Yearly Archives: 2017

Twenty-two

Here we are twenty-two days into December and as I look back on the first day of December things around here have changed a little.

My first-born’s back from his first semester as a junior in college, which is mind-blowing. He’s been re-reading the Dabir and Asim novels and short stories with an eye towards running some role-playing adventures for my wife and I — with her playing Dabir and me playing Asim. That just sounds like a whole lot of fun, and he may try running the first one tonight.

That’s assuming that we’re not working late on dinner prep, because we’re hosting the extended family Christmas dinner at our place this year, for the first time. That’s meant that a LOT Of my spare time over the last three weeks has been dedicated to some deep cleaning. The house needed it, even if I didn’t, so much. After that really long run towards deadlines through both October and November I was hoping for more downtime.

Treasures

All kinds of cool treasures are rolling in these days. It’s nice to have friends.

I’ll save more detailed descriptions for a day when I have a little more time (I’m determined to finish most of my new short story today).

First, though, the new Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea is a thing of beauty, a work of art. I spent thirty minutes last night just flipping through and soaking up all the artwork. If it’s not THE go-to sword-and-sorcery rpg at this point, it’s tied for first place. It just oozes the right vibe. In the next little bit I’ll post some pics.

Return to Normalcy

It may be beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but after a week simply doing some house cleaning/fixing, reading, and some board gaming, it’s more important to me that I’m beginning to feel a little more human. I was driving at a lot of deadlines all at approximately the same time. I knew I was stressed, but I didn’t realize HOW stressed until the last week, when I started to feel normal.

Great Western Reads Part 2

It’s not just that I want a western. I want them with lean prose and a lot of action; with characters deep enough to care about, with believable motivations and sharp plots that read quickly. No bloat. No padding. No digressions. In other words, pretty hard-boiled. Believe it or not, those simple requirements are hard to meet.

Today I thought I’d share some writers that my site visitors may not have heard of and who I think are worth a serious look. I’ve read some others now who might be in the running, but have seen enough from those listed here to recommend more than just one book.

For The Killing of Kings

So here’s the official cover copy being used to promote the new book on B&N and Amazon and numerous other places. I have several months yet and can still ask for it to be tweaked. What do you think?

A cross between Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber and The Three Musketeers, For the Killing of Kings is the first in a new fantasy trilogy

Their peace was a fragile thing, but it had endured for seven years, mostly because the people of Darassus and the king of the Naor hordes believed his doom was foretold upon the edge of the great sword hung in the hall of champions. Unruly Naor clans might raid across the border, but the king himself would never lead his people to war so long as the blade remained in the hands of his enemies.

But when squire Elenai’s aging mentor uncovers evidence that the sword in their hall is a forgery she’s forced to flee Darassus for her life, her only ally the reckless, disillusioned Kyrkenall the archer. Framed for murder and treason, pursued by the greatest heroes of the realm, they race to recover the real sword, only to stumble into a conspiracy that leads all the way back to the Darassan queen and her secretive advisors. They must find a way to clear their names and set things right, all while dodging friends determined to kill them – and the Naor hordes, invading at last with a new and deadly weapon.

Howard Andrew Jones’ powerful world-building brings this epic fantasy to life in this first book of his new adventure-filled trilogy.

Victory!

I did it. I got to the end of the first draft of the second novel of my new series. Approximately half of it is in near final shape already, which will certainly save me time later.

Not only that, but I wrapped up the second secret project of the year, which suddenly came back to life right in the final week of writing madly to make today’s deadline. No matter — I got THAT done as well, and hope to reveal details about it soon.

Gasping Apologies

Man, it’s just crazy busy here. I feel like someone wrote  a terrible script and insisted I perform in it. Or maybe like I’m gasping for air because the same crazy women who stole my best friend’s brain put some kind of electronic overacting collar on me.

In any case, I’m likely to have posts few and far between. I have a lot of work to do.

I’m also ashamed to say that I’ve lost track of the address of some kind fellows who wanted me on their podcast for some time in December. The last time we exchanged a note I was in the middle of the deadline for book 1 and the Kickstarter for Tales From the Magician’s Skull. I just spent a half hour digging for their e-mail and couldn’t find it. If that sounds like you, I’m sorry, and I hope you’ll write me again.

 

Deadlines

I heard from Joseph Hoopman yesterday that there was an essay that mentioned The Desert of Souls over on Tor.com, and lo and behold, there was. It pleased me mightily to hear nice things said about my book, both in the main article and in the comments section. It also saddens me a little, because on some shadow Earth Howard is hard at work on the fifth or sixth novel in the sequence. There were going to be nine, and multiple short stories in between.

There will definitely be more short stories, and perhaps, if the fates are kind, I can publish a few more on my own in between the books I’m writing for my publishers.

The essay was written by S.A. Chakraborty, whose own Arabian historical fantasy, The City of Brass, debuted just yesterday. I’ll be adding that to the TBR pile and wishing her far better luck than my own brave Arabians had in the publishing world.

Great Western Reads Part 1

Everyone’s heard of Louis L’Amour. It seems like most “best western” conversations begin and end with him, although you might hear a mention of Max Brand or Riders of the Purple Sage. But there are scads of additional western writers, and there’s lots of great stuff out there hidden amongst the dreck. The trick is finding a guide to it.

A good place to start might be the new book by Scott Harris and Paul Bishop, 52 Weeks 52 Western Novels: Old Favorites and New Discoveries. In it, Harris and Bishop and a handful of other contributors discuss overlooked westerns of excellence. They don’t waste your time by giving a two-page spread to stuff you know about, like Lonesome Dove. They do dig deep into the L’Amour catalog to point out a couple of strong ones, but mostly they present things you probably aren’t aware of. It’s the kind of list Chris Hocking and I have been looking for.

 

Manic Monday

Whew. Well, as of about 20 minutes ago, the revised version of For the Killing of Kings is with my editor, or at least his in-box. I would liked to have read it straight through a couple of more times, but as I strive to be a man of his word I delivered the manuscript on the first day of the first full week of November. This draft would not have been possible without the editorial aid of a wicked and beautiful enchantress whom I have surely mentioned before.

In celebration, I’m wearing one of my favorite t-shirts, which, alas, is beginning to show its wear.

Today I’m going to spend some time putting the house back together after about a week of neglect, and that will include some last minute pre-winter garden work. Maybe this evening we’ll start watching the second season of Stranger Things.

I need to get back to work on issue 2 of Tales From the Magician’s Skull. And, partly because I’m a madman, but mostly because it took longer than I expected to address all the changes to book 1, by the first week of December I need to turn over the first draft of book 2. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.