Book 23 update

I made some great progress on Book 23 of Forgotten Worlds lately. I changed the setting, and now the whole plot I thought I wanted is different but in a good way. I had some difficulty with the original idea.

Those reading through Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds know that the characters are an ensemble of misfits of a wide range of backgrounds. They form what I would call a sort of clean, Christian mash-up between Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars.

Back when I first announced this project, I had outlined more plot ideas than I would need and eventually settled on 25 books. As the story evolved, I decided on the storylines I wanted to write into the series arc. While each episodic book is a complete story, each is like a chapter of a larger book, planned out in the same way that Babylon 5 was.

This has been a monumental undertaking for me that required an outline with notes for each book, but I left room for changes on the fly and there have been many that helped the overall series arc tremendously. Book 23 is proving to be no different, and I like that it can still surprise me. They're fun surprises that keep me going. In this case, Zaer gave me something entertaining and is jumping into the foreground again. She can be quite a spitfire yet do a complete one-eighty to being motherly, or vice versa, on a moment's notice. Her personality has always been interesting and her background even more so.

With this cast of characters, I have a lot of options for how to make the stories interesting, or at least I think they do. I hope readers are enjoying them, because this one is developing into another interesting adventure in a way I hadn't expected, the last big one in advance of the final two books, which will be a combined two-punch climax of everything that has been building in the series. The first draft of book 23 has 8,600 words as of tonight.

I'm excited to see how the adjusted outline of the book plays out. The writing is as much of an adventure as reading is.

Thanks for reading!

Her husband confessed sins to a Protestant pastor. The pastor was uncomfortable with the whole thing (video title)

a new hope... for an old cat

Our old cat that had seemed to be having symptoms of dementia has been doing much better lately, starting about the third day after having his teeth cleaned.

My thinking is that he had mouth pain that was distracting him.

Now, I may have figured out something because of my own health issues that might apply to him also. Vitamins weren't helping me get my energy and focus back and writing was getting more difficult. However, I've been feeling great after starting a supplement with NADH and CoQ10. In fact, I feel amazing! I've tried NADH previously and it was too potent for me, but I had been feeling fatigued more and more often over the last year, especially since this summer's crash. Now, I seem to be tolerating it better, probably because I need it. My creativity spikes soon after taking it and I can go all day without a nap. It's in animal proteins, but I get painful digestive cramps from red meat, so it would make sense that I would be low (tested negative for alpha-gal syndrome).

I realized our oldest cat has been on a hydrolyzed protein diet because of his intolerance to proteins, which may have been causing similar problems. However, shortly before his teeth cleaning, he started not wanting to eat his prescription diet food, so we tried a non-prescription version, which has chicken protein in it. That could be helping him, although he has had stinky gas that seems to be decreasing in frequency slowly.

For myself, I went to order a straight CoQ10 in a capsule and saw a review of its usefulness for dogs. This got me wondering about our cat, since dogs and cats tend to be very similar in what they can and can't eat. What about supplements?

I did a quick search and found this: https://www.vetriscience.com/coenzyme-q10-10-mg-capsules.html. Since we have autoship set up with Chewy, I've ordered a bottle from them for our old cats and will how well they tolerate it and if that makes a difference, especially since they're all on their own specialized diets and get picky about eating so they may not be getting enough of what they need as they get older.

If any other old-cat owners out there are seeing similar issues, it may be worth checking out. I'm anxious to see if this helps, but it could be a few weeks before we know for sure.

In the meantime, I'll be praying that this is the solution for all of us.

When this former Satanist saw Mary and realized he did not really sell his soul to Satan... (video title)

A bit of the above is in this shorter video:

Sophistry Exposed: How Emotional Appeals Replace Truth (Plato, Aristotle & Today) ~ Fr. Ripperger (video title)

Fr. Chad Ripperger has a PhD in philosophy. He is not only an exorcist priest but is a "doctor".

Surviving the Dark Night of the Soul - Explaining the Faith (video title)

Writing update

It's already been around six weeks since I published Book 20. After that, I read through 21 and 22.

I'd estimate it's been about three to four weeks since I started writing Book 23, but it was a rough start. I thought I had the story I wanted, but then I had other ideas... ideas that came to a screeching halt in the face of a combined one-two punch of perimenopause and autoimmune flare up.

However, I've gotten over that stumbling block and am writing. So far, I have around 7,000 words on Book 23 written and it's along the lines of what I had in mind but a bit different setting. I also may be showing a different effect of the Starfire from its blending with a different species. That will really bring some things together from the beginning of the series, and I can't wait to see how it comes together.

While Nya and L'Ni and the new character seek out the Keepers and the Starfire, the Ethalian military coalition is preparing for the big attack on the Issan.

It's been a long road and this will be the most difficult to write, but I am determined to finish this. It'll be worth the wait.

Thanks for your patience!

ps--Dargo has improved, but the effects from having his teeth cleaned and a piece of tooth root taken out was frightening for a while there. He's an old boy showing signs of age, just not as bad as he was right after being under anesthesia. Thanks for any prayers offered for him. I always ask for the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi, who has been great about helping me with this boy's health issues through the years.

God bless!

Imploring God to rid the world of evil; God will reward you accordingly. Fr. Iannuzzi explains (video title)

On Bad Thoughts ~ St. Alphonsus

aging pets are heartbreaking

A lot of writers have pets. We have the typical cat clowder. I've occasionally posted about them here with pictures.

