Brief writing update

I've been making excellent progress on Book 10 of the Forgotten Worlds series. For me, it's a refreshing change. I'm already 22,000 words into it, or about halfway done. At this pace, I could conceivably finish by mid-January and release Book 8 by mid-February.

When I finish this first draft of Book 10 (currently untitled), I will set up Book 8 for pre-order. I can't risk setting up the pre-order too far in advance and not having enough time to adequately edit it.

If you haven't yet read the first seven books, you can find them under the "Forgotten Worlds" tab on this blog site or at melanienilles.com.

I have much more planned for this series and see it as being a third written.

That's all I have for now. I've hit full cruising speed on writing these last couple of weeks and am not getting much else done. My life has mostly been work and writing.

writing again

I haven't posted in a few weeks, but I've been busy working on Book 10 of Forgotten Worlds. It is going, although it's been slow for a while. For me, switching gears into writing after all the editing I did upon finishing book 9 can be a little difficult, but I have also been a bit anemic. I'm working on that though.

This series is growing with every book. I can say that I am 1/3 done writing the series at this point. I expect to finish around 25 books with all the ideas I have for adventures and what still needs to happen. I'd like to know what readers expect or what subplots should be explored more fully. I'm putting this together based on my imagination and expectations, but I want to satisfy readers too. If you have noticed something that you particular would like to see more of or have some ideas, I welcome those. Contact me by commenting on this post or by filling out the form at http://melanienilles.com/home/contact/.

In the meantime, I'll keep writing what I think the story needs.

And as far as Book 10 goes, I'm debating on titles already. I am over 7,000 words into it, so I'm not quite far enough to know if my title ideas truly fit, but I do have an idea of the overall story. It's the little things that come out while writing that can make or break a title.

With luck, I can finish this in February and then plan for the release of RACING THE ORAST BELT in March. I won't put that up for pre-order until I'm done with the first draft of book 10. No more squeezing last minute edits to finish like I did this past year. Of course, if the writing picks up and I really get going at a fast pace, I could have the next book out sooner. Only time will tell.

I hope you are all staying healthy and staying happy. Live not in fear nor fear to live.

Cover reveal - FERIOUS

It's here!

I finally have a cover for Book 9 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. The title FERIOUS is not a misspelling. If you are reading the series, you'll recognize the play on words. The fact that L'Ni is mentioned in the cover blurb is another big hint. For those who haven't read through book 4 yet, L'Ni's species is called the Feri.

I have finished the first round of rewrites and topped it off at just over 40,000 words. I will provide a description when that is also ready.

I plan to release this book in summer 2021.

Now, I'm almost ready to start writing book 10. I am at least a third into this series but not quite halfway to where I expect it to be. I have a lot planned for the character arcs of each character and the overall plot. This isn't a simple story to tell but something bigger than I have ever done.

Thanks for reading!

Forgotten Worlds continues

It's been easy to be distracted lately, but I have still been working on the series. I have books 8 and 9 of the Forgotten Worlds series to finish and prepare for publication next year. I have been editing and rewriting to get ahead on that so that I can get back on schedule.

I haven't seen much of my horse. With fall weather, the massive rewriting I had to do to get REMNANTS ready for its release last month, formatting the paperback of the collection of the first five books of the Forgotten Worlds series, and then my parents having Covid (so I stayed away for a while), I didn't have the opportunity. I finally got back on track and made it out last weekend, after a month of my horse enjoying being a pasture pet and my parents getting over their quarantine and recovering without much illness, despite age and underlying conditions. I had to get Buddy's hooves trimmed and deworm him for the fall while the weather was good. That left me sore for a couple days, but thank goodness for the chiropractor (and the hoof stand, although it's still a strain on my back and arms).

Now that I'm caught up on those tasks and back on track with certain aspects of my life (and don't have to worry about my parents' risks of coronavirus since they didn't have any complications), I am counting my blessings and getting back on track with RACING THE ORAST BELT and FERIOUS. I hope to release RtOB early next year, if not in February, then early March. I will list the pre-order closer to the holidays, after I'm on track again and am writing book 10.

