Cover reveal - Book 21

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading!

Book 20... Done

One more book is complete. I finished Book 20 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds yesterday at just over 41,000 words for the first draft. That will change with rewriting and general edits.

Now, I'm giving the reading more attention and will edit Book 18 for publication. I hope to have that ready by early November.

I have Book 21 pretty well outlined, and it should be easy to jump into writing when I'm ready. (I say that now but when the time comes, I'll struggle... 🙄 Never fails, but I always get past that.) A new character that comes in Book 18 has brought a new set of talents and has added some new things I can do with the cast, which made the planned events of Book 21 more interesting.

Now, it's time to shift gears. I won't be saying much here for a while, but I'll try to peak in with some updates or videos I find interesting. I have finished the read-through of Book 2 and uploaded the update with some minor changes. I can definitely see the improvement of the writing that happens after the initial excitement of the first story of a series when I, like any author, settle into the setting and characters.

Before I go, I'll leave this:

I only have five more books to write in this series to finish it. The series is 4/5 written. 🥳

Thanks for reading!

Book 19 cover reveal

I've had to take a break from writing the last week. Something had to be done about the cover before I could go on.

Every cover in the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds series has something from the main location or an event of that book. I use stock images, some with a lot of Photoshopping, like this Book 19 cover (two pictures, actually). I do this for several reasons but mostly I hate the search for an artist whose style would fit the book. I would only include characters if I could find a single artist to design all the books, but with a series stretched out over several years like this, it would be a risk. Getting on their schedules, working with them to get things just right, and hoping I don't lose them and have to start the search over again is more than I care to deal with. I don't have the time and energy to go through all that, and it is a LOT of work. So, I decided at the beginning that I would keep the covers generic/stock and add some touches where I thought it was necessary.

Doing this also means the characters are left to your imaginations and not ruined by an artist or my impressions. I did create the AI characters for fun, but if you don't want to see them, you have to go searching. They aren't always in your face on a cover. You can avoid having your imagination ruined if you want.

Book 19 is something different. I've mentioned how it's high fantasy in my space opera series, but without magic. I envisioned a medieval/renaissance European-ish setting. For this, I wanted something of a castle, but I couldn't find anything quite what I pictured for the castle in the story. I had to compromise on the cover art.

I found two different pictures and had to do a lot of Photoshopping. Fortunately, I have an artistic kid who advised me on colors. She approved of this after telling me what she thought would work for colors. She still doesn't like the depth of the blue sky, but she likes the other touches I added.

The two pictures (https://www.dreamstime.com/beautiful-gothic-medieval-arched-stone-window-magnificent-majestic-view-window-gorgeous-winter-mountain-landscape-alps-image203717885 and https://www.dreamstime.com/three-people-hiking-mountains-winter-landscape-deep-snow-clear-sunny-day-allgau-bavaria-germany-alps-image103810330) work pretty seamlessly together, after the color adjustments to the stonework and other touches to the two images so they didn't quite look like photographs but more like illustrations.

So, here it is, the cover of Book 19, which still leaves a lot to the imagination for the reader to complete. And, of course, I had to add the feathers.

Now that I have the cover, I can relax and finish the story without worrying whether the cover image will match what I write. It doesn't reveal any exact details that might contradict the story. I've adjusted some of the stories to match the image I had found for the covers. In this case, I created the cover to match the story. That's a big weight off my mind.

The only thing that might change is the cover blurb. It's pretty good, but I might reword it before it's final.

Thanks for reading!

Cover reveal - SINS OF THE FATHER

There's a good reason for the title, but you'll have to wait to find out. Your suspicions are probably close, however.

I finished the first draft a few days ago and have been enjoying a first read-through. It was a struggle to write, but because of that, I really had to buckle down and think about things. So far, so good when it comes to writing struggles. These tend to be some of the best books (in my opinions).

I had to then create the cover, or at least plug in the title, series number, blurb, and image to my template for this series. Oh, and modify the series title colors to coordinate with the image. Seriously, that's all these are--basically plugging a suitable image into the template I created in Photoshop. There have been times I found a stock image and modified the story to fit it. Other times, I photo-manipulate (multiple covers of this series). And some are good enough as they are when I find them.

Without further ado, I present the cover of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 18:

Now to finish my read-through and then edit Book 16. I hope to publish that by the end of February. If you're not on my mailing list, go ahead and send me an email. You can do this by clicking the Contact me link on the sidebar of this blog, which will take you to the contact page of my website. Or just use this link: https://melanienilles.com/contact/.

Thanks for reading!

Book cover reveal... Book 17

I've been playing with cover images and made some tweaks to Book 16 after finding the right image for Book 17.

And in putting together the cover for Book 17, I had to write up a cover blurb. This one was actually pretty easy to write, but the image didn't seem right with my working title for the book, so I changed it slightly. HOMECOMING seemed more appropriate, although I'm still not sure of that. HOME was a placeholder, since Nya returns to her homeworld, but it seemed too simple. HOMECOMING is better, but I may still change it. I have time to consider that.

