A LIFE IS NOT IMPORTANT EXCEPT IN THE IMPACT IT HAS ON OTHER LIVES – Jackie Robinson’s epitaph

I did an interview last week with Jason Waltz for his ’24 in 42′ podcast (Yeah, I know: You just can’t wait to hear that one…).

One of the questions was about my favorite quote/lyric/poem/motivational thought. Some of you who know me probably figure it’s a Bible verse. And there are a couple that are right up there.

But it’s the epitaph on Jackie Robinson’s gravestone, which leads off this post.

My buddy Howard Andrew Jones has passed away from brain cancer. You’re going to see a LOT of people singing his praises in the coming weeks. All of it deserved. If I can stop crying long enough, my Monday morning post will be on Howard.

But you’re gonna see a common thread in the talk about Howard. The impact he had on other people’s lives. Especially in encouraging and helping writers – mostly in the sword and sorcery field.

Measured by impact, Howard’s may well be the most important life in the past three-plus decades in the genre. He was relentless in being kind, helpful, encouraging, engaging – just fucking NICE – in an era when nice isn’t all that common anymore.

My favorite memories of Howard are our phone talks about hardboiled private eye fiction: not what you’d guess of one of the brightest lights in the sword and sorcery genre.

But as you read the posts about Howard here on FB, just keep noting how many people thank him for helping them. For impacting their lives and careers.

Howard totally lived that quote on Robinson’s headstone. More than most of us do. A good man who lived an important life.

The world’s light is a little less bright this wintry day. A star has gone out.

 

That was my response to seeing John O’Neill’s post on Friday, announcing that Howard had lost his battle with brain cancer. Facebook has been full of fond memories and sorrows from his many friends.

There are two people I’ve gotten to know somewhat through my writing/blogging, who were liked by everyone who knew them. No one had a bad word for mystery writer Bill Crider, or for Howard. He did not suffer bullshit well, but if you knew him, you were his friend. And you felt fortunate to be one.

I only met him once, at a Windy City Pulp Fest, but we talked on the phone, emailed, and FB messaged. I always enjoyed talking to him. We often compared the aches and pains of trying to remain physically active as we grew older. And suddenly, he won’t grow any older. Life can suck.

Regarding his work, my favorites are his Dabir and Asim Arabian stories. The two novels are epic Arabian fantasies – ‘swords and sandals’. But the short stories are really mysteries in an Arabian fantasy setting, and I love that! If you don’t at least have Waters of Eternity in digital, you totally should.

I liked his Pathfinder novels. The Ring-Sworn trilogy was good, but not one of my favorites.

I had not yet started his most recent trilogy, The Chronicles of Hanuvar, though I had read a couple short stories, which he incorporated into the first novel, ala Raymond Chandler (Howard was a hardboiled PI Pulp expert). I sat down Friday night, and I spent a chunk of my weekend working through Lord of A Shattered Land.

This is Howard’s best work. He had moved to another level. I assume books two and three will only drive that home. He had signed a five-book deal with Baen. They liked it so much, they added two more books to his contract.

Howard was a year younger than me, and he had a lot of great writing years ahead of him. He was taken far too soon – I feel the same about Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys.

As I said in my FB post, Howard was nice. He was a genuinely good guy. He was fun to talk to, and he really was committed to helping people in the field. If you saw his FB updates on the chicks (he operated a farm) in winter, you got a sense of what a neat guy he was.

I got to visit him once after the news of his illness came out. That’s the pic above, with three of us Black Gaters together. He was still the gentle, soft-spoken soul I knew.

I hope the plaudits and the accolades keep coming. And I hope there’s something in his memory at 2025 Windy City.

Howard will be missed by many, for many years to come. The following is from his first Hanuvar novel, and it’s become the Howard quote for many of us, with his passing:

“Why are you crying? Warrior’s don’t cry.”

“They do when a hero dies.”

We lost a hero. I’m one of many who will miss you greatly, friend.

And if you’re looking for some modern fantasy to read, you really ought to grab that first book and check out one of the finest sword and sorcery writers of this century:

The Chronicles of Hanuvar

Lord of a Shattered Land
The City of Marble and Blood
Shadow of the Smoking Mountain

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Bob Byrne’s ‘A (Black) Gat in the Hand’ made its Black Gate debut in 2018 and has returned every summer since.

His ‘The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes’ column ran every Monday morning at Black Gate from March, 2014 through March, 2017. And he irregularly posts on Rex Stout’s gargantuan detective in ‘Nero Wolfe’s Brownstone.’ He is a member of the Praed Street Irregulars, founded www.SolarPons.com (the only website dedicated to the ‘Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street’).

He organized Black Gate’s award-nominated ‘Discovering Robert E. Howard’ series, as well as the award-winning ‘Hither Came Conan’ series. Which is now part of THE Definitive guide to Conan. He also organized 2023’s ‘Talking Tolkien.’

He has contributed stories to The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories — Parts III, IV, V, VI, XXI, and XXXIII.

He has written introductions for Steeger Books, and appeared in several magazines, including Black Mask, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and Sherlock Magazine.