New kitty gets a furever home

He's ours!

No chip. No FIV or FeLV. No fleas. (All as expected)

All vaxxed, neutered, dewormed, and now he does have a chip registered to us and a collar like our other kitties.

New boy is all ours. 🥳

Rodney also got a new name... Bilbo. And he is estimated to be about 2 years old.

Now we have cats named after characters in Farscape, Avatar the Last Airbender, Stargate/Danny Phantom/Pirates of the Caribbean, and (at last) Lord of the Rings. Five years ago, we had one named after a character in Star Wars, but she passed away at the age of 16+.

I brought Bilbo home from the vet this afternoon and he was dying for attention, besides being hungry since he had to have his food taken away by 8 pm last night. I thought he'd hate me for being the one to shove him into the carrier this morning, but I got licks and headbutts. Edit: he's also giving love nips and finally sleeping peacefully now that everything is settled.

Hubby and I got his scent all over us, and since he's clear, no more changing clothes or having to wash hands between him and the other cats. That's... not going too well, but it's only been a couple of days of having him in the house. Youngest boy sniffs and doesn't care. Middle girl is just staying away. The old man, however, is skulking around and hissing at us. He wants to be close to us but doesn't like the smell of a strange cat.

This will take some time. Once they get used to scent mixing, we'll consider face-to-face introductions.

This is going to be a long process, but with patience, we'll get through it.

Officially the newest member of our household

I can't believe we have another cat. It's surreal. I wanted to wait until our old boys and girl had passed away. God had other plans.

new kitty update... T-1 day

Rodney goes into the vet tomorrow for all that he needs done to be our new indoor cat. We will find out then whether we can keep him or have to give him up. We're pretty sure he's healthy, but if he's not, it's going to be heartbreaking, just as it would be if he's chipped. He adopted us.

Getting him into the house yesterday had a couple climactic moments when he freaked out a bit, but he settled down with scratches. Using that, we took our time to lure him into the bathroom we had prepared for him. The other kitties were locked up at the time so there could be no interaction.

Taking in a stray is no small endeavor. He's not feral, however, and prefers human companionship to being alone. In fact, we discovered that, after just a few hours in the bathroom by himself with food, water, a litterbox, and a folded blanket for a bed that he is a completely clingy lap-cat.

When I returned to him after he'd had a few hours to settle down, he had been hiding behind the washing machine and came out with some coaxing. I sat down with my bathrobe on and he climbed into my lap and laid down with front claws kneading gently. I knew he would be a lap-cat but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

This morning, I went down to feed him, being the first one up in the morning, and he came out almost instantly and made a fuss for attention. In fact, he then started to eat while meowing. When I stood up, however, he quit eating. It was like he was saying, "Don't leave! Please, please don't leave me! I want scratches and love. I love you so much!"

Once we get a clean bill of health from FIV/FeLV testing (and if he has no microchip), we can then say he's ours. Unfortunately, if he's positive, he would put the health of the rest of our kitties in danger. He won't go back to the wild, however. I won't do that to him. My youngest kid volunteers at the local humane society, so we'd check with them on other options. He doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, at least not when interacting with us.

How could anyone have given him up or not be searching for a lost pet? Could you abandon this big snuggly lovebug?

I'm praying for confirmation of a healthy stray boy who gets to stay with us.

As hubby said... The cat distribution system is working.

Not just a new book idea... a new series!

My post from two weeks ago about a single new story idea just took a new turn.

The idea has been lurking in the back of my mind, even while Book 21 of Forgotten Worlds has reached 12K words. I haven't started any writing on the new idea but, after writing out a full synopsis for it when it exploded in my mind two weeks ago, I have put it aside.

