All Comments on 'Starlight Gleaming Ch. 21 Pt. 02'

Fantastic as always, i very much enjoy your work, plz keep it coming

Thank You So Much!

This longer submission is satisfying in ways that can’t be matched by the short little teasers put out by other writers, no matter how frequently they submit. Your characters have depth and they grow to meet the challenges with which you constantly bombard them. I love the contrasting cultures as they clash. Your use of ancient South and Central American themes lends flavors that are both familiar and simultaneously exotic. A day that begins with a new chapter from you is a very good day indeed! Thank you.

It looks like the gremlins in the Lit submissions have been sorted out.

Well worth the wait though, another excellent (half) chapter !

Little disappointed that the story was not moved along but overall it was OK. Seemed like kind of a filler chapter but a good read anyway.

Glad this story made it. And Chapter 20 part 1 was renamed Chapter 21 part 1. At last! In the meantime, working madly on part 3 (30+ pages that have had at least one revision) and on Bard's Tale 5. I'm pleased I only found five errors, and those I fixed on my versions.

What's happening next in Starlight Gleaming to our band on intrepid heroes? Will Atlantis follow up with another bloody attack? What's Ranji going to do to Kirfan? Oh, no! Look out for the return of the sociopath Charunt in our next SG episode!

At this point, I work when I can and write when I'm able, take my vitamins, watch the blood sugar, and try to keep from falling. In the meantime, check out the many other good writers here on Lit. An especial shout-out to WriterAnnabelle and her awesome series, Home for Horny Monsters. Chapter 59 is in my hot little beta reader hands as I write this. Bu-wah hah hah!

Thanks for your interest. Stay healthy and stay safe. Slainté

Excellent chapter, very much enjoyed. Thanks for the name check!

Second try at leaving a comment, Enjoyed this part chapter, looking forward to the next one! Thanks for the name checks !

TJ

I sincerely hope that chapter 22 will not be the last of this book. The only reason I say this is that in chapter 20 you mention that book 5 goes to chapter 22, nothing further is mentioned.

Please be so kind as to comment on this.

Thx

TK

Trek1 -- Actually, I have through chapter 27 outlined; I just need to write and have it make sense.

I've been busy with work and continue dealing with health issues. I've caught up on some work projects and hope to make a dent on both SG and Bard's Tale. Hopefully I'll get some free time to not just make an actual dent in both but actually finish them soon.

Sill working on rebuilding my reference notes from their loss in July. I have a file of just people done (and alphabetized), but equipment, places... that's still in pieces. I'm just glad I didn't lose the file entirely.

Thank you, everyone, for your continued interest. May the holiday season be grand and your year ahead be even grander. May you and yours find success, keep your health, and enjoy as much happiness and joy as you can stand. Slainté

This story has been one of my favorite stories since it came out. Thank you for your time that you have put into writing this series. Like a lot of people, I assume, worry when there hasn't been a new story in a while. Because you have engaged our imagination with the people you have created in this story and wish it would carry on. Unfortunately there's this thing called life that has a tendency to pull us back to reality. I hope you and yours stay healthy and hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Again Thank You,

Craig

P.S. Looking forward to the next chapter :)

Well, there is my third archive binge of this wonderful story. Only took 4 days for 3/4 million words!?! (really? did I count that right? split on spaces seemed simple enough)

Looking forward to more installments. Will we get any hints about the animosity between the world powers? What resources are the aliens hoping to control by destabilizing local politics? Is there a another alien faction willing to "mentor" the Empire in a 3-way proxy fight? Too bad the galaxy is no closer to peaceful coexistence then the planet bound monkeys.

Will the Emperor finally cut Supay loose? Or wimp out as "too disruptive" during the escalated world conflicts? Looking forward to Kirfan's shock when "accidentally" getting healed means losing his championed status.

Even with their new sisterhood, how well will Janetta (prickly pear that she is) handle integrating Izel into the extended family? She has such a close-knit ground crew, how large will the ripples be from replacing Ixma?

So many threads to pull! [[[can not even get line breaks formatted in this post?]]]

Just binged through this in a week and its been a roller coaster ride. I love the hope mixed with the absolute harsh reality which I have rarely seen portrayed in stories. A reality we like to think ourselves so far removed from but a few hundred years ago we weren't so different. Continuing to be impressed by this series and eager to read new installments this year!

When are you going to continue with your story? I know you have health issues but it seems like you're just doing some editing for WRITERANNABELLE wich I'm thankful for as she is one of the top writers on this site, not just because of the content of her stories but also the frequency that she publish in.

We really love your story and would like to see it back at the top few stories, it's just the frequency that's keeping you down, taking in consideration your health issues.

TK

STATUS UPDATE

I'm actually working on the stories now. Unfortunately, my health issues continue to worsen. I have been unable to work since November, and my boss has already hired my replacement. I hold no animosity there as she has a business to run and she's been very good to me. This coming year will bring a lot of personal changes. Hopefully not too many bad ones.

