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Happy book release day!

It’s October 1, 2026, and I thought this day would never come. We’re working on creating a shop experience and updating the website, so for now, this purchase page will do.

Use this link to buy the book for $19.99 – that’s an exclusive 21% launch discount!

Tildy Silverleaf and the Starfall Omen
Wallevand, Michael J

One last request: reviews and recommendations greatly increase readership, so we’d love to hear your thoughts at one of these two havens for passionate readers. Bookmark ’em!

STORYGRAPH

GOODREADS

Thank you so much for your interest in exploring the world of Tildy Silverleaf and the Starfall Omen!

–Mike

decorative image of twisting ivy vines and leaves
My First Epigraph
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My First Epigraph

This post is about a 5-minute read.

What’s an epigraph? If you’re a regular reader, you’ve seen a page that quotes a poem, song lyrics, or other meaningful sentiments. The author chose it to set the mood, foreshadow, or elicit a reaction from readers. The epigraph page lives in the front matter of novels. Oh. Front matter is all the pages at the front of a book that you skip over. Y’know, the copyright page, dedications, foreword, etc. However, if you enjoy that stuff, this post is for you.

As a supporting task to my writing, I’ve been collecting song lyrics and other quotes that evoke the same feelings I’m expressing in TILDY SILVERLEAF and the STARFALL OMEN and future books. As I mentioned above, I had specific reasons for choosing each of these:

Photo of the Epigraph page from Tildy Silverleaf and the Starfall Omen. Text starts in the 3rd paragraph of the post.

Come closer and see, see into the trees.
Find the girl while you can.
—A Forest, by the Cure

Come closer, Sen. What would you like?
Just name it.
—No-Face to Chihiro, Spirited Away

This is my favorite book in all the world,
though I have never read it.
—William Goldman’s 1972 introduction to The Princess Bride

A Forest echoes a feeling that other characters have when they see Tildy in the trees. Spirited Away is foreshadowing. The Goldman quote represents my homage to that wonderful book. If you’re a curious bird who wants to learn more, read on!

Psst…as long as you’re here: Tildy Silverleaf and the Starfall Omen is available October 1, 2026! If you’re looking to support independent bookstores, check out Bookshop.org, who’s currently offering 10% off preorders. It’s also listed in the usual online retailers (B&N, Amazon, Kindle, Smashwords, Apple). Thanks in advance for your support!

A Forest was an obvious choice. One day, I was paying particular attention to all the lyrics on my playlist, as writers do, and when this came on, I sat upright. It was like they were singing the thoughts of the people who caught a glimpse of Tildy within her haunted forest home. I wasn’t considering the epigraphs at the time, but I immediately made a note to add this one.

Black and white photo for The Cure's "A Forest".
Come closer and see
See into the trees
Find the girl
While you can
Come closer and see
See into the dark
Just follow your eyes
Just follow your eyes
I hear her voice
Calling my name
The sound is deep
In the dark
I hear her voice
And start to run
Into the trees
Into the trees
Into the trees
Suddenly I stop
But I know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
All alone
The girl was never there
It's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
Again and again and again and again...

Songwriters: Laurence Andrew Tolhurst / Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup / Matthieu A. Hartley
© Fiction Songs Ltd.

I’ve loved Studio Ghibli movies for thirty years, and Spirited Away has always been my favorite. The setting and accompanying mythology was different from anything I’d seen or read. I still believe it, and I often write with that in mind. Another consideration is this: Studio Ghibli stories don’t end with the killing of the antagonist. Compassion often saves the day. I really like that idea…

Ahem. Segueing from one bit of foreshadowing to another, I chose this quote to foreshadow the temptation heroes often face. I also liked using a movie quote because it reflects my diverse interests in storytelling.

No-Face: [offering a bowl of food] “Try this. It’s delicious. Want some gold? I’m not giving it to anybody else! Come closer, Sen. What would you like? Just name it.”

Image of a book page that reads, "This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it." —William Goldman’s 1972 introduction to The Princess Bride.

