One more time...

It feels good to start writing again! I should write a post about what it takes in planning and perseverance in writing such a long series, although the inspiration for such an undertaking is already out there—Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.

The final book of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds—Book 25—is now started. I had to read through the first drafts of Books 23 & 24 after publishing 22 to prepare better for this and fix some details so it all fits together neatly in this conclusion while I reread the series from the beginning a little at a time on the treadmill to refresh myself on some of those early details. That took a while. There are a few small gems from the first seven books that I will bring full circle in this conclusion, details I had forgotten were there. Those seeds were planted better than I expected. 

It’s been a few months since I started editing. It feels good to get back to writing!

I expect to finish this next spring, and then I’ll be editing Books 23, 24, and 25 all in a row to wrap up the series by fall 2027.

If you want a thrilling but clean space opera that has been compared to the best of Star Wars by at least a couple readers, is based on Christian beliefs but written so anyone can enjoy it, has an ensemble cast of distinct characters, and is written as a series arc in episodic complete stories in each book, you may enjoy this.

I’ll share a link below. I’m also supporting Spotlight on Indie, so I’ll share my profile link to that too:

https://melanienilles.com/books/series/?series=Forgotten%20Worlds

https://spotlightonindie.com/authors/melanie-nilles-m-a-nilles

Final three update

I have a pattern that I've followed throughout the writing of the Forgotten Worlds series:

1. Write two books ahead of what the next published book will be,
2. Go back and edit the next book to publish,
3. Read through the two books after #2 (one right after and the one just finished drafting), which works out great because I'm still in editing mode and have had enough of a break to start seeing any major issues,
4. Make any rewrites and notes that jump out at me in #3,
5. Then write the next book (after catching up and refamiliarizing myself with what has happened between publishing the latest book and finishing the most recent draft)

This has worked out very well throughout this whole long series.

Now that Book 22 is published, I've been rereading Book 23 and seeing some things that needed a lot of work. These last three are difficult, because events are ramping up for the series climax after all the episodes. Each book has its own themes, motifs, and plot that tie into the larger series plot. I'd like to think I'm pulling it off, but you tell me. I'm making it happen according to my vision, at the least.

The series started out with the first five books laying a foundation of the characters, worldbuilding, and overall plot structure. I saw that in planning but even more so in rereading. By book five, there's a clear purpose for the characters and a solid foundation of how things work in the Starfire-verse I've established, although much of that was set ten years earlier with the first Starfire Angels (young adult) book. By book six, I had a clear pattern and the characters of this expansion of the Starfire-verse had their purpose.

Getting back to my point of Book 23, I finally hammered away at the blurb/description and refined it into the main ideas. I also see the final stinger scene issue that I couldn't figure out while writing the first draft. What I had written felt contrived, but it was something, at least a placeholder. In rereading the story after a year away from it, what was needed for the stinger scene to tie in elements from the main plot of this book and leading into the final two books finally came together. I couldn't be more relieved! I also have made some notes of a few minor rewrites for when I'm ready to get into deeper edits, which will be after writing the first draft of Book 25. Before I move onto rereading Book 24, I'll be writing the stinger of Book 23. I want that draft done now rather than later.

That's a bit of a long-winded update, but now you know.

I also need to get a cover up for Book 24.

As for Book 23, here's the description. It may get some tweaks later, but I'm pretty happy with this:

The time for the attacks on the Issan installations is approaching, as is the birth of Nya's baby, and she has two shards left to find. When she and her friends on the Cartegos arrive at one of the last Starfire worlds, they discover more than expected. A colony of Voru lives under a large shield reinforced by a Starfire shard, a shield that protects an ancient record whose truths could shatter the Issan cult; but the Keeper of the shard is dying.

The Issan have been alerted to the location of the shard, and they've come with forces prepared to defeat anyone who stands in their way. Nya can hardly access the knowledge left for that time while in labor, much less defend against the Issan; and a saboteur has weakened the shield. Their options and time are running out…

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Thanks for reading!

