Book 2 is drafted

The Rule of Yonder has a first draft that came in around 39,000 words. That's just the first draft, which will need some major rewriting, especially in the second half. Something feels off in the second part, but it wasn't off enough to cause writer's block. That means there are good things there but not written with the clarity I needed to really keep it on track. From my experience with this issue, I will likely add another 500-1,000 words. (Also from my experience with writer's block, it only comes when I've taken a completely wrong turn. This "off" feeling isn't quite that extreme but means some work to correct.)

At least I have a first draft. I have something to work from rather than simply notes or, worse, nothing.

Now that the first draft of Book 2 in the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is finished, I will do some rewriting on that and Book 1, A New Beginning, before starting the first draft of Book 3.

I'll get around to publishing these, but I want the wrinkles thoroughly ironed out, especially since this is a new branch of an old series. I have established rules that I have to be sure are consistent as well as new characters, settings, technologies, etc. that have been molded and need to harden. I'll be playing in this universe for a while, so keeping it fresh will be a challenge but I think I can manage that with the format of this series

Establishing a series is a daunting task, but after a few series, I've learned that there are certain things that always work best. Rule number one is always get the first two books written before publishing anything. The first book is a lot of inspiration and world-building. After that, keeping up an interesting storyline may mean tweaking facts established in book one, and that means going back and tweaking the world-building, so it's best to finish the second book before releasing the first. By the end of a second book, I generally have things pretty well established and feel comfortable with the universe I've created. Rule two is to make each book have its own three-part story, even if it is just a cog in a larger machine. I haven't really thought of any other rules to follow. Most everything else is fluid, but I may be missing something.

When I'm comfortable with the rewriting of the first two books, I'll start cover announcements and set up pre-orders. Watch for those in the next month.

I have a title

I have been writing lately with a passion that I haven't felt in a very long time. Some books just flow like a torrent, and this latest series is doing just that. It. Feels. AWESOME!

Okay, so that's how I feel after writing all that I can in a session. I give ideas a chance to stew for most of each day. By the time I sit down, I can't not write and end up with a lot written with a sense that I could do more, which leaves me with a sort of writing high.

By the way, that book is almost done. The second in the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds series will be titled The Rule of Yonder. I have a cover for it done but I can't reveal that yet.

And I now have pieces of many books for this series. It's epic in short episodes. I think that's why it's so much fun--it's easier than one big long epic. I can focus on pieces. I like this length-- around 40,000 words. So far, the first book was only 38,000 words, technically a novella. The second book looks like it will be between 35-40K also. I'm purposely keeping them short, because that's all these stories need. They're meant to be episodic, but there are hints at the overarching plot tying everything together. All my epic long stories with the occasional shorter stories has set me up with exactly the skills I need to make this work.

Of course, I have to keep a bible of sorts because it will span such a long series. This helps me keep track of alien species (too many to keep straight!), cultures, world environments, technologies, government systems, religious beliefs, etc. I'd be lost if I didn't have a quick reference that I could look up rather than having to search through the story narrative to find the answers. The latter takes too much time and can take me out of writing.

I'm working to finish this first draft of The Rule of Yonder by the last day of this month/year. I will then read through the first two books for consistencies, but I feel that I've ironed out the rules and setting of this new old universe. Then I'll feel more comfortable starting the third book. I'm pretty sure of the title for that one, but just in case something unexpected happens to turn the story into something else, I will hold off on revealing that.

Before I publish these books (hopefully the first in April 2019), I will be releasing another, a boxed set. The artist who made the covers for the Legend of the White Dragon is currently working on both 2D and 3D boxed set covers for that five book series. I hope to release the boxed set next month. It's too long overdue.

I have decided that all of these books will be released widely. I'll update purchase links on this blog and also at www.melanienilles.com when they become available.

COVER REVEALS COMING IN JANUARY 2019!

Upcoming 2019 titles known at this time (3):

LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON: THE COMPLETE SERIES (Prophecy, Legends, Fireblood, Legacies, Destiny)

A NEW BEGINNING (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds 1)
THE RULE OF YONDER (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds 2)

More to come in 2019!

Gravity check--a Christmas story

Oh, Jack, you Christmas humbug.