Book 10 is going to be complicated. I plan to finally bring in a new character, but I'm not sure about the plot. I think I have a way that will tie several of the stinger scenes together and do more with the Paxons, but it will be a challenge. That's why I don't want to set any publication dates at this time. I like to have the next two books at least drafted before I publish the one ready to go. I like the two-books-ahead writing/publishing arrangement.

Scheduling this past year became too tight for me and I've had to back off the pre-order schedule to catch up. I will let you know when I have a date for book 8. If you shop on Amazon, please also sign up to follow me on Amazon to receive notifications of new releases. Otherwise, join me on MeWe at https://mewe.com/p/melanienillesauthor; MeWe is a place where you are the customer not the product (unlike FB, where your intimate details are sold to advertisers and they throttle page views based on your interaction level).

I'm still writing, and now that winter is setting in, I won't be able to do much with Buddy. Fat boy is getting fuzzy for the winter weather and his hooves shouldn't need trimming until the end of February (hooves grow slower in winter). By then, we should be past the worst of winter and I'll be anticipating the publishing of RACING THE ORAST BELT.

Contributing readers can get free books

Have you ever had an idea for an author that you thought they should take up in their books or wanted to give your feedback directly to the author?

Most authors I know area always looking for what we call beta readers, readers who help evaluate the stories with a critical eye but not quite to the editorial level. The benefit is that readers get to help guide the author's story (or series) and read it before anyone else, but the trade off is that these free stories are often not quite polished because they are not in their final format.

Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is growing... bigger and more complex. I keep a detailed wiki file for the series (23 pages of details so far up to a total of 40 pages with synopsis for upcoming books). That keeps growing as well.

In that complexity, I have the task of keeping it all straight and trying to track the character arcs, story arcs, and tiny details, such as the size of the doors on the Cartegos and where the hidden storage compartments are or the unwritten details that will be revealed and can only be hinted and what of those hints are provided.

In this, I need a few serious readers of the series, loyal readers who could provide corrections to the details they catch and even to provide input.

If you enjoy this series, have a keen mind, and want to contribute to the development of the series, please use the contact form on my website at melanienilles.com. 

Writing/Editing update: 

I am finalizing copyedits on REMNANTS (Book 7), then going to rewrites on RACING THE ORAST BELT (Book 8) and, after that, finishing FERIOUS (Book 9), which needs a couple of scenes to be written at the end. 

REMNANTS will be available next Thursday, October 29th!

A note about pre-orders:  

Finally, I want to add that I will not be setting up pre-orders quite so early as I have been. The last few books have taken longer to write than expected. This has consequently put me in a pinch where I almost didn't have the books ready in time. I don't feel comfortable with that. I will set up pre-orders when I feel comfortable with the date that I can have future books ready to my standards.

Please check this blog or my website for information on upcoming books, subscribe to my Amazon author page, or contact me through my contact form with a note to send new release notifications. I generally don't like to invade inboxes. I get enough newsletters myself and give them a quick skim before deleting most of them, but I will gladly send out new release emails to readers who really want to receive them.

(Proof copy of SA:FW Collection 1)
Books 1-5 will soon be  available
in one volume as seen here. Look
for Collection 1 in paperback on Amazon.
("Not for Resale" gray band is only for this proof copy.)

Remnants update

I am almost done with another round of edits on REMNANTS. In the process, I decided to add a new scene at the end. It was something I had considered adding a few books later, but after some thinking about the book while editing, I realized that I wanted to insert this sooner. It adds a layer of drama and tension to the series about one of the characters.

Keep in mind that I have already finished writing book 9 of this series and REMNANTS is book 7, so nothing in the next two books will be affected by this change, although I can sprinkle in some pieces if I want. I can't let characters get off easy. 

I hope you're enjoying the series so far. I'd love to hear feedback, but I understand that people are shy to speak up. Otherwise, it's just my ideas. I'm open to new ideas for consideration. If you're a fan of the series, what would you like to see in a future book?

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

After leaving the Iludrin at Trsken Station, Nya's friends discover a beacon transmitting from the Cartegos. Although Nik suspects who might have placed it, Zaer is determined to find answers. Her solution is to seek out an info jockey, but nothing ever goes as planned.

They are led to an artifact that reveals a clue about the presence of Nya's people in that galaxy. However, they're not the only ones who seek the secrets of the angels from a time long forgotten. No one is ready for the revelation it unlocks.