One more published... down to the final three!

LIGHT AND SHADOWS (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 22) is finally published. This is one of the longest books in the series at around 54,000 words. I’ve purposely limited the books to short novels, but there’s a lot packed into each. Each book is its own complete story but is a chapter in a much bigger story arc that will conclude in book 25. By the time I finish, I’ll have over 1.2 million words of what is essentially one big book told in small, adventurous episodes.

Forgotten Worlds is the most ambitious project of my writing career, but I could not have done this without the experience of having written many other books that became series by accident, including having established my Starfire-verse with the Dark Angel Chronicles. I knew I needed a plan for this monumental of a project, and plan I did! Eight years ago, before I started any writing on this project, I brainstormed possible episodic ideas and briefly synopsized them with lots of room for changes (having learned about the process of JMS with Babylon 5). I then plugged those in where they made the most sense and switched around some of those episodic ideas a few times as the series developed.

Only three more books to go in this series and it’s done. Only one remains to be written, then all three of the finale can be edited and published one after another. (I’ve been writing two ahead of what I publish, because I learned long ago that I’ll need to change something two books down the road. That still holds true.)

After dozens of books published, I don’t feel any excitement in this. Instead I feel fear—What did I do wrong? What did I forget? 😱

Just breathe!

One more down. Three to publish, and now I get to write the exciting conclusion.

I'll send out the newsletter once I have the final retail links to include. In the meantime, you can find the available links on the book's page on my website. I'll also be listing this on Spotlight on Indie with the rest of the series that's already there.

Thanks for reading!

Book 22... update

It's coming. I'm balancing a lot while working on edits of Book 22.

Besides multiple projects, I also am trying to be extra careful. These last four books need to keep consistent as they tie a lot of pieces together. So there's that too.

I'm finding myself going back and forth between the notes for the final book and Books 22, 23, and 24. I'm also rereading the earlier books and finding that super helpful with making sure I keep details consistent. It's quite a project!

And then there's the planned ending. The slowness of the work has allowed many more ideas to emerge. I keep thinking I have a great ending... and then something else pops to mind to make it even better and really tie things up nicely.

By the time I finish writing the first draft of Book 25 next spring, It'll be an incredible ending!

Stay tuned for a great final four books of this series!

And check out these and more books at spotlightonindie.com.

Status of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 22... and more

I'm nearly finished with the first round of edits on Book 22 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds - The End is the Beginning. This has been a slow process, where normally it's fast. I've had a lot of other things going on, and those aren't going to stop any time soon.

It's already mid-August. I would guess it'll be mid-September to publish it.

And in the meantime, I've slowly pieced together something for Book 25 that had been lurking in my mind and stumbling a bit. All this time has allowed the conclusion of this adventure to develop more fully. I won't say it's complete, because it hasn't been written yet, and anything can happen. However, I am satisfied with the issues that have slowly resolved for the planning of how this will end. By the time I start writing next month, nearly everything will be in place and it'll just be a matter of actually writing everything in story form instead of synopsis form.

When Book 25 is done, the final three books will be released in 6-8 week windows of one another. By a year from now, it should all be complete.

This has been an ambitious project. I never could have taken it on at any other time in my life, not like this. It's only by the grace of God, and to honor Him, that I could write this amazing story.

There have been many references to my faith dropped along the way, and more is yet to come. In Book 22, I have the St. Michael door (although it's not called that) and the name of a saint who is special to me. (I already used this saint's mother's name without knowing it at the time when I named Aurelia Station; I just thought is sounded like a pretty name when I found it... or was led to it. The saint whose name I assign in Book 22 has been one calling to me to guide me closer to Christ. A second hint is that the individual was a stigmatist.) There's also the title of the final book - For Such a Time as This - a piece of a quote from the Bible book of Esther which fit perfectly for the final events.