I sat at the counter in the kitchen watching from behind as he sent Santa diving from his perch. I guess the jolly old style Saint Nickolas offended our kitty, or Jack was just in a particularly mischievous mood. I saw the paw shove the decoration, then heard Santa's bell jingling on his way down and as he bounced off the sofa and landed on the floor.

As I sit and shake my head, I can't help but want to laugh at the antics of cats. I love them, but sometimes they can be downright a--holes! Luckily, Santa survived. He's just cheap plastic and nothing broke.

Jack is either proud of making sure gravity still works
or... Nope. He's proud, like a typical cat.

The beard's a little messed up, but otherwise he's ready to go back on the wall with the snowmen.

Like most of our decorations, he was a Christmas gift many years ago. He will live on for another Christmas season, despite the cats.

update on writing projects

I'm now working on the second book of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. It's not quite what I was initially planning, but inspiration took me around a different turn.

I'm absolutely loving writing this series. They're short novels and can be written and edited in less time than the long novels I've done. Also, they're just plain FUN! These stories are meant to be like episodes you'd watch for a tv series. Keeping them short, focused, and fast-paced doesn't mean I don't struggle. It just means that it keeps my attention better.

And I keep getting more and more ideas! I have ideas now for at least eight books but am sure that I could come up with many more, if all goes well. I know what needs to happen and will have "filler" episodes that don't necessarily add anything to the main story arc but which do explore the different characters and add to the fun, which is where this second book falls. They build the world in which the story takes place. Once I get going, I hope the full series beats start to fall into place. However, I know that while I can plan a story one way, I have to be flexible. The outline always changes as I write a single story, much less an entire series. It's more like a guideline than an outline, I guess you could say.

I did struggle with getting the second book going. In fact, for the second book, I actually deleted the first two chapters and started over, or at least started over after the first thousand words. There's a certain rhythm to a story that has to be found and it took a little bit of exploring to figure that out, although less than it did with the first book. I'm hoping it continues much more easily now that I have the story. This has turned out to be slightly different than what I had originally intended.

And I have a cover for the second book already with a tentative title. I can't wait to show you, but I have to wait until I am ready to set the pre-order for the first book. Only when they're ready for pre-orders will I be able to reveal the covers. The covers are perfect for the feel of these stories.

And I've been reading about some KDP issues that make me wonder if that's really the right path to take. I'll have to see what I learn when the time comes. I do just as well on Apple as I do on Amazon, so maybe I need to reconsider the plan of trying KDP Select.

I have time to get things in place. My plan is to finish book 2, then give the first draft a run-through edit for major fixes. I'll give book 1 another editing pass for major story fixes, especially since in writing the second book, I may have some things that I want to change in the first. I hope not, but inevitably, there is something that I need to tweak because a rule or fact established for one situation gets in the way of others so I have to find a middle ground and make appropriate adjustments. Usually by the second book, I have a solid feel of a new writing world.

Once book two is done and both of the first two books have been edited again, I'll start writing book 3. When that first draft is done, I'll hit edits on book one with full steam and go into editing rounds on books two and three. After book one is as good as it can get, I'll make that available, then focus on book two edits and make that available about 4-6 weeks after book one. Then, I'll start writing book 4. After the first draft of four, I'll edit book 3 and get that published. Then it'll be a matter of final edits on one book after writing the following book. It's a pattern that works well for me. Then I always have something coming up for publishing when I'm just finishing writing the next.

I would estimate releasing "A New Beginning" in late March to early April. The next will be about four weeks after that and then about every three months.

That's my plan, but I have to be flexible. I do live with a chronic illness that can make life difficult (such as not being able to focus on writing), and I have other obligations in my life. I appreciate your patience. It's hard enough for me--I can't wait to share these!

Starting Buddy on cows

Yesterday, I started Buddy on cows, and I see a lot of promise as a cowhorse.

On my family's farm, he's seen them up close in the last couple of months but has still been hesitant about being close. So, yesterday he got immersed in over a hundred cow/calf pairs. He helped us sort (in-hand with me doing the actual work), splitting them and effectively weaning the calves.

