Robin Hobb's Blog

Some years back, when I first started reviewing books, I put up 2 and 3 and 4 star reviews.

Now I only do 5 star reviews. There's a reason for that. So many readers seemed to think that a 2 star (I liked it) or a 3 star review was actually saying that the book was not really that good.

So, I've changed my policy. If I review it, it will have a 5 star review. And if I can't give it 5 stars, then I won't review it on here.

So, I read more books than I review here. But not every one fits me well.

There are some really good books out there that are not 5 star books for me. They very well could be for someone else, and I do hope that reader will review them and help them reach their perfect audience.

Well, I suppose it's time to venture out again. My dogs don't like it when I'm gone for more than a few hours, but nonetheless . . .

I've decided to do two conventions as 2022 winds to a close. Doing these will let me know if I'm up for more in 2023, or if it's time to just stay home and watch the world through a computer screen,

Coming up this weekend (Sept9-11) is Rose City Comic Con in Portland Oregon. I'll be signing at the Grim Oak booth, and connecting with long time writing friends like Brent Weeks and Terry Brooks. And I hope to see some familiar reader faces, but I'm hearing from a lot of them that they aren't heading back to cons yet.

Second convention is Dragonsteel Mini Con, Brandon Sanderson's Monday-Tuesday con in Provo Utah, November 14-15.

These two gatherings will be a test of my stamina, and will also let me know if any of my writing opinions and advice are relevant still.

No, that's not self pity. I 'broke in' to publications over fifty year ago, and traditional publishing is all I know. For many new writers, that's as irrelevant as reminding them to use white paper, a fresh typewriter ribbon, and be sure to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope (a SASE, we used to call them) with your submission.

So. We shall see.

I have one invitation to a gathering in Europe (not going to say which one yet) and how well I handle the demands of a three day convenion will let me know if I can confirm that.

I'm 70 now. I know that a lot of writers and readers don't slow down. But for me, if it comes to a choice between conventions and writing one more book, well the book will win out.

How about a free book to get you through a summer of continued masking and forest fires? I think we could all use a bit of escapism.

Shawn Speakman has written a book that, like Star Wars, straddles SF and fantasy very successfully. It's a nice stew of a feisty teen heroine, forgotten technology in ancient cities, a disgraced noble family, a blood feud, and oh, year, human driven giant robots.

That's a great menu. Now if you'd like to read that as an ARC (advance reading copy) you can enter to win a copy. Go here for that:

http://shawnspeakman.com/the-tempered...

It's the first of a trilogy, but I found the book satisfying, though I do look forward to the subsequent volumes.

I often receive emails asking me to sell the sender a book, inscribe a happy birthday wish, and mail it to their friend or loved one.

Unfortunately, I do not keep a large supply of books to sell, and would have no way to handle such a transaction.

But there are two solid ways to get a book signed by me, even in these times of quarantine.

University Book Store in Seattle will allow you to buy a book and request an autograph or dedication. It's fairly simple. You visit their website, purchase the book, and in the 'comments' section of the book order, type in exactly what you'd like me to write in the book. Please be precise so I can get it exactly right.

https://www.ubookstore.com/search?key...

That link takes you to all the Hobb books they have in stock, and the Lindholm book Wizard of the Pigeons. I'm happy to sign whatever you purchase, be it hardback or paperback. If you are pre-ordering a book, such as the illustrated hardback of Assassin's Quest, you may have to wait a bit for the store to get copies. and for me to drive up to Seattle to sign in.

If you are interested in signed first edition hardbacks, shipped so they arrive in 'book collector pristine' condition, then The Signed Page is your friend.

https://signedpage.com/

The Signed Page even offers the boxed set Folio Edition of the Farseer Trilogy. The pre-signed ones sold out very fast from the Folio site, but The Signed Page has obtained some sets, and I'm happy to go in and very carefully sign those beauties. My Lindholm book, Wizard of the Pigeons, is also available there, as well as the Illustrated hardbacks of the Farseer Trilogy, with art by Magali Villeneuve. (Very well known for her Magic the Gathering card artwork.)

Be sure to wander the entire Signed Page website. There are all sorts of treasures there in terms of signed hardbacks!

I hope this is helpful to anyone who wants a signed book to give as a gift or for oneself.

As you can tell from the sparse blog entries, I'm not a blogative person. I don't think my day to day life would prove to be compelling reading, and if it were, I probably would not have the time to blog about it.

