Back to the beginning

It's been six years since I started writing the first book of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. I went back to it a couple of years ago, intending to fix any issues I found, but that's as far as I read. I was too focused on writing.

Now that I'm nearly 4/5 done with the series (will be once Book 20 is done), I think it's time to go back and read everything straight through. Along the way, I'll fix any editing issues that arise, although the books shouldn't require much. Mostly, I need this as a refresher. It's hard to keep it all straight after writing nearly twenty books in six years, even with a wiki file (aka series bible) and these being short novels.

Another reason for the re-read is that I write for myself, so I can go back and read the work and enjoy the journey again, although I also want to write for an audience besides myself, so that is at the back of my mind in writing. Mostly, I want to write something that I'll enjoy going back to, something that's fun and exciting and even clean, a series that harkens back to the days of that type of science fiction series, before sex and vulgarity took over our media. Before the 2000s, certain things weren't allowed in entertainment and a good story had be told above all else. Back then, good stories were told without the shock value of graphic violence, gore, and sex that we have so much of in our entertainment today. That only detracts from a good story, in my opinion. If you need those elements to keep your audience, you're not telling a compelling story. (Star Wars had none of those but became a force to be reckoned with... until it started to modernize.)

I explain a lot of what inspired this series in the foreword of the first book, A NEW BEGINNING, and why I am writing it, so I won't repeat it here, but this has turned into a more fulfilling project than I could have anticipated. I've started reading and don't want to quit, which means I'm not bored with it. 😁 That's good, because I still have a bit over five more books to write. It also means that it's been so long since I started this project that I see it with fresh eyes. In that, I've caught a few things to tweak. I'll update ebooks as I go. The print books will require a bit more work to update the interiors.

I still have a couple years of writing before the series will be completely finished, since I write it all myself--no AI and no ghostwriters--and I am not a full-time writer. This is a good point to reread it all. I've done that with some of my longer novels in the past at about the same point to refresh my view of the story flow so the climax would bring all the necessary pieces together with the right pacing. This is no different, just much MUCH bigger! (In relative size, so far, I've published somewhere around 800,000 words total in Books 1-17. Compared to a series of eight 100,000 word novels (aka "doorstoppers"), this has many more distinct plots and subplots in the overall arc.)

In the meantime, I'm also working on finishing the final segment of Book 20. It was because of this that I decided to reread--I need a refresher on what I've written about Zaer and Shen since I'm finally expounding on their past together in this episode, DARKEST DEPTHS. That made me realize I need to get an overall view of the entire series so far, before moving into the final segment of it.

I hope you're enjoying the series as much as I am.

Thanks for reading!

My blog, my way

Anyone reading my book series will be familiar with one of the characters' mantra of "My ship, my rules."

The same can be said of my blog. I write what I feel like sharing in this space, just like anyone else does with their blogs. If you wish to know who I am, you will learn that here.

My faith influences my writing to varying degrees. I don't preach in my fiction, but I do include aspects of my faith in the characters and the settings. My Catholic religion has been a saving grace for me in our deteriorating world. Before you criticize, I invite you to explore the truth of what the Catholic faith really is, not what you believe it is. You might be surprised at what you discover, such as I've shared on this blog. Try listening to any number of exorcists and Catholic apologetics, or even the conversion stories or archeological proof that the Bible chronicles real history that I have included in the listings on the Faith Resources tab.

This is my blog, my story. My religion is a part of who I am, and for readers who want to know what inspires my writing, my deepening closeness to Jesus Christ through Our Blessed Mother is a big part of who I am. I have found peace and joy and experienced increasing knowledge of who God really is; and I wish that more people could see what I now see. I share what I find helpful in the hopes that others will begin to see truth, and I pray that people's eyes are opened to the incredible reality that hides from those who don't know of or don't accept their blindness to the spiritual realm.

Along with writing updates and tidbits about my stories, I will continue to share on my blog personal items that interest me, including videos and expressions of my religion, my faith, which is a part of me and is infused into my stories. I will no longer hide my Catholic faith, my love of God, in the shadows like it doesn't exist.

In my virtual house, I do things my way. My blog, my rules.

God bless!

