Archives: News

Hanuvar Marches On

I’ve once again neglected the web site for real world matters. Rest assured, though, I’ve been writing furiously. The first two Hanuvar novels are now with Baen, and I’m hard at work on book 3. The cover for book 1 is still being finalized, so I’ll hold off showcasing it pending the final version, but here’s a copy of the map, drawn by my first-born, Darian Jones.

It’s been a long time since I’ve consistently had so much fun writing. I think I liked writing the initial Dabir and Asim stories as well, but I was less in control of what I was doing at that point. I just hope my enthusiasm for these adventures translates into enthusiasm for those reading the works.

Anyway, here’s the map:

Moving to Baen

I am pleased to announce that I just signed a five hardback book contract with Baen Books, the famed science fiction and fantasy publisher, home to many of my favorite writers, like David Drake, Alan Dean Foster, and Tim Powers.

The first two books of my new series are already written. They star Hanuvar, the last general of Volanus. The Dervan Empire has leveled his city and carried its last few survivors away in chains. Against the might of a vast empire, Hanuvar has only an aging sword arm, a lifetime of wisdom… and the greatest military mind in the world, set upon a single goal. No matter where they’ve been sent, from the festering capital to the furthest outpost of the Dervan Empire, he will find his people. Every last one of them. And he will set them free.

Those familiar with Hannibal of Carthage might recognize the broad outlines here, inspired by a single question – what would Hannibal have done if Rome had destroyed Carthage in his lifetime? If you’re not familiar with Hannibal, just imagine a soldier of Sherlock Holmes level intellect whose genius is focused upon the protection of his people and the preservation of his culture.

These books are straight up sword-and-sorcery. They are adventures in a secondary world inspired by the ancient Mediterranean, where magic is real, but rare and dangerous and unpredictable. Those familiar with Conan of Cimmeria or Elric of Melniboné paperbacks will be familiar with how the books are structured. Each consists of smaller adventures that build upon one another, with arcs and returning enemies and allies throughout. You might also picture each book like many a modern TV series, complete with an explosive “season finale” to wrap things up.

I can honestly say that I’ve never had as much fun writing books as I’ve had writing these. I can hardly wait for you to read them. I’m delighted by Baen’s support and the incredible level of backing they’ve already provided, and thrilled that their passion for classical sword-and-sorcery matches my own. We can hardly wait to share Hanuvar with all of you.

The first book, Lord of a Shattered Land, will come to bookstores near you in August of 2023.

Advance Praise for Lord of a Shattered Land

“This wonderful work put me in mind of the stories I read when I was editing Baen’s Robert E. Howard library.”David Drake, author of Hammer’s Slammers

 “Howard Jones creates engrossing fantasy tales by combining historical authenticity with his thoughtful modern sensibilities and shapes events with his keen understanding of great adventure writers like Harold Lamb, Robert E. Howard, and Leigh Brackett.”S. Craig Zahler, novelist and writer/director of Bone Tomahawk

 “Howard Jones writes not-to-be-missed epic fantasy with immersive worldbuilding and the highest stakes for the characters, fighting for personal survival and the survival of their world.”Martha Wells, Hugo, Nebula and Locus award-winning author of the Murderbot series

 “’History, real or feigned’ was Tolkien’s recipe for a good story. Howard Jones’ new novel has deep roots in history, real and imaginary. It’s a heroic fantasy set in a deeply imagined, fantastical world, but its hero has a strong resemblance to Hannibal, especially in his tragic post-war years. The book is a riveting portrait of a hero trying to keep his civilization alive in the wake of a devastating military defeat; it’s a series of ripping yarns that collectively add up to a greater story with a deeper impact than any of its parts; it’s another triumph for Howard Andrew Jones, premier wielder of the new edge in sword-and-sorcery.”—James Enge, World Fantasy Award nominated author of Blood of Ambrose

