Every Scientifically Proven Eucharistic Miracle (video title)

ps--ONLY in the Catholic church, the original church founded by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

What do you think? Was this criminal possessed by a demon? (video title)

I can't say anything

Every time I post an update on Book 23, the action crashes and I end up starting over. So, I'm not saying anything. I'm saying nothing or I'll jinx myself again.

Absolutely nothing happened in Sector 83 by 9 by 12 today. I repeat, nothing happened in Sector 83 by 9 by 12.

IFYKYK

Satan's media strategy: Anime has EVERYTHING the exorcists warn us about! (video title)

I harp enough on sex scenes being the product of demonic influence and try to include occult warnings too, but this makes a case for other forms of entertainment. Any "mysticism" beyond that of Christianity comes from demons blurring the lines. (Just a small note--not all anime, like most genres, is necessarily evil. There are actually Christian anime series, as there are Christian stories in SFF.)

Exorcists actually caution against anything that allows "good" magic, because ALL magic is from Satan. Obsession with anything other than the triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit/Ghost) takes us away from God and distorts our sense of reality. It promotes trying to become god versus depending on the living God, the creator of all of time and space and everything in it. The former is disobedience. As any parent knows, it's aggravating when your children disobey; imagine what Our Father in Heaven feels when we disobey. The occult and any religion outside of Christianity is a rejection of the first commandment of God, which is the worst of mortal/deadly sins (why it's the first). And many of the other pieces in the stories we look to for entertainment are also mortal sins. Yes, there may be positive aspects, but more often than not, the sinful parts of the stories are never revealed as being the damage to one's soul that they are in reality, which is why they should be avoided altogether.

My personal change and why some books are no longer available

My faith journey is at a point that I now avoid just about all non-Christian entertainment, even the anime that I once enjoyed. I have no desire to be exposed to sex scenes (or even "fan service", which is bad enough), cursing, using the Lord's name in vain, magic/occult propaganda, and unnecessary violence. Demons can use those to blur the lines between pleasing God and sinning, in which they move the goalposts from lesser sins to progress into mortal/deadly sins. This is why I've unpublished my fantasy books--they don't reflect my faith in the one true God but use magic as good and have fornication as acceptable. The Starfire Angels series, however, is actually a Christian allegory, even more so than I had planned when I started it (before my faith deepened and I was still steeped in the lies of modernism and its entertainment and the mortal sins it promotes). I wrote it so that it would be fun for anyone, Christian or not, but safe for those with a proper morality.

Thoughts, words, and deeds

We sin in our thoughts, not just words and deeds, so be careful what you feed your mind. Exorcists warn that demons can't enter our thoughts but can prod our memories to make us think of things again and get us stewing on them, which can produce sinful thoughts. Jesus said that a man who looks at a women with lust in his heart has already sinned. This is true of any thoughts; he simply used this as an example. Purify your thoughts and purge them of any sin.

Making the transition

It takes a while to reform our ways of thinking. Like going on a special food diet, there's a period of withdrawal. However, once you've purged your mind/body of the offending material and feed it healthy materials, you'll begin to no longer desire the unhealthy materials. You'll lose the attraction for the unhealthy, although the temptations to cheat will still be there. That's where the will must be strong. Pray for the strength to resist. Demons will always tempt us until we die. They're miserable and want to take souls from God to torment them into eternity. And they'll even tempt people with fame and fortune (why romance books and magic books sell so well--they want people to be attracted to the promise of $$ to continue to promote their sin through scandal.)

We have intercessors to assist us

Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, never sinned and is the greatest saint in heaven, even confirmed by demons in exorcisms as the saint they hate most. She and all of the saints are ready to assist us through God's grace. We honor God by honoring those who have reached perfection to be in His presence for eternity. Each saint had their vice that they had to overcome to turn into the corresponding virtue and can help us in overcoming those vices that afflict us. We only need to reach out to them. Through God, they hear us, and they assist as part of their eternal service and honor to God because of their great love for Him.

