Simulcast on Black Gate : Two Howards Fathering Sword and Sorcery – Swords Together!
Friday, March 7, 2025 SELindberg
Left: The memorial booklet for Howard Andrew Jones given to attendees at the February
A Celebration of Life for Howard Andrew Jones (HAJ) was
just held in Evansville, IN, Feb 22, 2025. The event gathered friends,
family, and over a dozen author colleagues. Numerous online memorials and
tributes had been posted leading up to this. Links to many are listed at the
bottom of the post; reading these reveals wonderful insights. This article aims
to honor HAJ slightly differently by echoing excerpts from his blogs intermixed
with remembrances and emphasizing the importance of community.
It struck me that when discussing HAJ, there are always
references to REH (Robert E. Howard, indisputable “Father of Sword &
Sorcery Genre”). Whereas REH kicked off the genre with his heroes in the
1920-30s (Conan, Bran Mak Morn, Kull, etc.), a hundred years later, the other
Howard, our dear HAJ, championed S&S, wrote S&S, and built a community
of S&S readers & writers.
You may already know that HAJ edited the online Flashing
Swords ezine (links to internet archives below), grew Black
Gate in print and online, edited the Harold Lamb series,
led the Tales from the Magician’s Skull Magazine, and wrote
copious amounts of pulp and fantasy fiction (Asim & Dabir,
Ringsworn, Pathfinder, Hanuvar). He did all that while immersing
himself with authors and readers.
A lifetime of activity is impossible to capture, but several
montages of his writer-focused activities were captured and shared at
the celebration (PDF link); and Sean CW Korsgaard created a
spectacular video playlist of HAJ interviews, panels, and more.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that there aren’t any real heroes and that everyone’s in it for themselves; we’ve been trained to be skeptical and ironic and detached and sarcastic and hip. Yet even as we sneer and laugh with our friends, we know it’s a lie. — HAJ 2008
Herein, you’ll learn his thoughts behind the “New Edge”
S&S term he coined, how he inspired the Goodreads S&S group, how he
conjured up the Day of Might, and more! HAJ was a mentor and coach to many
dozens and a father figure to some (as Hanuvar champion and Bean editor Sean CW
Korsgaard attested in his remembrance, image above).
I suspect HAJ would balk at being called “The only father
of all S&S communities.” Heck, being called a simple role
model made him uncomfortable (sorry, Howard). But his community building and
influence are undeniable. They deserve to be called out and remembered. Funny
enough, Howard called “Harold Lamb the grandfather of S&S” (evidence
herein). With REH being the father, maybe that makes HAJ the grandson?!
Whatever. Read on, mortal dogs, and imbibe the contagious
sorcery of a hero recently passed. Hear now his closing line for his
editorials, which resonates with comradery:
Swords Together!
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The Writing Display
of Howard Andrew Jones at his Celebration of Life, February 22, 2025
Goodreads Sword & Sorcery Group
The
Goodreads S&S Group began in 2012, initiated by Periklis Begzos. We
struck a friendship, and I became a lead moderator for 10 years before getting
pulled into organizing the Gen Con Writers Symposium over the Covid era (not
ironically, a role that followed after HAJ encouraged me to volunteer for the
convention). Anyway, S&S GR group still exists, but activity has
waned. Regardless, I share a moving anecdote from Periklis that captures how
Howard helped others and they helped him:
“Regarding Howard’s touch, I remember discovering his book “The Desert of Souls” in early 2012. I loved it. I was following Black Gate magazine and what struck me the most was the love for the culture (of both S&S and adventure/pulp fiction) that Howard spread. At the same time he announced a competition for naming the Dabir & Asim series. I submitted the name “The Chronicles of Sword and Sand” and was awestruck when it won. Along came a gift pack of all of Howard’s published works, with a printed map and a lovely letter from him. It really pulled me from a dark place I was going around that time and allowed me to start the public Goodreads group about sword and sorcery. So I would think that Howard’s generosity of character and his altruistic involvement with all things Sword & Sorcery are keeping inspired to this day.” Periklis Begzos
Harold Lamb is the ‘Grandfather of S&S’?
Perusing HAJ’s comments in the Goodreads Sword and Sorcery
Group, I came across this gem that showcases his love for Lamb and S&S.
I stumbled across one of his Cossack collections when I was in high school and was immediately reminded of one of the Leiber collections of Fafhrd and Mouser stories. Not because Khlit the Cossack is a thief and bravo, because he isn’t, but because both Lamb and Leiber wrote serial stories with continuing characters — almost like a TV series — stuffed full of action and adventure and sense of wonder.