However, while I focus on finishing the FW series (and much thinking and planning out the final books to culminate in that exciting series finale I'm promising), the new idea has been stewing in the back of my mind. It will seem to be urban fantasy but will have strongly religious undertones of truth. It will be be like nothing else, a Catholic urban fantasy. However, even something like the Exorcist is at the core Catholic UF, but dramatized and lacking the proper catechism. This won't be horror like exorcist movies, however, or full of sexual tension or faith lies like most UF. It won't be preachy but will come from what I've been gleaning from listening to exorcists and learning about the saints and mystics in a modern setting.

And while this has been stewing in the back of my mind, the new idea comes to the surface once in a while, as it did just a short time ago to spur me to share this... I have an idea for a book 2, turning the idea into a series!

And to think I expected to stop writing after the Forgotten Worlds series, God has other plans! 🤣 Never underestimate His plans! I've pledged my gift, His gift to me, to serve Him for the last two years and it's really changed the ideas that come to the forefront of my stories and character virtues.

I'll keep making notes of ideas and see what happens in details for the Book 2 concept (all I have so far) and possibly a Book 3 idea.

Stay tuned. I'm eager to see how this develops.

Thanks for reading!

new kitty

He adopted us and is super lovey but no collar, not fixed, and likely not chipped. He's a stray who came to us about a week ago and stuck around after getting food and water and shelter from the winter storm that we had this past week.

The picture is from some time after the snow had started.

We've been calling this one Rodney (as in McKay from Stargate), since we have a brown tuxedo named Jack (O'Neill, Fenton, Sparrow et al) in the house already. However, a new permanent name is being considered. All strays get a name for identification if they stick around, but a housecat gets a permanent name. Rodney is a gray tuxedo with a chin marking.

He stayed around and started not dashing off when we put food out within days after finding us. In fact, he had been with us just a few days when I put food out and he tried to get in the house rather than running off.

He's not feral. We discovered he is super lovey (loves face and shoulder scratches) and is a purr machine, although still a bit jumpy from loud noises or sudden moves, like he had a home but was abandoned, or maybe he was a tamed barn cat. We live in a country area.

We checked all the lost pet listings for our area and didn't see anything like him, so we made a vet appointment and have a plan for bringing him in. If he is FeLV/FIV negative and isn't chipped, he has a furrever home here. Next Wednesday, he'll be neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and possibly washed for fleas/mites (while sleeping off the anesthesia for neutering), then come home and become an indoor kitty. Joining a household with three other cats will be quite an adjustment for everyone.

We've never done this before, but he's so friendly that we can't leave him to the harsh weather or predators. I suspect he'll become a lap kitty, but we won't know until he settles in.

He found us and we're keeping him if everything works out.

status report

I've had feast or famine days of writing, but I've made good progress since starting, in spite of this. Book 21 is progressing well.

The book isn't what I expected. The episodes within this series vary in form and style. They don't follow a set pattern. This isn't one of intense action sequences like I aim for, but it is one of intrigue and plans within plans. It's like the in-series fictional game of Trellix. L'Ni has a mission, and he intends to succeed. He's playing a dangerous game with his life, but it's all part of a broader plan of success, if he gets it right and if his bond with Nya is as effective as he hopes. It's a story of present events with flashbacks to fill in the backstory to reach such a dangerous point.

The word count right now sits at 10,000 words. My goal with each book in this series is 40-50K words. The good writing days generally make up for the bad days. As I said, feast or famine, but that's because I'm still dealing with the crud after being sick in September. I've talked to people who have said this stuff lasts a while. Ugh! I'm past sick of being sick. Unfortunately, it seems to have to run its course. Fortunately, I've figured out how to minimize the problems with it. It's not a cure, but it minimizes my need for meds that make my brain fuzzy to the point of not being able to write.

If I'm careful, maybe I can finish a first draft in early January. That's my goal anyway.

Thanks for reading!

Interview with Exorcist Fr. Carlos Martins

Parenting woes

I was given a few more gray hairs tonight, thanks to our youngest child (17 yo). She's responsible and generally well-behaved, but she has her moments.