Final thoughts

Whatever your feelings on the video above, changing what your take in for entertainment is a key to growing in faith -- no more sex scenes, no more occult propaganda/promotion, no more gore, no more horror (demons feed on fear, which is the opposite of faith in God), and MORE entertainment that promotes virtues, faith, and truth about God and the damage of vice.

And, always, more prayer. Talk to God and listen to him. Learn to discern His voice from the noise of the demons around you. Demons will always tell you to do what feels good. Vice is easy and focuses on making the most of this world, but the pleasure is fleeting. Virtue is difficult, but it's infinitely more beautiful and fulfilling eternally.

Once you begin to see the beauty of Christ, all this other entertainment will be ugly by comparison.

God bless!

ps - on my Faith Resources tab are books, websites, and videos to help you grow in your faith.

And for something more positive:

And for a discussion on entertainment and the values and vices portrayed:

Casting Out Mental Torments

Northern Lights - day 2

This time, I set up a tripod and let my iPhone take some time-lapse video, and the stills are beautiful too. It's done for now, but it often comes back later. I expect more later in the night, but I may be in bed by then, so... enjoy:

Northern Lights Show

These pictures were last night, 11/11/25. 

My brother, having once monitored the sky, looked at the numbers from NOAA of the solar activity causing this and said it doesn't happen often. The results were spectacular colors.

A friend said it looked like the Divine Mercy rays:

Do I Cause SCANDAL?

This is a homily based on today's gospel reading.

He said to his disciples, “Things that cause scandals (sin)* will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 

- Luke 17:1-2

* denotes translation difference. The original Douay-Rheims translation uses scandal, which is the original translation, while newer translations use the word "sin" here.

Encouraging sin or contributing to it willingly are the sin of scandal.

Scandal is the reason sex scenes are grave sins in writing or visual media--they invite lust, a mortal sin. The state of the characters' relationships doesn't matter--married or not--because it invites lustful feelings in the audience. The same goes for foul, lewd, and vulgar language and dressing immodestly, by women and men, promoting witchcraft as innocent and/or good or light. And on and on.

We must be prudent about our behavior and words. The word "prude" comes from prudent, which is basically to be wise and careful. There's a reason the word "prude" has become a slur--because demons don't want you to be wise and careful, which are gifts of the Holy Spirit. "Do whatever feels good" is what Satan uses to destroy souls.

This is why I pray for all writers, actors, and anyone else involved in producing entertainment including sex scenes or even the foreplay, and a list of other number of sins darkening modern entertainment. I don't engage in it anymore and my life is far more peaceful--because I've repented, confessed it, and avoid it and the demons it invites into one's life.

Romance books may sell well, but demons are pushing that. They love it when you lust, because it separates you from God, so they encourage it and make it desirable, even if it's so-called "Christian" romance including sex scenes. Demons love to twist things to make you think you can have your cake and eat it too, but they LIE. To love God is to follow His law and resist temptations of this world.

Obeying God is difficult; it takes an act of the will. However, it doesn't mean to avoid entertainment. It just means to avoid those things that scandalize, whether consuming or producing content. The more you give into sin, the easier it is; the more you seek to align your will with God's, the easier that becomes yet it's not as easy as it is to sin. Demons will always try to make it difficult to do what is right by God. They're like toddlers--always pestering--while God allows free will and never imposes Himself; you're free to love him by doing all you can for Him or not. It sometimes takes an immense act of will to resist temptation, and the battle will continue until death. This whole life is a struggle, a test to prove our true love for God and how deserving we are of eternity with Him.

Love is not a feeling, but lust is. Love is willing the good of another, no matter what you may have to sacrifice--Jesus, the word of God made flesh, loved us so much that he became human just to suffer and die as the final offering (the spotless Lamb of God) so that we could know salvation and reunite with God, our creator. He showed us how to love and love greatly, no matter the cost.

We should never cause scandal in our words or deeds--these only add to the suffering of Christ in His passion. Never take God's mercy for granted.

So decide who you serve while producing your content or consuming it and what you want for your soul and the souls of others.

