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Cover reveal - Book 21

That didn't take long. Book 21 has a cover.

I found an image that with the cover blurb should spark some curiosity. I thought I might try to find some armor that could match the Issan, but then I also wanted to leave that to the imagination and it would likely require going to AI for something even close, so I went with this stock image, which is close enough to events in the book. The blurbs are harder to decide upon than the images most of the time, but even that wasn't too hard.

I think this works well, but that doesn't mean something won't get tweaked before it's published:

Today, I'll be working on the updated interior of the print omnibus, Collection 1 (Books 1-5) and get that uploaded. I hate formatting print books, which is why I'm only doing these in omnibus editions. I might tweak this cover a smidge while I'm at it too.

Thanks for reading!

Book 21 status...

Done!

The first draft ended up going longer than expected. I battled some of my chronic health issues too, but that passes and I keep on writing. This book pushes the war forward with the Issan in a big way.

It came in at 52K words, 12% more than I had expected, but it had to be done. I couldn't rush the ending.

Just as I won't rush the ending of the series. I have the next two outlined, along with the last one. It's that second to last that has me baffled about how I'll handle events, but I won't worry about it. It'll come when the time is right.

Book 21 will be quite the launch into the homestretch of the series. It's not a simple adventure, but as I mentioned in previous posts, required a lot of meticulous consideration of how L'Ni thinks. I'll never feel adequate to that, but I think I did a fairly good job of detailing his intellect in a way that I hadn't before. In other books, I showed the results of his judgment, but keeping him on the quiet side for the most part allowed me to assign a lot of credit to him that I didn't have to go into deeply. This was quite the change.

The coolest part about writing a story like this is that when I have trouble writing, it forces me to slow down and review, review, review. It's that pondering which brings out the depth that needs to be there. It all works out for the best.

Anyway, Book 21 is now drafted. I'll need to figure out a cover for it, and I think I just had an idea. I need to see if I can find a stock image suitable. In the meantime, it's time to edit Book 19. I love the system I've developed for writing this series. I can't wait to go back and edit to publish by the time I finish writing two books ahead. And I'll work on getting the hardcopy of the omnibus of books 1-5 updated and back in print. (I'm currently reading through book 6 and finding some errors that make me wonder if some of my editing changes didn't get saved at the time. 😞)

That's all for now.

Thanks for reading!

books and cats... and horse

I'm not quite done with Book 21. It's currently at 48K words, already longer than I anticipated. PLUS, the Hashimoto's flared up right on cue to delay me finishing this project, and when that happens to the degree it did, I just can't write. I can copyedit, but my brain isn't sharp enough to remember details and the lack of sleep only compounds it. That took the whole week to recover with very little writing getting done, and what was done needed immediate rewriting. Fortunately, I think I know what caused this flare and won't do that again!

So, not where I wanted to be by this weekend. I wanted to be finished. That didn't happen.

On the other hand, I did finish entering edits on Book 5 and uploaded the minor changes. I can get that kind of work done when the combo of thyroid issues and a wonky immune system collide into a perfect storm. I can also get a lot done at the day job. Next, I need to get to work on updating the print omnibus of books 1-5 and get that back online for sale.

And I finally had the perfect day to ride my horse today. I haven't felt this much like myself in a long time. I hadn't ridden him in about 6 months, although I've been out to give him treats and do groundwork, and it was like I hadn't been off. He's twelve years old now and I've had him for more than nine of those years, so we're pretty familiar with each other. But the same autoimmune issues that interrupt my writing also interrupt my riding. Today, everything came together--weather (around 40 F and 0 wind, which was gorgeous), other riders (he's better when a paturemate is also in the arena), and me feeling good. I needed that! I'll be sore for the next few days, but it was worth it.

And for lack of sleep, that's partly on the cats. Bilbo has been deciding that he likes to sleep at the top of my head and partly on my head, which is terrible for my neck. Plus I usually have a cat at my feet. And I can end up with one or more completing the box on either side of me. The worst is when they come walking on me in the wee hours of the morning and then I can't go back to sleep. It doesn't happen every night, but with four cats, there's usually one waking me at some point, hopefully not until close to when I need to get up for the day. My husband sleeps through all of it.

Also, now when I want to write, there are times that I have two cats. I can deal with my old boy next to me, but Bilbo never wants to stay next to me. He always wants a lap, and he's still learning to respect the laptop. So, I'll call the hubby to take him. Bilbo was supposed to be his cat. I have mine.

Oldest kitty loves Our Lady of Guadalupe
blanket, or at least the fuzzy side, even more
than my pink winter bathrobe.

This past month, two of our cats had high vet expenses from going off their food and then us discovering they needed their teeth cleaned. One of them had an abscessed tooth that was extracted. They now have matching "bracelets" of shaved hair (seen in pic) where the IVs were while they were sedated for the procedures. (Bilbo's shaved hair is nearly grown out from his IV during his neutering two months ago.) The oldest two are completely back to their old selves, so things are good again.

