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Robin Hobb's Infrequent and Off Topic Blog

A Hobbit Birthday

Image of 3 ring binder, title on Front is The Birthday Game 2014
Old Binder from 2014   The Birthday Game
  • Wow.  Look at all the cobwebs in here.  Let's wipe them away and have a bit of fun.

 

Well, it's March 2022.  Time for a random post.

 

My writing office is over in the guest cottage on our bit of acreage.  And lately, I've decided that Cardboard Boxes is no longer my decor of choice.  So I've been going through them and throwing stuff away.  In the course of that, I came across this binder from 2014.

 

It's not that long ago, to me.  Readers who have been with me for a long time may remember this game.  To celebrate my birthday, I contacted friends all over the world, such as John Howe in New Zealand, and Lou Kramer in Australia, and William Sean Glen in Tacoma, and well, too many to list off.  To each one, I sent a signed book, gift wrapped.  In turn, those friends made up riddles or rhymes that were hints, and clues and then hid the books in public places, such as restaurants and book stores.  

 

It was great fun.  Kat and I tracked the activity as books were discovered. We posted the solutions to the riddles and let people know which gifts had been found.

 

Well, here we are, eight years later.  I am semi-retired and I've lost contact with a lot of my hiders over those years.  So.  No birthday game this year.

 

But I still love the idea of a hobbit birthday party, where the celebrant gives away gifts.  No mathoms from me, only signed books sent through the post.  And  this will be on a much smaller scale than I wish I could do this.

 

So, here are the rules.  The first ten postcards I receive from the US, and the first ten postcards I receive from anywhere else will be mailed a book.  A random Hobb book from my dragon's hoard in my storage unit.  The book will not be sent by super fast post, but regular mail.  And it may be any Hobb book at all, hardback or paperback.  But it will be signed.  

 

Send your post card to :

 

Robin Hobb

7006 Harts Lake Road South

Roy, Washington 98580

USA

 

On the post card (or in an envelope if you prefer) you must send your name and address.  Now, PAY ATTENTION!  Because over the years, I have been surprised at how many people scribble a name and partial address so that I cannot reply, no matter what I wish.  So, your information should look like this.  You can type it or hand print it.  But every part of it must be in  ALL CAPS.  And very tidy.  And broken into lines, like this:

 

YOUR NAME

LINE ONE OF ADDRESS

LINE TWO OF ADDRESS

CITY

STATE OR PROVINCE OR DUCHY

POSTAL CODE  123 456

COUNTRY

 

You would be surprised how many people forget to write the name of their country. 

 

 If you wish to know if you were one of the ten, include your carefully priinted email and I will let you know a book is on the way to you.  

 

That's it.  So easy.  Now, I won't be posting this information anywhere else.  No Facebook, Twitter, instagram.  Just here on the Hobb website.

 

So, off you go, to find a postcard and drop it in the mail.

 

And tomorrow, March 5, I will be 70.

 

and NO NO NO!  Do not email me your address.  And do not try to put it here in a reply.  That Will Not Work.    Snail Mail only.

 

And I promise that no, I am not going to use your addresses to send you spam.  No mailing list will be created, no newsletter sent, nothing.  It's a one time use of the first 10 post cards from the US and the first 10 from anywhere else in the world. Promise.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Comments

How Time Flies!

Autumn leaves cover a set of concrete steps.
Time to rake, bag and make leaf compost!

Another year is winding to a close.  November, December, and then poof!  2021 is over.  

 

I think it has been a strange year for all of us.  Another year of masks, of vaccines, of arguments about masks, arguments about vaccines, schools opening and closing, supply chain woes, books delayed . . . so many things that we had never experienced two years ago.

 

I spent most of this year not writing much.  I did a few short stories, and was very pleased to sell them to SF/fantasy magazines.  The stories I wrote were Megan Lindholm tales, all urban fantasies.

 

And I focused on my long neglected land and attempts at gardening.  This year, I've read more gardening books, and became a fan of Monty Don and his Gardener's World show on the BBC.  I don't think I'll ever create a grand estate garden such as they often show, but I have begun to put my little bit of acreage in order.  In line with my fear of global warming, exacerbated by the months of drought and record high temperatures we had here in Washington state, I've put my emphasis on native species in my garden.  But the drought and the high temperatures also reminded me that there are no impervious walls around the bit of dirt that I steward.  I have fourteen acres, but drought, blight and fire can still undo all my efforts.  I remain at the mercy of my neighbors and the greater world.  It's a humbling and frightening thing to recognize.

 

In November, the World Fantasy Convention in Montreal will honor Megan Lindholm with a Lifetime Achievement Award.  It is  gratifying to be noticed this way, but there is also a moment of 'wait!  Does that mean everyone thinks I am finished writing books?'  I do not think I am, but I've come to realize that I am much slower to create than I once was.  Still, I look forward to the quieter months of winter when the garden and land do not demand so much of me.  we will discover then if there is one more book left in my mind and hands.

 

Now, you may notice that I've set the comments for this blog to 'moderated'.  Meaning that none of your comments will be automatically posted.  I'm sad to say that on previous posts that were set to automatic, there are now some very odd comments recomending magical ways to win the lottery , a mate, or return a wandering spouse to your arms.  I don't endorse any of these, and I'm gradually making my way through the old blogs to remove those comments. And I am sure that some of you will go wandering back through the old blogs for their entertainment value!  Enjoy.  

 

Happy November, everyone!

21 Comments

Missed! And Yet to Come!

Sometimes I have too many lives.  Writer, gardener, grandparent, dog servant, cat feeder, housekeeper, maintenance person.  There are books and stories to write, apples to harvest, grapes to make into jam, rain gutters to clean, chickens to feed, and so many other tasks, most daily and some those 'once in a while' ones.

 

So I missed Voyagercon.  It was an online event, and I'd already chatted with Cari Thomas about her lovely debut book Threadneedle.  That was all recorded, so I was 'virtually' there.  But I did miss the opportunity to be online at the weekend and enjoy all the other offerings.  

 

You can still enjoy the conversation I had with Cari. Just click on the LINK to view it on YouTube. And if you enjoy urban fantasy and witchy teenagers and mysterious characters, pick up a copy of Threadneedle.  

 

Still to come will be my chat with Jay Kristoff at a Dymocks Chapter One event.  We'll be discussing his Empire of the Vampire, a book that has already claimed a spot on the best seller lists.  That will happen on 17, 6 PM for me in Western Washington of the US.  But it Australia, it will already be 7PM Saturday the 18th.  Here's the link to the FACEBOOK page where you can register to attend the event.  The illustrations in this book are so lush and lovely that I feel you must also visit the page of the Illustrator:  https://www.hgliterary.com/bonnie-mcallister  Go take a peek. 

 

I hope you can join us for Empire of the Vampire. And have a good time watching me tilt my head like a very attentive dog in the video of my chat with Cari Thomas.  I had no idea I was doing that!  Oh, the hazards of the Internet Age! 

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