But every now and then, I like to reach out and let readers know what I've been up to, and what is next.

2020 was a difficult year for all of us. I'm sure I don't have to explain to anyone about all the things we missed, and the restrictions and cautions that were added to our lives. But for writers there were changes that affected our lives and professions. No conventions. No comic cons. Editors not in their offices. Publishing offices closed. My professional friends are scattered not just across the country, but around the world.

I saw none of them. I didn't travel. I didn't see readers face to face.

I didn't write.

At first I told myself that quarantine would be the perfect time to plunge back into writing. But it wasn't so.

I thrive on isolation. For most of my marriage (50 years now) my husband was on the fishing grounds for about 9 months of the year. After he retired, he started teaching judo, and was gone for close to 40 hours a week doing that. But Covid meant he had to close his dojo. And some of my extended family members came to quarantine in the small guest cottage we have. Suddenly, I was seeing multiple people, dozens of times a day!

I know, you've probably been lonely and this sounds great to you. But for an introvert and someone who craves isolation, this was tough. I was in more day to day contact with people than I had been for years! And they expected me to talk to them!

After all, just because I'm not writing doesn't mean I'm not writing. I might be thinning the carrots, but I'm also getting the dialogue that I'll write at eleven that night. Except that character dialogue evaporates when I have to talk to people. And the television on in evening is not my writing friend.

I renewed my belief that cooking delicious home made meals is not only tedious, but just manufactures mounds of dirty dishes and sinks full of pans to scrub.

So, rough outlines for two different novels dangled into ragged shreds. And for months I stopped reading. It was hard to focus on stories. I checked out audio books that I didn't listen to.

It took a lot of grinding of gears, but I did find a new rhythm to my life.

So what did I do in 2020? There was some wonderful stuff. I grew a big garden and did home preservation of food like a deranged squirrel. I took walks with my dogs. I coerced my young grandson into reading out loud to me for 20 minutes a day. In September, I took over helping him with his on line schooling for 3 days a week so his parents could be back to work. Midway through the year, I began to write and sell short stories again, as Megan Lindholm. And Megan Lindholm saw Wizard of the Pigeons come back into print in the US for the first time in 35 years. Tommy Arnold did an amazing job with the illustrations for the Grim Oak edition. I also enjoyed working with an old friend, Magali Villeneuve, to see the Illustrated Editions of Royal Assassin come into being. And Folio brought out a glorious boxed set of The Farseer Trilogy. I made visits to both Grim Oak's warehouse (otherwise known as Shawn's garage) and University Book Store in Seattle. Suitably masked and distanced, I signed and dedicated a lot of books for them to send out to readers.

And now here we are in 2021.

I don't make resolutions, but I have hopes.

I want to read 100 pages a day.
Lindholm needs to finish that novel, and the half done short story.
Hobb needs to make some tough decisions. To Bee or not to Bee.
I will continue to sign and dedicate books a University Book Store and for Grim Oak Press.
I need to kick most social media to the curb.
I need to be more physically active. I need to lose the Covid weight.
I need to find more joy in life. I need to give myself space to be a different person as I age.

So, there, a very long blog. That should suffice for the first 6 months of 2021, right?

We used to say, "Have a Good Day." Now we say, "Stay safe."
I wish both for youl

Many years before I was Robin Hobb, I was Megan Lindholm. And one of my first books was an urban fantasy, set in Seattle, about a Viet Nam veteran who has become a street person. And the strange turn that his life takes after he meets Cassie.

After 35 years, Grim Oak Press is bringing Wizard of the Pigeons back into print. It will be a lovely illustrated hardback with art by Tommy Arnold.

And, to celebrate, there is a pre-publication give away, right here on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...


25 copies will be given away! Cut and paste the link to enter now!

Robin/ Megan

Hello! It's Kat here on Robin's blog as she's out picking blackberries for the end of the season. I know it may seem strange that we are dividing the work out like this, but you have not had her blackberry jam. Once you have had her blackberry jam you'd happily insist that she go pick blackberries with Ginger and Molly than sit on the internet.

My selfish interests aside. See above? Robin has a beautifully illustrated, HARDCOVER 25th Anniversary Edition of Assassin's Apprentice coming out Oct. 2, 2019. Del Rey, her US Publisher, is hosting a give away of maps of the Six Duchies, signed by Robin Hobb. For those who collect, YES, the other two books in the first trilogy will also be published in hardback, and also in collaboration with the same illustrator, Magali Villeneuve!