Now, back to writing... or time for oldest's felimazole, then writing. It's been quite the week and I'm finally feeling more like myself and able to focus again.

Life is busy, but life would be dull if it wasn't.

God bless!

What Prompted a Pastor's Kid to Consult a Priest and Exorcist

this, that, and some of those

I thought I'd post an update on a few things...

Cats

The cats have been expensive this month! The oldest two have each had periods of anorexia aka not eating. When cats don't eat for over a day, they go downhill pretty quickly. They're very sensitive creatures. It's hard to get them eating once they go off their food. The trick is figuring out what is causing inappetence and resolving it.

Two oldest kitties who have had health issues recently

Urgent care veterinary visits aren't cheap, but our kitties recovered with the right medications to stimulate their appetites, relieve pain, and recover their electrolytes (through subcutaneous fluids). Each was a little different in what worked, but our torbie had a tooth abscess that seems to have been resolved with an extraction and teeth cleaning. The Siamese (aka Thai cat) will have his teeth cleaned on Monday; we'll see what they find since he had his teeth cleaned a few years ago and had four teeth extracted at that time.

These two are 14 (Siamese) and 12 1/2 (torbie) years old. In searching for answers, I learned that dental care is a major cause of not eating in senior cats. From experience, I learned that bad breath is a good indicator that something is wrong with their teeth. The third oldest (10 1/2 hears old) will need his teeth cleaned too. He's showing signs of mouth pain, but he'll have to wait since we spent way too much money on the oldest two this month.

In other news, Bilbo has settled in pretty well. I currently have my old momma's boy (the senior Siamese) next to me while Bilbo is half on my lap--without any issues. Bilbo should be hubby's cat and often is, but for some reason, when I'm home and sitting on the loveseat, he wants my lap. He's a big boy and hasn't yet learned not to lay on my laptop. He's getting better, but he still has to be in my way. Fortunately, I pushed him down this time and he laid that way to be only partly on my lap, so I can type this with my laptop out of his way.

Household

All the pet issues came on top of the dryer not working. Fortunately, it only needed a piece replaced and the repairman knew immediately what it was. Unfortunately, we had to pay a hefty fee for the repair visit while the piece to replace cost about a tenth of that. It's cheaper than a new dryer but, added to the pet costs, makes for a very expensive month.

Forgotten Worlds

The first draft of Book 21 of Forgotten Worlds is nearly done. It's at 44K words and I have just a few scenes left. I expect to finish by the end of this month with it around 47K, although I do have to contend with health issues that can interfere with my plans.

The book is turning out better than expected. I'm always amazed when that happens, although I should know by now that the harder a story seems to be to write, the more I work on it and the better it actually ends up being (at least in my opinion, probably because I'm comparing to what I thought it would be in quality).

And I've finished rereading Book 5. I'll be uploading the updates soon, minor as they are. I'm really enjoying the reread and appreciating the refresh while going into the final stretch of this series. What concerns me are the little things that slipped past me in later books, so this reread is very helpful in that regard, because I'm making notes and fixing things and adding to my wiki file for reference.

Next up, I'll need a cover for ARMOR. Finding a cover image for that could be difficult, given the setting of it.

Writing a first draft description for Book 20 also needs to be done.

So much to do; so little time.

Life (and writing) goes on.

God bless!

Upcoming movies to watch

I like to peruse the movie trailers for upcoming movies every weekend at some point to break up my day. I don't see much anymore that I look forward to watching. I've all but quit watching movies and TV because of the glorification of violence, sex, vulgarities, and the dependence on CGI over good storytelling. (Also, growing closer to Christ will make you more repulsed by the sins of the world and stories that glorify such things, which predominate modern entertainment.)

Every once in a while, however, something comes along that intrigues me. It's very rare anymore that I find one movie. Below are two I discovered that are coming out soon, and I want to make a note for myself to watch for them and to offer you a glimpse of something with positive themes:

Hollywood has gone diabolical, or nearly so, since there are rare exceptions like The Unbreakable Boy. I'll stay away from the regular studios for the most part and turn to alternative studios like Angel Studios for reliably better options. Movies like these have something positive to offer.

the homestretch of writing

Yes, I'm close to finishing Book 21. The word count is currently just under 40K, but I am just getting into the climax on this.

I estimate 2-3 chapters to go, and a final word count of 45-47K. It'll be about average in length with much of the rest of the series. And I should be able to finish by the end of this month, which is about average for writing the books in this series. I published Book 18 on October 31 and would have started writing again about a week later. According to my blog posts, I started shortly after publishing Book 18. Three months to write like most of the others.

Then I'll go through the usual editing routine. I give the most recent book draft a read through and make notes for rewrites, or just go ahead with major rewrites right away. Then I go into editing the next book in line for publishing, which will be Book 19, ALL THE KING'S MEN. I'm eager to get back into that.