So, I took it easy with Buddy. I was going out to just see him--it was cold but I had bundled up--and saw that my sister, brother-in-law, and stepdad were still sorting when I arrived. I asked my sister if she minded me helping with Buddy in hand. She didn't and took some pics for us to share. (I think she was just glad for an extra hand with the work.)

At first, Buddy was dancing and carrying on, in his listen-to-your-handler way. He's good that way--his ground manners are great after all the natural horsemanship we've done. (You can't tell in the pictures below.) But he didn't like being away from his herdmates and being surrounded by bellowing bovines. After two hours, he was running alongside me to separate the stragglers who refused to cooperate and even started running ahead on the leadrope towards a cow I was heading towards at one point, rather than trying to get back to his herd. If we were standing back, he'd get impatient and paw and whinny, but towards the end, his eyes were more on the cows than his herd. It got to be that he got very focused on chasing cows as he realized they moved away from him and that we were doing a job.

This was a very good introduction to cows for him and very positive. It was also a safe way for me--on the ground with him rather than on his back. He was able to follow my lead and see that I wasn't afraid. I believe he gained a lot of confidence.

I've learned the hard way that horses that aren't introduced to cows in a good way can freak out about them. It's made me appreciate just how good my horses were when I was growing up on the farm. Boarding my horses at facilities closer to where I live as an adult has been a convenience in many ways, but it also limited the experiences of my last few horses.

Paul Harvey - So God Made A Farmer

Classic!

I don't do email lists

I know few people who enjoy receiving email spam, and that's what I consider most lists to be. They're invasive and often oozing with a great deal of "buy my books!"

Blech!

Not for me, at least not shoving it in your face. If you come here freely, this is my space, my home, if you will, and you expect to see something about me. The door is open here for you to look around into my life and books.

I hope you don't mind that I don't do email lists for readers. I even quit most social media. None of it really suited me, or at least it doesn't suit the present me.

I'm so much more comfortable being able to sit down and "chat" alone, talking to myself and an imagined audience, as I do while writing. Well, okay, while writing that's just having fun seeing where my imagination takes me. There really isn't any consideration of an audience of more than one... me.

But newsletters I've never been good at, at least not about myself. I put out a quarterly newsletter at work, but that's about other topics. I've never been good at self-promotion. I'd rather just write my stories and pay advertisers to send out the emails, tweets, and posts. Life is easier that way.

I enjoy interaction, but I've learned that I really prefer quiet time and letting people come to me. I don't like to be intrusive. It just feels rude, and that goes against everything I was taught about being polite.

I appreciate that you've visited and hope you find something interesting here. Thanks for stopping by, neighbor ;)

horsing around at home

My view from the saddle is
awesome!

I've been enjoying having Buddy at my family's farm. He's enjoying it too, maybe a little too much. He's so enamored of my sister's little herd of horses that he doesn't like me taking him away!

Last week, we rode out in one of the pastures that had cows in during the summer, but they were moved, so the pasture is empty for us. (This is one of my favorite pastures to ride in, but I rode all over growing up and they're all fun, really.) We had company last week, my brother-in-law on one of my sister's horses. And that's not the sister he's married to, just to confuse you. (I have two sisters, one with no horses--that's the one he's married to. The other sister has the horses.) Buddy was anxious about being in unfamiliar territory, but with one of his friends along, he wasn't too bad.

This week, I didn't have any choice but to ride alone. I had to "cowgirl up" with riding like I did when I was growing up there. It was like riding a young colt all over again. We had a lot of issues and him screaming for his herd every five minutes. But he didn't act up too badly; as soon as he tried anything, I corrected him. The acting up decreased throughout our ride.

Tuff likes to go out with riders

We rode up and down hills, through washouts along the dried creek path, and even rode some trot circles and serpentines on the way back in which he remembered his dressage training. We did everything today. And we had a wet saddle pad at the end, and a sweaty horse. I didn't think he worked that hard walking and a little trotting, but apparently he did.

He needed that. He needs a LOT of that--he's gotten fat besides, so he can stand to lose some weight as well. And he's going to get that training, and more, over the next eight to nine months. He's already been introduced to cattle in his pasture and that had him freaked out initially but he got used to seeing them. Only the bull scares me, because he's not afraid of me. I don't like bulls. They get ornery and mean. We'll start riding with the cows when there's no bull.

