Rhiannon J. Taylor/R. J. Howell

Screenshot of a novel in progress at 50,845 words. There is a little text from the novel along the right side, but not enough to form complete sentences.

Guess it's officially a novel? I mean, it was before, but it now has the word count heft to back it up!

According to the outline, I'm about a third of the way through? Whaaaa? Apparently, the secret to productivity is a lot of pent-up anger and a character with little to no grasp of consequences?

Excited and proud to announce that I'm guest editing @tasavvurnama.bsky.social's Spring 2026 issue.

Open for your South Asian SFF submissions now till the end of Feb.

A screenshot of a Word document at 30,200 words. On the right, some text from the new novel is visible.

This...is not the book I meant to be writing, yet it appears to be the book that thoroughly highjacked my brain, and now I'm off wading hip-deep in space opera? THIS one, at least, might actually remain a marketable length. Even if it did also decide to come as a duology packaged deal. 🙄

Leave me to my denial!

Digital pencil sketch of three figures. One is a man with sad eyebrows (really, he isn't half as tragic as his face suggests) and wearing fancy vestments. Behind him is another man in armor with a spear and is smiling. Behind him is another figure seen from the back which is mostly just a lot of long hair and swoopy robes.

For 2026, I'm trying to get back into sketching and somehow justify this bloody iPad I bought and rarely ever use. Procreate...frustrates me deeply, but the pencil brush is quite nice. And it's fun to remember I can draw. I'm also trying to fall in love with my novel again, so character doodles!

Leave me and my 205k word short story be! And the 70k and counting novella! They don't deserve to be called out like this!

A screenshot of a novel in progress with the word count stopped at 69,420.

Because *secretly*, buried deep within me, I have the sense of humor of a teenage boy.

Work in progress of a painting depicting a haggard-looking man standing in front of/beside a somewhat aggressive bipedal feathered dinosaur with a saddle on its back. In the background is a dirt road, and, to the left, a city at the base of some mountains. The sky has been painted in, the mountains, the city, and some of the midground foliage. Most of the foreground remains simply blocked in. The two figures in the front are painted flat black. Now, wider!

Realized that if I plan to one day use this as a potential cover for Exile if I go down an indie pub route, the cover...would need to be wider to take into account hc side flaps. So! WiP painting, now in a widescreen format! (It's easier to do this now rather than later. Plus, more clouds!)

Work in progress of a painting depicting a haggard-looking man standing in front of/beside a somewhat aggressive bipedal feathered dinosaur with a saddle on its back. In the background is a dirt road, and, to the left, a city at the base of some mountains. The sky has been painted in, the mountains, the city, and some of the midground foliage. Most of the foreground remains simply blocked in. The two figures in the front are painted flat black.

Steadily moving forward, quite literally from background to midground. Eventually, there will be some nice rocks and foliage to join the fallen log, and maybe some proper trees in the far background to go with that log for verisimilitude. Log is suffering from "where, oh where, is the light source?"

Free to read now! And I love the brass flowers. They fit perfectly.

It is! I believe this is the Borneo mountains. The red/orange is the Antelope Canyon and the purple-black is Everest.

Similar! I'm on a "every six months, oh I need to update that" schedule, and wouldn't you know? I just got the email reminding me that my hosting bill is due soon.

New blog post, since I admit, I forgot I had a blog and need to start using it for something OTHER than self-promotion for when stories are released.

rjhowell.com/2025/11/16/m...

My phone's camera really doesn't do them justice, especially in sunlight.

Photograph of a fountain pen resting on page of an ink test. The paper reads, "Test! Oooh, this is a very pretty grass green. Free Ink!"

Also, an ink test of some pretty green ink I got for free during Fountain Pen Day. (Using the new pen since it didn't come with a cartridge or adapter and my other pens are all inked up.) Also, the sun came out, so I wanted to snag the gold glint.

Eventually, there will be a blue one for Reckoning. The pens are Cross Wanderlust, and are a matching set of four. The pattern is the topographic map of various mountain ranges.

Photograph of three slim fountain pens with abstract swirls and patterns on them. There's metallic inlay that is textured to the touch. One is green, one is red and orange, and one is a very dark purple.

The newest shinies. Green is for Exile, orange-red is Incarnate, and purple-black is Mandate. I can't quite have Mandate yet since the draft is done but it isn't legible and I need to do some minor overhauling (slated for after I finish What Gods Fear, the not-a-novella book). Anyway, the pretties.

They are! I really like what I've seen of their ink selection too. I've picked out a few for future purchase.

Oooh, I love sparkly ink, I really do, and how customizable they are. I've restricted myself to getting ink only with short story sales or to go with my novel pens, so I think (I hope) I can keep this manageable. Maybe.

Ah, but I have put a restriction on myself! I can only have a new pen when I either finish writing a novel or do something suitably remarkable, and it takes me about a year to write a novel. Ergo: I will (probably) only get a new pen once a year. Probably.

I have not! But I am a newcomer to the world of fountain pens, so have only seen the relatively small collection of what my local stationary store has on display and this one pen, since it was thematic and easier to discover.

I bought the one on the left, whereas the one on the right was an entirely unexpected gift from the 2024 class. Thank you, VP 2024! I'm happily using my new pen you gave me to cross off things on my "to do" lists with crisp, final red ink!

A photograph of two jellyfish themed fountain pens, a bottle of ink, and a pack of ink cartridges in the color called "writer's blood."

A friend pointed out that I should probably do something to mark writerly achievements rather than just...moving on to the next mountain, and after much thought and weighing of opinions, I have settled on fountain pens! Thus, my newest acquisition(s): jellyfish pens for Viable Paradise!

I devoured it in a day. Worth it!

Photo of the cover of What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher. There is a receipt serving as a bookmark.

Continuing my "what am I reading now" photo series, we have What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher. I'll try to remember to update this more frequently than every few months.

An art sculpture of jellyfish swimming in the Boston airport.

Goodbye, jellies!

Photograph of the rising sun over the ocean. There is a beach and a little jetty of rocks.

I have left the island. Goodbye, Martha's Vineyard! Goodbye, VP! You were incredible!

Photograph of the view from the ferry pier on Martha's Vinyard. There is a beach to the left and trees and houses, and a handful of boats to the right.

On the island!

Photograph of a sculpture of jellyfish and the ocean floor in the Boston airport.

Have arrived in Boston after the first leg of my journey to VP! The jellyfish are calling...

If you're an author, you're probably fretting over your next bookstore event. Will anyone show up? Will anyone buy the book? Will the floor helpfully open up and swallow you whole so you don't have to face a sea of empty chairs?

But even if no one shows up to your event, it will be OK because 🧵