Late in the writing process, I still had a Prologue no one liked. Trusted Readers told me the heavy, formal tone wasn’t working, even if it achieved my goal of contrasting the lighter style of the rest of the novel. And if that wasn’t enough feedback, a professional reviewer had this advice:

The author of TILDY SILVERLEAF AND THE STARFALL OMEN might consider shortening the prologue in order to get to the main plot more quickly. The prologue is interesting, and has vital information, but could be trimmed significantly for the sake of allowing readers to access the most integral parts of the book more easily.
–The Blacklist

Message received: “Murder your darlings.” So I axed 90% of one of the first chapters I wrote and created a new problem. How do I quickly engage Readers and convey critical info with just a fraction of that original Prologue? I found inspiration in Peter Falk’s wonderful grandfather portrayal in the movie version of The Princess Bride. Not wanting to appear to be ripping off Goldman, I riffed instead, changing the nature of the relationship between the Golden Narrator and the Child, as well as the tone of their interactions. They also serve as a stand-in for the Readers, perhaps echoing some criticisms they had. And so, this quote provides the bridge between that work and my homage.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you found this behind-the-scenes look interesting. A writer has so many considerations when writing a story, the logistics are often staggering. And so, putting this much thought into a few quotes might not appear to be the best use of time. However, the Reader experience is important to me, so I consider as many things as I can to deliver a enjoyable activity.

Mike

Enjoy this post? Please give us a like or leave a comment, and we’ll share more like this!

(C) Michael Wallevand, September 2026

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So Mike, How Many Books Ya Working On?

Oh, Ok! That’s a good question.

Over the years, I’ve spoken about starting Project Two and Project Three, and sometimes it’s hard to keep track. What are the chances my answer is “more than one”?

A physical proof copy of TILDY SILVERLEAF AND THE STARFALL OMEN just shipped and it’s scheduled to arrive Monday! I can hardly begin to imagine what it will feel like to open that box and hold my book for the first time. This journey started more than ten years ago, and many times I thought the day would never come. To be honest, many other times I considered giving up and destroying the book due to soul-crushing self-doubt. I imagine it will take a few days to fine-tooth-comb the print to verify it’s ready for sale.

I honestly can’t believe I’m finally at this point.

So that’s technically one book. Number two is the ebook version of that. You might think that would be an easy task, considering I already have a finished manuscript, but they require different formatting. Some of that is a real pain in the rear because of the effort I put into the interior design. I also lose control of the font because readers can choose their own. That’s, sigh, not the end of the world, but I used different fonts a few times to create an experience for readers. Fortunately, my favorite example of this, “Thems Trolls” survived due to some creative thinking I’d done when I wrote that verse a few years ago. Once I wrangle the formatting, we’re ready to publish. So, that’s two books I’m working on.

Of course, I’m not stopping there. Oh no. This is a millennia-spanning epic fantasy tale with many stories to tell.

Last week, I started a novella that spawned from some tough choices in Starfall Omen. My original storytelling strategy had a prologue and epilogue for each book that told the tale of a third character: the Mellifluent, the indentured servant of the Dark God, who had its own schemes involving the royal children, who are now known as Tildy and Samor. But, “murder your darlings” they say, and the prologue was a regular source of criticism by Trusted Readers. So it had to go. It was slowing down the opening of the book significantly. As they say in Monty Python:

GIF from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which shows an impatient army shouting "Get on with it!"
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What do you enjoy about being an author?
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What do you enjoy about being an author?

Well, that’s easy to answer.

Until someone actually asks the question.

For me, and I suspect many writers like me, it’s something we just know. Perhaps it’s similar to loving milk chocolate melted over marshmallows and graham crackers, Irish whisky splashing into an iced glass, or shaggy dogs who cuddle in your lap. You just know.

As writers, one of our primary jobs is to articulate those concepts that are difficult to put into words. To evoke meaning and emotion from words made of letters made of lines and curves that dance across a page. It’s hard, it’s easy, it’s simply impossible at times. Yet we trudge on because that’s the job.

And so, when I was recently given a survey as part of the publishing process, I paused and took some time to think about things that brought me joy and those that drained my energy. I already knew the answers. I just didn’t know which words I needed to express myself.

Mike fancies himself a Drake meme. This is something he doesn't like.

Please list up to 3 things you enjoy the least as an author related to writing, publishing and selling your books.

  • Book formatting. I wish I’d done more research about manuscript formatting. It’s caused a lot of rework.
  • Marketing myself. Ironically, my day job is marketing.
  • I love the learning process for all of this, though I wish it didn’t take so much time. It’s also very easy to distract yourself with rabbit holes when you’re struggling with the creative process.
Mike fancies himself a Drake meme. This is something he likes.

Please list up to 3 things you enjoy the most as an author related to writing, publishing and selling your books.