Cats and more

Just for fun, because I haven't done something like this in a while...

the oldest two (12 & 13+ years)

the old man - my prayer buddy
and writing buddy

peekaboo! (the youngest - 9 yrs old)
a rare brown tuxedo (not black)

a dragonfly at the window - they've exploded
in numbers in the last month

a wild turkey family crossing through our backyard after
some heavy rain

All three enjoying a nice day
in their catio from Habitat Haven

Now that I have your attention with all the cats, dragonflies, and turkeys, I'll just say that the writing is progressing, although I'm hitting one of those points of stumbling on the plot a bit. Book 20 is over 27K words and I am having to reconsider some ideas to make this work. I'm planning on editing and publishing Book 18 this winter. I would prefer to finish the first draft of Book 20 before doing that; but, even if I don't, I will get Book 18 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds out before Christmas.

A new book trailer

I didn't get much writing done today, but I've been wanting to create a new book trailer for a while. Actually, I wanted to create a series trailer, but what I'd like to do for that would take a lot more work than I have the time to complete presently. So, I focused on a book trailer for the upcoming Book 18 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds.

Since Google is being a butt and not allowing me to post my videos from Vimeo, I'll have to link to it. Sorry; not my preference, but I refuse to give Google any more business than minimally required, such as this blog (I hate Wordpress worse than Google). It's on my website at melanienilles.com and directly at https://vimeo.com/1004968992.

My skills with After Effects are improving, partly because these templates require learning to customize, and finding the right images and music and deciding on the text requires time and testing. In the end, I'm happy with it. (Premiere Pro is easier to work with, but there's a lot more than can be done with After Effects, which is specialized for animations.)

I have a love-hate relationship with book trailers... I hate figuring out what to do but love it once I get going and create an end product that looks great.

This ate up my day, but it was worth it. Tomorrow, back to writing.

Enjoy your weekend!

Catholic priest explains: When the concerts are nothing more than devil worship

The above ties well into the below video also posted today:

Writing progresses...update on Book 20

I hope everyone has a good weekend coming up.

I thought I'd post an update on the writing tonight. I've been making good progress on Book 20 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. It's currently at 25K words, almost 2/3 done.

This book is focused on the small team of Zaer and Shen, mostly Shen. In it, I'll reveal his past, how they met, and some of their adventures (in flashbacks). I don't like to tell a story in flashbacks, because it's too easy to do it wrong, and then it hinders rather than helps a story, but it can work. I used flashbacks for L'Ni's backstory in Book 13, SOUL SHADOW, when Nya was searching his memories to help him escape being trapped in sleep by the dark creature he once served. I did it a bit for Nik's backstory in Book 3, VAULT OF THE CELESTIALS, and Zaer's far back story, before her smuggling days, in Book 12, MESSAGES. The rest of the characters' pasts mostly gets spread throughout the series rather than concentrated. Piling on too much flashback in a book is something I only like to use when I've made sure it makes sense to the story.

However, I wanted to give Shen the attention he deserved. While there is a present trouble taking place, he and Zaer are remembering things about their adventures together related to how they're resolving the present conflict. The story has action, but it will be the last story in this series that might be considered partially unrelated to the main series plot. I say partially because they are on a Starfire world for Nya's mission when they encounter trouble. So, the main plot of the story is essential.

I've been waiting to tell this because I wasn't sure about specifics and Zaer and Shen are not the main focus of the series. However, they are part of the series and I wanted to take the chance to add to what is known about them. It's kind of a reader treat in that way (I hope). For those who might have wanted to know more about how these two became friends, this will hopefully provide that satisfaction.

I also thought I had a cover for this but then realized the image I had didn't really fit what the story had become, so I've redesigned it. It needs a bit of tweaking and a cover blurb yet. When it's ready, I'll post that.

In the meantime, that's all I can say without giving away specifics.

Thanks for reading!

The Conspiracy Against the Shroud of Turin | With Timothy J. Gordon

The Miracle of Vistula, Poland... Our Lady of Victory

The Mother of God comes to the aid of the church of Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. She even intercedes in battle to save us from the temporal military forces of those who oppose God (in this case, communists). I just learned about the Miracle of the Vistula. See more here: https://catholicinsight.com/the-miracle-on-the-vistula-an-untold-story/ and https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/what-was-the-miracle-on-the-vistula/. Contemporary history never reports the full truth but distorts the good of the original church, the Catholic Church, discounting the power of God (because it's usually secular history by atheists, who are wrong about God--just because they don't want to believe He exists doesn't mean He doesn't exist). I wouldn't even know where to start with all the lies.

Oh, wait... Brian Holdsworth took those on pretty well:

Anyone blaspheming the Blessed Virgin Mary is deceived by Satan. She comes to our aid to defend her spiritual children, the followers of her son, the Son of God, just as She did at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and who knows how many other battlefields not reported. The rosary is a sword against the temptations and attacks of the devil. Pray to keep communism at bay in this age when it seems to have taken over the world.