If you don't know the Bible, it'll still all make perfect sense in the setting of the series. The faith is couched in the setting, so there really isn't anything overtly Catholic. It's there for those who are faithful, but it's window dressing and just part of the world ultimately, a layer for those who want to see it.

I've also been rereading about a chapter a day of the start of the series and fixing some tiny issues. I always find details to fix, but I'm also trying to make sure the paperbacks are formatted correctly (copying and pasting removed some of the italics) and review what I can before I start writing Book 25. This is such a long series over nearly a decade (started writing Book 1 in 2018) that I have to remind myself of earlier events, even when much of what I'm writing is developed after things have changed for the characters.

It'll be soon enough and you'll be at the end of this journey. Thanks for staying with it all this time.

God bless!

It's done

I finished book 24 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds last night.

Today, I started a read-through. There are a couple of details I want to insert, but I need to find the right locations to insert those.

I also realized that something I thought I needed as a final scene wasn't needed. In fact, I had given myself a much better way to present the information in one of the scenes and am using that happy accident to cut out an unnecessary POV character.

It came together better than I had expected.

Once I'm done with this, I'm diving into edits on Book 22 and trying to find the right cover image for Book 24. 

Once that's published, I'll reread Book 23 and work on the description. Then I'll start writing Book 25. And after finishing that final book of the series, I'll be editing books 23, 24, and 25 back-to-back. I expect to publish those 6-8 weeks apart starting late spring 2027 through the summer. That means in approximately one year, this will be complete!

On a side note, I've added all these books and the Dark Angel Chronicles books to spotlightonindie.com, where you can access them from my profile there. I still need to add the Revelations books. All the information from my website is there, along with more detailed information for each book. Give it a look and be sure to share the URL with others!

Dill, rhubarb, and peas... gardening update

The garden has been coming into production.

After only three weeks since the last picking!
All this is from one rhubarb plant.

The rhubarb started in late May already, once the flowering waned. I learned that the flowers have to be pulled out by the base or they hinder stalk production. The plant I kept after pulling out two others a couple of years ago is like a weed, and, unfortunately, the aphids and grasshoppers love it when I don't thin it often enough. Every three weeks is too long between pickings for this thing. I'm the only one in the house that likes rhubarb treats, so one is enough. Even with this plant, I'm often sharing with people I know who like it. I hate to waste too much and already toss out many thin stalks just to thin this monstrous plant.

The peas are slowing production, nearing the end of their cycle. I've picked and shelled over 20 cups worth that have been packed and frozen in single-serve snack bags (since I'm the only one in our house that likes peas). Never mind what I've eaten over the past week. I'm pea'd out. You can get sick of fresh-from-the-garden peas.

Never mind the dill. As long as I keep the bindweed off that, it flourishes. I picked and cut two stalks this morning and, from those alone, have way more dill for a friend than she could possibly use. There's still more than we need for pickles growing. And the dill is starting to seed, so that'll reseed for spring.

Green onions I had planted last summer in the raised bed from seeds never grew sufficiently then but came back this year as full onions and have also gone to seed, so I've been collecting those seeds for next year. It would seem green onions (and probably all onions) require two years for full development from seeds, but I could be wrong. That's just my experience with onions.

Hubby's pepper plants are starting to produce. A couple plants started early, but the rest are blooming now also.

Cucumbers have started producing. Only one plant came up this year, so I don't know if we'll have enough to give away like we usually do.

And the corn is tassled out. The ears should be ready for picking by early September. We'll cook and freeze like we usually do, after enjoying some corn on the cob.

I can't leave out the grapes! We'll have more grapes this year than we could possibly eat. It's unfortunate that they're so small and the seeds take up so much of the fruit. Otherwise, I'd probably have enough to make jelly/jam (need to learn how). We just have to watch for the sphinx moth larva--big ugly things that would destroy the plants.