It's been just under six years since we put down our oldest and first family kitty when she was sixteen. Because she was showing all signs of being at the end but not letting go, we took her to the vet as a mercy. As soon as the needle was in, she was already gone. She still had her mental faculties.

Our current oldest, Dargo, is fifteen today, but is going downhill fast. For several months, I've been noticing signs of dementia (feline cognitive dysfunction syndrome or CDS), which has been heartbreaking. I fear his time is coming soon. I have a friend who has told me about her husband's dementia and taking care of him, and the signs I've seen in Dargo and researched are a lot of the same, but in a cat way. It's heartbreaking to watch him fade away from me, like watching him die mentally while still being alive in body.

To try to help with his decreasing eating, we had his teeth cleaned recently. However, that hasn't helped. I don't know how much time he has, but in celebration of the momma's boy who has been a part of our household since he was seven weeks old, here's some moments from our lives together:

Kitten Dargo and (now deceased) Padme

Dargo loved his foster mother Padme. He mourned her death
for a few months.

Dargo and Suki competing for space in the bay window
and deciding to share it.

Mom's snuggle buddy! Soon after his first teeth cleaning
a few years ago

The Power and Purpose of Prayer (video title)

October 7: Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary... the spiritual truth behind the Battle of Lepanto

Our Lady of Victory/Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

A quick note on my website contact form

My old Yahoo email is where the contact form submissions from my website get sent. However, Yahoo has been classifying more and more legitimate email as spam. Although most of those emails are spam from my website, occasionally, valid emails also get sent to spam and I miss them.

If I have not replied to your email, use the email in my book, the same email, and try again. That doesn't mean Yahoo won't send that also to spam too. I'm working on training the filter, but I often forget to check spam and apologize for any non-response. It wasn't this bad before they changed their email system.

The other option is to reply here, but because of some nasty commenters, I've set this blog up to require an account. Because Blogger is owned by Google, that means a Google account.

I'm sorry to make things difficult, but if you receive enough spam of your own, you'll understand why this is so frustrating on both sides - overwhelming spam and losing valid emails.

Thank you for your patience.

God bless!

St. Faustina: Her Life and Spirituality - Explaining the Faith (video title)

Today, October 5, is the the feast day of St. Faustina Kowalska. This date marks the anniversary of her death in 1938. The Diary of Saint Faustine Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul, is an excellent read and inspiring for anyone seeking to grow spiritually. Reading about the life of a future saint gives one insight into the trials and tribulations of a soul seeking to grow. Saint Faustina's diary is different than the writings of other saints in that she writes about direct visions of Jesus, who asked her to bring the message of Our Lord's Divine Mercy to the world.

Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul, and divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!

The full Divine Mercy chaplet can be found here: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/pray-the-chaplet

ps - On a side note, this day would have been the birthday of my deceased brother. I believe he would have had a devotion to St. Faustina if he had survived longer than just short of 22 years that he had on this earth.

Catholic exorcist shares what happened: Musicians consecrating their albums to Satan! (video title)

The angel sent the dog to help Fr. Reehil? 16 Beautiful Things I've Learned about Guardian Angels (video title)

This past week were two angelic recognition days in the church:

• (Sept. 29) Michaelmas, the Feast of St. Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel, the only angels named in the Bible
• (Oct. 2) The Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

Operation Overlord of Spiritual Warfare! (video title)

and now for a return to something different... horse pics

It's been a while, but I hadn't been doing much with Buddy over the last year, and this summer was a mess. He's mostly become a pasture pet, but I have had chances to ride here and there... few and far between. It's no big deal with him, because he's never a problem if he doesn't get ridden much.

Because of the lack of time for him, I had tried to sell him, but only to the right person, which never came. I guess he was just meant to be my pasture-pet Buddy.

I hadn't intended when I bought him to have him this long, but I just never bothered to try to sell him, and now I couldn't stand the thought of someone not liking him and dumping him in a sale where he'd end up abused or killed. He'll stay with me the rest of his life.

Here he is from this past summer with one of that big, beautiful butt from today:

The Maui hook (from the character in Moana)

He wears his heart on his stocking.

Happy trails!

Protestant Goes to Mass for 30 Days Straight (video title)

This is a great, respectful summary of the Holy Mass.

Check out some great indie SFF reads

Spotlight on Indie SFF is a new site dedicated to based indie-published science fiction and fantasy

You'll find some of my books and many others being added daily.

The link is in a new section of the sidebar on this blog, along with a few others where you can find my books listed or just sites in general for readers to find books.

spotlightonindiesff.com 

Eucharistic miracles prove the Catholic Church is TRUE, that God is REAL, and Jesus is God

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

- John 6:53-59

I'm pretty sure I've posted following previously, but it's a great addition to this post:

For more proof, you can find information at the following links:

10 Amazing Eucharistic Miracles

Carlo Acutis Eucharistic Miracles of the World

Getting back into writing

Book 23, here I come!

I wrapped up rereads of Books 21 & 22 (major rewrites needed!) this past weekend and have been trying to resolve issues with the plot idea for Book 23 that I had made notes about. The setting wasn't working.

I started outlining a new idea intended as an opening, but that seems like it would fit Book 24 much better, so I'm going to use that there. It's a perfect set up for Book 25's big finish.

Throughout today, I've had a bit of a leaning towards a plot line I had decided not to use and had even deleted, although it hung on in my mind. Sure enough, with some time away and modification combining my original notes for this, I think it works! It may not be the dark, edgy plot I had originally planned, but it will be a twist from what I've done before... and I think I might even link it to Book 22's discovery. We'll see once all is said and done.