“Howard Andrew Jones is the leading Sword & Sorcery author of the 21st Century. He’s taking the entire field in new directions, with work that is deeper, more adult, and more ambitious than heroic fantasy has any right to be. His Lord of A Shattered Land is his best work yet, a heroic fantasy retelling of one of the great tales of antiquity, the fall of Carthage and its legendary general Hannibal. It’s a rich canvas on which Jones has sketched an engrossing and fast-paced tale with a stellar cast. At the center of it all is one of the great fictional creations of modern fantasy, Hanuvar himself, whose quest to free his enslaved and scattered people is the epic story of a single brilliant mind arrayed against the apparatus of an entire empire. It’s a magnificent achievement, destined to become a modern classic.”—John O’Neill, World Fantasy Award Winning Publisher of Black Gate

“In the pages of Howard Andrew Jones’s latest epic (and I mean epic!) fantasy novel-in-stories, we meet the weary, resolute, and utterly compelling Hanuvar: great general of a shattered land. Thought dead by his foes, now Hanuvar has dedicated his life to saving his enslaved countrymen, journeying ever deeper into the heart of enemy territory. On the way, he keeps company with poets and gladiators, actors, priestesses, and circus performers—and we keep company with him. As we follow Hanuvar on his many adventures, fighting alongside him against increasing odds and unspeakable monsters (both human and otherwise), and befriending his friends along the way, somehow the light around us seems to grow more golden, the shadows more restless, the ghosts more bittersweet, and the darkness more fanged. Lord of a Shattered Land reads like a heroic classic we all grew up with, yet in Jones’s work, the familiar combines with the unknown in a heady elixir of battle, blood, magic, triumph, and tenderness.”—C.S.E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award Winning author of Bone Swans

 

 

April 2022

With the third book of my newest trilogy out, it’s been a looooong time since I’ve dropped by to update my web site.

Once upon a time I regularly created content here, but as I may have mentioned, I’ve decided that if I’m going to be spending time writing I’d rather be drafting stories. And so I have been. One complete volume of Hanuvar’s adventures is circulating among publishers, and I’m halfway through the rough draft of its sequel volume. That’s a lot of work to have achieved in less than a year, especially since I’m not a particularly fast writer, and I’m pleased with that, although I’ll be more pleased when I sign a contract.

I’ve mapped out enough content for four full books, wrapping things up in a fifth or sixth. We shall have to see how it all develops. Right now I’m enjoying writing more than I have in long ages, and I have high hopes that readers will like what I’ve created.

When the Goddess Wakes

With the trilogy complete and soon-to-be available on bookstore shelves, reviews are starting to roll in. I hope you’ll help spread the word!

I just saw a new one come in from Andrew Mather at Quill to Live. He began by telling people they needed to stop sleeping on the series, and concluded with: ” the three books in The Ring-Sworn Trilogy add up to a winning equation, and I think the series is criminally under-read. Jones has gifted me with one of my favorite casts of characters of the last few years and I am very much excited to see what he does next. If you like sword and sorcery fantasy, you are doing yourself a great disservice if you don’t check these out – especially now that the third and final book is out.”

In other news, I’ve been out and about talking about the series, my writing, favorite books, Tales From the Magician’s Skull, and my new not-so-secret writing project. You can find those interviews

Here, at Dicegeeks

And over here, at FanFiAddict.

Coming up, I’m scheduled to have an AMA over at Reddit Fantasy on September 3rd. I’ll have links as that gets closer.

As always, please help spread the word! I want more readers!

 

 

Farewells

July 30th we had to bury an old family friend. Sometimes you have a pet, and sometimes you have a friend who happens to be a dog, and that’s how it grew to be with Keena.

The shelter found her on the streets alone at around two months, and we adopted her and brought her into the family. She remained just a little nervous for years and years, but eventually grew to be confident and, later in life, even assertive.

Most dogs are alike on many basic levels, so it always surprises me how very different they can be on that template. I mean, most love their walks and are happy to see you when you’ve been gone, and they live to go out and smell things. But they still have individual personalities and develop their own habits and some are simply just more fun to be around, like Keena, who so easily brought us smiles. When Keena was really happy she’d go and grab her red rubber bone and frolic around with it. Later in life she’d get your attention and lead you to the red carpet in the kitchen, where we finally figured out that she wanted to wrestle. Only on that rug, though. Nowhere else in the house would do.