To enter to receive one, you must present proof of your preorder to Del Rey. (LINK NOW FIXED! Thank you readers!) http://www.randomhousebooks.com/campa...

Robin and I are not hosting this giveaway so please do read their requirements so you can receive a map with your preorder.

Thank you all for being readers of fantasy literature along with us!

With warm regards,



Kat

Robin Hobb

I've written about this in several other places! Time to update things here.

In October of this year, Bantam Del Rey will bring out an Illustrated 25th Anniversary Edition of Assassin's Apprentice. The illustrator is one whose name you will knw if you enjoy Magic the Gathering. And if you don't play, you can enjoy some of her work here: http://magali-villeneuve.blogspot.com/

I met Magali Villaneuve a number of years ago in France. At one point, she gifted me with an art book of her work, and in the front she had included a pencil sketch of Fitz. And yes, it looked like him.

I've been very fortunate that I've already seen some of the art for the illustrated edition, as well as the sketches in progress. I'm very pleased with them. I suggested some of the moments from the books, and she chose some; I think she captures the emotions of those turning points very well.

The publisher has committed to bringing out all three of the volumes of the Farseer Trilogy in these new hardbacks, and all will feature Magali's art.

The first volume is available for pre order now. If you want to acquire all three volumes in hardcover with Magali's illustrations, I respectfully suggest you buy them as they are published. We all know how quickly hardcovers go out of print, and then become astronomically expensive on e-bay!

For a glimpse of the cover art, here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Appr...

Years ago, I made a comment that I saw nothing wrong with giving a book two stars on Goodreads. Goodreads says that 2 stars mean, "It was okay." And pragmatically, many of the books any of us read are just that. Okay. Okay enough that I finished it.

3 Stars mean, I liked it, and so on.

So. Say I just finished a book. I finished it, so that means it's not a one star. One star books don't get that much of my time. How do I feel about this book. For me, well, it's between and two and a three. I liked a lot of it, and in a few places I sighed and made the decision to keep reading.

But the thing is, I know that a goodly percentage of the people who read my books would actually give that book a four or a five star rating. Because it has x or y or z elements that they love, and they actually wish I'd put more of that ingredient in my books.

(X, Y or Z examples. Extended graphic sex. Very graphic violence. Pages of description of the geography. Pages and pages of intricate history you must know to understand why they are star crossed lovers. Buffonery and pratfalls. Puns. Gooey romance. S&M. )

Those are elements that, in excess, lessen my enjoyment of a book. But those same elements, lavishly and extravagantly applied are exactly what some of my readers most love in a book. Those elements are often why a book I merely liked becomes a number one best seller.

Soo . . . do I give a book the stars I'd give if I were recommending it to me? Or give it the stars that will bring it the readers it deserves?

It's a dilemma. And for now, I think I'll pretend I'm recommending the book to myself, and star it accordingly.

So I have a dilemma when I post reviews here.

Often I read books that I know I won't love. Books that were not written for me. I read them to find out why they were best sellers, or because a friend gave it to me, or because a horde of people have recommended it to me.

Let me pull an example from the past.

Marvin K Mooney, Will You Please Go Now? by Dr. Seuss. I've read this several hundred times to small children. They love it. They would each give it five stars, even before they can count five stars. But for me, it's a two stars book. It was okay. I can see the value of it. I know that it's five stars for the target audience. But for me, it's two stars. Because if I were left alone in a room with a pile of books, that would not be the one I'd choose to pick up. It's an okay book.

In contrast, McElligott's Pool gets 4 stars from me. And One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish gets five!

I don't hate those 2 stars books. If they're all I have to read, I'll read them. They're okay. But they're not for me. I'm not a teenager anymore, so there are YA books that simply don't speak to me. (And some that do, still!) There are wish fulfillment fantasies or romances that are fulfilling wishes I never had. Humorous fantasy tales that are more humorous than fantastic. They're okay. But they're not what I'm hoping to find when I pick up a book.

Or it might be a book where there are too many coincidences that favor the hero. Or ones where the happy ending is 'And then they had sex. Finally. And it solved everything.'

But if I give a book two stars, some people regard that as a slam.

So, most often, I chicken out.

I'm writing this for the people who wonder why most of my reviews are at least three stars. The simple answer is that I don't write reviews for the books that are only 'okay'. If you're reading my reviews, it might be because you've agreed with some of my star ratings, and you hope to turn up a book you'll love that you wouldn't otherwise discover.