I've mentioned before that these last three books would be difficult. I had a basic plot idea and many notes of what I wanted to include, but that basic plot idea was too similar to a couple of others I've used. I needed to get back to some of how the series began, a bit more like The Rule of Yonder. It has a nice coming-full-circle feel with this modified idea before the series finale.

I like this. I like this a LOT. I finally have Book 23 (tentatively titled ANGELS AND HERETICS) settled. Let the writing commence!

It's been a long road - seven years since I started this project and 18-24 months until I expect the final book to be published.

Exciting times!

Stay tuned.

How to Overcome Scrupulosity | Fr Chad Ripperger (video title)

Conversion stories

Keith Nester has a series of interviews with converts. You can find his channel through the video above or go directly to https://www.youtube.com/@KeithNester.

HOW DO YOU JOIN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

2 Thessalonians 2:15

1 Timothy 3:15

Jesus Christ founded a church. That church compiled the Holy Bible. That church came to be known as the Catholic Church. Welcome home to all those who find their way to the truth!

Additional:

a small update on writing... the final three!

Since I published Book 20, I've been reading through Books 21 and 22 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds to review what the most recent books cover.

I expect to finish that this weekend and by Monday, if not sooner, start writing Book 23. I'll be down to the final three books, and I have to decide which order on 23 and 24. The plots at this point could fit for either one, but I have to decide soon which is best.

I'm also enjoying rereading the rest of the series and am up to Book 16. It's helpful to catch up... but I never stop editing. I find little things that I want to fix. I never won't find something that I question changing. I'm also making notes to make sure I've saved things in my wiki file for reference.

And next week or weekend, the end of September, I'll work on formatting the updated print collections of the series and get those back up. Once I get through the latest five books of reading again, I'll set up Collection 4. The only problem is that there are maximum page allowances for the print. Since the books seem to be getting longer, I can only hope that I can continue with the final collections being five books each. 😬

After I finish book 23, I'll go into edits on Book 21. After rereading it... It's going to need a lot of editing!

Those are the plans for now. I have pages of notes for the final three books. It's all coming together for the exciting conclusion of this series.

Thanks for reading!

"The reality of someone doing evil and not caring at all." Catholic priest explains. (video title)

Prophecy Unfolding? Charlie Kirk's Connection To The Prophecy Of Saint Carlo Acutis (video title)

Carlo Acutis was canonized a week ago. A few days later, Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Immediately after, people report going back to church for the first time, some of them after decades. Young people are flocking to churches. 

Is the prophecy of Saint Francis of Assisi to the mother of Carlo Acutis in her dream happening? Did God allow the evil that happened to Charlie Kirk to fulfill His will to convert the world to fulfill that prophecy? God is outside time and space and knows everything that could possibly happen from every decision of everything in His creation. We can't know His mind, but what I'm seeing seems to align with that. Only time will tell, but I feel the movement of the Holy Spirit, that something is happening.

God wants us all to be saints, which is simply to be holy and deserving of His presence, but nothing impure is allowed in the presence of God. We must follow God's law and seek to be as close as we can to Him. The only way to be as close as we can is in the Catholic Church and the sacraments set by Jesus which are only offered fully in the Catholic Church, the original church established by Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God. The summit of this is the Holy Eucharist, of which Carlo Acutis had devoted his life. "This IS My body, which will be given up for you" and "...this IS My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins" are the words of Our Lord in the Passover meal, the Last Supper before his passion, death, and ressurrection.

Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us!

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us!

God bless!

Wayward Children & Catholic Parenting | Faith, Discipline & Prayer in Family Life ~ Fr. Ripperger (video title)

NOW AVAILABLE - Darkest Depths

It was officially published Sunday, but it took a day for all the major retailers to add DARKEST DEPTHS (Starfire Angels Forgotten Worlds 20). You can find the links on my website at https://melanienilles.com/books/darkest-depths/. All the links are there now.

I have also sent out the announcement email to everyone on my list.

I've started reading the next two books that I have written and am still making notes on how to organize the final three books. I've been planning this for a while, but have new ideas come up that need to be evaluated for fitting into the story. I can't believe there's only three left!

I could have planned for more books in this series, but this is plenty. It's enough that many readers won't start an unfinished series of such length, but I am determined to finish. I'd have to die or end up in a coma not to finish. I don't like leaving anything unfinished. I'm kind of OCD that way. 

Anyway, If you've been waiting, thank you for your patience! I've had a lot on my plate, but I'm in the homestretch on this series now. It's been a long road, but it's getting closer to the end.

Book 20, DARKEST DEPTHS, reveals a little history of Zaer and Shen, and it was fun to write and fun again to edit. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Thanks for reading!

Inside Catholic Exorcism: Temptation, Possession & Spiritual Warfare Explained ~ Fr. Ripperger. (video title)

Author Interview: Jon Del Arroz about his new book, "Churchianity: How Modern American Churches Corrupted Generations of Christians"

Today, I'm featuring a fellow Catholic speculative fiction author, Jon Del Arroz. Jon is the author of multiple book and comic series.

However, his most recent book, Churchianity: How Modern American Churches Corrupted Generations of Christians, is far from fiction, and soon after its release, it hit #1 of the Amazon religious philosophy books.

