Rob's Update: LibertyCon AAR
Where your author has a great time with family!
Week 26 of 2026
Greetings all!
LibertyCon was awesome. The trip went really well until… Sad Panda! With that bit of foreshadowing, I now give you a picture of today’s challenge
As you can see, Bella has claimed her spot, making my keyboard sit on the edge of the desk instead of in the middle which is far more convenient for my hands. Cat supervisors do not always aid in the process.
Back to LibertyCon! I expected it to be great, and it was, but this was one of the best years I’ve ever had. First, my process to get there is improving. I stop in Murfreesboro to see friends and now I’ve discovered there’s a very convenient Costco.
In the past, I’d get to Chattanooga and then hunt down food for the CKP party. Throwing a party always adds complexity, but getting everything at the Costco in Murfreesboro eliminated a couple of trips, plus did it during Thursday morning where I have extra time given that I only have to drive about 2 hours and can’t check in until 3ish.
One of the regulars made a plan to get a horde of folks set up to go to Rodizio, an excellent Brazilian steakhouse. This provided one of the highlights for me, as I fortuitously ended up across from Eric S. Raymond. He’s a pretty legendary guy in the open source computer community, having been a part of things way back when. I had a great time chatting with him, and later on gave him a book.
Thursday is, of course, BarCon. I’ve said it often that hanging out in the bar Thursday night at LibertyCon is the single most important event a newer author can attend. There’s so much to learn and so many opportunities you may never get otherwise. I got that and the usual reconnecting with friends. It really is a highlight of the year.
Friday started with me on Author’s Alley. They are kind enough to provide authors with a few hours of an opportunity to sell books and I claim 3 hours in a block. Ideally, it’s early in the con for me, and that’s what I got, 3 hours right out of the gate. I may start requesting this because after that’s done, I can put my stock and display stuff in the car and get it out of the way for the party.
I sold more books than usual this year, which is of course nice. It was still less than 10 total, so it’s never all that much. Really, more than anything, it’s advertising. Always well worth it, simply to talk to people, and I did that constantly.
After that is opening ceremonies. LC’s opening ceremonies are unique, in my experience, as people attend them. It’s actually worth going to. Gray Rinehart often performs a song, which he did again this year. They had a fun little promo movie. The MCs get to do their schtick (and with HP and Jacob Holo, there was schtick). Plus, of course, getting into the vibe.
After that, I went to the CKP Year Ahead panel which had a big announcement (more on that later).
Then I finished Friday’s duties by having a reading. I read the first 2 chapters of Shattered Spear, the boy’s adventure novel I have coming out on November 13th. I also got to hang out a bit with Michael Morton, who’s a good guy and good writer.
Friday night was a goodly amount of socializing in the bar and then at parties. I may have stayed up later than intended.
Saturday was I had a few responsibilities. First, was the banquet. I go to this for a variety of reasons. One, it’s generally enjoyable. Two, I can often connect to some of the bigger names. Three, and most important, I get to sit at a table with a somewhat random group of people. I get to know a few more people better than before, and that’s good both both personally and professionally.
Following that, I moderated a panel on First Principles. This panel included Tony Andarian, Devon Erickson, Jon R. Osborne, and Jim Curtis. We discussed where does one start when creating a MilSF setting. I came out of this convinced this has to be something an author is strong at. In other words, I should start with history and political structures since that’s something I’m good at. Erickson should start with tech. And so on.
My reasoning is this: if you’re creating the first thing in a setting, it’s the foundation of everything else. You can handwave some things (and should), but you’re building everything else off this first pillar. You have to know it backward and forward.
Anyway, then we went to one of the most fun panels I’ve had in a while: Orchetypes. This was a fun discussion of orcs in fantasy and science fiction, including “orchetypes” like Klingons.
The big thing I discovered is that I really don’t have an orc voice.
After that was prepping for the party. I already had a lot of it ready, thanks to things going smoothly on Thursday, so that went smoothly. After we got the basics done, Chris and I had a chance to chat for a bit on story ideas. Honestly, it’s been a long time since Chris and I really had a quiet time to chat and that was definitely a highlight.
We talked about the special announcement he’d made in the CKP panel and what I’ll write for that. More on that later (I’m such a tease).
The party was one of our better ones, I think. I didn’t see but half of it because Chris and I got connecting rooms and conversations went on both sides. The last person left about 3:30am and I got to sleep about 4. I might have been dragging a bit on Sunday morning.