She disappeared tonight and I expected she wouldn't be gone long, but as it was getting late and she wasn't home, I started to worry a little. I figured she would answer her phone and tell me where she was. (What did our parents do in the days before cell phones?!)

She didn't answer my text. She didn't answer my calls.

I'm a writer. Consider what my imagination started doing... Yeah. I feared I would never see my daughter alive again.

Hubby was at his gaming place, so I called and told him and asked him to try calling her.

A few minutes later, I received a text that she was home. Thank you, God!

I went out to the garage and her car was back. She had gone to a school play and didn't tell anyone, not even her older sister. The play is fine, but me worrying that she could be in a bad accident or abducted is not fine.

I need my evening prayers, our Lord's and Lady's solace. I'm grateful that my child came home safely, but many parents don't have that comfort. My prayers go out to them and their lost children tonight.

God bless and keep you and your family.

Uh, oh... story ideas

I've been doing well to focus exclusively on Forgotten Worlds this long. Usually I'm working on one book and other ideas inundate me. That hasn't happened in a long time. I had an exclusive focus on Forgotten Worlds for six years (since I started planning and writing book 1). I had been able to squelch any spark of other ideas before they ignited into a conflagration.

Today, something came to me that is so amazing--new ideas always are--that I've had to synopsize the full story. It is incredible! Urban fantasy that starts out like it will be horror but then transforms into something much different than expected. It's still a bit dark in places, but it has a bright ending. What makes it different is the religious element of it.

This is typical for the creative mind. We'll see how I feel in a couple of years after I finish Forgotten Worlds. If I put this aside and it still has a grip on me after time away from the idea, I'll know that it's meant to be written. If I can't get it out of my head, I'll know that I need to write it immediately. I could write two books at once. That isn't easy, but with two distinctly different stories, it can be done (Forgotten Worlds and this).

I must confess that I was expecting to be done writing after Forgotten Worlds, but with this idea, I think I've found a new direction for my writing after I'm done with this series. The ideas never truly quit coming.

Once a writer, always a writer.

And so it begins... again

Now that Book 18 is available for your reading pleasure, I've started book 21 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. The tentative title of this is ARMOR.

So far, I have 2,000 words, which tops off chapter 1. In this book, I'll be starting at a point of the story in progress and telling it like I did with Ferious--jumping from the present where the plan is already in action to the beginning of what sets those events in action. But there's a twist--for a change things are going as planned for the characters, just not what you'll expect.

That will make sense when the time comes to read it. I can't tell you more, because this is three books ahead of what you're able to read. Events in the two between books are what lead to this, since each book is like a chapter of a larger story, and I'm not about to give those away. You'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying Books 1-18. Only seven books after that and the series will be done in an exciting series climax. I've kept these books the lengths of barely novel-qualifying length so I can write them faster and also so I can write a wider variety of episodes. Twenty-five books will be just right. I've written nearly every kind of story I could want to write in space opera. Any longer and it would get repetitious. This way, every story is something a little different and fresh for the series. I've really enjoyed what this series has become and hope you do too.

Thanks for reading!

And for those who have been patiently waiting on each book, thanks for your faith in my vision and your support!

It's here!

SINS OF THE FATHER (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds 18) is now available!

The book went up a couple of days ago and is finally appearing at all the major retailers. Buy your copy today.

In the data stolen from the Issan, Nya discovers her greatest fear about the Ethalian portal research—the Issan have the calculations. In the hopes that the Dirnothril may have more current information, she and her friends decide to investigate the package left for L'Ni on Par Ti'jek. What they find shocks everyone… L'Ni isn't the only former Issan living on the outside.

However, the revelation is the least of concerns. An Inquisitor is ready for L'Ni's arrival, and, unknown to anyone, a more sinister threat lurks on the Cartegos, one that could destroy L'Ni and, through him, Nya.

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Purchase from links at https://www.melanienilles.com/books/sins-of-the-father/.