Discussions

Have a question or a comment about the Strongbow Saga or Judson Roberts’ other work? Want chat with other readers about the books or related subjects? Post here and look for responses from the author and other fans of the series.

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779 thoughts on “Discussions

  1. Judson, I so enjoy your books. I have several authors in my life so I check in on everyone. Occasionally a new book comes out and I listen then listen again. Glad you and your wife have each other for the encouragement and support that come with difficult times and our blessed process of aging. Time in itself is a blessing for those of us having to learn that through experience. I love the anticipation…will the next book come out this year?….where does he get this great writing from?….Where will he go from here?…Sooooo many fun questions to ponder about the character of the book. Thank you for sharing your gift.

  2. Np I hope your health improves, my aunts house in california was burnt down by a wildfire and she had to flee for her life so I get what your saying, take care of yourself

  3. sorry to ask again for a update, but it’s been a few months and I wanted to know if we should expect book 5 this year or 2021?, anyway I’m just making my rounds bothering all my fav authors for updates XD

    • Thanks for asking–no need to apologize. I’m afraid it will be 2021. This year has been a horrible one for everyone, due to the pandemic and the economic problems it has caused for many. But above and beyond all of that, 2020 has been an especially bad year for my wife and me. I’ve had several significant health problems, one of which was literally somewhat life-threatening (it is fine now, thankfully), plus the valley where our farm is located was the scene of a major wildfire, and we were forced to evacuate for over a week, though thankfully our home was spared. I’m planning on posting a detailed update within the next week–it has been too long since the last one–but needless to say, all of those calamities affected my ability to work on the book. My goal now that things seem to have calmed down (assuming this country doesn’t tear itself apart next week over the election) is to try to either finish or come close to finishing the first draft by the end of this year. If I’m able to do that, then with revisions, editing, and publication times, hopefully I’ll be able to publish book 5 in the spring. It has been a long time coming, I know, and I’m sorry for that.

  4. Judson,
    I understand that life comes up. This year is a testament to that. Let me apologize in advance because I am going to word vomit on you and express my displeasure. I read the first book when I was extremely young. I am now 28 and looking to see if the series will ever be complete. I check your site every two to three weeks for updates. Honestly, I’m disappointed by the lies that is posted about the writing of the book. If you do not have time that is fine. But to continue to string your fans along is a bit unreasonable. Second, it just seems that while you have a gift for writing, it isn’t your passion.

    Sincerely a devoted fan that has devoted a majority of their life waiting for this series.
    Kyle

    • Kyle, I am so sorry to have disappointed you. I will dispute that I have ever lied about the book, though, so you should swallow your vomit on that one. Life has indeed intervened in my completing it much more than I would like. Let’s take this year, for instance. I was making pretty good progress on it in late spring. Since then, I’ve been hit with quite a few hard knocks, above and beyond the pandemic and its economic damage which has affected the entire world. First, in February I badly injured my shoulder: One of the four tendons that attached the shoulder muscle to the upper arm bone became completely detached from the bone. I was going to have it surgically repaired In March, but then, as the first wave of the pandemic began spreading in the U.S., here in Oregon all non-essential surgeries were cancelled to preserve PPE. I was finally able to have the surgery in late May, but after the surgeon cut into the shoulder, he discovered that due to the passage of time, the tendon had atrophied so much that it could not be reattached. So at that point I had the damage from the surgery I needed to recover from with physical therapy, plus I had to try to learn as best as possible how to use my now permanently damaged shoulder in ways that would minimize the pain, and how to work around, as much as possible, the loss of certain ranges of motion in that arm. I’m still working on that process.

      But wait, there’s more. I was hospitalized for about five days around the end of July and beginning of August due to sudden onset of extremely severe bleeding in my digestive tract. I lost so much blood so quickly I had to have five transfusions. If you know anything about blood volume in humans, that was perilously close to a complete, fatal bleed-out. And the worst part about it was that the doctors were never able to figure out where the bleeding was occurring or what caused it to start–it just finally stopped, and thankfully so far has not happened again. But the risk that it might still worries my wife and me.

      And then there was the wildfire: the massive Holiday Farm Fire that burned in early through mid September through the McKenzie River Valley where our farm is located. We were under a mandatory evacuation order for eight days, and for most of that time did not know whether our home had survived. Fortunately, it was spared, but the mountainside behind and above our farm burned. And because the power was out for eight days, our multiple freezers full of food we had been growing, harvesting, and preserving now contained worthless spoiled mush. So since we’ve returned, we’ve been cleaning out and documenting that for an insurance claim, plus trying to encourage as much last-minute growth as we can from our dying garden to be able to preserve at least some food for the coming year. We normally largely eat off of what we preserve in the summer over the following year.

      An then there is the painful, swollen lump that developed on my left leg, just above the ankle in late summer. At first it was believed to be a bacterial infection, but it did not respond to antibiotics. It was biopsied just today, so hopefully in a week or two I may find out what it is.

      As you said, life comes up. Needless to say, I’m now more than a little behind where I’d hoped to be by now on book 5–I haven’t even had time to post an updated status report on this website–but for the first time in months I can foresee having time, in the very near future, to resume writing. After all, I very much do want to finish the series, with books 5 and 6, before I’m dead, and this year has brought too many warnings of how frail and unpredictable life can be.

      • Focus on your health Judson. Anyone who can’t understand that isn’t a real fan. I’ve been a fan for as long as the guy calling you a liar and such. While I would love to be able to finish the series, I’d be happier knowing you’re in good health. Best of wishes and hope the problem with your ankle isn’t too serious. Thanks for writing such a good series!

        • Thank you, Thayer. Still not real clear what the hardened lump on my ankle is, but it’s not a tumor, and at least is has gotten much less sore than it used to be.

      • Sir we apologize you have to deal with people like this who can’t see past their own wants and needs. All your fans just want you healthy and happy since you have brought a great literary gift for us. Focus on you we will be waiting with baited breath for The adventures to come. Make sure your safe and give all our love to your wife as well.

      • Judson, I’m very sorry about your recent misfortunes. Can your fans do anything for you? Perhaps a “Fund Me” button on your web site would allow fans to give you some direct aid.

        • That is a very kind suggestion, but actually we are doing fine financially. The complete restructuring of our finances that I described in my June 2019 post has proved to be both very wise and successful, and we now have a secure and comfortable monthly income. Thank you, though.

  5. Who is on the cover of the book I mean in real life sorry if I sound rude and also do you know when you might be done book 5 thank you

  6. Just wanted to say I have just rediscovered your books after having not read them since book 3 came out and I found I still love them. I eagerly await book 5 but well understand the challenges of life and know it will be worth the wait!

  7. Hope you and your wife are doing well. Just randomly decided to check up on you as my class of students are doing some progress monitoring testing and I’m checking up on one of my (and their) favorite authors. Take care. Look forward to your books whenever you get them out! Thanks for writing.

  8. Hi I’m a big fan of your work and just want too know if you have a general idea when book 5 will come out, I hope I’m not being to pushy I understand why you are slower in writing book 5, you have your farm & the situation the way its now in the U.S