cover reveal - REMNANTS

I've reached 31K words on REMNANTS, or around 3/4 done with the first draft. I've been writing at a good pace for the last week, between 500-1000 words/day. At this rate, I should be done within two weeks (hopefully sooner). I've selected the cover image for it and made a slight modification to the original, as I did with the #3 (Vault of the Celestials) cover image:

Look for Book 7 of this series to be out sometime in the fall. I would like to release it between the end of September and mid-October, but that all depends on writing the next books to stay ahead of the publishing schedule.

For now, be sure to pre-order #6, DISPOSITION OF DREAMS, and catch up on the first 5 books of the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds series:

AVAILABLE NOW:

COMING JULY 9, 2020:

All these and more can be found with purchase links at melanienilles.com.

social distancing recreation

Most of what I do doesn't demand me to be around people, except to get household necessities like groceries. I write, which is solitary. I work in a small office where most of what I do is online, except for a few tasks that require me to make short visits to the office for an hour or two each week and do the rest at home. (Thank goodness this stuff came after our conference in February!)

And my favorite form of recreation is solitary:

It was a beautiful spring day. Although the snow is mostly gone, the ground is still saturated with water. The surface is drying out, but there is plenty of slippery or muddy footing. Nevertheless, I had a pretty nice day with Buddy out in the middle of nowhere. The closest neighbor is a mile away out here. I love it. He needed the exercise, and I needed the outdoors and horse time.

I ended the day covered in horse hair--full on shedding season now--after trimming hooves or at least the front hooves. Hind hooves can wait; my back can only take so much. One pair of hooves was enough for today. I was also tired after a long ride on Buddy with his little ass friend Jewel running alongside us.

As you can see, I prefer my dressage tack, even when checking cows. Every western saddle, even my special order saddle, is just plain uncomfortable for me. I am henceforth taking the title of Dressage Cowgirl. I can cowgirl in a dressage saddle. Buddy and I managed to help get a cow back into her pen that decided an open gate was an invitation to explore. And it's full-on calving season. So many cute little baby calves--three newborns when we were out riding today, and we didn't even ride through the whole herd.

I can't not take care of my horse. He gets food and water with my sister's horses, but he does need me to take care of other needs, like those hooves. Next up are spring shots.

the perils of working from home... no different than writing

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by Covid-19. Whether we are sick or not, we are all in this together, doing our part to slow the spread of the virus. I have parents who are in high risk categories and also a husband who is at risk.

My husband and I are both working from home for our day jobs. I could go into the office, since it's pretty quiet in the building right now, but it's just as easy to save on the driving. Unfortunately, my furry helpers with my writing don't know the difference between me being on the clock for someone else and just being home. Dargo just knows that there's a warm throne for his royal catness. For once, he isn't getting in my way and my hands are free to work.

Except that I paused in my work to take a picture of him hogging my lap.

update on Forgotten Worlds #7

I am happy to say that the writing is finally going somewhere. This past winter was hard for me. I struggled to write but kept going. It turns out that I needed digestive enzymes. Not having a gallbladder anymore changes things, although not by much, since I was having digestive problems for years before it got so bad that the little sack of... bile (what did you expect me to say?) -- until that finally was removed. I've felt better since, but about nine months after having it removed, something changed and it took a few more months to find that enzymes were the answer. Since then, I have been back to being creative again. The story, and the series is moving forward at a good pace.

Of course, anything can disrupt that. However, coronavirus is not one of those. No, I don't have it. I pray to God it passes over this household. But with work slowing down at my day job, I will be working from home more. Mostly, that means being available to answer emails and any phone calls. The coronavirus has delayed some of my tasks for now. That can mean more time to write. Make the most of it, right?

I've also put one boxed set on sale for 90% off. You can scoop up THE LURIEL CYCLE: THE COMPLETE TRILOGY for only $0.99 now through April 4th, but only on Amazon.

With that done, I've been really inspired to work on Forgotten Worlds and am excited to announce a title:

REMNANTS

(Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 7)

That's all I have for now. I will figure out a cover when I'm done writing, unless inspiration hits before then. With luck, I could finish by April 4th. At last! With all the trouble I had starting this one, it will be a huge relief to reach the end. I think this will be a good adventure transitioning from the events of DISPOSITION OF DREAMS and leading into RACING THE ORAST BELT, but rewrites will tell. Yes, I already have the title of #8. I have been eager to write that one since introducing it in THE RULE OF YONDER (book 2).

I hope I can get back on track with the writing schedule I had going. I'm about a month off at this point, but I also have the start of #8 already written, so that gives me a jumpstart for that. Also, situations are getting a little tricker to write as I get into the series, because now I have to keep track of facts and events from more and more adventures. I'm keeping a wiki file on much of the details for reference, but there are things about each book that require me actually going into the book to review on occasion.

As long as coronavirus doesn't get me, I should be able to finish this long series in a few years with a very satisfying conclusion.

avoid infections and wash your hands, but be sure you do it right!

I'm just passing on some useful information I've found for keeping healthy in general:

1. Don't touch your face.
2. Cough into your elbow, covering your mouth and nose as completely as possible.
3. Every time you shake hands, touch something in public, sneezed, coughed, etc., wash your hands for 20 seconds and be sure to scrub fingertips and knuckles, as well as palms. Using plain soap and water is sufficient, and this twitter thread explains why:
https://twitter.com/PalliThordarson/status/1236549305189597189

CDC tips for hand-washing: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html

When scrubbing your hands, there are some right ways to do it. Here's a helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seA1wbXUQTs

4. Last of all, if you can't wash your hands, scrub with a squirt of hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol. Or make your own. There are many home recipes on the internet.

