runaway writing... I love it!

I can't believe how Book 17 is still going strong. I had started a chapter and had to rewrite it, but I'm still at 10,000 words that I plan to keep. I love it when the writing keeps going at a good pace, when the story is there ready to write itself.

And for those who have read the first Starfire Angels series, Dark Angel Chronicles, I have a special treat in this--a glimpse of Raea and Elis all these years later and where they are. It's a short cameo, but you'll have that treat in this book, HOME.

Whether you have or haven't read the first (young adult) part of the full series, it still has significance to what's happening with Nya. I was able to bring in past characters and keep it relevant to the story, not just a service to long-time fans.

Aside from that, this book overall will also help Nya with what happened in Book 6 when she was fighting to distinguish reality from dreams (nightmares) of her homeworld.

We'll see how writing the middle goes, but for now, the opening of this book in the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds series has been pretty easy to write.

It's been two months since I released Book 14, UNBROKEN BONDS. If I can finish this in a reasonable time, I'll work on edits on Book 15 after the first draft of 17. We're already at the beginning of June. I'm hoping to finish by the end of July. Fingers crossed. It depends on how well the story continues to develop from my outline.

Thanks for reading.

off and running

Book 17 is off and running full-on. The first chapter is almost written. It's a doozy of a revelation to start off the book; but I've been dropping clues for a long time. Subtle as they may have been, some readers might have picked up enough to suspect this. As of this post, I already have over 2400 words, and I just started yesterday!

Below is a current list of titles that I know so far of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds for those who want a condensed list in order:

1. A New Beginning
2. The Rule of Yonder
3. Vault of the Celestials
4. In Darkness, Light
5. The Destruction of Walls
6. Disposition of Dreams
7. Remnants
8. Racing the Orast Belt
9. Ferious
10. Dragon and Fury
11. Voices in the Dark
12. Messages
13. Soul Shadow
14. Unbroken Bonds
15. Beneath the Surface*
16. Ghosts*
17. Home**
18. Sins of the Father**

* books written but not yet published

** books in first draft progress or to be written

I have 25 books planned in this series but don't know the titles for all of them yet. This is what I have for confirmed titles so far.

Finally!

🥳 The first draft of Book 16, GHOSTS, is done! I want to rewrite the final short scene, but at least I have something. The first draft is 52,000 words. I'd like to get that down below 50K; we'll see what happens in edits.

And I already have 900 words written on Book 17, which is tentatively titled HOME. Yay! It's off and running.

almost done

Just a quick note, since I'm not on social media for people to follow...

I am so close to finishing Book 16, GHOSTS, that it could be done within days. I'm almost done with the climax and even wrote one of the denouement scenes yesterday instead of finishing the climax of this story. I thought I would finish with fewer words then realized it would be rushing the climax. I don't like rushed endings.

Book 16 is about 49K words right now, including that scene I wrote that hasn't come up yet, and should be finished within 4K more (the end of one chapter, a small denouement chapter, and the stinger scene). These books have slowly crept longer, the last few ending up around 10K more than expected but necessary for the stories. That's one reason they've taken so long to write, other than my own health issues (multiple autoimmunities and mid-life effects). I also had to rewrite this climax chapter from a different POV; it reached a point that the writing flowed again with the right action. MUCH better!

I don't always get things right the first time. The rewrites usually turn out better, but they do delay finishing. On a good note, those stories where I struggle, those that make me really work hard and don't come easy, usually turn out as some of my best.

I'm anxious to begin book 17 and am now having scene ideas for Book 18, which is also outlined. I can never seem to keep my mind on the current WIP in this series. 🤦‍♀️

Anyway, that's where things are right now. Once I finish this, I'll be jumping right to Book 17 without pause.

Thanks for reading.

Writing update

I hope readers of the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds series have had the opportunity to pick up Book 14. It's not going anywhere; I just want to remind people that it's available. That is the romantic story of the series. Life will change dramatically for some characters afterwards. I also tried to wrap up a lot of unanswered issues from earlier books that I wanted to make clear, and I majorly teased some developments in the works. You won't really know until those come out in future books, but no detail is left to chance. Chekov's gun.