COMING SOON!
 

I think too much and don't write enough

I have a confession: Today, I haven't done much of what I should be doing--editing. Aside from pureeing three of the five large pumpkins we were able to save before the first frost killed our pumpkin plant and baking the seeds, I've been coming up with better ideas for other books to come in Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. I know I'm supposed to be editing to have REMNANTS available for release later this month, but I can't help planning for the future of the series too. I have to know more about what's to come to be sure I plant the seeds in what I'm currently working on.

That creativity has led me to more ideas to make this series into something stronger. Some readers may see the allegory already; but, like the Chronicles of Narnia, it's not obvious if you're not looking for it. It's subtle, because my goal is, first and foremost, to write a science fiction adventure/space opera series that's not grim and graphic. The rest is icing on the cake and gives it a more nuanced flavor.

The ideas into how I can do more with the series excite me and make it hard to work in the present timeline, but I like knowing what's to come.

Now, back to editing!

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

Pre-order REMNANTS (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds 7) Today!

(Coming October 29!)

Writing status of the latest WIP... 98% complete

FERIOUS (Forgotten Worlds 9) is pretty much done, except for that last scene that I like to insert that's unrelated to the individual story but will come into play in the overall series. So, I'm reading through it this weekend, doing some edits, and getting an idea of the general flow before I add that in to finish it.

As with anything that challenges me as a writer, I put in the effort and it ended up working well for this. It's a bit difficult considering the timelines jump back and forth while advancing. It's not really told in flashback but in parallel timelines--one for the present and one going back to intersect with the present action and from there finishing the story. It's an unconventional format but it's what had to be done. It's just how the story decided to be told. Other writers will understand what I mean, but readers may not.

When I write, I let the story dictate everything. Sometimes there's just a different way of telling a story that works best. I was worried about this one, but now that I see it all together, I like it. I don't know if readers will, but I do. This one just couldn't be told any other way and still be interesting, imho.

Part of what's holding me up on the last scene isn't so much the flow of the story but thinking ahead to Book 10. I intend to tie that final scene into the next book, which will be another heavy on Paxon involvement like Book 5 was; actually, even more so. But I planted some seeds in prior books that may be touched on in FW10. For that matter, I've been planting a lot of seeds throughout the series so far that won't germinate into their full bloom for some time down the road. However, astute readers may be making some inferences and connections.

Hold onto your hats!

There are six books available now and a seventh soon to be released. Be sure to pre-order REMNANTS after catching up on the first six!

And just for fun, Pumpkin Spice kitties:

The pumpkins were all we got out of our garden before we had our first frost. These are going to soon have their seeds roasted and their flesh baked and pureed to be frozen for later making pumpkin treats. 

A great day to be alive

 

It's all in our attitude. An attitude of gratitude is the best way to get through the day, every day. It's a great day to be alive!

Even better is a beautiful, perfect Saturday for doing anything, like visiting with my mom and riding my horse. And it was a wonderful ride out in the fields around the farm. Buddy was much better than I expected and actually almost trail horse calm. Jewel was her usual dumb ass self. (She is a mini donkey, so an actual ass.) She'd graze then come running up on us. Buddy got so used to it that, by the end, he didn't bat an eye or an ear at her antics.

At one point, I thought Buddy wanted to itch his head as he was doing throughout our ride, but then he started to put his head down in that way that horses do when intending to roll, and I yanked it up fast and started him moving again. He hasn't done that in a few years.

Jewel being her usual self

Over a thousand miles away in flyover country,
the haze from west coast fires can be seen
along the horizon.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt,
Jewel is an ass.

I doubt I'll get any more days this perfect. I'm glad we had one more great riding day. I'm dreading a long, cold winter from the La Nina effect. I haven't ridden much this summer, but it was too hot for a while or I was too busy or not feeling good from my autoimmune issues. Oh, well. Buddy is doing well all the same, fat boy that he is right now. Nature is preparing him for what's to come.

And on the long drive there and back, I had a lot of time to think about Forgotten Worlds book 9. I know exactly how it will fit the title I had planned. Since it is coming together so well, I can announce that the title is FERIOUS. If you know the characters, you'll recognize that it is not a misspelling but a play on the name of an important species in the series.

