status report

I've had feast or famine days of writing, but I've made good progress since starting, in spite of this. Book 21 is progressing well.

The book isn't what I expected. The episodes within this series vary in form and style. They don't follow a set pattern. This isn't one of intense action sequences like I aim for, but it is one of intrigue and plans within plans. It's like the in-series fictional game of Trellix. L'Ni has a mission, and he intends to succeed. He's playing a dangerous game with his life, but it's all part of a broader plan of success, if he gets it right and if his bond with Nya is as effective as he hopes. It's a story of present events with flashbacks to fill in the backstory to reach such a dangerous point.

The word count right now sits at 10,000 words. My goal with each book in this series is 40-50K words. The good writing days generally make up for the bad days. As I said, feast or famine, but that's because I'm still dealing with the crud after being sick in September. I've talked to people who have said this stuff lasts a while. Ugh! I'm past sick of being sick. Unfortunately, it seems to have to run its course. Fortunately, I've figured out how to minimize the problems with it. It's not a cure, but it minimizes my need for meds that make my brain fuzzy to the point of not being able to write.

If I'm careful, maybe I can finish a first draft in early January. That's my goal anyway.

Thanks for reading!

Interview with Exorcist Fr. Carlos Martins

Parenting woes

I was given a few more gray hairs tonight, thanks to our youngest child (17 yo). She's responsible and generally well-behaved, but she has her moments.

She disappeared tonight and I expected she wouldn't be gone long, but as it was getting late and she wasn't home, I started to worry a little. I figured she would answer her phone and tell me where she was. (What did our parents do in the days before cell phones?!)

She didn't answer my text. She didn't answer my calls.

I'm a writer. Consider what my imagination started doing... Yeah. I feared I would never see my daughter alive again.

Hubby was at his gaming place, so I called and told him and asked him to try calling her.

A few minutes later, I received a text that she was home. Thank you, God!

I went out to the garage and her car was back. She had gone to a school play and didn't tell anyone, not even her older sister. The play is fine, but me worrying that she could be in a bad accident or abducted is not fine.

I need my evening prayers, our Lord's and Lady's solace. I'm grateful that my child came home safely, but many parents don't have that comfort. My prayers go out to them and their lost children tonight.

God bless and keep you and your family.

Uh, oh... story ideas

I've been doing well to focus exclusively on Forgotten Worlds this long. Usually I'm working on one book and other ideas inundate me. That hasn't happened in a long time. I had an exclusive focus on Forgotten Worlds for six years (since I started planning and writing book 1). I had been able to squelch any spark of other ideas before they ignited into a conflagration.

Today, something came to me that is so amazing--new ideas always are--that I've had to synopsize the full story. It is incredible! Urban fantasy that starts out like it will be horror but then transforms into something much different than expected. It's still a bit dark in places, but it has a bright ending. What makes it different is the religious element of it.

This is typical for the creative mind. We'll see how I feel in a couple of years after I finish Forgotten Worlds. If I put this aside and it still has a grip on me after time away from the idea, I'll know that it's meant to be written. If I can't get it out of my head, I'll know that I need to write it immediately. I could write two books at once. That isn't easy, but with two distinctly different stories, it can be done (Forgotten Worlds and this).

I must confess that I was expecting to be done writing after Forgotten Worlds, but with this idea, I think I've found a new direction for my writing after I'm done with this series. The ideas never truly quit coming.

Once a writer, always a writer.

And so it begins... again

Now that Book 18 is available for your reading pleasure, I've started book 21 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. The tentative title of this is ARMOR.

So far, I have 2,000 words, which tops off chapter 1. In this book, I'll be starting at a point of the story in progress and telling it like I did with Ferious--jumping from the present where the plan is already in action to the beginning of what sets those events in action. But there's a twist--for a change things are going as planned for the characters, just not what you'll expect.

That will make sense when the time comes to read it. I can't tell you more, because this is three books ahead of what you're able to read. Events in the two between books are what lead to this, since each book is like a chapter of a larger story, and I'm not about to give those away. You'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying Books 1-18. Only seven books after that and the series will be done in an exciting series climax. I've kept these books the lengths of barely novel-qualifying length so I can write them faster and also so I can write a wider variety of episodes. Twenty-five books will be just right. I've written nearly every kind of story I could want to write in space opera. Any longer and it would get repetitious. This way, every story is something a little different and fresh for the series. I've really enjoyed what this series has become and hope you do too.

Thanks for reading!

And for those who have been patiently waiting on each book, thanks for your faith in my vision and your support!

It's here!

SINS OF THE FATHER (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds 18) is now available!

The book went up a couple of days ago and is finally appearing at all the major retailers. Buy your copy today.