Otherwise, we did have one companion--Tuff, the BIL's and no-horse sister's dog. Buddy didn't mind him this time like he did last week, just like he wasn't afraid of the washouts this week. He's a fast learner.

Lastly, wind energy seems like a great thing, but the turbines are eye-sores and loud. I grew up not seeing them and now they ruin the horizon with their ugliness.

Buddy's herdmates aka sister's horses

selfie time!
I'm not sure how he scraped his face, but the hair will grow back.

New series coming in 2019!

I have just finished the first draft of book 1 of a new series and feel like making an announcement. I'm so excited for this. It's something that I wanted to do for years but kept getting distracted--ooh, shiny!--by other ideas or by health problems (now managed).

Now, my idea has come to fruition, or at least the first book has. The cover and title are all ready with a series logo that I designed myself.

I will draft book 2 before releasing the first, perhaps even a third book before the first book is released. However, they don't take long to write. These are long novellas/short novels. The first draft of book 1 ended at  36,000 words and feels exactly as it should, like the pilot episode of a new science fiction series.

That's how I'm treating this--not like a book series but like a 90's science fiction series. Fast-paced, streamlined plot with lots of eye (imagination) candy.

If you're still with me, that's good. You'll learn the name of this new series soon enough, and there will be many books in it, especially since I plan to keep them at the shorter length. I already have five books outlined and plan on much more, as I will be treating this like a series with a composite cast and all the multi-faceted aspects that brings to the possible situations in a different galaxy.

I'm giddy just thinking about it!

So, here it is. The name of the series will be Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. Book 1 is titled A New Beginning. The title was meant to be a place-marker but ended up being one of the themes of what the main character goes through and because this is a new beginning to the Starfire Angels series that I began almost ten years ago. In fact, this will released in the 10th anniversary year of the book that became the series namesake--Starfire Angels. However, this series is for serious science fiction lovers; A New Beginning is not romantic. It is as its title describes, a new beginning to the franchise, and an exciting one at that!

I am thinking that initially, this will be in KDP Select, so only available to Amazon Kindle customers, at least for the first three months. I'm not sure when I will release it elsewhere, but be sure to watch my website and this blog. I'll post purchase links as they become available.

I'll also post when the pre-release is available on Amazon.

Watch for a full cover release sometime after the first of the year.

a household of cats

It's time to lighten the mood. Just for fun, our cats with lots of pics.

First up is Suki, who turned six this year. She is named after Suki from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Her place every morning while waiting to get fed.

snoozing in the front window

Cleaning herself on the dining room rug

Next up is Jack, our youngest kitty, who turned three years old this year. He is a rare brown tabby tuxedo and loves boxes as much as he loves being up on the cabinets. He jumps up directly from the counter to the top of our cabinets, for now. When he gets older, I hope that quits, Jack is named after all the goofy Jack characters (Jack Sparrow, Jack Fenton, Jack O'Neill, etc.):

On top of the cabinets at the edge of the wall, watching something
outside the dining room deck doors.

On the wall between the kitchen and front room, surveying
his domain.

Our next kitty (second oldest) is Dargo, aka "momma's boy" for his tendency to always snuggle with mom (me). Dargo will be eight years old soon. He is our only registered cat (TICA registered Siamese) with a birthdate of 10-10-10, or in binary 42, which is why his registered name is Dargo Zaphod. I wanted Dargo Beeblebrox but hubby thought the Zaphod was better. Dargo is primarily named after Ka D'argo from Farscape. Also, Dargo is so smart that if you ask him "Are you hungry?" his head will snap around so fast, you wonder that he doesn't get whiplash. At fourteen pounds, he's a big cat, but he doesn't look fat, although he could stand to lose a pound to be just right.

Dargo loves taking over my lap, especially when I sit down to write.

Begging to go out on the deck

Before Jack started doing it, Dargo was the cabinet walker and still is.
But Dargo doesn't jump straight up. He takes the "steps": counter to
fridge to cabinets.

Dargo in his corner on the cabinets

Last of all, we have Padme, our first and oldest cat. We've had her since she was two and she just turned fifteen this past week. Happy birthday, old girl! For several years, she's had to get medicine for her hyperthyroidism. We had considered RAI but we felt it would have been too much stress for her. I can relate to what she deals with, since I now deal with hypothyroidism. She's a sweet old girl who used to be shy but now is at a point where she welcomes anyone who comes in the house while the others hide. She loves attention and warm laps.