Fall is here

While the kids are starting school across the country and getting ready to start in our local school district, the weather is changing. The dog days of summer ended over the last couple of days. Autumn is coming on time, just in time. We finally had rain this past week to make up for six week of drought--everything did come went around us. We live in a town that is a vortex of rain going around. It's just odd... until the wet season comes; then nothing stops it. The inch of rain that we had over the course of a couple different storms this past week soaked right in--the ground is still mostly dry despite the rain. It's needed that badly. It will be nice to see our lawn green up just in time for winter. This is the opposite of last year, which was far too wet.

The daily highs are cooling down from 90's to 70's too. Normally when this happens, the animals get a little friskier. However, Buddy seems to have settled down. I haven't ridden for four weeks, but today was a good ride. We're combining dressage work and reining work now to get him thinking more in tune of balance but also rollbacks to turn a cow. He seemed a little edgy with the cooler day and wind but actually handled himself quite well. We had a good ride without him freaking out from the kids cleaning barn or playing and the small flatbed in the middle of the grassy area where we work.

When we took a little ride around the feedlots, things were a little different. Still, he's come a long ways from a year ago. Getting past the quonset to head to the feedlots was a little challenge, but he didn't freak out like he used to. And going around the feedlots wasn't much of a concern. He never called for his friends the whole time I had him away from his herd. It helped to have the donkey with us, but even when his herd was calling for them, he didn't reply. That's a HUGE improvement in his behavior that has come on this year.

Afterwards, I rewarded him with a little extra feed, which the donkey kept trying to steel. She's figured out how to tip his bucket, even when it's not quite in easy reach.

Jewel follows us all over, even right back to the pasture. She's a little attention whore.

When I turn Buddy back to his herd, I always give him a little rub down. You'd never know he was head-shy when I bought him five years ago. He LOVES having his ears, eyes, and poll rubbed and will yawn, blow/snort, and shake his head with a big sigh of pleasure. If I don't give him that little reward, he gives me a look that I swear is meant to shame me for forgetting. Spoiled but worth it. He'll be starting to get fuzzy soon enough.

Our cats are spoiled too. They're a little more active on cooler days. On hot days, they'd just plop on the deck like they'd melted. On cool days, they're more attentive and watching the activity in the yard. Jack jumped over the gate to get to the stairs and go down today. We caught him in time, but it was startling. He doesn't usually do that. We put him inside, where he cried and cried to go out then. He must have seen something he wanted to check out. Dargo, however, just likes to lay outside in the fresh air and doesn't cause problems. Suki sometimes jumps up on the rail.

It was an interesting day with our animals.

not today but too cute not to share

writing update 8-21-20

I've been busy with Forgotten Worlds 9. It's being told in a non-linear linear fashion. It begins mid-story and jumps back and forth, starting from a few days earlier to the present activity, eventually to converge. I don't know why I was inspired to write it this way. It has been a challenge, and I hope it's worth it in the end.

The hardest part is trying to put the pieces together in a manner so that the intended focus of the story is cohesive throughout. I know where the series is going and what I intend to take place later, so that is affecting the characters now. And then I have to balance it with where the characters should be now, because there are hints now of what's to come in the subtleties of their growth and changes as characters. Keeping them who they are while doing that within the context of the series and of the individual story is a big challenge.

Now that I have you thoroughly confused, I'll let you go back and read the first six books and pre-order the seventh to see how this series is anything but ordinary space opera.

Available now:

Pre-order (Available October 29, 2020):

Coming Winter 2021:

More to Come!

truth and science fiction

Classical science fiction is my first love of reading. Anything from its early days, especially the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. They told stories of adventure in settings that were not possible, at least not at the times in which they lived. I also have enjoyed Poul Anderson, Andre Norton, Michael Crichton, and many others, for their imaginative and fantastic stories. I've also grown up with much in terms of visual storytelling (tv and movies) with Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Babylon 5, Stargate, etc.

However, the fantastic worlds and beings are not the full picture of why science fiction is my first love. The real appeal is in stories that present a view of the human condition using the science fiction settings, especially alien worlds and cultures.

