Final three update

I have a pattern that I've followed throughout the writing of the Forgotten Worlds series:

1. Write two books ahead of what the next published book will be,
2. Go back and edit the next book to publish,
3. Read through the two books after #2 (one right after and the one just finished drafting), which works out great because I'm still in editing mode and have had enough of a break to start seeing any major issues,
4. Make any rewrites and notes that jump out at me in #3,
5. Then write the next book (after catching up and refamiliarizing myself with what has happened between publishing the latest book and finishing the most recent draft)

This has worked out very well throughout this whole long series.

Now that Book 22 is published, I've been rereading Book 23 and seeing some things that needed a lot of work. These last three are difficult, because events are ramping up for the series climax after all the episodes. Each book has its own themes, motifs, and plot that tie into the larger series plot. I'd like to think I'm pulling it off, but you tell me. I'm making it happen according to my vision, at the least.

The series started out with the first five books laying a foundation of the characters, worldbuilding, and overall plot structure. I saw that in planning but even more so in rereading. By book five, there's a clear purpose for the characters and a solid foundation of how things work in the Starfire-verse I've established, although much of that was set ten years earlier with the first Starfire Angels (young adult) book. By book six, I had a clear pattern and the characters of this expansion of the Starfire-verse had their purpose.

Getting back to my point of Book 23, I finally hammered away at the blurb/description and refined it into the main ideas. I also see the final stinger scene issue that I couldn't figure out while writing the first draft. What I had written felt contrived, but it was something, at least a placeholder. In rereading the story after a year away from it, what was needed for the stinger scene to tie in elements from the main plot of this book and leading into the final two books finally came together. I couldn't be more relieved! I also have made some notes of a few minor rewrites for when I'm ready to get into deeper edits, which will be after writing the first draft of Book 25. Before I move onto rereading Book 24, I'll be writing the stinger of Book 23. I want that draft done now rather than later.

That's a bit of a long-winded update, but now you know.

I also need to get a cover up for Book 24.

As for Book 23, here's the description. It may get some tweaks later, but I'm pretty happy with this:

The time for the attacks on the Issan installations is approaching, as is the birth of Nya's baby, and she has two shards left to find. When she and her friends on the Cartegos arrive at one of the last Starfire worlds, they discover more than expected. A colony of Voru lives under a large shield reinforced by a Starfire shard, a shield that protects an ancient record whose truths could shatter the Issan cult; but the Keeper of the shard is dying.

The Issan have been alerted to the location of the shard, and they've come with forces prepared to defeat anyone who stands in their way. Nya can hardly access the knowledge left for that time while in labor, much less defend against the Issan; and a saboteur has weakened the shield. Their options and time are running out…

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Thanks for reading!

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One more published... down to the final three!

LIGHT AND SHADOWS (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 22) is finally published. This is one of the longest books in the series at around 54,000 words. I’ve purposely limited the books to short novels, but there’s a lot packed into each. Each book is its own complete story but is a chapter in a much bigger story arc that will conclude in book 25. By the time I finish, I’ll have over 1.2 million words of what is essentially one big book told in small, adventurous episodes.

Forgotten Worlds is the most ambitious project of my writing career, but I could not have done this without the experience of having written many other books that became series by accident, including having established my Starfire-verse with the Dark Angel Chronicles. I knew I needed a plan for this monumental of a project, and plan I did! Eight years ago, before I started any writing on this project, I brainstormed possible episodic ideas and briefly synopsized them with lots of room for changes (having learned about the process of JMS with Babylon 5). I then plugged those in where they made the most sense and switched around some of those episodic ideas a few times as the series developed.

Only three more books to go in this series and it’s done. Only one remains to be written, then all three of the finale can be edited and published one after another. (I’ve been writing two ahead of what I publish, because I learned long ago that I’ll need to change something two books down the road. That still holds true.)

After dozens of books published, I don’t feel any excitement in this. Instead I feel fear—What did I do wrong? What did I forget? 😱

Just breathe!

One more down. Three to publish, and now I get to write the exciting conclusion.

I'll send out the newsletter once I have the final retail links to include. In the meantime, you can find the available links on the book's page on my website. I'll also be listing this on Spotlight on Indie with the rest of the series that's already there.

Thanks for reading!

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling

Our purpose is to love and serve the Lord, God of all creation.

The ultimate demonstration of love is sacrifice. Sacrificing this shadow of a world (since heaven is our goal and more real than this world but invisible to those who do not seek God with all their heart). 

The mass is the pinnacle of love for God. In the mass, heaven touches earth. You can't see it, but when you appreciate it for what it is, that grace sometimes pours into you in an experience that can't be described.

The mass is our giving of ourselves to God. The church is the bride of Christ, the bridegroom. Love is the giving of one spouse to the other. In Holy Communion, we receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ into us in a way that is very intimate spiritually. It is healing and transformative to our souls and unites us to God in the Eucharist (thanksgiving).

God is waiting, never impatient and never forcing us to love Him. Only in the Catholic mass can one experience true unity with Jesus in this world and draw back the veil to see the reality that awaits us in eternity.

I was given the grace at mass this weekend to fully comprehend the love that we share with God, as we will in heaven (but much more intensely so that we will want of nothing else). I now understand what Paul was attempting to convey but which one cannot without that grace:

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

And also

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 22:37-39

Words are insufficient without the grace to understand them. But if you love God with so much desire, or desire such a love, as to seek Him out where He can be found on this earth, He will in His time respond so beautifully that it will sustain you, because God wants us to want him so much that we are willing to sacrifice the temporal pleasures of this world for the greater pleasure of such love that you cannot imagine.

Sacrifice all the pleasures of this world for the pearl of great price. When you begin to understand the meaning of this, you will not want to be away from Him through the least sin.

This is what it means to work out one's salvation in fear and trembling--we fear losing the only love that can satisfy us.

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Nearly finished...

A lot of things happened the last couple of weeks to slow my progress on editing Book 22 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds, but the work on Book 22 is nearly complete.

I'm giving it one final round of edits to be sure, but it came after being too busy the last couple of weeks to make anything but very slow progress. Fortunately, I was able to rush to finish a round of edits through the weekend.

But that meant some fixes that I want to review. I like these to be as polished as possible, which is why in rereading the series from the beginning, I've also been fixing up those books, again. That's been necessary and so helpful in prepping for the final book, which I'll start writing in October.

I also fixed up the cover image to something much better

Maybe life could slow down a bit so I can catch up.

I won't say it, because every time I think I'll be done any day, something comes up to slow my progress. It's been a crazy last couple of months.

Keep reading!

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