I had to rebuild the index of people's names and notes about them because over the summer, my computer had a hard crash and my working copy of Starlight Gleaming, including the 60-page index, became really corrupt -- every time I tried to open the file, Windows froze hard and required a power-down to start working again. The list of names is now current, and I worked on putting it together while writing 21.1 and 21.2, but the notes about places, gods, weapons, vehicles, and such are still a mess. Mostly I'm happy I was able to convert it to a text file, but right now there are over a thousand pages with a hard return at the end of each line and those have to come out. That take work and time. Ranji, Janetta, and her ground crew are at the front of the names list, but everyone else is alphabetic now and can be easily re-sorted. Some names that I thought were in there actually weren't so I fixed that oversight. At this point the list of names runs 28 pages.

My internet and phone were both down over December for about 12 days. I had about that many days when I couldn't even sit up to read much less write. Still, I managed to review some things and found a few continuity errors I'd missed earlier; most were small but the biggest one was -- exactly how old were Sisi and Mina? A few readers pointed out that the girls had aged two years, not one, and when I went back to where the girls first arrived, I discovered my readers were right. Dang!

I'm working on Starlight Gleaming 21.3 (which has a lot happening, and I might need to make it four parts instead of three); I'm also working Bard's Tale 5 (the Whisper Winds make their journey to the capital and it's been more than a year since there's been a chapter there). I'm also preparing Starlight Gleaming Book 1 for professional editing (half-way done with that).

Some of the things happing in 21.3 include the return of Charunt, Izell's brother makes his move, several women troopers and their children are kidnapped, Melannee makes a significant appearance, and a few other surprises are planned. The main issue thus far has been the first big battle scene had some tactical and timing issues, and I've had to do a few rewrites. The review is nearly done so I can start adding in all the planned chaos into a readable story.

With no job, I hope I can get Book 1 edited and with a fancy cover so Amazon will sell enough copies to keep the lights on. I don't just beta read for Annabelle; I also read for RedFirebrand and a few others. I haven't heard from Red in a while, though, and I'm worried she's in as bad a situation as I am; she also lost her job around May or June. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'll send her an email just to make sure she's okay. I haven't heard from her since her last chapter went up.

So that's where I am at this point. I appreciate your patience and your continued interest. Stay safe and try to keep your spirits up. Slainté

A little wordy and more sex than is needed in my opinion but I know everyone is different. I too have health issues so I can understand how that goes. If you do not have one already you might set up a Patreon or whatever it is called account. I am sure some of you fans will help out if they can.

Trips to the restroom across the house continue to be a struggle due to the worsening balance issues. CPAP supplies arrived and my blood sugar has dropped about 100 points; I did that by seriously cut back on carbs, though I miss having sandwiches! After almost 4 months of poor sleep, it will take a few days to really feel the improvement on the sleep side. But I will take it! On the flip side, I am pretty much unemployed these days.

I checked the night before on the story progress and discovered I am making headway. I originally thought I had over 200 pages, but while I used to be able to do math in my head, that's no longer the case. I'm just over 80 pages, a big difference. This has taken a while because I was stuck on a section, tried 4 rewrites, and ended up trimming 40+ pages. I still have some things to wrap up, and yes, Melannee will be a big part of chapter 21.4 (the final part of 21). I expect within a week I will be sending this off to my readers. While they are proofing, I will work on Bard's Tale 5.

People keep telling me they like my writing, so I'm going to take a stab at getting Book 1 professionally edited with an eye for sale as an ebook. Depending on how much the editing costs will let me know how much of a budget I have for the cover illustration.

I ask for your patience for a few weeks when all the surprises in Starlight Gleaming will be revealed.

Again, I thank you for your concerns; I am doing the best I can. Take care, stay safe, and don't assume the people you care for know how you feel -- tell them. Slainté

I sent an inquiry about 21.3 last night, so... who knows? Hopefully, it will be resolved soon.

NotStanley had some questions and I will answer this one. For the Greys, their interest is evolution; they are a hive species that advance incredibly slow. A society that does not brook rebellion or "thinking outside the box" can have serious blinders. Not to denigrate Japan today, but during WW2, one small group of scientists evaluated the idea of nuclear fission (atomic energy by splitting the atom). Because these lead scientists made a decision, it was accepted by every other Japanese scientist that nuclear fission was impossible. No one questioned. Now imagine this as a biological constraint with a race that shares thoughts, even somewhat like the Borg. There is no dissent. Free will is an utterly alien concept and worse, it instills fear in them and they struggle to understand it. They trade tech with Atlantis in order to experiment on humans. Draconians have their own agenda: sex slaves and food among a pre-warp civilization. Interstellar treaties keep other races from interfering. The hostility between the major powers is encouraged by their alien allies. As mentioned earlier, the Empire evicted the Greys because of their meddling and experiments with the Imperial family. Likewise, the draconians were evicted for their choice of diet as well as their rampant spying and assassinations; after almost two hundred years, they are just now becoming more open and aggressive in their agenda.

Kirfan's status will be somewhat resolved in the next chapter, 21.3. Look for more changes in 21.4.

This is my third time through this story. I won't the time to repeat all the praise you have already received for your efforts other than to agree that every one is well deserved. Regarding your comment below about hiring a professional editor and putting out a eBook, that expense is unnecessary. You've done a fine job already in that regard. I would buy that book if it was available (preferably a print version) just as it is and I'm sure many others will do the same if it becomes available. Talk to Todd172 on this site regarding doing that, both for the income possibility but also to protect your work. More than a few authors here have discovered their work published under someone else's name. There are many fine authors on this site and some truly excellent ones. You are one of those in the second group. You deserve the credit (and income) your efforts deserve.