In the data stolen from the Issan, Nya discovers her greatest fear about the Ethalian portal research—the Issan have the calculations. In the hopes that the Dirnothril may have more current information, she and her friends decide to investigate the package left for L'Ni on Par Ti'jek. What they find shocks everyone… L'Ni isn't the only former Issan living on the outside.

However, the revelation is the least of concerns. An Inquisitor is ready for L'Ni's arrival, and, unknown to anyone, a more sinister threat lurks on the Cartegos, one that could destroy L'Ni and, through him, Nya.

--------------

Purchase from links at https://www.melanienilles.com/books/sins-of-the-father/.

A couple more days

All the major edits of SINS OF THE FATHER (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds 18) are done. I'm just in a holding pattern for a day. I thought of something earlier today, got distracted, and forgot. But I remember thinking it was something good, a small tweak that made excellent sense. I'm giving it one more day for that to resurrect in my thoughts. After that, the story is going up. It's ready. I just get very nitpicky and want to constantly try to improve it, but at some point, you over edit. I don't want to reach that point.

This is an excellent story in this series, but I think that of every book, so don't listen to me. This one is about fathers and sons, but not like Nik and his father. This is much different. The theme is very strong in this in multiple ways.

I expect to make the publishing announcement by the end of the week with links to retailers and will send out the book announcement to my email list when I have everything ready.

I don't know if I should warn you of a big event in this book. I think I'll leave the specifics for you to discover for yourself.

Book 18 is coming VERY soon now!

With this book, the series will be about 3/4 published.

Thanks for reading!

Check-in - editing

I hope visitors to this blog are finding the Halloween-suitable religion topics interesting. The truth that demons are real means God is real and that frightens some people more than demons. 😱

Seriously, the videos are new ones coming up in my feed that I find interesting and that seem appropriate for this month.

In the meantime, aside from finding and sharing spiritual warfare videos, I'm editing. Book 18 is coming along well. I've had some busy days where I didn't get much work done, but I still expect to have it done by the first weekend of November, just in time for the holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls Day, a perfect time for this particular book.

There's another aspect of sharing religion with Book 18 coming up--the title... SINS OF THE FATHER.

Yes, it's a theme building up to the publishing of the book, although that doesn't mean I won't post other videos, just that it's especially suitable right now.

Have a blessed day!

COMING SOON

Thanks for reading!

Catholic priest explains how Lady Gaga made a pact with the Devil

Editing progress

I'm halfway there in edits. It's been interesting, as usual.

In editing, the mind shifts gears to ripping up everything that came out in the writing stage. In writing, the focus is getting the ideas out; and there is some editing along the way. In editing, it's about making it all make sense and read easily, to put it succinctly. All those vague thoughts of things that might be wrong in the first draft rise to the surface and become clear. They drag up other issues with them too that you didn't notice before. This can only happen after time away. Stepping back lets you see the forest through the trees.

For me, the first round is a familiarization round after months away from the particular story. I find some things to fix, but it's more to get back to that story. However, by halfway through the first round on Book 18, I was pretty well shifted into editing mode and caught some major fixes in the later chapters. I also started thinking again about the events of this book when not at the computer and have been making editing notes to apply when I get back to the computer.

I'm in the second round of edits now on Book 18, and this is typically where the rewriting really begins, which it has in earnest. I'll have rewrites in the third round too, but not likely as much as this round. Usually third round major rewrites happen because of seeing how second round edits affected the story. Not all stories have such massive issues. So far, I found an issue with chapter 2 and had a lot of rewriting to fix that this time through. It hasn't been as bad since, but that doesn't necessarily mean the book is ready. It could be that issues aren't getting caught. I'm halfway through this second round right now.

I'll have two more rounds. Typically, I find four rounds of edits is just right. Once I get past major issues in the second and third rounds, the fourth is pretty much all copyedits, which is catching the little mistakes (grammar, typos, double words, missed words, etc.) that get introduced in the rewrites. Sometimes, that copyedit stage doesn't happen until a fifth round, but usually four is sufficient. I do fix minor issues in all rounds of edits, but by the final phase, it's just a minor clean-up process. And by then, I'm past ready to move on.

I've also made some tweaks to the book's description. Summarizing a book into a short teaser is not an easy task, but it's a necessary evil.

In the data stolen from the Issan, Nya discovers her greatest fear about the Ethalian portal research—the Issan have the calculations for portals. In the hopes that the Dirnothril may have more current information, she and her friends decide to investigate the package left for L'Ni on Par Ti'jek. What they find shocks everyone… L'Ni isn't the only former Issan living on the outside.

However, the revelation is the least of concerns. An Inquisitor is ready for L'Ni's arrival, and, unknown to anyone, a more sinister threat lurks on the Cartegos, one that could destroy L'Ni and, through him, Nya.

My goal is to release Book 18 in early November.

Thanks for reading!