Whether it involves humans or aliens, science fiction (and also fantasy) allows us to explore ideas that we can't in our real world. It provides a means of exploring other governments, cultures, and environmental settings that interact to create an alien race or alter the human race. The many sub-genres provide infinite possibilities, like the theory of alternate realities, where every decision branches off into a new reality. Whether time-travel, space opera, cyberpunk, thriller, monsters, and on and on, the broad scope of the science fiction genre offers us the opportunity to say "what if..." It is these explorations that add depth to our human consciousness and allow us to look at alternatives or a mirror into our present circumstances.

A writer sees through the lens of their experience and opinions. A good writer goes outside of themselves and creates situations, worlds, characters they don't necessarily like or agree with. It provides the opportunity to see a different perspective, but always it is filtered through the writer's own view. It can be difficult to set aside oneself to write from a different viewpoint, but in really getting outside of one's own perspectives, that character/culture/species can offer the writer and reader a contrast from which other characters/cultures/species can stand out. Depending on the purpose of the writer's vision, this can offer insights that one might not have otherwise considered. It's a matter of keeping an open mind on both the part of the writer and the reader.

And then there is the reader's perspective. A writer tries to portray a certain view, sometimes even changing theirs. (Stories that start out with well-thought and well-developed characters/cultures/etc. fall apart when a writer tries to force their hand into it and not let it develop more naturally from what was established up front.) A reader brings to a story their experience and opinions that color how they view a story and what they believe it should be. This may agree with or contradict the way the writer develops the story. But this is just a side note to where I'm going.

I love science fiction for its ability to explore anything, but I also love the science behind it. I love the logic and I love the ability to explore things that I couldn't in my life. I also love that science fiction can sometimes be more believable than real life.

One thing that has come to mind lately, which prompted this post, is an episode of Babylon 5 called "Infection". The episode is about an alien artifact that attaches to a man and transforms him into a killing machine intent on eliminating any being that wasn't "pure" of the species that created it. In the end, it was revealed that this symbiote destroyed the whole civilization, because no one was "pure". It seems almost prophetic to what we are seeing with cancel culture. Nothing is pure enough for them and as one set of opinions is wiped out, they go after the next, until there would be nothing left, because nothing is "pure" anything. It's all based on the individual's perspective, seen through the lens of their lives.

The episode is over 26 years old and had applied well to Hitler's vision for a "perfect" race, which I might assume to have influenced the idea. Here we are, decades later, and this episode is still relevant in our current cultural climate. It serves as a warning that if we don't change, our society is doomed to destroy itself. There has to be compromise and acceptance that nothing is perfect, nor will it be.

This is what I enjoy about science fiction--exploring the human condition by looking from outside out present circumstances to explore the many alternative possibilities of what may be. And in that, it speaks truth to our present condition.

Forgotten Worlds adventures continue

RACING THE ORAST BELT is complete. The first draft sits at 46,700 words before the next round of editing. Since I have already done some major rewrites on it, that shouldn't involve too much. I think the rewrites that I put into it between final edits on DISPOSITION OF DREAM and writing the final chapters of RtOB should have fixed most of the issues that I felt might be a problem.

I can also share a cover now:

I will update my website and series page of this blog with the new details soon.

Also, pre-orders of Remnants are going live now. Look for that from major retailers. And be sure to sign up on Amazon or Bookbub to receive alerts when new books are available.

After leaving the Iludrin at Trsken Station, Nya's friends discover a beacon transmitting from the Cartegos. Although Nik suspects who might have placed it, Zaer is determined to find answers. Her solution is to seek out an info jockey, but nothing ever goes as planned.

They are led to an artifact that reveals a clue about the presence of Nya's people in that galaxy. However, they're not the only ones who seek the secrets of the angels from a time long forgotten. No one is ready for the revelation it unlocks.

REMNANTS will be available October 29, 2020!

Forgotten Worlds update

If you haven't already picked it up, the latest Forgotten Worlds book is now available (as of last Thursday). DISPOSITION OF DREAMS is book 6 in this ongoing series.

Next up is REMNANTS (book 7). That will go up for pre-order sometime this month. The description needs to be finalized on that first. I will reveal that and the cover when it's ready. Since the writing on this one started off so difficult, it's put my publishing schedule behind where I wanted to be. My schedule of new releases is delayed, and I expect this release date to be sometime around the end of October or early November.