I'm also really enjoying rereading the series while on the treadmill. One chapter a day makes the exercise go faster and is reminding me what's come before. I'm really enjoying it and hope you do too. This is a series that I'll enjoy reading again and again.

Once I'm done reading book 5, I'll get a new version of the print omnibus edition (Collection 1: Books 1-5) available. The series needed another read-through and edit, at least for the first few books. I find little things here and there but mostly am adding notes to my wiki file for the series or verifying things that I might be addressing in current writing. I'll continue with the rest just because I do enjoy it that much.

That's where I am now... in the homestretch of writing Book 21. Then editing and publishing Book 19... Then back to writing for Book 22, and I have a timeline of events for the final books.

Somewhere in there, I also need to find or Photoshop a cover image for Book 21. There's always something.

Thanks for reading!

Why Does God Allow Evil? ~ Fr. Ripperger

Everyone asks why God allows evil if he is so loving. Fr. Chad Ripperger, Ph.D. (and well-known exorcist), explains that here in one of his many excellent lectures. I've linked to this and many others on my Faith Resources tab on this blog.

Good videos tend to get posted in spurts. I'll share what I think is most helpful. When I have something else to say, such as an update on writing, I'll post that.

For now, I hope you find this as informative as I do.

God bless!

True Stories From An Exorcist | Fr Dan Reehil

Only the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic church has the full authority to exorcise demons, even if it is made up of flawed individuals, hopefully all seeking to become saints. Look no further than the Bible to learn why--apostolic tradition: Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on the apostles and gave them authority and they then ordained their successors as he ordained them and those successors ordained their successors and on and one through the years in an unbroken line to the church we have today, which is made up of priests like Fr. Dan Reehil, who have the authority to cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ.

If you're still unsure, then realize that the church that Jesus established as his only church was the "church of all" or in Greek, the "ekklesia kath'holes" (source of the word katholikos... catholic). Jesus established His church, which compiled the Bible (73 books), and he established the sacraments, which are recorded in the gospels of the Bible. To reject any part of His teachings is to be disobedient; we don't get to choose what to accept and reject of God's law--to do so comes from pride and disobedience. Like our earthly parents, to love God is to honor and obey Him (and respect His natural law). Satan has faith in God, but that doesn't mean he's saved. His fall was a result of pride and disobedience. Faith without [good] works is dead.

Demons are real. Exorcism proves this.

That means hell is real.

This is identical to what this man reported of his NDE of hell. I believe I've posted this before, but it is valuable in reinforcing the reality of the horrors of hell, from which there is no escape. This life is fleeting and we get relief. In hell, there is no relief from the suffering. Once you're there, it is eternal damnation...

Keep in mind that God doesn't force us into hell. His mercy is boundless, but we must be contrite and repent of our sins to receive his mercy. Most of the souls in hell didn't believe it was real and lived without loving God (which means loving others, as we are ALL created in His image, from conception).

You can find these and more on my Faith Resources tab on this blog.

May your faith journey lead you to sanctity (to become a saint alive in heaven in the beatific vision of God's presence) so you can avoid the pains of hell.

God bless!

Satan Loves When You Vent: The Heart, Mind and Tongue Connection and the Demonic

Dan Schneider, Ph.D., is an experienced exorcist assistant. He is also a former amateur boxer and U.S. Army helicopter pilot and Gulf War veteran. Dan has been in Catholic teaching and evangelization radio for over 20 years. He also is currently on virginmostpowerfulradio.org, co-hosting War College with Jesse Romero. His latest book The Liber Christo Method: A Field Manual for Spiritual Combat is published by TAN Books. (I highly recommend his book, which features many prayers from Fr. Chad Ripperger's Deliverance Prayers for Use by the Laity.)

Communication and relationship expert Christine M. Bacon, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, trainer, longtime university professor, and the host of radio talk-show "Breakfast with Bacon." More at https://www.drchristinebacon.com/about.html.

More than I expected

Book 21 is turning into more than I expected. Not only is it a sort of refresher of some of what's come before, but it also brings a lot of pieces together to set up for the final stretch of the series. Since this is the 21st book of a series, it makes sense to pull in lots of clips from past books (although with some rewriting from new points of view), which is contributing to the word count easily reaching 33K now.

Don't worry, it's not all flashbacks. The story advances with the Issan and Paxons too. Like I just said, it sets up for the final stretch of the series.

In UNBROKEN BONDS, I brought together a lot of loose threads to "tie the knot" in more than one way. 😉  In HOMECOMING, I brought together a lot of pieces for a huge (what I thought was huge) revelation about the connection between the Inari and Feri. Now, in ARMOR, a new stage of the war will arise to carry this series to the end.

Secrets are coming into the open, affecting military and political strategies by all sides.

Book 21-25 will bring all the pieces together FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.

Stay tuned. You don't want to miss the conclusion!

Thanks for reading!