Dargo and Jack are BFFs and love to rough-house together, as boys do, especially right around meal times. And they snuggle on the bed or in the window:

ps: most of these have been posted to my instagram account at some point recently. You can find me at instagram.com/melanienilles_author .

back to my roots

Although I don't blog much, I'm still around. I've been focusing on real life, in the present, and it is satisfying. I can't say there aren't hardships, but it is far better than all the vitriole online. I think I've talked about my reasons for minimizing social media enough, so I won't go into that again.

What I will say is what I've been doing.

The view of home always looks best from the back of a horse. Here,
Buddy and I rode through the pasture he now calls home, a week
before he was all cut up inside his legs. He seemed to enjoy our ride :)

Life is up and down for me. After some potential issues with my health (not thyroid related this time), I decided to take my horse out to my family's farm to live in the pasture with my sister's horses. While I could have done this at any time to save money, it's not the most convenient of situations--no indoor riding and far from me. It's a cattle ranch/farm that's fifty miles away, a good 45-60 minutes one way plus the same for the return trip. It means putting miles on my vehicle just to see my horse.

However, as expected, Buddy is happy, his health is better, and his feet are better (no more standing in mushy footing). Despite one of my sister's small herd being a dick (a horse that nobody likes) who is the likely culprit who left a couple of fleshy bite wounds on poor Buddy and another one being a literal jackass--he is a mini donkey--my boy is much more relaxed. What I think may be a small ringworm patch on his neck was actually starting to grow hair on my most recent visit without any treatment, and the new bite wounds already have grown over with new skin a week after discovering them. He's only been there for two weeks.

At least one of his new herd likes to be with him. In fact, on my latest visit, they all followed us to the portable corral set up in the pasture (from working calves in the spring). I tied buddy inside and closed them off, but that didn't stop them (and the dickish bay) from pestering Buddy from the outside. The first time I visited, they stayed away. This last time (second week since taking him out), they wouldn't stay away and I had to chase them off--they stayed about thirty feet away, until I took him out.

Unfortunately, I found Buddy with new wounds that look like he tried to walk over something that cut up the insides of his legs a bit. Nothing too deep, but it was cringe-worthy. Like the bite wounds, I put some salve on those. I didn't get to ride, but I don't mind. the important thing is taking care of him. And I hope that he learned a lesson from that, as in not to do whatever he did again. I don't know why he did that in the first place, but I can imagine the bay chasing him to where he could only have one way out to cut himself like that (skin-deep, not into the muscle but still rough-looking). The same bay that no one can ride anymore, because he's bucked off even a bull-rider...twice.

I had Buddy at a nice barn for a short while, after moving from where we were boarding due to the sale of the place. At that nice barn, I had everything, but Buddy wasn't happy. And I felt responsible for being sure he got to stretch his legs, which I don't have the time for, especially with the occasional pain issues I've had. Sometimes, a nice facility isn't the best for a horse. He wasn't happy there, and that small patch of ringworm (suspected) was getting bigger. I knew he was stressed. All the signs were there. He was also losing weight (despite the good feed and hay--which he didn't always eat) and getting stiffer in his movements as his feet became tender. Out in the pasture, his feet are tough and his movement is so much more relaxed with bigger reach.

I'm happier for Buddy feeling comfortable with my childhood home on the prairie. I don't worry about him when I can't see him for several days--he does better taking care of himself. Even after a week, he was mister relaxed for me and let me do anything I needed to. I brought treats, salve for his wounds, fly spray, and brushes. He likes being taken care of, and he let out a big sigh as I was brushing him, as if to say "Thanks." He let me do what I needed to do to take care of him and was almost sleeping while I was working on cleaning, scraping off bot eggs, hoof-cleaning, and wound-treating. (A HUGE change from the brief period in the nice place, where he was always dancing around.) It was a very rewarding day, even if I have to wait a week or more for the latest cuts to heal before I can ride.