I'm updating all this because this morning, before the heat wave of the day sets in, I came home from mass (church) and went right to the garden to pick dill, rhubarb, and peas. The rhubarb is cleaned and drying before I cut and freeze it all; and the peas picked this morning are next, to be shelled and frozen with the rest. It's only been a week since I picked the first peas, and the plants are already slowing production.

It's already been a productive year for our garden, but our pumpkin plant appears to not want to grow this year. Not much we can do about it now. We'll be all right, though. We still have pureed pumpkin from last year in the freezer.

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Last of all, Book 24 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds has just the few short scenes left outside the main characters, about one chapter's worth of writing. I will finish in the next week and then start editing Book 22. 

God bless!

Forgotten Worlds book 24 update

Nearly there!

Book 24 is past the climax, if you can call it that. The whole book is like a build up to Book 25, so the climax in this feels small by comparison to what I have planned for 25, a bit like they need to be taken together as one book split into two but each does have their respective arcs.

All that said, book 24 is over 45K words and I have just a couple short scenes and the end of the current scene to finish. I should be within 3,000 words of the end, but I won't know until it's done done. One way or another, I intend to keep this first draft under 50K words.

Whatever comes, the main story is done and I'm in the denouement and stinger lead into book 25 (as if this whole series hasn't been that, but when the time comes, you'll understand... it's a doozy!)

It will be done by the end of July and I can finally start editing Book 22 for a planned early September release (barring any interruptions).

I can't believe I'm so close to the end.

Stay tuned and keep reading!

Getting closer

It would seem that I had been overly optimistic about finishing Forgotten Worlds Book 24 by the end of June. However, It will be finished by the end of this month.

The first draft is at 42K words right now with just a handful of short scenes left. This whole book is a series of short scenes, but it has a lot going on. The pacing isn't what it was in the previous book, but it's setting up for the final book. This book is a little bit of the calm before the storm.

It has conflict, but not in the same way as the other books in the series.

I could say it's different, but each book in this series is unique in its own way. There is no formula to these except that they're each different, because I hate series books all following a formula.

I estimate only about 4-5K left for word count on this, or about two regular-length chapters, although it could be less.

We're halfway through July. If everything stays steady, I will definitely finish by the end of this month. That means Book 22 editing would take place during August, possibly into September, with a September publishing date likely. After that, it would be time to write the final book.

I can't believe it's nearly complete.

I hope you're enjoying it. The best is yet to come!

Thanks for reading!

In the homestretch

I had an unexpectedly busy last month, but I've been making progress on Forgotten Worlds book 24. It's nearing the end-- in the final buildup to the climax. I can say it's in the homestretch.

The word count should be at 39K by the end of tonight, but it's going to be a few chapters more before it's done.

But it is nearing the end.

Once I finish this, I'll start the edits on Book 22 to publish that this fall, likely in early September.

Once that's published, I'll start work on the final book!

After that's done, the final three books will be published in rapid succession, probably one every 6-8 weeks. I won't be writing anything in between at that point, unless some weird inspiration for something else hits. However, I want to finish this. It'll be quite an accomplishment and has been an exciting journey for me; and, I hope, a great journey for you as well.

Thanks for reading!

God bless!

A brief update

I've been busy this past week, and preoccupied.

I haven't been around here in the last week, not even with videos, but there's a reason for that.

While I have done some writing, I've had other projects of higher priority. Nevertheless, I do leave time each day for some writing. Whether that happens and how much is another issue, but that's the story of my writing life at every stage.

Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 24 is up to 33,000 words presently. Switching between character POVs has been a bit difficult in this book and takes a bit for me to gain momentum each time I switch, which is happening about every chapter. That's the big issue affecting the writing pace of this particular book.

I could finish by the end of the month, if the writing picks up the pace again, but I've also been preoccupied with a major project that has me excited, and even a little frightened, because I'm going out on a HUGE limb with this. I'll just say that I've filed as an LLC for the business involved for personal asset and liability protection.