Quarantine Sale!

EBOOK SALE!

Quarantined by Covid-19 and don't know what to do?

Read a book!

For a limited time and only on Amazon, THE LURIEL CYCLE: THE COMPLETE TRILOGY boxed set ebook will be on sale for 90% off the normal price. It is available now for the special price of $0.99 but this price will last only through 4/4/20, when it will return to $9.95.

This boxed set includes all three novels-- AWAKENING, ENLIGHTENMENT, and ETERNAL in one large volume of almost 1000 pages of good versus evil.

If you finish and are still stuck looking for more reading to occupy your time, be sure to check out my other books listed at melanienilles.com. All ebooks (except boxed sets/complete series/combined sets) are priced at $4.99 or less with several FREE and discounted first-in-series books.

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The world of Ahlias has a history of warfare between supernatural beings—daemons and luriel—which have nearly destroyed it at times. But ever since the Scientific Reformation, humans abandoned their beliefs in religious traditions, except for those who continue in secret to avoid persecution by daemon-controlled authorities. The luriel search for the power to end the war, while daemons hunt them down. Legends state that for either side to win, both must be destroyed. For millennia, the humans of Ahlias have been caught in the middle, and now, a mythical power has awakened in one of them. Daemons are relentless, but they have their weaknesses…

first day back in the saddle

Spring is here. It means I can get back in the saddle. It feels like forever since I sat on my horse, and it has been about six months, half a year, so it's pretty darn close to forever in horseperson years.

I had a nice day with Buddy yesterday. Although the ground was squishy and slippery, I was able to ride at a walk. As is typical for Buddy, he doesn't miss a beat. Six months is the same as six days for him. We were right back where we left off.

He's still a shaggy yeti and the grass isn't growing green yet, but we enjoyed our time together. You can't see the wet ground or hear the squish from every step, but it's there. At least it isn't snow covered anymore.

The Destruction of Walls... ready to go!

After more than I expected for the final round of edits on THE DESTRUCTION OF WALLS, it's finally done. So much better! I had a super clear head with this round and was coming up with new ideas on the spot to tweak the story with clearer directions for some of the characters.

I had been dealing with some mild depression since about the middle of last summer that would come and go with fuzzy headedness and finally found the right supplements to fix some of that. I hate anti-depressants because they just make it harder for me to think, which just makes me more depressed and kills my creativity; they don't actually fix the underlying problem but just mask it. I found the underlying issues and treated those with what I know and am doing much better than I would with any SSRI out there.

Anyway, it's allowed me to think more clearly, sleep more soundly, and write with more ideas, or at least edit... since I figured this all out while editing TDOW. I feel almost like my old self, if only I'd avoid the occasional treat. Sugar and caffeine are not my friends, as much as I'd like them to be :(

But, that's just a warning to others out there. Every situation is different; I've had to spend the last five
years figuring out what supplements helps me in what way, but I can say that for sleep, B6 and NAC (N-Acetyl-Cysteine) at night are the best sleep meds ever... at least for me. And--wow!--does refreshing sleep ever make a difference!

I've come up with better ideas for tweaking the series and made notes for the upcoming books I've planned. I'm a quarter done with the writing stage, which means I have a lot left to write, but it's so much fun. I hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I like writing it. (I've said it before but will say it again, because I'm really excited about it right now.)

So, I just finished final edits on TDOW and have uploaded it. You'll soon have the opportunity to read a sample. This was one exciting story with lots of intrigue and action and revelations. I love figuring out how stuff works, so I also included some technical details. The characters all shine in this at their best. They really came together as a coherent team, at last.

Once I've finished writing the first draft of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 7, I'll list the pre-order for Book 6, Disposition of Dreams. And then I should also have a title for #7 and a cover.

Stay tuned for updates!

almost ready

It's almost there!

I'm finishing up the final edits of The Destruction of Walls so it's available on time.

After getting halfway through writing #7 of this series, I realized how close I was getting to the release date I had set for #5. I had to put the WIP aside to get back to this, but I'm glad I did. I think it will help me to find my footing for #7 a little better.

This series evolves. Through the events that happen to them, the characters evolve. The hard part is knowing what's coming and not getting caught up in that while I'm writing in the present. It's a bit of a struggle at times (as it is writing #7) to stay in the mindset of the present characters. It's also a bit of a struggle to switch the focus to the other characters and let them stand out more rather than focus on the main character. #7 will let the others get out more. I want to give them each the spotlight.

Back to TDoW, you can pre-order now or wait. It will be available March 26, 2020.

Although sworn to protect Nya, L'Ni despises her. However, she won't let his hatred of the An'shel or his lethal skills stop her from confronting him. She'll find a way to break that wall, even if she has to volunteer as his punching bag. She has little else to do while her wings recover from the damage inflicted on Kurtuz.

Or at least she thinks she doesn’t. While the Iludrin has been floating in empty, interstellar space, Shen has been experimenting on the new ship. Those experiments have left them vulnerable, which they discover when two groups of boarders appear on the Iludrin, each with their own nefarious purpose. However, what they discover could offer an opportunity to impede the plans of the Issan, if everyone can work together, especially L'Ni and Nya.