I’ve argued at length, in many places, that Lamb is the unsung grandfather of sword-and-sorcery, because he’s got nearly EVERYTHING except the imaginary world and real sorcery. He occasionally (very occasionally) suggests the fantastic. And he is one of the very first to write adventure fiction with a mostly modern feel. He’s still compulsively readable today. Combine that with his laconic style and pacing and sense of adventure — not to mention surprise — and you have something phenomenal.
I was astonished when I discovered how many of his stories that had not been collected were excellent. His work isn’t like, say an obscure rock band that’s only good when you listen to their greatest hits. Even many of his deep album tracks are strong. I dreamed that one day I could find them all and read them. Slowly I did. And because the only job I could find in the economic downturn of the ’90s was as a third shift proofreader, I ended up becoming an editor, which made it possible for me to cold call Bison Books and pitch the collections. I knew how to talk “book” in the language of “editor” and I’d amassed a sizable collection of obscure Lamb texts by that point. Because I loved his stories I’d accidentally become an expert, and because of my accidental training I was perfectly positioned to make it happen. Serendipity. — HAJ 2016, Goodreads Threads
Magazine Editing and Honing A New Edge
In 2005-2007, Howard edited the first six 6 e-zones of Flashing
Swords (this link goes to the archived internet that offers the
PDFs! Go get them!). How influential can an e-zine be? Read the
introduction of Return
of the Sword where esteemed heroic fiction champion Jason M
Waltz lists Flashing Swords as one of his
inspirations (and provided Jason an opportunity to become an assistant
editor; Rogue
Blades Entertainment and Foundation evolved
from Jason’s own passion to build an S&S community).
In 2006, Howard moved along to take a position as Associate
Editor at Black Gate. As John
O’Neill mentions in his tribute and oral remembrance, Howard quickly
rose from exuberant writer and associate editor to Black Gate’s
first Managing Editor. HAJ grew the website driven by a passion to get fresh
content posted daily and enlisted over thirty staff. In 2016
Black Gate Magazine was awarded a World Fantasy Award, a recognition that
John O’Neill has said reflects Howard’s devotion (keep in mind, John is also a
superb, understated mentor/hero who deflects compliments).
In 2008, as Managing Editor at Black Gate,
HAJ posted his “manifesto” regarding a resurgence brewing in Sword &
Sorcery fiction: Honing A New Edge Part 1 & Part 2
(these originally appeared in the introductory editorials Issue 3 & 4
as “The New Edge”). Excerpts are below. This sentiment resonated with many
authors and editors, and a decade after its posting, directly inspired the
creation of New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine (though
editor Oliver Brackenbury has a slightly different definition than that of HAJ,
read Oliver’s interview
on BG for more). Incidentally, New
Edge S&S 2025 has another crowdfunding running now, check out the
link for the new Jirel of Joiry.
Traditional S&S Heroes (from Honing A New Edge Part 1)
The protagonists in sword-and-sorcery fiction are most often thieves, mercenaries, or barbarians struggling not for worlds or kingdoms, but for their own gain or mere survival. They are rebels against authority, skeptical of civilization and its rulers and adherents. While the strengths and skills of sword-and-sorcery heroes are romanticized, their exploits take place on a very different stage from one where lovely princesses, dashing nobles, and prophesied saviors are cast as the leads. Sword-and-sorcery heroes face more immediate problems than those of questing kings. They are cousins of the lone gunslingers of American westerns and the wandering samurai of Japanese folklore, traveling through the wilderness to right wrongs or simply to earn food, shelter, and coin. Unknown or hazardous lands are an essential ingredient of the genre, and if its protagonists should chance upon inhabited lands, they are often strangers to either the culture or civilization itself. — HAJ 2008
Being Heroic (from Honing A New Edge Part 2 )
We’ve been conditioned to believe that there aren’t any real heroes and that everyone’s in it for themselves; we’ve been trained to be skeptical and ironic and detached and sarcastic and hip. Yet even as we sneer and laugh with our friends, we know it’s a lie. Heroes really are out there. They’ve lived and breathed and sacrificed right here on this very Earth, and some of them are still at it. Students of history know them. Sometimes we can even find them covered by our local news stations. Stories of heroes, not of dejected mopers, have inspired us since the dawn of humanity, and we should not be embarrassed if they continue to fire our imagination. — HAJ 2008
HAJ: So what are those New Edge guiding principles? Briefly:
- A
hardboiled tone — as in terse and unsentimental
- Exotic
settings and/or settings that live — as in NOT faux Tolkien (if the
settings echo Tolkien or other writers then they must be twisted or seen
from some new perspective)
- Evoking
a sense of wonder — magic is never banal or easy, the fantastic should not
be mundane
- High
energy storytelling — as in fast and without padding
Grateful to be a part of the community – It’s more than Networking
From a
2012 editorial post, we learn HAJ’s gratitude for being part of a
community.
