It's here!

Last night, after I finished the fifth round of edits, I finally published BENEATH THE SURFACE.

Book 15 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is slowly arriving at the bookstores. You can find all the currently available retail links on the book page here--https://melanienilles.com/books/beneath-the-surface/.

The newsletter announcement will go out in the next day or two (as soon as I have a link for Barnes and Noble, the last of the major retailers).

Now, I sit and wonder what the edit gremlins have been up to since I published. 😳

And get back to work on the other books. I have two more written and 25 books planned in this series, so eight more to write. Hi ho! Hi ho! Back to work I go!

religious topic - transformation stories

I love conversion stories, but this is more than that. Anyone who wants to love Jesus Christ more needs to listen to this. I love Gabi's Youtube channel, but I never knew his background.

And there's the incredible conversion story of Fr. Don Calloway.

Almost time... update on editing

It's almost ready.

I've been quiet about writing because I've been editing Book 15. And when I think I've finished, I find something major to tweak and wonder if I should give it another pass.

Worse than that, when I go back to look up something I thought I wrote in another book and want to verify some series canon that I've already established or simply verify some piece of information that I overlooked including in my wiki aka series bible, I then find typos. 🤦‍♀️

I swear I edited and everything was good. The edit gremlins love to wreak havoc on a writer's efforts. This is why I freak out about editing and why it takes me a while, aside from having a life outside my series, including a day job.

I've at least written a description of Book 15, which is now available on my website and on the series page of this blog:

Throughout her search for the Starfire shards, Nya has sought other resources her ancestors left behind. She gets her wish when her friends visit the coordinates of Nagami in the hopes that something was left to turn the tide of the war against the Issan.

However, they aren't the first to arrive. A private corporation has dug up the ruins of an ancient structure, and they aren't there for philanthropic reasons. They also aren't alone.

With a suspected traitor still at large on the Iludrin, the battle to control ancient Inari knowledge that has waited thousands of years to be discovered is only the beginning of trouble.

I promised this month. I just didn't expect it to be so late in the month, so I apologize for the delay.

Thank you for your patience. 

Religious topic - Crazy Things Protestants Believe About Catholics

https://youtu.be/4jFcPePaE0w?si=L9znZ0YozBbVt_IU

I highly recommend this channel. As one of many former protestants who have found the truth in the original church founded by Christ, which came to be known as the Catholic church, he clearly dispels all the misconceptions.

Something similar:

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - L'Ni in his hooded coat

Concurrently while I guided Midjourney to produce a suitable Vel image, I worked out the details of L'Ni in his long coat.

It wasn't easy. Midjourney wants to embellish such a coat. However, L'Ni's coat was made by the natives of Kurtuz. (See book 4, IN DARKNESS, LIGHT) They trade with outsiders, but it's mostly simple goods and useful items. There were forced through natural disaster into a simpler lifestyle. Their animals provide the hides that become leather. Although they would be capable of some fancy leatherwork, L'Ni isn't someone who wants to stand out. In that, I wanted a simple coat that fastened from neck to waist but had a loose bottom for freedom of movement but coverage. His coat also has some wear in it, so when I got a bottom that was uneven, I liked it. That's how I picture his long coat. Many of the options were open or had a cross-body strap. They also eliminated the gun holsters. And then they made the coat too long, but that was an easy adjustment once I got the style that worked. I had some nice results from different styles but finally settled on what seemed appropriate.

So, this is what I finally managed to obtain from many iterations and adjustments. Not quite as plain as I wanted but suitable. And the boots should have straps around them, not be plain like this. I'll take what I can get from Midjourney.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - Vel

After getting some good work on editing yesterday, I decided to reward myself with more playing on Midjourney. I actually got a twofer today. I concurrently worked on a hooded L'Ni and also Vel. I'll post that version of L'Ni after this.

For Vel, I wanted him working on some project. As a physicist/engineer type in a futuristic setting. I wanted to demonstrate that level of intelligence he has. Although his emotional intelligence is a bit on the immature side, his IQ is quite high. It would have to be to understand the calculations for creating portals instantly anywhere in space without using a Starfire crystal like a Crystal Keeper could. He was influenced by the Starfire, but he was also chosen by them for his high intelligence.

So, here is Svosted Vellin in his element, thanks to Midjourney. Getting the expression, hair, and facial structure (especially in light of his age) to come close to what my impression of what he should be was a challenge, but I'm getting better with Midjourney.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - Seska

I didn't think I'd have as much trouble as I did figuring out Seska, but Midjourney wanted to keep giving me someone too young looking.

Seska has quite the personality, but as a trained Paxon special agent who embeds herself into planetary governments where she stirs up suspicions and hostilities, she has a lot of skills and wears a lot of faces. Her job was to bring down the stability of societies so the Paxons could come in as saviors, but at a cost. Those who request their help come under their control as a protectorate. Special agents know how to manipulate others and blend in. But, like Ann, Seska has an added gift because of being the result of a secret Paxon experiment in their breeding program, one that has made her more successful than most special agents.

Putting a face to her was a bit harder than I expected. I never really pictured the face of Paxon Special Agent Seska Levat (to those who know her true identity), but now I have it. One of the big problems with Midjourney is the way it wants to make women super thin. Well, that's not only unrealistic in the real world but especially wrong for Paxons who are bred to be warriors, both men and women. This image of Seska is a woman with that fuller body, although I would have preferred smaller breasts.

GHOSTS (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds book 16) will be out around February-ish 2024 at my best guess (preferably sooner, but it depends on how writing Book 18 goes). You'll find out then what happened to her.