  • The pure act of creation energizes me like nothing else.
  • I am compelled to find ways to entertain and comfort people in all aspects of my life.
  • I believe my skills should be used to advocate for human beings who are under-represented, under-privileged, or otherwise face prejudices.

Being able to articulate things like this can be a helpful guide in your writing. If you know what will energize you, tap into that as you sit at the keyboard. If you know what drains you, meet that head on and consider ways to change that chore into something you adore.

Focus and time management are critical aspects of writing that I don’t think get enough attention. An exercise like this can help.

Good luck with your writing in 2026!

–Mike

(C) Michael Wallevand, December 2025

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Commission: Tildy Silverleaf by Danny Givens

For a while, I’ve wanted to hire some illustrators to help me populate this site with more imagery. Until the book was finalized, however, I knew it would be a distraction to help me procrastinate. Believe me, writers have an endless variety of options to help with that. Just look at our search history.

Now that I’m working on publishing the book, I have time. I recently hired Danny Givens, who was recommended by another creator I admire. Danny was looking for work and I was looking to hire. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that.

I’ve worked with enough illustrators, designers, and writers to know when to provide direction and when to butt out so they can follow their creative impulses. I’m not going to dictate lines and shading any more than I’m going to dictate seasonings to a chef. It’s the same kind of freedom I appreciate when I’ve taken on a writing job. In my experience, it results in a frictionless relationship. And that’s certainly what I experienced here.

In a recent conversation with another illustrator, I described my philosophy for my art.

I want to give readers enough detail for a scene that allows them to complete the picture in their own minds. It’s a kind of hand-off. In this way, however, I relinquish some control of the story and ownership of it. And that’s perfectly fine. If an artist wants to maintain iron-fisted control over the interpretation of their work, they probably have to keep it hidden from the world. And unshared art is a shame, IMO.

So, I provided some basics about the character and suggested four types of scenes that might make a good visual:

  • Solitude: Tildy perched impossibly upon a branch
  • Action: fighting some of the monsters in the book
  • Friendship: saving her friend Marklin
  • Family: time with her adoptive mother

I let him choose what spoke to him, and then I provided some specifics. Here’s the first sketch, which captured the essence of the scene I provided.

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Chapter One available
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Chapter One available

As I mentioned in a previous post that announced the Prologue, I’ve started working on publishing my book, Tildy Silverleaf and the Starfall Omen. As I release chapters, I plan to write an accompanying post that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the work. To skip right to reading the new chapter, click here: Chapter One – Spring in Dappledown.

I started my writing with Chapter One, not the Prologue, because getting a feel for my protagonist and her home were crucial to understanding whether I had a story worth pursuing. I needed to establish my unnamed hero, her home, and the witch she reluctantly called “mother”. The ideas flowed effortlessly from thought to word, and Tildy, as she would became known, nearly flew from the page into life.

I had something.

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What do you call a book without a cover?
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What do you call a book without a cover?

I wish I had a better punchline for that set-up. It’s been a long day.

Let’s try another one: if an author writes a story and it doesn’t have a cover, is it still a book?

OK, OK, now I’m just procrastinating.

In a recent post about publishing my book, I mentioned looking for a cover designer. An online gaming buddy connected me with a graphic artist in Australia named Hoomie. Her portfolio was excellent and I found her to be a consummate professional. And as the conversation progressed…I knew she would be out of my price range. That’s on me: I have champagne tastes and a lite beer budget. It’s unfortunate because I liked her and was excited to see what we could accomplish together.

What I was able to witness, however, was an expert who knew the right questions to ask. It required me to articulate things I knew – things churning about in the cauldron between my ears – but hadn’t put into words. I find this extremely valuable because it’s challenging to distill thousands of hours of writing time into an engaging and succinct description. I’ve written about the importance of it here: Learn about your writing by talking with people.

The following questions are among the things I will continue to contemplate in this and future writing projects.

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Chapter available: Prologue

A few weeks ago, I started publishing my book on this site. My intent was to finally, actively, truly work toward publishing it in full digital and physical formats, instead of cowing to those fears that always tell you: It’s not good enough. It’ll never be good enough. There’s a point where the author has to listen to voices that aren’t internal. When Trusted Readers regularly provide positive feedback and encouragement, that should carry more weight.

It does carry more weight.