We also now have our garden planted and growing. This year, hubby decided to use cardboard to control the weeds, because it keep moisture in, blocks sun so weeds don't grow so readily between rows, and is compostable (with the shipping tape removed). So far, it seems to be working. It makes weeding the garden much easier. We'll see how the rest of the summer goes.

In another month, I'll have peas to shell and freeze. Already, I've had the first pruning of the rhubarb, but it wasn't as much as I expected. I should have known better with all the blossoms it was sending up. Those ruin the stalk harvest. Dill is starting to head. I've had a few strawberries. Corn and cucumbers are coming up nicely. And our grape plants are loaded with grape clusters; oodles of them! We just have to watch out for the cutworms again this year. They've been appearing the last two summers. Fortunately, hubby saw them before they caused any damage.

That's where I am on the writing and on life projects.

Stay tuned! There's much more to come.

God bless!

writing update

I feel that I owe readers an update. It's been just under two weeks, but the writing has been a bit more difficult.

That has multiple reasons that I won't get into, but I will say that it's moving ahead. The word count is at 30K on Book 24, so there's at least modest progress since my last update. Some days it can fly and some days a few words is all I've managed.

I can say that one of the factors is the change of characters and the number of characters.

One of those is the Starfire. The entities always been their own character, observing and recording events. I don't remember how it happened, but it just seemed like from the beginning they were meant to record like a video camera. No sensory experiences except visual, but at least they have that. Sometimes I think I should have done that differently, but when I started, I just felt that they could "see" in the normal spectrum and had perfect memories, which the Inari took on by blending with them.

And the Starfire entities can only observe, so everything that they experience is generally a distant third-person POV. The regular characters all have a close third-person POV. It does help distinguish the Starfire visions/memories from regular character experiences.

In this book, I am giving the reader two events--the history of the Starfire to answer the questions that have been left for this point and the Ethalian coalition battles, so multiple perspectives, as usual. I didn't want to get too many, however, so I've limited what parts of the story to tell of the battles.

But this isn't the final book. There's a big showdown coming in Book 25. Book 24 simply sets up the final battle. And it will be final.

Buckle up! This ride is just getting started... THE END IS THE BEGINNING describes this book perfectly, and it's also the beginning of the end.

Keep reading!

Brief writing update

I've been having some productive and some not so productive days on Book 24... In other words, normal.

Some days are writing gold and some just don't happen.

The best part is making progress. Book 24 has about 26K words or nearly 2/3 done.

This is another episode in the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds series that's not an easy story to tell... but I feel like a broken record on saying that. Each book of this series has been different. I've tried not to get into a pattern. My goal has been to write a wide variety of story formats and plot types in this series but with the same characters and in the same general setting and building to a series finale. It's been a challenge at times to pick the plots to use and make them work within the framework of the series, but it all works.

I'm aiming to finish the first draft of Book 24 by the end of June so I can then edit and publish Book 22 by the end of August, but I would guess it'll be closer to mid-July for finishing Book 24. I could still publish Book 22 by the end of August. I'm giving myself a cushion in these estimates. I haven't encountered the problems I had with Book 23, so that helps; but Book 23 worked out much better than I had expected at each rewrite. The extension of writing that one was worth it. As usual, the more I struggle in writing, the better the story tends to turn out.

It's all coming along well, but I won't rush anything. Barring any problems, I can see me finishing in July.

In other news, I'm leaving Substack behind already. I may keep my account for a while just to see if there's a need for it (aside from the Based Book Sale), but so far, I've had to force myself to use it. That's usually a reliable indicator that I don't need it. Social media and I generally don't like each other. I prefer to stay away from the negativity that proliferates in most public forums. I'm getting too old for all that. It's also a big distraction from writing and a place of sin--pride, envy, mockery, gossip/detraction/calumny, vanity, etc.--and noise.