However, I got to all of my panels! Go me!
The first panel I went to was the 4HU Roundtable. I’ll talk about this one in a moment.
I had one more panel to moderate, and that was on World Building for Epic Fantasy. This actually dovetailed nicely with the First Principles panel. Including on the panel was Tony Andarian, M.D. Boncher, Chuck Gannon, Scott Huggins, and Sean C.W. Korsgaard. It was a nice mix of experience and fresh faces, and I wish I’d done a better job, but to be fair, at this point, I was flagging a bit.
After that was me doing all my Sunday get ready to leave prep. By dinnertime, I have only my change of clothes, toiletries, and computer bag in the room. A few more things this time, but not so much I couldn’t carry it all in one load. I like to get on the road early so I can take breaks.
Then I had more socializing in the dead dog time. This included nice sitdowns with Jonna Hayden, Chris again, a bit with Toni Weisskopf, and more. Then there was a version of Cards Against Humanity written for EMTs. That’s pretty disgusting, by the way, moreso than normal CAH, and that’s saying something.
Good times.
Let’s see, what did I miss… Oh, yeah! I foreshadowed a couple of things.
I was done. Finished. The story was complete and I had nothing really to add. I’m talking about the Queen Elizabeth’s Own Foresters. That was a solid trilogy and one I’m proud of. I was never going to write in the 4HU again, which was not a big deal since the 4HU had completed its arc.
And then came the CKP panel and 4HU 2.0.
It’s set 60 years after the big epic fight that concluded 111 books. Suddenly, I have another set of stories to write, starting with a short story due in January. As we talked through things, I have a plot, a starting point, and a conclusion. Heck, I may write it at Pennsic just because.
LibertyCon is like that. You always end up with more things to write, and that’s not the only one, but it’s the one I’ll talk about now.
Overall, I went with a number of goals, as always. I achieved most of them, which is what I expect. I set enough goals so I don’t run out. My biggest goal was to recruit for the podcast. That happened. There’s a bunch of announcements upcoming, but I’ll leave that for later.
Whew. A great LC as usual, and I’m leaving out so many small moments, but there are only so many electrons and I have to get to the part where I am a Sad Panda.
I left LC going to Fort Worth, which as you may already know, is not on the way from Chattanooga to Anthony. However, that’s where Rush was playing! I was so excited for this tour, I even did something stupid and bought VIP tickets!
And then Geddy got sick. Show canceled. I found out as I tried to park.
The show is rescheduled for July 11th and they’ll honor these tickets. However, I was on the fence to come back. I could get a full refund and that’s a useful amount of money, plus not having to spend for two more hotel nights. I suppose I could just do one night, but I don’t want to be exhausted for the show after a 6 hour drive.
Plus, while I’ve looked forward to this show for 9 months and I’ve seen every tour since 1982, I didn’t want to be too selfish. The wife had plans she’d have to cancel and I am spending too much on myself.
Then my mother-in-law decreed that I must go. Now the best wife has rearranged her schedule and canceled her plans. She’s the best wife evah!
So I guess I’m going after all!
This weekend is the 4th, of course. I hope everyone has a great time. 250 years is a hell of an accomplishment and something we should be proud of.
Next Week’s Show
Obviously, there was no show last week as both Melissa and I decided to spend time with family.
Next Tuesday, I’ll be talking about July 4th and 250 years of America.
Hey, everyone! Take pictures of your celebrations this weekend! I’ll yoink all the ones I see (that you permit).
I’ll talk some history, including maybe the time we almost went to war with Austria in 1853.
And more! Like maybe a special guest!
Join us here: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/264129?utm_source=live-stream-scheduled-upsell
Upcoming Schedule
July 7th, 250th Birthday with guests that will surprise all of us.
July 14th, Melissa Olthoff for reals this time!
July 21st, Planning in Progress.
July 28th, at Pennsic. I’m going to try and do a show there.
August 4th, at Pennsic. I’m going to try and do a show there.
* * * * *
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
Creator of the Firehall Sagas Universe
My Weight Today: 313.6lbs
Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/-/e/B00X95LBB0
Website: robhowell.org
Blog: robhowell.org/blog
The Firehall Sagas: firehallsagas.com/
Facebook Author Page: facebook.com/robhowell.org/
Twitter: twitter.com/Rhodri2112