Having a horse isn't about riding anymore for me. As I've had to deal with my health issues, it's become just having something when I need it, a creature that I can give something back in return for what he gives me. It's a partnership--I take care of him and he let's me on his back and does what I ask for a short time. In between, I feel better knowing that he gets to relax as a horse is meant to--in a pasture with other horses, all the grass and water he needs and room to roam and run as he sees fit.

It took me a while to get over my beloved warmblood and the ambition and focus of dressage. With my thyroid and autoimmune issues, I've had to learn to slow down and enjoy life. But that's not a bad thing. Buddy was meant to be a little project to get me through some difficulties, but he's become something more. I want him to know dressage, because it makes such a difference to him physically and because I enjoy it. However, I don't have the time for that at the moment as I try to figure out if there is something in my body that will require some attention. Dressage is good for everything we ask of our horses, and I plan to use that to turn him into a cowhorse. He doesn't bat an eye at the cows in the pasture across the road, but we'll see what happens when the time comes to ride among them. I think he'll do great--he's incredibly smart.

I have a feeling that, once he learns to move a cow, Buddy's real talent will come out; and dressage has taught him to listen to the rider, me. That's important for moving cows too. It's a combination of horse and rider. Horses live in the moment, while the rider is thinking ahead to the possibilities of what that bovine might do and preparing to react, sort of like driving a vehicle in traffic. The "vehicle" in this situation, however, has four legs and a mind of its own. I can't wait to see what we can do together. We'll find Buddy's place. It will be and has been a fun adventure.

And it's happened because I know that a horse isn't a machine. A true horseperson respects the animal as an individual and listens, attends to their needs, and, through training, works with their unique personality to reach a goal. Like with teaching humans, one must keep the sessions interesting and be respectful and kind yet firm and consistent for the best results. Horses like to learn. They're amazing once they get going and will almost ask you to give them a job. Like us, they want a job they enjoy and that suits their natural talents.

Buddy has blossomed in the three years I've worked with him, from being timid and afraid of disobeying (due to--before I bought him--heavy-handed training that likely didn't take into account his individual personality but treated him like any other cog in a machine) to awakening to become a little resistant and finally to being willing to try what I ask and trusting that I'll take care of him and make him as comfortable as possible. I'll push him out of his comfort zone at times but will always be sure that he's safe and as pain-free as possible.

And that reminds me of something that can't be repeated enough: There are three reasons horses disobey us--1) lack of understanding, 2) fear, and 3) pain. #2 and #3 can contribute to #1. Once we eliminate the last two, understanding comes much more easily.

Buddy has learned that I will take care of him and never punish him and that I will listen. Communication is key. Horses have feelings. In fact, as I was leaving along the gravel road around the corner of his pasture, Buddy looked up from getting a drink at the dugout. He watched my vehicle (which I'd parked by the portable corral where I took care of him), until I was out of sight. I'm not sure what that meant, but it made me feel like maybe he was saying good-bye until I come out again. I hope that's sooner than the week between each of the last two visits.

my Buddy

I've been trying to ride my horse regularly this summer, which usually means twice a week on good weeks. But it's probably for the best that he gets a few days of recovery after each ride--he's been building strength with each ride or ground session, mostly through the leg yields in hand or under saddle. He's also getting the trot leg yield coordination and balance down, which helps in so many ways.

My little horse finally has the strength to do what comes harder for him than most other horses--cantering. On Friday, we tried for the second time this year after a week since the first time. He's five, a little older than most horses get it, but cantering has never been easy for him. Now, he has become balanced enough to carry a rider in canter in each lead. He stays in shoulder-fore pretty well, with help from me, but I have to keep him together to keep the gait. I'm just proud of how far he's come.

And he's trail riding more calmly too. Here's a little video I took after our workout on Friday. He was so good that--after we overcame a couple bucks getting into the canter going his more difficult direction--he earned an extra helping of grain as a reward!

He tries so hard for me. I love this little guy. I only wish he hadn't outgrown pony size, but at least he's still small. I'm done with big horses (no offense--the ground is just too hard at my age when things go wrong).

hot summer days

Summer is definitely here! This weekend is hot with expected highs today and tomorrow of around 90 F, probably higher. On top of that, there's not much wind. It's always windy here on the prairie, except on hot days (of course). (edit: it got windy!)