Right now, I'm finishing up the first draft of RACING THE ORAST BELT (book 8). I had some issues with the writing before I broke from it to edit DoD. The gap to edit, however, has allowed me a chance to get away from the story and gain a fresh perspective. Now, I see where I went wrong and rewrote some scenes and am doing better with writing from where I left off. Sometimes a break is all that's needed for the head to clear. This was supposed to be an easy book to write, but that didn't work out as I expected. It developed a different plot, which is better than the original idea I had, so it became more complicated to write.

Once that's done, I'll be on to writing book 9.

For now, you can catch up on the first six books:

MORE TO COME!

horsing around - midsummer edition

Today was a good day to see my boy. I haven't had many good days like this--either the weather has been crappy or I've been dealing with chronic fatigue issues. I haven't been out to ride in two weeks, but I started a new medication that has given me back my focus and energy. And in the two times I've been out to him since we helped sort cattle, I did manage to resolve some issues with Buddy.

I've confirmed that the reason he's always been so difficult is because he has tummy issues. I suspected it, but after seeing a small but noticeable difference in his behavior after giving him Smart Digest Ultra before I work with him, I tried adding a couple of other supplements. The best combination seems to be the Smart Digest Ultra and Aloe Vera pellets (also from Smartpak). So far, the two times I added aloe vera, he turned into mister mellow, as a horse of his type should be.

And after he put his tongue over the bit when we were sorting cattle early in June, I tried a couple of different bits. The advice I found online was to allow room for the horse's tongue. The bit I was using (which he put his tongue over) allowed that, so that didn't seem right, especially when I put a curb in his mouth with a roller, which doesn't allow any room for the tongue, and that quieted his mouth. So, with my instructor's advice, I tried a double bridle. He didn't like that, but he did go nicely with the bradoon of that combination. Today, I put just the bradoon on his regular bridle headstall. He was fantastic! The bradoon is a loose ring, narrower snaffle than my other snaffle mouthpieces, and it's a special alloy and straight, not curved for tongue room. He was much quieter with his mouth than I've ever experienced (except in the sweet iron curb with the roller, which quieted his mouth a lot also). I think that, in Buddy's case, He needs the bit to be as flat and still as possible, and the special metals of each of the bits that quieted his mouth probably played a part also.

I'll stick to the bradoon for this summer, along with the two supplements before we ride, and see if I finally found what works to turn him into the trailriding horse I've been trying to train him to be for nearly five years, and turn him into a true cowhorse, complemented by our dressage training, which we will continue. My only worry is that if he gets excited, the bradoon won't be strong enough to stop him. We'll see.

I also started taking out the fly sheet I bought last year but never used. I decided to put it to use this year. I can't leave it on him when I'm not there because of the danger that he could get tangled and get hurt (not to mention the trashing of the sheet and my money down the drain), but I can let him wear it and have some relief from the flies by taking it with me when I go to catch him in the pasture and let him wear it on the walk to the barn or, like today, after we ride and I let him graze a while just to spend more time with him. It's a closed front sheet, so I have to put it on over his head, but he's so smart, he loves having it on after just the first time, which wasn't bad either. He already knows it means relief! Buddy is super smart though. I wonder how long until he's sticking his head through the neck opening on his own when I hold it up ;)

Later this month, he'll finally get his annual dental work done. That was postponed due to coronavirus.

T-10 days

In only ten days, DISPOSITION OF DREAMS will be available for download from all the major ebook retailers. Starfire Angels: Forgotten worlds Book 6 will be released on July 9th. Don't wait. Pre-order now!

When she wakes up at Starfire Tower, life is almost perfect for Nya, even if she is late for a class and her parents have planned a surprise visit. Being a Keeper in training isn’t easy; and being the child of a Crystal Keeper is awkward, but it has its benefits. When her father is called to a first-contact situation with a new race, Nya is included in the meeting, but there is something sinister about the emissary. She doesn’t know how she knows about the Feri. She only knows that the dreams of another life are so real that she can’t ignore the warning about the visitors to Inar’Ahben who want to know about the powers of the Crystal Keepers.