Some days I can tolerate it, but as I grow in closeness to Christ, I more disgusted I am with social media.

This will remain my main online home.

And I'll continue in the final stage of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. You can find all my updates here.

Thanks for reading!

Book 24 status

The quick news is that Book 24 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is very close to the halfway point at over 19K words.

The bad news is that writing slowed down recently. It comes in spurts, though, so I'm not worried. It will get written.

In the meantime, I've created a shorter book trailer video with text instead of a voiceover. I also changed up the background music. The book and trailer are included in the new spotlightonindiesff.com site with lots of other independently published science fiction and fantasy.

I did not expect this!

Book 24 is revealing much more than I expected!

While the battle to save the universe is revving up, the history of the Starfire is also. THE END IS THE BEGINNING is such a perfect title for this!

I have just discovered how to tie this into a piece in CRYSTAL TOMB! Mind. Blown! I did not expect that, but it's perfect! I thought I would need to work around those events, but I had forgotten the details, which fit precisely for what I needed in this. If you never read CT, you won't miss anything. This will just put a different twist on some of the details there.

Sorry I can't reveal more, but that would give away too many spoilers.

At least the writing is progressing. I had some slow down last week in writing the first battle scenes, but tonight was incredibly productive when switching POV characters and focusing on the Starfire. The story is 15,500 words so far, or a third done.

That's all I have for a quick update.

Thanks for reading!

short update on writing

It's been eight days since I last reported on the status of Book 24 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. I'm happy to say that It appears that I've been making decent progress, even if I missed a day or two of writing.

The word count went from 6,600 words to now 10,500 words, and I'm happy with this opening. It's the right place in the overall series for what I'm doing in this. It's bringing the complete Starfire Angels series back to the beginning beginning before the big finale. THE END IS THE BEGINNING is a very appropriate title, and it's looking like that's going to stick.

The final book will be quite the battle of heightened stakes and perfect for the series, and it will end.

So, Book 24 is around 1/4 written and making steady progress.

Stay tuned!

space opera communications systems

Something has been bothering me for some time with space opera communications systems, especially those that seem instantaneous across interstellar space. It’s just not possible! However, it wouldn’t make the stories as interesting without some way to instantly communicate across those vast distances.

I used my knowledge of networking and communications system to come up with a system for the communications network in my space opera Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds but didn’t feel the need to explain it through most of the series, except to mention a network of communications beacons across the galaxy, including space stations, a system valuable to every space-faring race. To not have it would mean signals that take lifetimes to cross the vastness of space. These beacons act like network switches and more. However, early on, I also made it known that hyperspace could cause interference in such communications. I knew there was something more to this, but I could never explain it and just let it be as long as readers could accept that it just works that way in my universe without further details.

The communications beacon network provides similar locating to how our cellphone tower pinging works for determining the area where a cell phone is generally located. Primarily, it works similar to how data packets flow in the real world, by changing the headers and trailers of data packets in the network of beacons and the tables updated through the network to identify which beacons are closest to each end of a data stream. In this way, a ship can be generally known where it’s located, and I used this to pull some comms tricks with my characters early in the series and a little in later places, doing things like locking out the locations in the data headers to hide the beacons through which the data traveled or using ciphers that act like our VPNs act.

I don’t go into details about the system unless there is a small piece to explain for these fun little ways of using it in the plot of a given story. It’s just a part of the worldbuilding/setting, a tool used by the characters, but it’s the little details that make everything feel more plausible.

As I’m writing the first draft of Book 24, I’ve finally been inspired and know the piece that was missing. I’ve added a brief explanation of how the system provides nearly instantaneous communications even across the galaxy and why they can have some interference when a ship is in hyperspace while accessing this network. Readers may or may not care, but it’s always bothered me that I didn’t have that explanation. It turns out the beacons access something similar to hyperspace and are massive for the equipment to do this across the vast expanse of space.