Here's a little background on Jon from his Amazon bio:

Jon Del Arroz is a #1 Amazon Bestselling author, "the leading Hispanic voice in science fiction" according to PJMedia.com, and winner of the 2018 CLFA Book Of The Year Award and the N3F Award for Best Graphic Novel. He is a popular youtuber with hilarious livestreams and a lot of audience engagement. In his free time he likes roleplaying, reading comics, and playing tennis.

I asked if he had anything else to add about his background, especially in light of the topic of the book, Churchianity...

JDA:  I’ve been studying the Bible all of my life. I had the luxury of going to a Christian school with an incredible teacher who gave us college-level analysis on each book of the New Testament that prepared me well for my faith journey. I was at a Presbyterian Church for years but felt God called me to return to the Catholic Church in 2020. This was, in my humble opinion, for a couple of reasons: 1. To bring my family closer to traditionalism and 2. Because my role in the Presbyterian church as one of the worship leaders was very performative, it was a humbling experience where the services definitely are never “about me.”

You're unapologetically Christian on social media and bold about countering the prevailing culture, but were you always outspoken about the modern culture or did something happen to make you finally just say enough is enough?

JDA:  I’ve always spoken out and been a conservative Christian, even back to campaigning for a local congressman when I was in my youth. My main goal has always been to be a sci-fi and fantasy author and a comic creator, though, so when I get discovered by the industry and canceled after the 2016 election, it solidified that the only way out is through, and I committed myself to being a loud voice for what’s right, no matter the cost.

Can you describe a little of your faith journey and where you are in the practice of your faith today?

JDA:  As mentioned before, I grew up in the faith and went to a Christian school (Assemblies of God denomination). I was baptized Catholic young and received communion, but then my family switched to a Presybterian Church where I stayed from high school up through 2020. So I’ve had experience with all kinds of denominations and different ways of looking at things to come to an understanding.

Most of your books are science fiction. Does your faith affect how you write or inspire your fiction in any way? If so, how?

JDA:  At the beginning I’d say it did very little as I was lured into writing “without a message” as so many conservative Christians are told to do. But as I went on I realized if I’m not writing to say something important, why am I writing? So my books began to take a different shape because of that. You can see my heavy faith influences in Justified and The Demon’s Eye, as well as within the Terran Imperium Universe through the character of Lt. Lansing in “Into The Black.”

Can you describe a bit of what you feel is the source of the problem of "Churchianity" - Do you feel that it's an issue stemming from protestantism, from within the Catholic church, something else, or a combination of factors?

JDA:  It’s the Christian propensity to want to treat everyone with equality as it sounds nice. Christians get preyed upon “not to judge” and while it’s true we should give everyone human dignity because they are created in the image of God along with us, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying to remove sin from our and other people’s lives. That’s actually the goal of our sanctification process. And because it’s an uncomfortable process, Christians tend to shy away from it in modern times.

I know that my generation wasn't catechized properly, and I think that is an issue that has led to a lot of the lack of reverence in many churches. What do you think could be done differently that would improve people's reverence for the faith?

JDA:  I think that the new generation is growing up with a lot of reverence. Gen Z and beyond have noticed that secularization, watering down of messages has not done any good and they’re craving for that authentic connection that the catechism gave Christians for thousands of years. It’s not just about the present church, but that connection with the body of the past and future through the saints is literally the Kingdom of Heaven.

What do you feel could or should be changed in the church and why?

JDA:  A lot of the new initiatives to modernize things and streamline ceremony are dangerous, in my opinion, because it allows for a casualness which is not how we should treat being face to face with our Almighty God. There’s a movement going on now where they’re talking about bringing back formal wear in church, and I think discussions like that are a good thing. Maybe not full suits (because it gets so hot!) but a higher standard is always a good thing and if we prepare our bodies, we also prepare our spirit.

Who would you like to reach with your message in Churchianity?

JDA:  I’m hoping there’s a little something for all curious Christians, perhaps who have not had a lot of depth to their faith or connection and want to explore the mysteries and sacraments, and also for non-Christians who want to see there is a real difference in Christianity to that of this world.

What would you like readers to take from your book?

JDA:  As always most of my messages speak to the dangers of social justice and allowing it to fester in any circles or any capacity. The church is as susceptible or more to this than anything else whether it be TV shows, books, music, our entire culture has that cancer in it right now and it needs to be expunged. The meme is “reject modernity, embrace tradition,” and there’s truth to that, and it’s the core message of this book.

What do you think creatives can do with their works to change the culture or maybe connect with those who reject Christianity in a way they would NOT outright reject?

That’s a great question. It’s a very difficult environment and there doesn’t seem to be a mono “Christian Culture” to tap into because everyone’s so scattered. I wish it’d be a little easier to organize, but it’s not the case.

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

Thank you, Jon, for providing a little bit of insight into the inspiration and background that went into Churchianity: How Modern American Churches Corrupted Generations of Christians.

If readers want to know the full story, they'll have to purchase the book. It is available from Amazon.

You can find Jon Del Arroz at the links for his website, his Amazon profile, and the following social media links:

YouTube

Discord

X/Twitter

Coming soon... very soon

I'm finalizing edits on Book 20 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. This has been a long time in the works, but I've had a strange summer that made writing difficult for Book 22 and then editing Book 20--the death of a family member and the stress this caused, along with planning and implementing the other project.

Now, I'm FINALLY happy with Book 20. The formatting is cleaned up and ready. I just need a quick review of a few sections. By this weekend, it will be available. A book announcement email will go out with links once those are all ready.

It's been a weird year for me, and readers will finally get some answers of how Zaer and Shen met!

