Welcome to Howard History, a repository for the Robert E. Howard-related writings of Rob Roehm. Click on Blog to see what’s new, or use the Pages menu to navigate from the old (Roehm’s Bibliography) to the recent (Howard History). You can also use the Categories menu to browse or the Search bar to find something more specific. What you’re looking for is there, but if you’re curious about why this page is here, read on.

Why Howard History?

In 2002 (or thereabouts) I joined a Yahoo! email group moderated by Dennis McHaney called “The Inner Circle.” This was a place where the big name fans of Robert E. Howard discussed all manner of topics: from biography to publishing, from typescripts to travel.

I had recently rediscovered Howard while searching for something that the boys in my English 10 classes might actually read. I remembered my own reading at that age and went to the bookstore. The only Howard on the shelves were a few editions of the 7-volume “Robert E. Howard Library” put out by Baen Publishing. I snatched them up, devoured them, and went back for more.

When I was told that the remaining volumes in the series were out of print, I was confused. I’d never heard that before. The salesclerk suggested I try one of two locations on the still fairly new “Internet”: abebooks and eBay. Once I started looking for Howard online, collecting his works became an obsession which eventually led me to The Inner Circle. I “eavesdropped” for a while, building my collection and acquiring some knowledge, but didn’t join the conversation until September 14, 2003:

Howdy, I’m new to the group, but have been a Howard fan since the 70s. In the last few years I’ve been able to get my hands on a lot of his material; however, after poking around on the net, I’ve discovered that there is a large amount of his work that is only available in the REHupa publication and/or The Howard Reader. Does anyone know how to get their hands on these hard-to-find items?

Since then, I haven’t stopped talking. In 2004, I uncovered the exact spot where Howard stood in his famous Fort McKavett photo and joined the Robert E. Howard United Press Association to talk about it. I’ve written articles for all of the Howard publications that I’m aware of, contributed to most of the Howard websites, edited books, and even wrote a couple. I’ve unearthed “new” Howard letters and stories. I’ve been to every place in the United States that Howard mentions going to, and every known place that his family lived. I’ve lost track of how many county courthouses I’ve visited in at least six different states. Everyone needs a hobby.

Besides the items appearing in print, most of my decent work appeared on Damon Sasser’s Two-Gun Raconteur blog. When that fell into disrepair, I started thinking about what to do with everything I’d posted there and elsewhere. Looking at it all, the volume of material that I’ve generated is almost embarrassing, but there is some good stuff buried in there. And so, Howard History was born.

I plan on using this blog to host material both old and new. While some might wish otherwise, I’m still not finished talking about Robert E. Howard.