I won’t go into the specific technology, but I will say that my explanation for instant communications will make sense in the setting.

I know we like to just accept instant communications, since that’s what we get on our little third rock from the sun, but it really would not happen that way in space. If you understood the intricacies of high-speed broadband communications, you’d realize that this little handwavium of science fiction is a detail often overlooked for convenience. I wanted to finally close that gap with a tool that I think adds a new layer to the setting, something designed specifically for my world based on real-world telecommunications networks and which I could exploit in the series. I could never have conceived of this if not for working in this industry.

And in the second-to-last book of the series, that final piece of this communications network will be revealed.

Thanks for reading!

The work begins again

I've started writing Book 24. I have 2500 words on it, nearly a complete first chapter. This is the second-to-last book of the series.

I also have a tentative/working title from a title of a composition of the music that I listen to while writing - The End is the Beginning. It fits with what I have planned for the story, but it's only a working title. I'll see if the story takes any detours that warrant a different title. For what I have planned, it couldn't have a more appropriate match than the name of the Two Steps From Hell album that includes this composition and this title, and the music fits well too. 😁

For now, this is where I am, the (relative) calm before the storm (aka the series climax).

Thanks for reading.

One more done... and a cover reveal

I finished Book 23.

I agonized over the stinger scene for that, in coordination with the one at the end of Book 22, all weekend, considering how it would work with the final two books of the series in a way that isn't detracting and could be resolved within the remaining books. The Paxons in Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds never play fair and always play to win power through every wily conniving way they can. I wanted to bring that to the forefront, because I can't ignore that issue that was being set up. I just wasn't sure exactly how it would play out.

Supreme Commander Soren Draksten has an ego that won't let him look like a fool, and he certainly isn't. As I did with L'Ni in Book 21, I had to come up with something that added an extra layer of complexity to the story while revealing his intelligence in this, because he won't lose face. Losing his own offspring to a culture of "breeders" is a stain he can't get out, but he's going to try... by making the other side look dirty. Yes, he's a bit vindictive, but he loves power.

Anyway, I could have started a whole new storyline and continued this series in that direction, and it could still continue in that, but that's not my end game. My goal is to wrap it all up in Book 25. While this plot thread could potentially be continued in a new direction, I don't want to start something big now. I wanted to add that layer without it being too big; just enough to make sense for the series and add conflict and difficulties for the heroes and heroines. It's hard to really say much without giving things away.

Let's just say it was a long weekend of pondering this issue and finally settling on the simpler route. Although it is a big deal, it's nothing that can't be resolved in the final two books.

NOW, I can start writing Book 24, including weaving in that new thread from the stingers of Books 22 and 23.

And this weekend, I finally found an image that fit Book 23, so the cover is done and uploaded to my website:

Thanks for reading!

The final two books of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds

Yesterday, I received the grace of plotting out the courses of Books 24 and 25 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. Before that, I knew what had to be in them, but I didn't have the full stories. Yesterday's creativity was bursting, and I outlined the plots with those points in them and more. The Lord was good in that and also the incredible consolations he provided for the Lord's Supper (Holy Thursday) mass.

I have just one scene to write for Book 23 - the stinger scene - and that book will be done (at around 48K words). I'll search for a cover image for Book 23 and jump right into writing Book 24, which is going to be a format different than the others. Book 23 gave me much more than I had expected to create a pre-climax mini-climax to the series in Book 24 (before the big climax in Book 25) like I haven't done before. Book 24 will actually be two stories running in parallel.

I know that sounds confusing, but Armor was worse and only one story interweaving two timelines.

Book 24 is also going to focus on a variety of other characters, which really emphasizes one of the big themes concluding in Book 25 and tying a nice big bow on everything when all the plot threads wrap up.

I prayed for creativity for the final two books and received in abundance everything I needed for a perfect conclusion to the series. The Lord is good!

God bless!