DARKEST DEPTHS (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds 20)

When a Starfire shard calls out to Nya in desperation, she immediately transports the Iludrin to a world where they discover game hunters threatening the security of the shard.

Nya and L'Ni head to the surface with Zaer and Shen on the Cartegos. There, they find one of the small hunter vessels unguarded. While the hunters are away, Shen has an idea to disable it. However, when one of the local creatures attacks, the ship—with Shen on it—crashes over a cliff into the sea and sinks beneath the surface.

That's not the only trouble to come for them. With no time to grieve the loss of another friend, Zaer and the others are forced to escape the world with the shard, but what arrives reveals that the creatures of that world are not the only ones being hunted.

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

Thanks for reading!

And just for fun...

Bilbo hanging out in the catio

Spiritual Warfare Q & A with Catholic Heavy Hitters, Jesse Romero and Dr. Dan Schneider (video title)

The book they're talking about, Spiritual Warfare Q and A: For Priests and Laity, can be purchased now from TAN Books, Amazon, or other retailers.

I have Dan's other book, which is great--The Liber Christo Method: A Field Manual for Spiritual Combat. His style is clear and his instructions are easy to apply to one's life. Closing the doorways for demons in one's life isn't easy, but it is necessary.

Don’t Play the Pride Game - Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermon (video title)

We all need to listen to this (not just hear but take it in) in our modern age, especially with the cultural issues we have and the addiction to social media.

Edit: Here's another video on the same readings from yesterday, the twenty-second Sunday in ordinary time on the Catholic church calendar, but from a different priest whose homilies I also enjoy listening to online:

The Importance of Family | Why Modern Families Are Falling Apart (And How to Fix it) (video title)

Corn and more corn

The corn harvest is done!

Hubby and I started this morning picking the corn from the garden and cutting down the stalks. We shucked corn and ended up with this:

We used the electric knives to cut the corn off the cobs and estimate that we ended up with 84 cups of raw corn. Then we cook it with a recipe from hubby's grandma:

Then we leave it to cool in trays on the counter:

The taller container here was raw corn waiting
to be cooked. The other pans were the cooling pans.
You can also see a couple bags of corn in one
of the Rubbermaid containers.

We then measure it out and bag it. This year, we bought some Rubbermaid containers to keep the freezer bags of corn organized, and they stack nice in the freezer and don't slide all over. We ended up with around 68 cups of cooked corn, so it does reduce in cooking a bit.

It's amazing how much corn you get off of one cob, so we don't have to plant a lot in the garden to get all this. We lost all of our previous cooked and frozen corn last year when the upright freezer was left open overnight by mistake, but this more than makes up for it.

It's a delicious recipe, but the corn we've been planting is so sweet that we have to reduce the sugar of the original recipe. The recipe also calls for butter and a little water and salt.

Now we're restocked on corn for a long time. It's been two years since we did this, and next year we won't plant as much corn.

In a month or so, it'll be time for pumpkins.

Now, it's time for some painting of oldest kid's room. THEN I can get back to edits. At least I'm on the last round, or expect that to be the case.

Life is interesting.

God bless!

quick editing update

Edits are progressing very well on Book 20, almost too well. I'll need another round after I finish this current round.

I really like the story of Zaer and Shen and some brief glimpses of their adventures together, but I still had some rewriting that leaves me thinking I need one more editing round before it's ready.

Very soon, though! After this, it'll be back to writing... starting Book 23. I'm getting close to the end.

Thanks for reading!

Are you saved? (video title)

 

LEARN YOUR FAITH! The Queenship of Mary | Dr Scott Hahn (video title)

Busy week

The editing on Book 20 slowed a bit with an unexpected early finishing of the big project.

I still can't say what that other special big project is. It's gone into the beta testing and tweaking stage. I've selected a few trusted individuals to provide their feedback.

But now that it's to this point, I can switch gears to focusing on editing again. I have a week and a half to make my goal. I'll be digging in to finish that and get Book 20 published.

It'll be a while yet before the big project is ready for a public announcement, but it's going to be great.

Stay tuned!

Part 2 of 2: Understanding the Sacraments. A New Summary! Explaining the Faith w/Fr. Chris Alar (video title)

How Becoming Catholic is a Story of Awakening to Something More (video title)

Is The Rosary Demonic Deception? - A Catholic’s SHOCKING Answer and Message... (video title)

progress on the projects

I am close to getting sick of fresh garden peas. Yes, even for those of us who love fresh peas, we can reach our saturation point.

Around a year ago, I had a lot of peas put away in our freezer, along with some other frozen foods from our garden... until the door of the upright freezer wasn't shut properly and stayed open overnight. Everything thawed. I discovered that mess the next morning when going into the garage to head to work. We lost a LOT of work and food last year, including all the peas I had picked and shelled and measured and bagged.

I've been waiting to restock that. This year, I planted different peas, but they're good and they are indeed mildew resistant. I had always been losing my 5-6 ft. peas (we give them fences to climb) by this time. I was low on those, so this year, I ordered new peas from Gurney's, and they were sold as mildew-resistant. They are. They're short, however, only 24-30" tall. But, boy, do they produce! Not as much as the other plants, but they haven't stopped, so I've been able to refill what was lost.

We also learned from that loss two things: 1) Don't put the kids' preferred foods in the upright freezer, and 2) put a lock/latch on the door to make sure it can't open. Hubby put a child safety lock on the upright, so it's not a locking lock but a safety lock to keep little kids out of a fridge. When we secure it each time we close the door, we can be sure that door will stay shut.