We wouldn’t be working so hard to get published in this genre if we didn’t love the genre, and I can trace a lot of my success back to actually becoming involved in it (I already posted about the exact steps to my book deal a year or two ago). Corresponding with other writers, writing reviews for genre sites, reading slush, writing editorials, editing for ‘zines and magazines. Eventually, a whole lot of people had heard of me, so that I wasn’t a complete unknown when it got to be time to try to promote my books.
I didn’t know that was going to happen — I just couldn’t stay away from fantasy fiction, particularly heroic fiction. But it DID happen, and even though every author’s journey is a little different, surely there’s some lessons from this story some of you out there could find useful. — HAJ 2012
When you begin your writing career, you’re joining a community — HAJ
Writing is a lonely business and I wanted to meet some kindred spirits. What I didn’t realize was that I was also forming a network of friends and allies, AKA “networking.” I dislike that word, though, because it suggests that one is cold-bloodedly setting forth to make friends to climb the ladder, probably before callously putting them aside for new and better and more powerful contacts as one advances. I realize now that I was becoming part of a writing community.
Many writers grow up thinking of the writing profession as a noble romantic one, where we sit alone in a tower room with our raven on a bust of Poe and a cat in our lap. Well, okay, I never pictured that, exactly, but I expected that I would write stuff and I just had to send it out until some editor finally printed me, probably sooner rather than later. As I became a regular at various magazines, I realized just how rewarding it was to be exchanging letters with editors and fellow authors and even readers from the various magazines. After I jumped the editorial fence, I started to comprehend that part of what you’re doing with a magazine is helping to build a community of writers and readers. — HAJ 2012
The Evil Skull versus the Heroic Hanuvar
In 2017
(Kickstarter Link), Howard teamed with Joseph Goodman (Goodman Games) to
create Tales from the Magizian’s Skull (as
Joseph describes in
his tribute).
Howard shared my appreciation of how fiction can inspire
great gaming. We were both fans of several of the same things: D&D and DCC
RPG, Appendix N, and Weird Tales, the publication that
first published many of the Appendix N authors. We decided to start a fiction
magazine together. From there we created Tales From The Magician’s
Skull. The issues of that magazine that I published are among the
Goodman Games publications of which I am most proud. Tales From The
Magician’s Skull stands out from every other periodical in its
category for its titular hero (or perhaps villain?), who would not exist were
it not for the weird melding of Howard’s and my brains. Somehow our mutual
creativity synthesized this bizarre character who seemed completely real to
both of us. The Magician’s Skull was so integral to our mutual imaginations
that we tag-teamed to write the editorials, articles, and memorandums
attributed to the Skull. — JG 2025
The magazine moved ownership from Goodman Games to Outland
in 2024 (here is their KS
page for issues 13+ and their current
store). The magazine’s run was a creative fusion of Howard and Joseph, but
Howard was the frontman under the mask and editor. I shared my thoughts within
the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) obituary, and echo them here
since they capture how Howard and the Skull persona complemented each other:
Howard’s Skull’s persona resonated since it was the antithesis of him. Whereas the villainous champion of the titular magazine spitefully called his readers ‘mortal dogs’ and regularly ‘immolated’ his interns, the man behind the mask was known to be overly gracious, coaching aspiring, mature, and professional writers in myriad conventions, editing, blogs… for decades! He mentored tirelessly even as his body failed. A week before he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he improvised a personalized ‘Hey Jude’ song at Gen Con Writers Symposium to inspire me on the piano beside the green room, and the lyrics motivate/haunt me continuously. How did he exude so much vitality?
His Hanuvar character embodies Howard more accurately, a veteran striving to save his shattered family and reunite his community (refreshing compared to the flood of immoral, vengeful protagonists available). Howard could strike a friendship up in minutes, and combined with his passion for storytelling, [this] makes him one to be remembered as much as for his heroes as for his own heroism. Howard was the quintessential role model. I imagine him inspiring us now in our time of mourning: ‘Behold, mortal readers, do your morning stretches, carry on, and realize the stories inside you. Swords together!’ — SEL
A Confluence of S&S Community Builders
In 2022, I reported on the S&S Rogues in the House
podcast for Black Gate. As the Rogues moved beyond podcasts to build
the Sword & Sorcery community, they started publishing anthologies
including the just-released A Book of Blades. With my Event Coordinator role for
the Gen Con Writers Symposium, I did my best to gather the Rogues and other
contributors to A Book of Blades on several panels.