Deus Ex Machina

God is definitely in the machine, but he is the author of life, the universe, and everything. If one were to make their life a story, God is there, always, and He can pull some pretty amazing miracles in your circumstances, a real life Deus ex machina, if 1) you recognize His omnipotence, 2) learn to see the graces He's granting you (whether they're what you want or not), and 3) accept His will over your own. He always has a better plan; although it may not be what you want in your earthly life, it will always be better for your soul for eternity. Don't wait to see no way; just accept His way. He knows everything. Trust Him. Quit trying to be your own god.

On a side note related to that truth a.k.a. faith, suffering purifies us and, when aligned with the suffering of Christ on the cross, is an act of of reparation for our sins to relieve Our Lord of His suffering. His passion and death was for all sins from the beginning to the end of time, even those we all commit or will possibly commit and the sins that those who come after us will commit. Consider now what He experienced during His passion and the incredible love of his forgiveness when we sin against him--the whips, the beatings, the nails, the thorns, etc. This is why we "give it up" to Him--to console Him.

That got a little sidetracked. Now, to get back on the point I wanted to make...

Twice in recent weeks during my adoration hour, my holy hour in front of the blessed sacrament (the Eucharist) exposed in the monstrance in the adoration chapel, I've sat with my mind on needing help with this story. Each time, I received a surge of ideas. However, it doesn't seem right that I'd be going into a creative mode while in the presence of God in this earthly state when there are so many more noble purposes for being there. That seems like it's taking me away from Him. That seems like it's putting earthly concerns before Our Lord. On the other hand, I've gone into adoration and received such unearthly insights that I learned to keep a journal and write them down. I refer back when I need to and am in awe of what was revealed to me. So, it's not like I haven't been given knowledge, but that can also happen during mass, which is super incredible to be given insights about the mass. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I'm left so humbled and awed that when I go through a period of dryness and distractions, I don't worry.

During my weekly holy hour, in which I unintentionally asked for guidance on what the Lord wanted of me since the story was falling flat, I had an explosion of ideas for this book that came despite being in a bit of a brain fog (perimenopausal fun *sigh*). It came so clearly amid the fog. While the devil can put thoughts in our heads, this did not involve scenes with any sin (sex/lust, blasphemy, heresy, etc.) but another good action story for the series to achieve what I want with all the hooks and mystery needed to keep a reader turning pages. I couldn't help but wonder if the devil was trying to distract me from being in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but then I just made my notes and prayed that this was God's will, not mine. I don't want to offend Him by rejecting the grace of help with the story.

However, one has to discern carefully the source of anything. As long as it's not promoting lust, greed, pride, envy, murder, cheating, etc. or breaking any commandment, I'll accept it. As long as I can honor God by promoting virtues in an entertaining way, I will. God is with us and will always answer our prayers; those answers may not be what we want, but He always knows what's best for our souls. I'm grateful that I can continue with this series and finish it. I've had several "answers" to my prayers that seem to point to that, but I try to remain vigilant to the wrong influences. I didn't used to do that, but my intention in writing has developed with my increasing devotion to my faith.

Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds will remain an adventurous and clean space opera that anyone can enjoy... and I WILL finish it, by the grace of God!

Thanks for reading!

Witchcraft & The Occult Dangers

All Hallow's Eve may be past, but the ongoing problem it promotes in a twisted non-Christian way doesn't disappear...

Print omnibus editions now available

The first three collections of STARFIRE ANGELS: FORGOTTEN WORLDS are now all live on Amazon.

I decided to not remake the hardcover books on BN. They take far too long and the setup is a headache. Time allowed me to forget those troubles, but getting back to it was enough to say "Nope!"

So, it will just be paperback omnibus editions on Amazon, along with the ebook omnibus editions. Collection 1 (Books 1-6) is live, Collection 2 (Books 6-10) should be live tomorrow, and I'll work on getting Collection 3 (Books 11-15) live in a couple of days. 