Now, I'm back in Book 16. The break from completing it is just what I needed. I remember some of what my original idea was, but since it's completely different and I've had a break, it's easier to focus on what's there now and develop that story. I'm so glad I set it aside without completing it. That break opened my eyes. I'm unstuck in the story.

I have a working title for Book 16 too... GHOSTS. The cover is mostly done, but I still need to work on the tagline/blurb of this one before I can reveal the cover. I'll need to think about that a bit more. Next time I have a good update on the progress, I hope to have that ready. 

I've already mentioned that this book focuses on Seska's illicit work against the system of Paxons being simply made to serve their people rather than being free to choose. Seska made sure they disappeared and reported them dead so they wouldn't be hunted. Those who disappeared became... ghosts. They take identities and live new lives off the radar of Central Command, except that she might have accidentally revealed part of her secret to SecurCom, which intends to investigate. And to her friends, she might as well be a ghost, having come back from the dead.

This, like many of the titles I choose in this series, has multiple intentions for different aspects of the story. That's just a way of saying it fits pretty well, so I'll probably keep it.

I won't be releasing another book immediately after finishing writing 16, since I want to get back to writing two books ahead of publishing. Rather, I'll jump right into writing Book 17, which will contain a major--HUGE--revelation. I only released 14 now because I needed the break from writing 16, which was taking too long, and it had been six months since the last book in the series was released (and I didn't want to keep readers waiting any longer).

That's where I'm at right now and what I'm up to. Book 16 is coming along well since I took the break from it, and I hope to finish by the end of April and jump right into 17, which I hope will go fast since that isn't changing from what I had planned. But, we'll see.

Thanks for reading.

Available now - Unbroken Bonds

I did it. I finished UNBROKEN BONDS (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 14). It is available at most of the major ebook retailers but not quite all. Once the last one lists it, I'll be sending out my newsletter announcement, but I thought I'd share it here first.

Ann and Nik's wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion. However, they and their friends have underestimated their enemies, and even worse, their supposed allies. In the midst of the celebration on Ethal, L'Ni is taken with few clues about who or why.

When L'Ni awakens chained in a dark chamber, too numb and weak to free himself amid the torture by his captors, he soon realizes his fate. The methods to subdue him could only have been advised by his own people. The Issa Pralemmar want their heretic and will do anything to capture him.

L'Ni's friends are determined to find him. Through memories and clues, Nya and the others must solve the mystery of his disappearance and locate him before it's too late, but as the pieces come together, they soon realize the full threat to Ethal.

For updated purchase links, visit https://www.melanienilles.com/books/unbroken-bonds/. 

Science and Christianity do mix

This is an amazing story:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OMBQwGzn_TE&feature=shares

Aside from this, I highly recommend The Return of the God Hypotheses by Stephen C. Meyer. It is mentioned in the video and I have been reading it myself. It is an excellent book. I have always believed in God (blessed to have been born into a Christian family), but this book provides a way to explain what I already knew and answers some of my questions about science. It requires some deep thinking and reasoning. It isn't a light read.

And be sure to read the comments under the video.

God bless you and keep you!

a horse update

I haven't mentioned my horse here in a while. Buddy turns 10 this year and I've now had him for 7 years as of October 2022.

Spring 2022, still a bit fuzzy with
what was left of his winter coat

He has come so far in the last year that I'm more excited than ever to work with him this spring. He's been such a flighty boy, but since this past summer, around a year since I brought him to a boarding facility closer to me than my parents' farm, he's really settled down. Most horses hit that between 3-4 years. Buddy--9 years. Now, he's going on 10 and is finally in that good spot mentally.

I've been told that he's become quite the herd boss, which takes some confidence, even chasing around new horses or lower hierarchy horses in his pasture gelding herd. I've noticed he's not so afraid of things anymore, even going up to something that he's not sure about to check it out. But he has his moments still, especially when air pressure drops. All horses get stupid in the head to some degree when the air pressure drops.