Pray the Rosary every day and you will receive graces you never knew were possible. It is the ultimate weapon against temptation and helps us grow in virtue and resist sin so that we grow closer to Christ by conforming our wills to His, just as Mary's will is perfectly conformed to God's will (see the Magnificat from Luke 1:46-55).

Other saints come to our aid also, as is reported of St. Padre Pio during World War II, while he was alive on this world (before his body died and his spirit took on new life in heaven, where he can intercede even more for our prayers). He was devoted to Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

If you are interested in learning more about devotion to the Blessed Virgin and how She brings us closer to Jesus Christ, I recommend reading Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort.

ps--The Bible actually does suggest praying to saints in several places. They are living in heaven closest to God, especially the most honored among them, the Mother of God. By dispensation from God, they hear our prayers and intercede for us to offer them to God. They are the purest souls and are closer to God than we are. After all, souls are alive in heaven, right? (They aren't "dead".) And the church and tradition existed before the new testament of the Bible was compiled by the early Catholic Church.

It's been a wet week

If you're only reading this post because of innuendo, you have a dirty mind. Now that I have your attention...

This morning just killed all my momentum. I'm more numb than mad at this point. I was leaving for work and saw the upright freezer door open in the garage.

Imagine the horror--all the hard work of two years of patient garden growing and processing the fruits of that garden (and veggies), only to find it all thawed.

I had just been in that freezer the night before, but so had someone else, after me. One of the kids took ice cream out and put it back (both garden goodies and ice cream have been kept in the same freezer... but no longer). Unfortunately, that kid wasn't careful. I made this mistake once but caught it after a few hours, so there wasn't anything to worry about. I learned to push the door shut after it was shut--it became a habit for me. My kids apparently didn't learn from that.

All we could salvage was whatever I can eat over the next week of the 18 cups of sweet peas I had stored up from this summer, not counting what I ate already (all that work picking and shelling to store up and enjoy until next summer's growing season, gone in a week instead of a year 😭); and whatever of the cut bell peppers that hubby could fit in his dehydrator. Once food thaws, it's not supposed to be refrozen because of the increased risk of bacterial growth.

All the ice cream I had bought on sale just a couple of weeks ago... gone. 

The freezer was a sopping mess.

I guess our freezer wanted to imitate the heavy rains we had the last couple of days that made our yard a sopping mess. (We needed the rain, but it came hard and fast, creating rivers through the valleys, refilling ponds, and flooding roads and some homes and businesses in town.)

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

On writing...

On a good note, I had been making good progress on the writing. Book 20 is over 13K words (1/4-1/3 expected first draft final word count), plus when I haven't been writing, I've been working on the remainder of the series planning. Book 21 has consumed me. I think I'll stick to my original working title of ARMOR for that. It seems to fit the story outline that has filled out with ideas over this past week. I know the book 25 title too -- FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS -- but books 22, 23, and 24 are basic ideas yet and their titles uncertain. Those will require some intensive planning since they will be the homestretch to the series climax I have planned in book 25.

Thanks for reading!

Book project status

I have a couple of items as updates: 1) I'm getting closer to having a print book omnibus ready for Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Collection 3 (Books 11-15); and 2) Writing on the latest WIP, Book 20 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds, is well underway.

Book 20 will keep its working title that I had planned -- DARKEST DEPTHS. I even have the cover figured out, just not the cover blurb, or I'd be ready to reveal that already. That's going to take some time to write. I need to get further into the story. Right now, it only has about 6000 words, so just getting going into trouble for the characters.

Also, while I had the idea for this generally summarized, I started without knowing exactly how it would work. That came to me in an evening inspiration earlier this past week so that I have a more detailed synopsis. So, it's pretty well fleshed out. I just need to write the rest of the story. 

This episode will detail how Zaer and Shen met and reveal Shen's past. The poor guy hardly gets any attention... except when he's spicing up racing ships for Zaer's "business associates". He's such a tolerant, quiet little guy that he never steals the show. It's time he got some highlighting, although he doesn't have disasters in his past. He's... Shen (short for his full name of Shenu'oa'h'malani). He's just in the background a lot of times minding his own business or keeping Zaer grounded. Yes, Oolans are water creatures, as was made note of in Book 3. I'm hoping to work in a reason that Zaer hates deep water, besides that she can't swim. With her background, I have a lot of ideas I can use.

As you might have guessed now, this one will feature some water settings.

I'll post updates as this progresses.

Thanks for reading!