silhouetted in tape. The rest was on the 4th floor.

Also, I’d love to know your answer to this— if you could lock any two historical figures (dead or alive) in a cage for a fight to the death, which two would you pick?

My Answer: Wow, that’s a fascinating question. Here’s an answer, related to your interest in philosophy. Let’s go Hammurabi and Justinian in a duel of legal wits. But man, there’s so many fun choices.

Tell me again where we can find your stuff? 

My art and books: http://downthedarkpath.com
My art, philosophy, and humor blog: http://tesseraguild.com
Instagram: JEdwardNeill
Facebook: Books and Dark Art by J Edward Neill

And Where can we find you?

DragonCon 2018, baby! Come see me at my table.
Also, Pancakes & Booze Atlanta in July. Eat free flapjacks, get tipsy, and buy my terrifying paintings!

J. Edward Neill Cover Art

Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not?

You should have asked: If you had to choose one creative outlet, and only one, which would it be?

So I could answer: Painting. Late at night. Alone in my dungeon-like basement. With music playing and a too-strong cocktail on the table.

You should also have asked: What have you done recently?

And I would answer that I’ve very recently finished up my big fiction trilogy – Eaters of the Light. Each cover was created by Amanda Makepeace, whose interview introduced me to you. This series will appeal to lovers of both fantasy AND sci-fi. Space vampires, holographic blue girls, and intergalactic heartbreak. It’s available now on Amazon.

Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: http://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326.

If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.

Also, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.

 

Rob’s Update: The Finish Line

Week 20 of 2018

The original plan was for me to turn Brief Is My Flame over to my editor on Tuesday. However, she preferred to get it on Monday, so I’ve been polishing it.

Which has actually added several scenes that I realized where needed. Editing, for me, involves taking words out of what I’ve written because they’re useless, and then adding whole chunks of new scenes. There’s little in between for me.

This other part of this week is that I took back the house in Olathe. There’s been moving of stuff, prepping to paint, and so on. We also bought a washer/dryer set today.

The house is a mass of things in the wrong places, with many more to come, but we’re making progress.

Current Playlist Song

Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven.” Disco meets classical. I’m right there.

Quote of the Week

This is why I pay Kellie Hultgren.

“It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.”

– C. J. Cherryh

News and Works in Progress

TAV (2,007)
AFS (2,681)
Brief Is My Flame (100k or so, off to Kellie on Monday)

Recent Blog Posts and Wiki Additions

Interview – Kit Daven: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1120
Wikis are for the weak! Next week, actually.

Upcoming Events

25-27 May, ConQuest, Kansas City, MO http://www.conquestkc.org/
2-3 June, Wichicon, Wichita, KS http://www.wichicon.com/
29 June-1 July, LibertyCon, Chattanooga, TN https://libertycon.org/
6-8 July, InConjunction, Indianapolis, IN http://www.inconjunction.org/

(ed. note: InConjunction instead of Battlemoor)
13-15 July, O Comic Con, Omaha, NE https://www.ocomiccon.com/
27 July-12 August, Pennsic War, Cooper’s Lake, PA http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn47/
15-16 September, TopCon, Topeka, KS http://www.topcon.us/

Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Kit Daven, one of many fun people I met at Ad Astra a couple of years ago. You can find the interview I did with her here: http://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1120 and you can find her online at: http://www.kitdaven.com/.

Today’s Weight: 388.4

Updated Word Count: 1057

Shijuren Wiki: 736 entries

Four Horsemen Wiki: 59 entries

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the website, this email, or cool story ideas at rob@robhowell.org. Especially let me know of suggestions you have for the Spotlight section.

Have a great week, everyone.

Rob Howell

Author of the Shijuren-series of novels

Website: www.robhowell.org
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rhodri2112
Blog: www.robhowell.org/blog
Shijuren Wiki: http://www.shijuren.org/World+of+Shijuren+Home
MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/rob.howell1
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/robhowell.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhodri2112



Currently Available Works

A Lake Most Deep (Edward, Book 1)
The Eyes of a Doll (Edward, Book 2)
Where Now the Rider (Edward, Book 3)
I Am a Wondrous Thing (The Kreisens, Book 1)
Brief Is My Flame (The Kreisens, Book 2) Forthcoming 2018
None Call Me Mother (The Kreisens, Book 3) Forthcoming 2018
“Where Enemies Sit” in For a Few Credits More (The Four Horsemen Universe)

Weekly Update Archive

If you think you received this email incorrectly or wish to be unsubscribed, please send an email to shijuren-owner@robhowell.org

Interview: Kit Daven

This week’s interview comes from Kit Daven who I met at Ad Astra a few years ago. I was invited to go to it by my friend Pasi who ran the con suite and I’m really glad I did. I met a bunch of great people, including, as you’ll see, Kit.