This post isn’t simply an announcement, though you can start reading this chapter here: Prologue: The Children’s Gifts. Consider it a behind-the-scenes look at how a chapter and book come to life. I might not have this context for every chapter I release, but we’ll see. It’s very easy for a writer to procrastinate when fun new post ideas come to mind.

Prologues have been integral to fantasy books for decades. Thoughts on this are cyclical: from “must-have” to “cliche” to “must-have” and around again. IMO, if your writing is chasing what’s fashionable, you’re doing your story a disservice. You’re also not being honest with your Readers, which to me, is the more egregious matter.

Early on, I knew I wanted a prologue for each of my books, and they would all have a corresponding epilogue, as well. This was part of a larger decision: each book is told from the hero’s point of view. You know what they’re thinking, you see the world through their biases, you see how they grow based on their reactions to stress and other factors. Which meant I had a problem for the antagonists of the series. How do I help the Reader understand the machinations of their schemes?

I didn’t want to keep any of that hidden from Readers. In Lord of the Rings, you get a limited sense of Sauron’s plans. The Harry Potter series offers a little more visibility to Voldemort through a prologue or monologue. I wanted more for my Readers.

And so, the bookends of the story are devoted to the primary antagonists of the series: the dark god Delosh and Its thrall, the Mellifluent, the last survivor of a genocide committed by its master. This is where I communicate their motivations and plans, but also how the actions of our heroes affect those plans.

When I wrote the prologue, I took inspiration from the cinematic opening to the Fellowship of the Ring and the writing of Tolkien himself. It was formal and grand; it had depth and history; and it had necessary exposition to set up the entire series, not just the first book. It was heavy.

It was too much. And Trusted Readers were right to call me on it.

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When your writing pays off
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When your writing pays off

Congratulations! Your site, The Lost Royals, passed 10,000 all-time views!

This week I received a surprising notice on my website. I’ve passed 10,000 views! And I’m now on pace to have my best year ever. Considering I do only a little promotion, aside from sharing links on my social media accounts, this feels pretty good!

The website has served as marketing tool, a place to practice my writing skills, a fun way to share tips and traps I’ve discovered, and an opportunity to share a few personal stories. Some posts resonate with my growing audience; some don’t. And that’s fine – it’s a good learning experience, if nothing else.

Even more rewarding, to my writer’s heart, is that I’ve seen a significant uptick in traffic since I started sharing chapters of the completed novel, The Starfall Omen.

Additionally, it’s not just book content that’s receiving attention. Here’s my most popular post 0f 2024: I Still Owe Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis An Apology, from March.

That post still has a ways to go to reach the Number 1 spot, however. Nothing like a heartwarming family story to get readers to show up: Fourteen Weeks and Fourteen Years, which has 265 views.

To everyone who’s visited, commented, shared, and subscribed, thank you so very much. I’m thrilled to be able to share our world with you, and I can’t wait for you to see what happens next!

If you’d like to keep an eye on my activities, feel free to check out my Progress Tracker!

Mike

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(C) Michael Wallevand, September 2024

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Let’s get this thing published!

A few weeks ago, I posted this on Facebook:

OK. Time to get serious again. Starting my novel on the path to publishing. Current step is putting it on my website while I look for a cover artist. First four chapters are here, with more posted every 1-2 days. Our hero Tildy is a neurodiverse teenage girl who can’t control her shapeshifting abilities, and she’s about to learn what happens when you refuse the call to adventure. I think this will scratch your itch for fantasy!

I’ve shared updates on social media, but weirdly enough, didn’t announce it here to my subscribers (whom I value very much!) So here’s the latest, especially for you!

The prologue and 11 chapters are available here: The Starfall Omen. We’ve had about 100 readers visit the site, with more arriving every day – even when I haven’t shared anything, which is gratifying. I’ll need to figure out how to manage that landing page when the chapter count hits 30 so it doesn’t look daunting to visitors. But I suppose that’s a good problem to have.

I’ve put out feelers for cover artists, with an email to one already. I’m also talking with a mapmaker to see if she can turn sketches into something that brings my world to further life!

In a future post, I’ll describe why I’m getting serious again, and perhaps I’ll explain what’s taken so long to get back to this point. It’s a thing I’ve held very, very close to my vest, but it’s probably time to put it in the open, much like this book.

To end this post, let me offer some encouragement to other writers. The work is hard but it won’t only be hard. Don’t give up on your story or yourselves.

Thanks for reading!

Mike

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© Michael Wallevand, September 2024