And if you haven't started this series yet, what's stopping you? Book 1, A NEW BEGINNING, is now free!

There will be much more to come. Start reading today!

Learn more about this and the other books of the series at melanienilles.com.

kitty cuteness

Dargo and Jack are BFFFs (best feline friends forever). These two are play buddies and sleep buddies. They LOVE to wrestle and rough-house. It's nice to get some pictures of them in these moments. Usually it's late at night at the foot of our bed when they're cuddled like this. As it is, I've been sitting in the chair with my feet next to them on their ottoman to get some editing done. They were so cute that I had to take a break to share what it's like when I'm working:

Not a cuddly kitties pic, but too cute not to share--Dargo looooves clean towels:

Awakening... The Luriel Cycle

When I originally wrote AWAKENING, it was a different time in the real world, before the 2016 U.S. elections. Already, there were divisions in our culture. I initially knew that I wanted to write a story about good versus evil and a bad boy who would be changed. Originally, the series was to be called the Shadow Realm Saga.

Around the time that I published the book (the first time), I had my health fall apart. I didn't know if I could finish the series I had in mind. At that time, I had planned four books. Apparently, that was not meant to be. It wasn't out long before I pulled the book off publication and put it aside. I didn't want to have a book available that was promising more but which I couldn't follow through.

A couple years later, as I started recovering my health, I re-imagined the series into a trilogy and renamed it The Luriel Cycle. I had a clearer idea of what needed to happen in the series, which wasn't as big as I originally expected, but it still surprised me. I knew I only had enough ideas for two more books, and ENLIGHTENMENT and ETERNAL fit. The series was to be about a healing. I knew that the daemons and luriel originally were single beings but that something split them into their dark and light sides, not just visually but in personalities.

I knew that I couldn't write the Luriel Cycle as described in the books to become the book titles -- Awakening, Enlightenment, Ascension, (and Eternal as a fourth book originally) -- but had to skip Ascension. The series was about breaking that cycle. There was no Ascension, because it had to be stopped there. That realization became a sort of revelation event and jumped to Eternal, which was not a stage in the described Luriel Cycle in the series but was the end, representative of breaking the cycle.

So, I started digging deeper into the root of the series. I also had to make it work in the way I wanted, so I made some tweaks to AWAKENING, small adjustments to fit with the new vision of the series, and re-released it. It didn't take much and anyone who read both version probably missed those details because they were so small; but I had to make the series make sense for what I knew was to come.

In writing ENLIGHTENMENT, I realized that the real purpose of the series was to use Lilly and Darrac to reunite those who had been split. At the time, our culture was being split along ideological lines and that worked its way into the series. The characters became a tool for healing the Eternals who had been victims of their own hubris. They had been split into the evil and good sides, represented by the cliche light and dark. Lilly's world was still whole, gray (the combination of light and dark), hence the reason that the daemons and luriel referred to it as the Gray Realm. Through the second book, I explored the idea of the cause of the split.

Lilly also had to grow. She is reluctant to accept the truth in the first book and is a bit selfish in her own little world, but she begins to accept her fate as she learns the truth throughout ENLIGHTENMENT about Darrac and his connection to the source of the cataclysm. She learns about her power to heal the people from the Shadow Realm. She goes through the Luriel Cycle enlightenment but she also enlightens Mychel to the truth about the daemons. It doesn't make them any less evil, but it does reveal to him that they are as much victims as the luriel. Through one which he comes to care about, he accepts the responsibility that leads to his healing in ETERNAL.

In the final book, all the pieces come together, literally. It doesn't come easy. The healing isn't only applied to the daemons and luriel but also to the characters who had to face their own prejudices and reconcile with the new reality.

Our world is split in such a way, each side thinking the other is oppressive, but both have been wronged and are mistaken; like the struggle between the luriel and daemons in this series, neither is completely right. There is true evil, but it exists primarily at the individual level. Also, when one side of an ideal is destroyed, it destroys the other. There must be balance, a moderation. Both must perish for one to survive.

Western lite

I cannot comfortably spend any length of time or hard riding in a western saddle. I don't know why, but my right leg starts to kill me, especially my ankle. However, I can sit in my dressage saddle all day, which I did on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for some hard riding. I'm calling it my western lite saddle.

