Week 33 of 2026
Greetings all!
I’m back into the groove, or so it seems. I’ve spent quality time with my writing at my office computer and that’s a great sign. Today wasn’t the most productive day in my life, but I wrote a chapter and cleaned up two more to increase the action/word ratio.
But first, that Wynnifred was pretty smug this morning. She knows who’s boss.
Looking back on this past month, I’m pleased with my decisions, but the results were not fruitful. Obviously, Pennsic did not end like I wanted, but I planned well and adjusted about as well as I could when things when crazy.
This past week was the Harper County Fair. I pushed to get things resolved faster than might have been needed, but I thought this would be an important show for both me and the store. The Fair always conflicts with Pennsic, but they moved it a week back this year to accommodate their carnival, meaning we finally had a chance to strut our stuff there.
Again, I’m pleased with my planning and decisions, but this was the worst result I’ve ever had from an event. Despite minimal expenses, I lost money. It wasn’t that I did a poor job (well, not entirely, more on that in a moment), but there simply wasn’t enough traffic. I had sales at about the normal rate per opportunity, however, there weren’t many of those.
The big problem was the heat. We’re currently suffering through the hottest summer since 1999, which had over 100 degree days from mid-July to mid-September without a break. That year I had just become an SCA fighter and I went to every practice despite the heat. Talk about sweating in your armor!
This year, I didn’t wear armor at the fair, but it felt worse. The building we were in wasn’t air conditioned and sitting for 9 hours in that heat is exhausting, even if you don’t do anything. And it’s hard to think, so while I had time to write, I simply didn’t have the brainpower.
And to be honest, that fatigue made me spend much less time there than I’d intended. Theoretically, I could’ve been open from 8am to 9pm. I aimed for 9am to 7pm, but did only 9am to 5pm on Thursday and Saturday. On Friday, I left at 2. I needed a break.
Basically, it was as much of a wasted weekend as I’ve had. At least when I just take one off, I’m resting or enjoying myself. I didn’t even have that consolation.
Anyway, this week has been the start of the Pennsic recovery and cleanup. I conquered the Pennsic Laundry Mountain (tm)! Well, mostly. I’ll do the bedding and all the tablecloths either this weekend or after my show next week.
I got the trailer emptied so I could start repacking for Gulf Wars. Since my trailer is in my garage, I can pack in small batches, making sure things go to their right spot. It works pretty well. By the time Gulf Wars comes around, all I have to do is pack the stock.
I also got some JJ time this week. That little girl is something else! She started pre-K today, which is far too soon for the wife’s comfort. I’m excited, because it’ll mean times for us to go pick her up from school. Darn the luck!
This week I’m getting back into the groove on Shattered Spear 2, which should have been done a month or two ago, but is just about there.
I’m also starting to read the submissions for Giant Killer Kaiju! This is gonna be such fun!
A couple of final notes on the update. I’m trying to keep the business stuff to a minimum and emphasize the fun and cool, plus what all I’m doing, but I’m adding my Upcoming Events section at the bottom. I’ve had a couple of questions as to where I’m going to be, so I should list that.
Also, I added a poll a couple of weeks ago. I’m going to either do a poll or just a question. Send me your thoughts on which you prefer and I’ll adjust as needed.
In any case, this week, it’s a question so check it out and have a great week!
This Week’s Question
DragonCon approacheth! What specific things are you looking forward to enjoying there?
Click below if you want to leave a comment or give me a poll suggestion!
This Week’s on Rob’s Ramblings
This week I hosted Charli Cox. Finally! She was on the schedule for a couple of weeks ago but that didn’t happen. Still, we got to talk about a whole bunch of fun projects she’s working on.
And if you want to find out more about her, here are some links!
Website: https://www.charlicox.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charli.cox21
Substack: https://substack.com/@charlicox1121
Hang out with her! You’ll thank me if you do.
Upcoming Shows
Tuesday, August 25th, will be a discussion of the upcoming football season, but depending upon guest availability, it’ll be NCAA or NFL.
Overall, thanks to all the hullabaloo, things are a bit up in the air right now. I’m getting things laid out now, though, so more to talk about next Tuesday.
Upcoming Events
ICT Comicon (ictcomiccon.com): August 29-30 in Wichita, KS
P-Con (p-con.us): September 25-27 in Dallas, TX
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Have a great week, everyone.
Rob Howell
Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe
Founder of the Queen’s Elizabeth’s Own Foresters
My Weight Today: 310.8lbs
Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/-/e/B00X95LBB0
Website: robhowell.org
Blog: robhowell.org/blog
The Firehall Sagas: firehallsagas.com/
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Twitter: twitter.com/Rhodri2112
DragonCon is too big for me, so I live vicariously through everyone's posts.