Kit Daven Interview

What is your quest? As a writer, my current quest is rooted in the exploration of fictional narrative, primarily novels and short stories. In my youth, I spent many years exploring poetry and short fiction, published my own zines, and attempted several longer works, including an unfinished, abandoned epic fantasy. The maze of fictional narrative is vast, and the paths to be taken many. Here are some of the authors who have stood at pivotal intersections and either handed me a power key or pointed the way.

Roald Dahl was the first to hand me a golden ticket and lead me to the entrance of the maze. In the earliest turns and bends, C. S. Lewis pointed out the rabbit holes and mirrors, and Astrid Lindgren provided me a young companion, a strong girl with carrot-coloured pigtails, who took me in a little deeper. From imaginative hallways down into dark tunnels, Edgar Allan Poe showed me mood, atmosphere, and mystery. H. P. Lovecraft showed me that the unknown and the ambiguous could be effective, and William Hope Hodgson made the sea forever creepy. Later on, a young man in a possessed car drove me a good distance with Stephen King, from whom I learned that in-depth characterization can be done without putting a reader to sleep. William Blake showed me how to develop my own eclectic rhythms and that without self-publishing his work, no one would know his writing today. Tanith Lee pointed the way to the flat earth, where I explored style and concision and how to bend fairytales and myths. Douglas Adams showed me you can be funny and smart at the same time. There have been other writers across the mediums who have been influential, all noteworthy yet too many to list. Recently, I took a turn at George RR Martin and am exploring world building in more depth.

All of them have been teachers. All of them have told me, “Go forth but beware trolls!”

What is your favorite color? Purple. My favourite colour is always purple.

Experimentation is an important aspect for my stories. I tend to start with rules and see how I can bend them. One rule in particular was quite fun to play with while writing A Xiinisi Trilogy. The rule goes like this: unnamed characters shouldn’t be given dialogue. So, I went ahead and gave the occasional unnamed character dialogue, by putting it in italics. I made sure there were several background characters available to chime in on whatever was happening, offering three to four bits of dialogue that acted together as a beat in the narrative. I did this sparingly throughout each novel to great effect.

Who does she think she is?

You can’t do that.

Hack!

Rules Schmules! I learn them mostly to break them, then I play with them until they cry.

When it comes to characters, I love creating foils, because like real people, they want to show you how they see themselves. A foil, however, peels away that veneer and shows you what they are like beneath the surface. In The Forgotten Gemstone, the main character Ule is hungry and tired. She has been invited to sit by a fire where she patiently listens to stories told by a boy. The boy offers her what he’s been cooking over the fire, and after she discovers she’s nearly eaten a roasted spider, she storms off into the desert in a temper tantrum. At this point in the narrative, she’s not as mature as she likes to think she is.

Kit Daven Portrait

In general, I really love to listen to what the story wants, how it wants to be told and presented. A project that I’ve been working on for a couple of years has been calling out for multiple POVs. When I mean multiple, I mean every character will get at least one turn in contributing to the narrative. I’m not sure how to present that yet, but I’ll figure it out.

Oh, and I love the colour orange, too.

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush? (What are some of the challenges you’ve faced that have frustrated you? Maybe some creative failures that you’ve learned from)

The biggest challenge I face is rooted in a huge fail on my part. I quit writing for many years over a decade ago. I’d quit before, but this last time was for good. I was writing straight literary fiction, and I crashed into this wall. I’d get dry tongue when I sat down to write. My body would vibrate and not in a good way. I used to love poetry but couldn’t bring myself to write it anymore, because my favorite pieces elicited zero response from readers. My readers (mostly family and friends) liked the literary stuff. It was good, never great. Then, I decided to try a new approach, and I found this beautiful intersection of writing from both my heart and my mind. However, the reactions I received were ones of discomfort and I often heard, “I couldn’t say that.” At the time, I interpreted these reactions as negative responses.

No longer enjoying the process, I gave up. I stopped writing fiction. I stopped reading. I must have purged a couple hundred books out my library and got them down enough to fill two tall bookshelves, then channeled my creative energy into art. It was, at that time, the right thing to do and a huge relief. Later, however, I realized being a writer is very much a part of who I am, whether I like it or not. To reintroduce myself to the subject, I began reading online about writing and writers and discovered something interesting. Those reactions my readers had all those years ago were, in fact, progress, but I hadn’t recognized it at the time.

The first challenge was to get my writing skills back up to where they were before I quit. So I decided to dive into writing a novel and completing it By Any Means Necessary. That novel turned into a trilogy, and not only has my skill level returned, but I’ve leveled up. The second challenge I continue to struggle with is catching up on reading, especially currently published books. I’m a tortoise. I read slowly, and I write carefully, so I always feel behind the times and suspect I may never catch up to where other writers are. Doesn’t mean I won’t try.