And, we learned that putting the bagged frozen garden produce into large, stackable Rubbermaid containers help us make a lot better use of the space in the upright freezer. The upright is great for being able to see everything and not have to dig around, but it does have that door-closing issue. Putting bags into bins really helps to keep it organized. AND, if it ever does have a great meltdown again, that will reduce the mess!

Writing Update

I've been editing Book 20 and it's going well. I overcame the whole extreme fatigue issue and really gained a good focus for editing again. It's going well and I still have two weeks until the end of this month. I won't say anything, because I always tend to have something go wrong that delays publication. I'll just keep my eye on the target while giving it the attention to detail that readers deserve.

And once this is published, I'll get into writing Book 23. I can't believe I'll be in the final three!

Other 

The other project is jumping ahead. The development is nearly done and all the little pieces are settling into place very well. There's still a refinement stage, but the major part is done. And I already see how this could expand and grow. It could turn into a full-time job, and it could also turn a profit; but for now, it will start small. I hope to make a public announcement by the end of September. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

God Loves You as You Are, Not as You Wish You Were (video title)

quick update

I need to get to bed, but before I do, I want to leave a quick update on the status of Book 20 editing.

I've started the second round of edits, but already in the first round had added 3,000 words. I'll be more into the editing mode this round. I expect more detailed edits of rearranging things and refining them in big ways. Right now, the story is around 46,000 words.

After this next round, I expect two more. Hopefully not a fifth. Book 19's editing about soured me on editing. That was six or seven rounds and I couldn't have done any more, but it was for the best.

Book 20 shouldn't need that much, but the first round was great. I enjoyed getting back to review pieces of the lives of Zaer and Shen after so much time away.

The goal is to finish by the end of August. Barring any interruptions like July pulled, that is very likely.

And work on the new non-writing project has begun. It'll take a month or two to be ready, but that's not as important as the writing.

In the meantime, the description for Book 20 is now posted:

When a Starfire shard calls out to Nya in desperation, she immediately transports the Iludrin to a world where they discover game hunters.

Afraid that the hunters are there for the Keepers, Nya and L'Ni, with an escort of Altorin, are taken to the surface by Zaer and Shen on the Cartegos. There, they find one of the small hunter vessels, but no one is present. While the hunters are away, Shen has an idea to disable it. However, when one of the local creatures attacks, the ship, with Shen on it, crashes over a cliff into the sea and sinks beneath the surface.

The hunters aren't alone, however. Zaer and the others are forced to escape the world with the shard, but what arrives reveals that the creatures of that world were not the only ones being hunted.

Thanks for reading!

Book 20 is coming soon!

Effect of Charity & the Need to Practice It More ~ Fr. Ripperger (video title)

Fr. Dan Reehil, Exorcist: Can Horror Films Attract Demons? (video title)

animal lovers... cat squad pics

Since I haven't done so in a while and was cleaning out pictures, I thought it might be fun to share some of the most recent pics of the cats. I'm also taking a break from editing Book 20 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. The first round of edits is halfway done and different than most first rounds of edits--I'm hitting the ground running as if already in my usual second round of edits.

Anway, here's a series of cat pics for the animal lovers:

The old boy has become pretty tolerant of Bilbo.

a rare moment of our torbie tolerating being close
to one of the boys (torties/torbies are always girls)

Bilbo content in daddy's arms

The two tuxedos (blue and brown) bird watching

They love their catio, which has an opening so they can
 freely move in and out between the house and the catio.
Only the two big boys--the old Siamese and Bilbo--lay in the hammocks.

The trio of oldsters. They love the cat cabinet (which was designed
for litter boxes but which became their toy box and also their window
ledge, with a pet pad added for comfort).

Bilbo has fully settled in. He's been with us for over eight months and it's like he's always been here. Ironically, the one cat that liked him least--the oldest, our Siamese--is the one usually snuggling next to him, albeit reluctantly. Nevertheless, the Siamese is the most likely to allow Bilbo to lay next to him.

And Bilbo is a daddy's boy (the person holding him in the one pic).

The Devil in Our Culture: Hollywood, Freemasonry, Yoga & The Occult | Dr. Dan Schneider (video title)

Who fights for you when you can’t? The invisible battle you can’t ignore. (video title)

I've always had an interest in angels, which should be evident by my longest-running book series (Starfire Angels). Those fictional angels aren't real angels, but I did intend them to be as close as a mortal creature could be.

But I have a particular attachment to St. Michael. I've learned that when we're drawn to a particular saint, it's because God has assigned them to help us in some way for our spiritual growth. (I use the common image of St. Michael in Book 22 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds, along with parts of the Pope Leo the XIII's St. Michael prayer and the guardian angel prayer in a way that fit perfectly in the story, but neither is referenced to the source. Those who know will know.)

I've recently purchased stones from the cave mentioned in the video and noticed a change for the better in my prayers in the vicinity of these stones. They were also recommended by one of the exorcists I listen to, and he had said they are powerful, but they're sacramentals, not relics. They're something different, because they come from the cave in Gargano, Italy, consecrated by St. Michael, the angel tasked with sending Satan and his minions from heaven.

We all have a guardian angel, but St. Michael commands the armies of heaven.

St. Michael, defend us in battle!

God bless!

Here's a longer presentation about this powerful defender we can call upon to help us, not because God won't but because God made angels for this purpose:

No one told me this would happen...