Collection 4 (Books 16-20) will likely be after the holidays. I just finished reading through HOMECOMING today and uploaded fixes to some errors I found. That leaves books 18-20 to read through yet. I want to fix anything lurking in those that were missed in the numerous editing rounds initially. I'll do the same for the final five in Collection 5 once they're done too--read through them all before formatting omnibus ebook and print book editions.

For now, you can find these on Amazon through my author page or the main page for the collections: 

ps--I fixed a couple issues with the text on the covers too, but that was so minor it's hardly noticeable.

Hallowtide Day 2 - All Saints' Day

A new start on Book 23

I was so stuck on 23 for a while, after it was getting worse since my last post about it. It was to the point of trying to swim in cured cement--not happening.

I started over. It took some stepping back, but that's what the story needed. Within two days, I had over 2,000 words on it. The last few days, I was a bit busy and writing slowed a little, but right now it's around 4,000 and a much better opening. It'll keep some elements but is much closer to what I had in mind in my original notes.

You can't force a story. It has be feel natural for the setting and characters, although it's not about feeling. The creativity is a bit of... exaggerated parts of oneself, sometimes grotesquely exaggerated as to be pretty much something else, but it all comes from within and what we've absorbed of other stories, other books, our culture, etc.

I feel much better about this opening, because the other was missing that hook or mystery and then I just couldn't give some of it enough of a reason for happening. It was forced and I could feel that too. That's why I got stuck at 10K words.

I would rather it take a bit longer to write the right book for the series than try to force myself to write words that didn't fit the pieces.

Anyway, it's moving along very well. It was a rough start the first time, but this time, it's flowing easily, like it should.

And here's the old man. He still has what I call his bracelet from the vet when he had his teeth cleaned a short while ago:

He's losing weight, but in his old age, he's sleeping a lot and not eating as much as he needs to. It's especially tough because he has to be on a super special diet or bad things happen. On the good side, he's not acting quite so odd like he has dementia. He's back to being more of himself. I'll take what I can get, because I would bet, from my experience, that he won't make it to sixteen. I'll enjoy what time we have left together.

God bless!

Halloween truth and origins

Halloween - Meet an exorcist (video)

 

Holiness Conference (5-part video series)

Happy birthday to an old friend...

She knows who she is. I won't divulge because it's personal information, but she knows it's her birthday. After all these years, I haven't forgotten. 🥳

(I'll always be your elder.)

I had this made by AI just for you (I know how much you like your western romances):

The Truth About Exorcism w/ Msgr. Stephen Rossetti | Catholic Conversations with Fr. Mark Baron, MIC (video title)

Is Halloween a Pagan Holiday? (And Should We Boycott It?) (video title)

Update on print collections of Forgotten Worlds!

After reading through the series again and fixing mistakes I've found--as a writer, I'll never NOT find things I want to fix--I've finally begun the process of reformatting the paperbacks to get those available again. I'm glad I waited. I learned a few things that improved the formatting.

Because these are omnibus editions, they're too long for hardcover on Amazon. I'll go back to making them available as paperback on Amazon.

The first of them, Collection 1 (Books 1-5), is in the proofing stage after a long day of formatting that. Once I have a chance to review those proofs and approve them, I'll make those available.

I hope to have the first three ready in time for the holidays and will work on Collection 4 (Books 16-20) once I've read through those books and fixed any mistakes.

Because this is such a tedious process, I did not get any writing done today. On the good side, I now have everything with the updating process down so that the next two should go a bit faster and I can get back to writing sooner.

This has been a nice little break from writing, where I was sort of stuck just under 10K words on Book 23. When that happens, it helps to work on something else for a day or two to refresh the creativity. This has been a good break from the writing side, although I loathe the formatting of print.

And I may just go ahead and release the collections as ebooks also. I expect to price them at $9.99 each (5 books per collection).

That's been my Saturday and will probably fill up Sunday as well.

Thanks for reading!

Praying with imagination and the interference of Satan and human ego. Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi explains. (video title)

The Lord Is Trying to Speak To You | 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (video title)

My Mother in Purgatory obtained My Miraculous Conversion...Here's My Story (video title)

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.