What western riders may find unbelievable but dressage riders will not (or they might if they've never chased cows before) is that I can stay with my horse turning a cow better in my dressage saddle than I ever did in a western saddle, and I grew up in a western saddle. I feel closer and more "plugged in" to my horse in my dressage saddle than in a western saddle. And, as I pointed out to my BIL, the knee rolls on my dressage saddle are just as good for stabilization as any swells on a western saddle.

I was on the ranch Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this past week helping my family sort cow-calf pairs for different pastures. Buddy had some moves! And I was right with him in my dressage saddle... all day (5-6 hours each day) three days in a row. We didn't work as hard as my sister and brother-in-law, but we had our moments. Besides, I'm older, and I also find that not getting the cows or calves excited the way they do usually results in less escape attempts and, as a result, less trouble.

The only trouble I really had, since Buddy LOVES working cattle, is that he got his tongue over the jointed mouthpiece of his pelham bit a few times and I had to get off to drop the bridle to fix it. If you've never had it happen, the joint will poke up under the tongue and bother the horse when that happens. Buddy tossed his head, until I fixed it. But he didn't stop doing it. So, I came prepared on the last day. When he did it again, I switched to a western bridle from a past horse I had, a low port sweet iron curb with a copper roller. It took him a while to accept it, but once he did, he quieted his mouth and didn't once get his tongue over that bit. Given this, we're going to try a double bridle, using the curb as a means to keep his tongue down while I ride primarily with the bradoon (a snaffle that is the primary tool of riding with a double; the curb being there only for refinement). I learned to use it on my last horse, a powerful and big warmblood who had an exuberance that could take him away from me in just a snaffle. With both horses, I had used pelham bits for some control when I could, but now with Buddy developing this new tongue talent and the curb having stopped it, I don't have much of a choice if I want to train him properly. I may not be able to go back to just a snaffle, but time will tell.

Buddy just had to make things difficult.

Thanks to my sister, I have some pictures of us at work.

Getting a pair sorted. We need to keep this kind of
forward in our dressage work!

Taking a group down the alley to the loading chute
to be hauled to one of the pastures Tuesday.

Ponying my sister's horse back to the corral after
a long day of work Tuesday. She took the pic
while driving the Ranger and leading her donkey.

In the corral at the end of the day Wednesday,
Buddy waits in his western bridle to move
cow-calf pairs to the pasture down the road

It's been a long time coming for Buddy to get to this point in his training, but it's a process. Dressage work has prepared him well for doing this. He had his good and bad moments, but those good moments made the moments of being ornery excusable. A few times, he sat down like a cutting horse to turn a cow, and I stayed right with him in my dressage saddle. However, he still gets intimidated by them looking at him and especially when they approach him. A few cows were chargey and needed caution near them. Those cows behaved with two riders coming at them. He's gaining confidence, but that can be unraveled quickly with a bad experience.

Buddy absolutely loves moving cows. He does NOT like being held back, which is funny considering he can be such a chicken. For example, he will snort at and try to get away from strange footing, but when it comes to cows, he doesn't think twice about muck or piles of dirt; he wants to chase a cow! He likes having a job and once he learns the routine, such as with sorting cows, he really gets into it. It's a lot of fun working with him.

In looking at the pictures, I see myself sitting crooked and don't know if it's the ground angle, the stride point, or me. I plan to get together with my instructor for a lesson this summer to fix things. It's been too long.

ps--Because I was so exhausted after these long days, I haven't gotten as much writing done as I wanted, but it was worth it. The writing will catch up, hopefully this weekend.

pps (6/7/20)--This is 100 miles round trip each day for me, which is one reason why I only see my horse (and family) on average 1-2 times a week besides weather factors and timing (no indoor arena like boarding stables, only the wide outdoors). And for anyone who thinks this looks romantic, I can only say NO! There's nothing romantic about farm/ranch life; it's the hardest work you'll ever do. (It takes a special person to work this hard (and harder!); family farmers/ranchers do it for the love of their independence and providing essential products for life, and they love the land and are the best stewards of those resources because their livelihoods depend on it.) Horses, humans, and dogs alike were beat at the end of each day. Thank goodness for sunscreen, or we would have been beet red and swollen of sunburn besides.