I didn't want to say anything about this until I had an answer. Getting older and all that goes with it is more than I expected, but I do deal with extra issues to complicate life. And stress can bring about a nasty crash.

This past month, life piled on one thing after another until I crashed. Not fun! It took me two weeks of daily massive, almost debilitating fatigue, migraines with vision issues, dizzy spells, and brain fog before I started supplements that made a difference. I'm still recovering, but the body can't take stress like it did even five years ago. I'm over fifty and I feel it. It slowed my progress on Book 22, but I did finish it to my satisfaction. It turned out great, despite the setbacks!

Since I've been recovering from the crash and feeling better again, I am finishing up a read-through of Book 22 and, this weekend, will start the first editing round on Book 20. FINALLY! Better late than never, but I do have legitimate reasons for the delay. Fortunately, the struggles I deal with often work to the benefit of the story. While I would appreciate good days all the time, the bad days force delays that seem to give my mind time to reconsider ideas that need less editing, instead of excitedly rushing through the first idea that comes to mind and needing major rewrites.

So, to be honest with readers, I have my struggles, but in the scattered periods I've felt clear-headed and had time and energy while recovering from the crash, I was able to get work done on the Forgotten Worlds series. It is progressing. I refuse to quit! I want to know how this ends and will not throw in the towel (like some big name authors who shall not be named). (I know how this ends, but the specific details aren't known to me until I write the actual scenes, so there are still surprises for me and I want the pleasure of discovering those.) It might take me a bit longer than I want to get there, but I am a fighter and determined to finish this series, no matter what it takes.

Spoon theory is a metaphor describing the amount of
physical or mental energy that a person has available
for daily activities and tasks, and how it can become
limited. The term was coined in a 2003 essay by
American writer Christine Miserandino.

And I'm still going through with my other plans, especially since I've come to a new understanding of my limitations; and, no, it's not in my head--I have chronic illnesses (over ten years) but have to occasionally learn new ways to manage them through life changes so I can continue to enjoy doing what I love. (For reference, look up spoon theory.) It also helps to have a great day job boss who is understanding and flexible.

The new project is something that will only demand periodic spurts of my time once it's set up and running, so perfect for me to manage. I wish I could announce it now, but it's in the very early stages. I just can't keep it to myself completely. When it's ready, I'll make a big announcement here. For now, stay tuned!

Offer it up to God: These issues I've lived with for many years were the best thing to happen to me, and I can imagine the look on your face while you read that because I've seen it when I tell people in person. The health issues transformed my life. They gave me a new perspective on appreciating the life God gave me and forced me to rely on God, where I, in my ignorant hubris, used to think I had control. It was a process, but I now have a much closer relationship to Jesus by aligning my suffering to His. I've learned to more fully trust in God, who has power over everything. I can only work with what He allows me to have.

 

As a Catholic, I've come to see these as mortifications that He chose for me. I don't have to go looking for them. These health issues are my penance, my offerings for my sins and the sins of others. The best part is knowing that God will transform the offerings of my suffering to pour graces on others, just as Christ's Passion and Crucifixion gave us the grace of redemption. Whether people who receive those graces accept them or not is another matter. All we can do is align our sufferings to that of Our Lord, even the littlest thing. The tiniest inconvenience or suffering is all it takes. It doesn't have to be big health issues.

 

Whenever something comes up, pray something like "I offer this [suffering] to you, Lord, for [whatever grace you want someone specific or a population in general to receive]." It doesn't have to be a long prayer, although I like to use the Fatima Sacrifice Prayer. If you're unsure about the last part, cut it short: "O My Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins." The point is to offer one's sufferings and prayers to God and he will transform those into beautiful graces for others as Christ did for all sinners from the beginning to the end of time. It gives one's suffering purpose, accepts God's will over one's life, and is a way to "pay it forward" spiritually.

Thanks for reading, and God bless you and keep you!

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

Added 7/26/25 to backup my statement above:

Why Must I Confess My Sins to a Priest? | Understanding the Sacraments (video title)

Feeling off lately? The enemy might be closer than you think. (video title)

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle,

be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host,

thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits

who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

(prayer by St. Pope Leo XIII)

Exciting updates

I'm finishing up the final details of Book 22. I "finished" the final stinger scene but have a few details that I've thought of adding and just need to figure out how to fit them in so they best fit the story. It's sort of a developmental edit before I put it aside to work on Book 20.

I've also been reading through the earlier books of the series a chapter at a time (while on the treadmill) and am into book 13. SMH... Oy! I hate finding plot holes. I found a big one, sort of. It looks big to me now but I had kind of spackled it over at the time. It doesn't appear so smooth now, though, so I'm working on how to adjust that with as minimal explanation as possible. I think I have the right idea. It doesn't need much, but it needs something. At least it's not a big oops like I found in Book 6.

And for the final three books, I have also been working out those plots. The surprise development that came about at the end of Book 22 gave me a tool for the final book, so I'm keeping that.

Because of the extra attention to details for the final books of this series and wanting to get some of the details down now, I'll be pushing the release of book 20 into August. 

It will be worth the wait when I take my time and plug in the details for the series ending.

Plus I will have some exciting news for readers and authors of indie SFF in the upcoming months. 😁 I'm putting something together that I've wanted to do for at least a couple of years, but the idea was never quite right and needed time to mature. That idea finally blossomed this past month (like my new roses) and everything is coming together. Say prayers that this is God's will to happen, because I'll be investing a lot of my own money to get started (can't quit the day job, not that I was going to, but, well... you get the idea). It has the potential to really grow into a nice little side business, hopefully by the time I finish the Forgotten Worlds series.