This morning, I had intended to ride my horse while it was cool--I've hardly seen him all week because of my already busy schedule. However, it was already hot this morning by the time I brought him in from his pasture where I have him boarded. So, after cleaning him off and spraying him down with fly spray, we just hung out.

I like to get him away from his herd when I can, as long as he's confident. Ruining a horse's confidence by pushing for too much will set you back. He's been gaining confidence in me over the nearly three years that I've had him--we have it solid in groundwork, but everything is different when a horse can't see his herd leader (human or horse). I know how different horse personalities are and have worked hard to push him just a little bit at a time so that he has to think about something new but then soon realizes that he's all right and feels more comfortable. I like a horse that is calm and confident, not simply containing himself because he doesn't feel like he can express himself; the just-getting-along-to-get-it-over-with horses end up blowing up at some point.

So, I took Buddy out to graze in the ditch out front, away from his herd, where the grass is untouched and tall. We've done that before, and he doesn't necessarily like it, but he settles down and enjoys the change, especially the alfalfa. Once he settled down, and when he was in a spot where I had a ledge, I took the opportunity to get on his back and enjoy the view. He hardly moved. The grass was thick there and he was content to just stay in one spot.

Thank you, reviewers!

Shared from my Goodreads profile:

Like other writers, I depend on your book reviews. Those are a buoy for the books and a lifeline or warning sign to readers. They help others decide if the book is in their tastes--I know they do for me when I'm looking for something to read! Whether you liked them or not doesn't matter. It's the substance that counts. 

And it's not simply on one platform but all of them that matter. 

So, thank you to those who make the effort to write up something about their reading experience. It means a lot to me. I try to do the same, because I know what it means. 

Lastly, there is one reviewer who is the only one to date to review Awakening on Amazon. I'd like to reward you with free versions of the last two books of the trilogy this summer when they are available, if you're interested. Please get in touch with me.

More Starfire Angels?

The Starfire Angels series has been my most popular series to date, and the one that I have enjoyed writing, except that the storyline grew difficult to keep up without ruining. I can get bored quickly when I want something fresh.

However, I've now branched off to express thoughts in other areas with new series and worlds and satisfied my need for something new; and I feel the pull to return to something familiar. Starfire Angels is like a bungie cord for me--always springing back after I've gone too far.

For the longest time, I didn't know how to get back into it. I tried with The Lereni Trade (Beyond Starfire Angels series) but didn't feel inspired to write more.

There may be another way to get back to our favorite angels. I came up with an idea today. I've had something rattling in my brain making noise for quite some time now. It wasn't clear but I knew something was trying to emerge. It always takes the right catalyst for the magic to happen.

That happened this afternoon. It pulled together Starfire Angels with my first novel (never published), thanks to watching Stargate SG-1 (rewatching the whole series lately). The first Starfire Angels was inspired by an anime show I enjoyed twelve years after writing a novelette in college. I've always felt that Starfire Angels could be something else, but it had to branch off, and SG-1 was always in the back of my mind with SA's possibilities. Now, I know what I'm going to do. I have a series title in mind, but I'm not revealing that until I have the first book written.

I'm planning on short novels rather than my usual big tomes. I'd like to get a five-six book series of short novels out over the course of 15-18 months, but we'll see how that works. It's a plan, anyway. I already have an outline and background and an established world from this spark of an idea today. Starfire Angels fans forced me to come up with new ideas to satisfy their hunger for the Dark Angel series. (Mostly because of their love of Elis, I think.) Those ideas have become springboards to others. SG-1 was merely a catalyst for putting it all together.

I know how I'm going to expand Starfire Angels into a new branch series. Follow this blog to learn more when I have it!

ps--It will not feature Elis and Raea but other characters who have grown important and also new characters who will be added.

A good reason to unplug

I haven't missed Facebook. Twitter I still kind of miss, sometimes thinking that there's something I want to share. Then, I'm forced to realize that I don't need to share and that my brain was rewired by social media to open my life to the world.

But, you know what? I feel so much HAPPIER without those platforms. It's liberating to be without both. At first, you think you're missing out, but if you wean off gradually, it's not quite so difficult. Social media is an ADDICTION. It is unhealthy for your mental state and a big reason our world is in so much trouble, imho.