Collected were the Rogues in the House podcasters, HAJ of the Skull magazine,
Jason Ray Carney of Whetstone
Amateur Sword & Sorcery Magazine, and myself. We gathered in
Marriott Ballroom #4 to record this special session. At 6:45 min:sec, the
Skull crashes the party and awards his only named intern an award. Click here
to listen:
The Rogues on Hallowed Ground (link to Aug 8-2022 podcast
episode)
“Rogues, old and new, meet at the mecca called Gen Con. In
this very special episode, Deane Geiken and Matt John are joined by Howard
Andrew Jones, Seth Lindberg, Steve Diamond, Sean CW Korsgaard, Jason Ray
Carney, and *shudders* The Magician’s Skull himself. Topics include sword and
sorcery (of course) as well as our “top picks” from Gen Con.”
2023 Gen Con, the Skull with Joseph Goodman, Matt John, Seth Lindberg
Day of Might
The Skull is responsible for creating the first Sword &
Sorcery holiday to be celebrated every October 23rd. A cartoon excerpt
from Tales from the Magician’s Skull explains
the inception (below) and Skull
TV captures essential broadcasting of the initial days.
Memorials
I have been grateful to HAJ for many years, from being a fan
of his S&S blogs and appearances at World Con 2010, to meeting him at Gen
Con and having him coach me into volunteering at the Writers Symposium ~2017
(which grew into me chairing it in 2023), for bridging the connection to John
O’Neill to edit for Black Gate online magazine (~2019 onward), and
for being able to intern for his magazine Tales From the Magician’s Skull as acquisition
editor and for being a social media intern for the Skull (~2022).
The outpouring of memorials speaks to HAJ’s character and
influence. Each instance, even the shorter obituaries, amplifies his life and
reveals nuances. Below I list several so I, and anyone visiting here, can learn
more about the man we miss. There are many more tributes than those listed
below. More may be added after the original posting date as I track those down.
Did you know Howard… was once a TV cameraman?Created an official Walk Through Guide for a Castlevania
game?Coined New Edge Sword & Sorcery?
- Locus: abbreviated verionHoward Andrew Jones (1968-2025); longer version by CSE
Cooney, John O’Neill, John Hocking, Matthew John, Scott Oden) available
in Issue 769 also inside the celebration display p16.
- SFWA: In Memoriam: Howard Andrew Jones [John O’Neill,
SE Lindberg, Martha Wells, Sean CW Korsgaard]
- Joseph
Goodman (Skull publisher) A Tribute to Howard Andrew Jones
- John
ONeill (Black Gate): Howard Andrew Jones, July 19, 1968 – January 16, 2025
- Jason
Ray Carney: Howard Andrew Jones, a Mentee’s Perspective
- Bob
Byrne An Important Life – Howard Andrew Jones (1968 – 2025)
- Brian
Murphy: Rest in peace, Howard Andrew Jones
- Sean
CW Korsgaard This is one of the hardest things I’ve had to write in my
career. Howard Andrew Jones is dead
- Mark
Rigney (Celebration of Life farewell)
- Greg
Mele: “Swords
Together, buddy” Private Facebook Post
- Matt
John — Devastated to learn my friend, Howard Andrew Jones, has
passed.
- Deuce
Richardson (DMR) Howard Andrew Jones Has Fought His Last Battle
- Vanessa
Armstrong Author Howard Andrew Jones Passes Away at Age 56
- Michael
Grossberg Acclaimed fantasy writer and Prometheus finalist Howard
Andrew Jones, R.I.P.
- Paizo
(Pathfinder) Paizo Remembers Howard Andrew Jones
- Morgan
Holmes Remembering Howard A. Jones
- Keith
West RIP, Howard Andrew Jones
Howard Andrew Jones’
Office in Evansville
Heroes really are out there. They’ve lived and breathed and
sacrificed right here on this very Earth, and some of them are still at it.
Students of history know them. Sometimes we can even find them covered by our
local news stations. Stories of heroes, not of dejected mopers, have inspired
us since the dawn of humanity, and we should not be
embarrassed if they continue to fire our imagination. — HAJ 2008
S.E. Lindberg is a Managing Editor at Black Gate, regularly
reviewing books and interviewing
authors on the topic of “Beauty & Art in Weird-Fantasy
Fiction.” He has taken lead roles organizing the Gen Con Writers’ Symposium
(chairing it in 2023), is the lead moderator of the Goodreads
Sword & Sorcery Group and was an intern for Tales from the Magician’s Skull magazine. As
for crafting stories, he has contributed eight entries across Perseid
Press’s Heroes in Hell and Heroika series,
and has an entry in Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies. He
independently publishes novels under the banner Dyscrasia
Fiction; short
stories of Dyscrasia Fiction have appeared in Whetstone, Swords & Sorcery online
magazine, Rogues In the House Podcast’s A Book of Blades Vol I and
Vol II, DMR’s Terra Incognita, and the
9th issue of Tales From the Magician’s Skull.