Buddy will never be a fancy show horse, but he gives me 110% of his effort... except when I ask for a right lead. Every once in a while, he doesn't want to step under and then has to give a little buck when I ask for the right lead. It can't be too easy, right? Aside from that, I've always said that he makes up for his lack of athletic ability in what he has for heart.

His dressage work took a huge leap forward since one riding lesson last summer in particular that reminded me to let go of my fear of a runaway, which is unlikely with him but has happened to me. I had to let him go forward. That helped him a lot in stretching through his topline and relaxing under saddle. I just have to remember to let him move forward and turn him on a tighter circle to sit him down if he gets too fast.

Now, I think he's ready for something new. I wanted to do this last year, but couldn't find the saddle in stock, which is just as well. We clearly still had some issues to work out in our dressage work.

Some people spend thousands of $$ on gaming stuff. Me (and any equestrian)... new saddle. Riders collect saddles like gamers collect controllers, headsets, and chairs. However, I don't need many saddles when I have a Wintec, now two (my old first dressage saddle and now a new general purpose for jumping and groundwork), since they're adjustable to most horses by changing out the gullet plate. The problem is when you have a very wide horse. Putting in the extra wide plate is quite the wrestling match with the saddle.

I also have my high-end dressage saddle (not adjustable) that I bought for a previous horse almost nine years ago and which also fits Buddy, by some perfectly random chance. Saddles never fit the same horses the same way and this did require a teeny bit of thin shim padding on a special half-pad to fit him right, but otherwise it's perfect for him.

I just bought my second Wintec, a general purpose, which arrived today, and I've finished the wrestling match of changing the gullet plate to what I know fits Buddy. I look forward to starting him on some jumping this spring. I hope it builds his confidence even more under saddle and that it helps him think more about sitting back on his haunches, as well as adjusting his stride, although the dressage work and our trail riding does much of that already. Mostly, the jumping will add some change to our riding and something to help his confidence go further, as well as mine. I haven't done any hunter/jumper work since switching to dressage over fourteen years ago. It will be fun to get back to my beginnings in english riding. I'm not as young as I was back then, so this will be interesting.

This summer will be a new adventure with my horse.

A quick note... a delay (blame the writing process and being devoted to the series)

Forgotten Worlds Book 14 will not be released until I get Book 16 written. And right now, that means rewriting until I feel like I have the book I want. That means that I'm likely not looking at releasing Book 14 until March/April 2023.

I started with an idea outlined some time ago. Then, I wrote Book 13 in a similar style. So, I scrapped that original idea for Book 16. Start over, Idea #1, start writing.

Not quite what I wanted but some useful ideas. Idea #2--Revise that first part because ideas for the next few chapters need to fit.

Still not quite right. The story is beginning to form, but needs adjustments.

Idea #3... Rewrite from Chapters 4 onward. Setting is better, but too blah, no action. For goodness sake, I have Ann and L'Ni working together. I have to do something exciting with those two, right? Some good ideas in that new setting, but back to the drawing board--change one of the parameters.

Idea #4... Parameter changed at chapter 7. Aha! Now, the stakes are increased. Let's see how this goes.

I don't like to rewrite an entire book if I can figure out what's going wrong in the first draft process. It saves time overall and frustration, although this is frustrating enough.

I see it visually as something like this:

It's been a bit of a progression of iterations, as you can see. Each rewrite tends to build on the last idea. I hope this third time is the charm and that I have it down to what the plot needs to be so no more major rewrites are needed. This should establish the first part of the story and set the tension pretty high so I can move this along at a fast pace with lots of action.

The problem with this book is that I changed my initial plan and was left with just a rough idea, which is developing as I go (pantsing on a general plan). Luckily, I pretty much have Book 17 all planned out and intend to stick to it. Let's hope I can catch up on writing time with that one.

I have a high expectation for each book and want it done right to my satisfaction. For those who like the series, you clearly like what I like. I write because I want to tell a good story, not just to write. I need each story in the series to meet my expectations and sometimes that means delays in publishing. I'm so glad I'm not on a set schedule, which is also why I stopped setting up preorders.

Let's see where this iteration leads.

Merry Christmas

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