Part of this was made easier because of a situation at my day job. I have a TV available by my desk and usually have it on various news programs while I'm working, on a low volume, occasionally turning it up to hear an interesting segment. However, when I'm really busy, I keep it off and play music from my phone app, quietly so it's not disturbing to me or my boss in his office.

Well, I realized something after the busy time of the year, after I had the TV off for a couple of weeks so I could concentrate on a gazillion tasks at one time, and then things slowed and I started turning it on again. If I have the TV off, I don't know what I'm missing but am too busy to care. When it's on, I tend to pay more attention to everything, only because it's there in front of me.

Guess what? The same applies to social media. Realizing that I didn't care about what I didn't know on the news made unplugging from social media that much easier for me. If more of us would just not care about what we're missing out on, we would be a lot happier. We don't need to know what someone we hardly know is doing on their vacation or that a social media celebrity got more bling. I mean--really? Does that change your life in some dramatic way?

Probably not. So, why should you care? People are just looking for attention in the form of likes and comments. It's called narcissism, and it's unhealthy behavior, on both sides.

I still have two social media accounts, but one is instagram, for picture sharing. That's all I really like anymore, if someone can tolerate my cat and horse pics and the occasional food or book pics. And I have my G+ account, which I hardly use, and then usually just to share blog posts. This blogspot is also owned by Google. (I had issues with Wordpress that came up on a periodic basis, so I gave up on that blog site.)

Social media can be very toxic, especially Twitter and Facebook. Whether that's in the form of our "friends" commenting something we dislike or something they dislike. It's not like spoken words that we only hear once. Written words are there to see over and over and tend to stick in our minds longer. Why torment yourself? There are helpful aspects also, but most people utilize both.

Back to my original point--unplug. If you are constantly checking social media because there's a little voice in your head questioning what you might be missing, turn it off. Delete one account without opening a new one. Give it four to six months and then delete the next big one. If you still can't slow down, after another six months, give up the next most active account. I promise that once you overcome the withdrawal symptoms (yes, they are real, even for our digital devices and social media), you will feel more peaceful. The world will be a quieter place. You won't know what you're missing and you won't know what should be making you angry, because it won't be constantly poking at you and irritating you. Do you like to feel angry all the time? No? I didn't think so.

I hope that others can see the light as I have. You don't have to quit social media completely, depending on your particular level of addiction, but you'd be surprised how much lighter you feel without the two heavies--Twitter and FB. Quit oversharing your life and begin looking inside for affirmation rather than outside. You'll learn to appreciate what living really is.

About my social media

It's finally happened. I came to my senses. After years of wanting to make a change, but succumbing to the siren song of a few connected readers, I said good bye to Facebook and my author page.

I said farewell to Twitter months ago.

It wasn't a hard decision. This was something that I felt needed to be done for some time. I've been needing to simplify my life. Besides, I've been enjoying sharing pictures on instagram far more and wanted to cut down my accounts to those that I find most useful. Just as I deleted my MySpace account many years ago, so too have Twitter and Facebook lost their luster and been tossed into the rubbish bin.

Social media has changed our world, and not for the better. I grew up without social media in a time when people actually called each other on the phone or spoke. (Yes--you know that hole in your face? That actually can make words and express meaning more so than words hastily typed on a computer screen, and you are more likely to think carefully about what comes out of it.) I lived most of my life with the contact of others in-person, not through a computer screen.

There is a deprivation of culture in our technological society. It stems from the evils of social media and the inadequacies of instant access and short statements without the explanations for full context to form thoughtful replies. It also steals time and makes us lazy. What little good can come from connecting with others too far away to contact in person can be easily overwhelmed by the unconscious comparisons to others and being too quick to judge.

I've been seeking to get back to a healthier lifestyle, one in which I speak to my closest friends and family rather than wait to see what they post online for all the world. I want less of the stress that those forms of social media bring and certainly less of the toxic atmosphere they can fuel.

Most of all, I want to enjoy life without the attachment to my computer. I'll carry a phone with instagram, but my phone is mostly a device for actually speaking to people, not for ignoring my surroundings and the beauty of this world that we will too soon leave behind. When my time comes, I don't want to look back and realize how much I missed. At least in sharing pictures, I am showing the life that is offline.