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Robin Hobb's Infrequent and Off Topic Blog

AI, Spam and Why I Didn't Reply to your Email

A lonely coffee mug waits in a forest setting.

When I was a fledgling writer, I read that Isaac Asimov replied to every reader letter he ever received.  (This was before Email.  Yes, I am that old.)  And I resolved that I wanted to be like him.

 

Over the years, I flatter myself that I kept up pretty well, even with the email.  Like Asimov, I limited my responses to the first letter from any reader.  I could not establish regular correspondence with anyone but I did want to let readers know they had been heard.

 

But now I can't.  And it makes me sad.

 

Lately, my email has been flooded with 8 to 10 letters a day.  They start out like reader email.  They talk about the specific titles, and mention that they like the political intrigue or the character development.  But then, some of the immediately offer to promote my books, for money, in various ways.  Promises of increased orders, podcasts, you name it.  Those ones I now see as AI generated and delete right away.

 

But I end up feeling like a sucker when it really looks like something from a reader, and I send a note saying, 'Hey, thanks for the positive feedback, and letters like yours keep me writing,' etc.

And the next day or in a few hours, I get an email back about how that reader is going to promote my books for me and help me reach a wider audience and so on.  And I realize I've been suckered again. 

 

So.  With reluctance, regret and sadness, I will no longer be writing back to reader emails.  I'll read them and hope they are real.  But my hands are too worn out and sore for me to waste keyboard strokes replying to bots, AI and people hoping to provide for pay a service I simply don't need.  

 

I am way behind on replying to real mail from readers.  I have about 6 on the corner of my desk.  I will be trying to get to them!  Thanks for your patience.

 

I am saddened that AI, which could be doing so much good in the world, is instead clogging up my email box and blocking real reader mail.

 

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October Events and News

Robin Hobb wearing blue sweater and seated in chair.

Well!  What happened?  My blog post about October events seems to have vanished.  

 

So let's try again, but with a bit more urgency as THE FIRST EVENT IS TOMORROW!

 

The Schedule

 

October 5, 2025 at Barnes and Noble in Puyallup

 

I will be at the new Barnes and Noble store in Puyallup at the South Hill Mall.  Terry Brooks and Shawn Speakman will also be there and we will all be signing books.

Noon at 3500 S. Meridian, South Hill Mall, Puyallup.

 

October 19, 20225  SF Author Fest at Powells Books, Oregon

 

Sadly, I will not be at Orycon this year.  BUT I will drive down on Sunday, October 19, to join other writers at the SF Authrorfest.  Starting a 4 PM, we will gather at the Cedar Hills Crossing Powells to sign books and chat with readers.  We hope to see you there.  

 

November 15  Grit City Comic Show   Tacoma Convention Center

 

This is one of my favorite 'comic cons'.  It's smaller, it's affordable, it's very family friendly.  The Lego display alone is worth the price of admission!  I will be there with copies of the Dark Horse comics of Assassin's Apprentice!  I hope to see you there.  Ihope to have sets to sell as well as individual issues to fill out your collection.

 

Other News

 

Some nice news of upcoming publications in foreign markets.

 

OneHotBook is a Czechoslovakian publisher of audio books.  My books have benn out of print in Czechoslovakia for some time, but OneHotBook will be using the translation to create an audio book of Assassin's Apprentice.  I am very pleased to be connecting with readers there again.

 

Aser el Kotob is working on an Arabic translation of the Farseer Trilogy.  I've already heard from their delightful and meticulous translator.  More when the books are actually available.

 

 

 

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Lovely Italian Editions for The Soldier Son Trilogy Cover Art by Antonello Venditti

Cover art by Antonello Venditti for the Fanucci Italian editions.  English title, Shaman's Crossing

Forest-Mage--Italian-cover-Vendetti.jpg

 

Renegade-s-Magic---Italian-cover--Vendetti.jpg

 

 

Recently on Instagram, I encountered these wonderful new images for the Italian editions of The Soldier Son Trilogy.  This set of books is not as well kmown as my other works.  And no, it does not take place in the same world as the Farseer Trilogy or the Liveship Traders.  These three books, titled in English as Shaman's Crossing, Forest Mage, and Renegade's Magic take place in a world unique to these three volumes.

 

Nevare is my hero in this story of a second son of a noble family, the lad who is expected to become a soldier and serve his king.  What happens when a soldier becomes 'infected' with the magic of the indigenous people that his folk are colonizing? 

 

And that is as close to a spoiler as I'm going to go.

 

I am very pleased to share this cover art for the Italian editions of The Soldier Son Trilogy.  Published by Fanucci Editore   (Follow that link for more astounding art.)

 

These covers were created by Antonello Venditti.  

 

This cover art, in my opinion, is true to the story in the books.  I am very pleased that the artist chose to read the books and illustrate the cover in a way that was in keeping with the story.  in his own words: 

 


"Working on these covers meant facing a challenge: remaining faithful to the narrative force and the profound messages the author conveys, or bending instead to a more "commercial" image, aligned with dominant aesthetic stereotypes.
I chose the first path. Because bodies tell stories, and beauty has neither a single face nor a single canon. An illustration is never mere ornament: it carries a duty—the duty to convey truth, dignity, and the possibility of recognition.
Otherwise, art risks being reduced to a mere commissioned execution, an exercise in flattery, serving only to feed illusions and perpetuate the idea that "beautiful" must always and only mean the same thing."

                                             --Antonello Venditti

 

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