There are two reasons I had Vel, the dimensional portals researcher of the series, state in Book 15 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds that other universes don't exist:
Yesterday, I received the grace of plotting out the courses of Books 24 and 25 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. Before that, I knew what had to be in them, but I didn't have the full stories. Yesterday's creativity was bursting, and I outlined the plots with those points in them and more. The Lord was good in that and also the incredible consolations he provided for the Lord's Supper (Holy Thursday) mass.
I have just one scene to write for Book 23 - the stinger scene - and that book will be done (at around 48K words). I'll search for a cover image for Book 23 and jump right into writing Book 24, which is going to be a format different than the others. Book 23 gave me much more than I had expected to create a pre-climax mini-climax to the series in Book 24 (before the big climax in Book 25) like I haven't done before. Book 24 will actually be two stories running in parallel.
I know that sounds confusing, but Armor was worse and only one story interweaving two timelines.
Book 24 is also going to focus on a variety of other characters, which really emphasizes one of the big themes concluding in Book 25 and tying a nice big bow on everything when all the plot threads wrap up.
I prayed for creativity for the final two books and received in abundance everything I needed for a perfect conclusion to the series. The Lord is good!
God bless!
I have a quick update on the writing and a note for any new readers picking up the ebook boxed sets of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds.
I've been plugging away on Book 23 again and it is finally coming to a conclusion. It should be less than 50,000 words, unlike 21 and 22. The length creep is read in a series. I see it in many, but I try to keep these between 40K-50K words, or half the doorstopper length of most modern novels. By SFWA standards, they are novels, but short novels. Some have gotten a bit longer, however.
I should have this finished soon, and then I'll start writing Book 24.
For those new to the series, it is planned as 25 books, so there will be one more boxed set (Collection 5) by the time it's done. Also, I write two books ahead of what I publish, except that Book 23 was taking so long that I had to interrupt the first draft to edit Book 21.
I expect to release Book 22 in the fall/winter of this year and the final three books in 2027, along with the final boxed set. Those new to the series will only have another year and a half or so to wait for the final books. The first book in the series was published originally in 2019, so you're coming in near the end and don't have the wait that those who have been with it since the beginning.
I appreciate the support of all readers, especially those who have had the patience to stick with me all these years waiting on each book.
Thank you for reading!
Reality can be more frightening than fiction.
That break to edit and publish Book 21 was exactly what I needed!
It has yet to fail... taking a break from writing when the gears of creativity get stuck.
Dropping the writing on Book 23 to edit Book 21 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds was exactly what I needed to get those gears grinding again. I've been back at it for the last week, and the transformation is complete. All the rewriting that was making it take forever was laying down the tracks to take it forward.
However, I was still having trouble before stepping away. Now, coming back to it after the editing and publication of Book 21 took my mind off Book 23 enough to allow me a fresh perspective. That distance allowed my mind to be able to let go of the wrong ideas and better develop what worked. The last remnants of the original opening are gone and the story has a strong opening hook. It isn't immediate action but more subdued that way, although it's coming. You can't have one of these books without lots of sci-fi action!
I can't wait to share this one--and I say that about all of them--but this answers a LOT of questions in the setup to the finale, which will be a two-parter, although in complete episodes. It's a bit hard to explain how that works, but you'll have to trust me that it will work.
I'm presently working my way to where I left off, rewriting where I need to make it all blend seamlessly, and will end Book 23 with a much stronger plot that I had originally, one that meets my standards for the series. I'm quite happy with it now, if you couldn't tell.
Once I'm done with this, I'll jump right into writing Book 24.
And I've also added a description for Book 22 to the series listing on this blog and to my website. You can check it out to see what comes next.
Finally, I've added the latest omnibus as an ebook and am working on the paperback. (I noticed some issues with copying and pasting from Word to Pages, which is where I set up the paperback and will now be going through the first three collections in paperback to clean up any similar issues in those. 😩)
That's it for now.
(The plan is that by the end of 2027, the whole series will be published.)
Thanks for reading!