Thanks for reading!

And stay tuned for more details to come!

Lukewarmness is the Enemy | Battle Ready with Fr. Dan Reehil (video title)

the end is close

Recently, I was sick (writing delays) and then had an idea for something I had been wanting to do for a few years, but now I have a better plan to make it happen--a small side business that could eventually grow into something more. Those have caused some delay in finishing Book 22 by taking my focus off it.

Anyway, aside from the fact that Book 22 is around 51,500 words and very close to being done, it's not getting quite done. There are some scenes I want to write before finishing this stinger scene. (Yes, the final scene in the works, so VERY close to the end!) I can't quite get myself to finish the stinger scene until I write out some of the other scenes, not all of which will be in Book 22.

Rather, I want to write these scenes related to Book 22 to insert into Book 23 or 24, likely as flashbacks. Book 22 is at the point that there are important details that don't fit into the main plot but would be good to include somewhere. I had an idea like this earlier in the series and by the time I would have implemented it, I no longer had the interest, although the replacement turned out for the better. This is different, however, so I'm not making that mistake again.

I've also been considering the final three books and how I want to set up the action that needs to take place. The final book will be the culmination of all of the series in facing off against the bad guys with some huge revelations and major action. Of course, some revelations about the Paxons and Issan will finally come to light in these last books for the conclusion to be a satisfying ending.

There are some changes yet to come that may or may not be expected, depending on how discerning of a reader one may be, although something in Book 22's ending did surprise me. It fits and is consistent with the canon established in the original Starfire Angels series, although I could just as well cut it out and it never happened. It adds a certain full-circle-ness to one aspect of the series, though.

Anyway, that's where things are. What I write now to use in the last three books is less writing to do then, although that doesn't mean they wouldn't be rewritten. It just means I have something ready to use.

Essentially Book 22 is done, but I'm pre-writing some scenes for the last three books before getting into editing Book 20. I want to get the ending just right.

Thanks for reading.

Understanding the Sacraments: A New Summary! Explaining the Faith (video title)

Never question an internal command to pray...

Yesterday, near the end of the late afternoon mass at the church I attend on weekdays (because of my schedule and I like that they have a communion rail so I can accept Our Lord on my knees in humility and reverence), a darkness fell. It wasn't the lights. Rather, there are big sections of window, and the sun's light had been diminished.

I looked to the window and felt a catch in my chest.

Not again.

Ominous clouds loomed in the sky, blocking the sun. We've had nasty weather two other times already with tornadoes and it was a 100 F day yesterday (not unusual for July, when we usually get the nastiest weather). Seeing dark clouds concerned me.

After mass, I prayed that I made it home before any bad weather hit.

I made it with plenty of time. In fact, the radar showed nothing coming for us, yet I had a sense that I should be praying my Rosary.

I didn't.

I came to regret that.

A severe storm formed out of nowhere on the radar only about 15-20 miles away to the southwest and quickly headed right for us, but I hadn't checked in the time since before it formed to when it hit, so I didn't know it was there, much less barreling towards us. I was trying to write while ignoring that little voice that was nagging me about praying the Rosary. I wanted to do things my way.

I did that until the first "THUNK" hit on the house. And it was loud. A few more hit and I looked out the window to see large white balls of hail. Not the pea-sized we normally see. These were golf-ball sized (as seen in the sampling below with my hand, hail balls which had already melted down a bit).

When I realized what was happening with the hail, I ran upstairs and grabbed my Rosary. No sooner did I start than the hail turned to pea-sized and soon quit. However, there was more red on the radar. I continued through two sets of mysteries because there was another system to the north that refused to move and had been expanding towards us with a tornado watch included in that. The worst of it dissipated during my prayer.

After the storm from the southwest was passed but before the one from the north was known to be a threat, we went out to check the house and yard (between my praying a few decades of the Rosary). Fortunately, the golf balls were few and far between and our garden, trees, and my new roses were all untouched. Unfortunately, they were enough to leave holes in a few pieces of siding on one wall and likely the roof, as well as a couple nice dents to the youngest kid's car roof, but I'm not worried about her vehicle because it's old (2009) and had some cosmetic damage when we bought it two years ago and also because all the windows were fine. After all the nasty storms we've had in the last month, insurance adjusters are busy; they'll get to us when they can.

The picture above was taken after the rain was no more than a few drops here and there but the clouds still loomed over us with a clear sky to the western horizon. I went out and took pictures of the hail and the perfect shot of my first rose blossom. This is now my iPhone wallpaper, minus the watermark:

My first rose blossom of the three rose bushes
I planted less than a month ago!

After I had finished the Rosary prayers, the storm passed and merged with the north storm, but they grew along the western edge and dropped more pea-sized hail on us. No sooner did I start praying a single Hail Mary to ask her intercession to keep any large hail from hitting than the hail stopped altogether and only rain fell.

The moral of the story is to listen to that nagging voice when it's telling you to pray... To put it simply, when you're told to pray, obey. It was likely my guardian angel, and I am humbled by the consequences of not having listened when I should have.

Next time, I won't hesitate to grab my Rosary. I won't question any message from the Lord (who speaks through others, like our guardian angels, who are always with us). I will listen. It reminds me of Moses having to keep his arms up for the success of the battle of the Israelites in Exodus.

God bless!