I had considered playing with Midjourney, but there's plenty of good art available by actual people, so I'm trying to use that rather than AI art, as long as I can find something to fit the story from stock images (and most of what I have of that is from before AI art programs became available). The image I found fits the story almost perfectly. There is a space battle in this one with a variety of ships (whatever the Shirukan remnant could get their hands on), although most of the action is inside one of the ships, which none of the ships on the image match, so that will be up to your imagination.

Without further ado, here is the cover for Book 17 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds:

Quite the homecoming, isn't it?

ps--I also wrote up a description for Book 17. I need to be doing that for Books 15 and 16. My brain doesn't work in order with this series. 🤦‍♀️

SOUL SHADOW News and Cover!

It's done! The first draft of Book 13 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is complete at just over 49,000 words. Up next--editing.

And I have a cover for Book 13. I think this conveys the internal struggle of the story about something dark and sinister. The story involves L'Ni's memories, so there's plenty of science fiction to it, but a space station or space battle might give the wrong impression of this particular story.

The plot isn't this series's typical action type of story but something more dramatic, personal, and of an internal conflict nature, which is why it's difficult to fight for such a warrior as L'Ni--the battle is taking place completely within him. (He can't fight it with his hands or weapons.) He's defied its rule, and now the creature he once called a god has found a way to attack him from within, since it can't yet breach the barrier between dimensions. It essentially is a demon.

I just hope this cover is intriguing enough for the series.

ps - The blurb was harder to write than the cover was to design, and I may still tweak it before publication.

Cover reveal - Forgotten Worlds Book 11

I have a cover for Book 11 and a title that I love. That working title I had was dull, lifeless, and DOA.

But the right title came to me just as it describes itself. It suits the story perfectly! - VOICES IN THE DARK

Based on my current publishing schedule, you'll see this one in the winter, probably around the holidays. I'm so excited at how the cover and the story turned out, but it does need editing as the real theme of this developed into something the series needed. In fact, I was worried that I wouldn't reach the minimum novel length of 40,000 words, but it will. This story transitions from stuff I can't specify right now in Book 10 (DRAGON AND FURY) to what will come by Book 14.

And, I have a title and cover for Book 12 already! Well, I sort of had the cover early on in the series but wasn't sure which book it would fit. Book 12 will be less focused on the main series and more on developing relationships with new characters. And then Book 13 will reveal L'Ni's background. If you've been waiting for his secrets, hang on; it's coming.

I am still loving this series, especially when each book takes me on a different type of adventure. Each book also builds on what has come before and I do have a series climax in mind. I have a series outline and my series wiki file to keep me on track, so this is going somewhere. Stick with me. I may slow down in writing at times but I am determined to fulfill the many plotlines of this series in a satisfying finale; we still have a long ways to go.

Thanks for reading!

Available Now:

Coming late spring 2021:

Coming fall 2021:

Coming winter 2021:

Cover reveal - FERIOUS

It's here!

I finally have a cover for Book 9 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. The title FERIOUS is not a misspelling. If you are reading the series, you'll recognize the play on words. The fact that L'Ni is mentioned in the cover blurb is another big hint. For those who haven't read through book 4 yet, L'Ni's species is called the Feri.

I have finished the first round of rewrites and topped it off at just over 40,000 words. I will provide a description when that is also ready.

I plan to release this book in summer 2021.

Now, I'm almost ready to start writing book 10. I am at least a third into this series but not quite halfway to where I expect it to be. I have a lot planned for the character arcs of each character and the overall plot. This isn't a simple story to tell but something bigger than I have ever done.

Thanks for reading!

Forgotten Worlds adventures continue

RACING THE ORAST BELT is complete. The first draft sits at 46,700 words before the next round of editing. Since I have already done some major rewrites on it, that shouldn't involve too much. I think the rewrites that I put into it between final edits on DISPOSITION OF DREAM and writing the final chapters of RtOB should have fixed most of the issues that I felt might be a problem.

I can also share a cover now:

I will update my website and series page of this blog with the new details soon.

Also, pre-orders of Remnants are going live now. Look for that from major retailers. And be sure to sign up on Amazon or Bookbub to receive alerts when new books are available.

After leaving the Iludrin at Trsken Station, Nya's friends discover a beacon transmitting from the Cartegos. Although Nik suspects who might have placed it, Zaer is determined to find answers. Her solution is to seek out an info jockey, but nothing ever goes as planned.

They are led to an artifact that reveals a clue about the presence of Nya's people in that galaxy. However, they're not the only ones who seek the secrets of the angels from a time long forgotten. No one is ready for the revelation it unlocks.

REMNANTS will be available October 29, 2020!

Disposition of Dreams - cover reveal

The first draft of DISPOSITION OF DREAMS is finished with just over 44,000 words. That will change with edits.

And the cover is ready:

This will be ready for release in summer of 2020. I will reveal the description/blurb at a later time. It was almost too easy to write that and the cover blurb, but I like to have time to hone the book description.