A New Year

Yesterday I finished reviewing copyedit changes on book 3, wrote my dedication and acknowledgments, and returned When the Goddess Wakes to St. Martin’s. I’ll see it again after it goes through proofreading, and then not again until I see advanced proofs. I’m pleased with it, and I think you’ll like it. It should be on bookstore shelves at some point this summer, and I’ll make sure to alert everyone when that’s about to happen.

It’s been a rough year for a lot of people, and I’m not going to bore you with too many details of the negative here, because I know so many who have suffered a great deal worse. Before it was clear to us here at the tower just how bad things might get with the virus it looked for a time that we’d have to relocate, but my wife found a wonderful new job here in town after having to leave her former position, and she was able to start work at the new place by the late autumn. So, we experienced several stressful months, but it has all worked out.

Turnover

Monday I turned over the text of When the Goddess Wakes to my editor at St. Martin’s. Over the next little while I’ll be waiting for his feedback, and the feedback of a few more important beta readers. Over the years I’ve developed a network of really brilliant friends who are giving of their time and energy and wisdom, and they help my work immeasurably.

While it lifts my spirits to cross this threshold, the race doesn’t feel over, since I know there will be final tweaks and adjustments. I’ll probably take a few days off to relax once the entire copyediting pass is complete (or maybe not — any more I tend to be compulsively working on story construction or outlining even when I’m not writing) but for now I’m turning my eye to other projects.

Moving Forward

As I am sure is the case with many of you, this has been a long and painful few months. In addition to the outside challenges we’ve all faced, there have been some more private difficulties here.

Still, I’ve kept moving forward. I’ve been too busy revising to bother updating the web site, so I thought I should pass on the word that I’m doing a final read aloud of When the Goddess Wakes before I send it off to my beta readers, and then I’ll address their suggestions and ship it off to my editor at St. Martin’s.

Book 3 — When the Goddess Wakes

I’ve been taking care of our baby ducks, which is necessity and also a pleasant distraction. Here, enjoy some duckling pictures!

While I’ll decorate this post with some ducks, you’re likely here because you’re a fan of my writing, so here’s some news on that front. Work continues on the third novel. I generally find that my drafting speed really slows down over the middle sections of a book and that I begin to pick up speed near the end of Act II and start of Act III, and that’s holding true for When the Goddess Wakes. As I close on the rough draft of the final sections of Act II, threads are tightening, a few surprises are bringing things into closer focus, and I’m getting more and more excited about the potential of what I’ve written.

Falling Fast

Two of my favorite restaurants aren’t answering the phone.

Two weeks ago we wanted to make sure we threw one of them some business. Iwataya, a sushi restaurant, has been part of the Evansville scene before we moved here some 15 years ago. When I walk in to pick up an order or to sit down for a meal the long-time employees greet me like an old friend. But they didn’t answer that evening, and they haven’t answered any evening since. I can’t know what’s happened. I fear the worst.

I’m almost certain the worst has happened to Bombay Spice. Not only are they not answering the phone, their web site is down. They opened only last year, and their Indian cuisine is excellent. Butter chicken dishes in London restaurants with five star reviews couldn’t touch the delicate blend of flavors in the butter chicken recipe from Bombay Spice here in a city most people never hear about, Evansville, Indiana. But I’m pretty sure, now, that they’re gone, and I don’t know what’s going to happen to their talented staff.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to my sister. She’s a nurse working in Arizona for a hospital that had no masks to give their nurses since the nation finally got serious a few weeks ago, and hasn’t had any other kind of protective gear for them either. Earlier this week she and the rest of the staff were triaging patients on the sidewalk in these conditions. Some patients arrived so weak they couldn’t climb from their cars under their own power, and my unmasked sister and her friends were reaching in to help them out.