Marcus Shields's Blog

I’m very proud to announce that the entire Angel Brings Fire series (Angel of Mailànkh, Doubt Me Not, Angel and The Empire and Children of The Fire), is now available in audio-book-format!

These audio-books can be purchased from the Rakuten Kobo service… surf to this URL and then do a search for “Marcus Shields” and you will see all four books* in audio-book format.

The Angel Brings Fire series is, in total, a little over 80 hours long (as dictated) in audio-book format, which represents a fantastic entertainment experience for sci-fi , super-hero and modern fantasy enthusiasts with busy lifestyles or for who, for whatever reason, would prefer to listen to a book as opposed to reading it.

The impetus for this project occurred some time ago, when we were advised by a family friend, who commented “You know, Marcus… I’d love to read these novels of yours, but I work 18 hours a day as a long-haul trucker, and I simply can’t spend time reading books… but if they were available in audio-book format, I could listen to ’em as I’m cruising up and down the Interstate.” We were also advised about people with visual challenges who cannot comfortably read an ordinary book, but who love this genre of literature. There are many other, similar use cases, obviously.

For both technical and financial reasons, until very recently, it was completely impractical to even consider doing what my friend suggested; but advances in technology have changed that situation, and in mid-summer 2025, I set out on experimental effort to convert the first novel (Angel of Mailànkh) of The Angel Brings Fire series, into an audio-book.

I was, frankly, astounded by the quality of the final product… it was on orders of magnitude better than I had expected. At that point, I knew that I had to do the other three books of the series, as well!

Converting The Angel Brings Fire to audio-book format has required a huge amount of labor on our part.

To give you some idea of what’s involved, as a rough estimate, for every one hour of voice output, we have had to invest at least two and sometimes four hours of careful post-production editing work. This involves everything from correcting the pronunciation of words associated with Karéin-Mayréij (after all… she natively speaks a language unlike anything found on Planet Earth) to fixing awkward cadence to evening out the volume levels so that they do not vary inappropriately from paragraph to paragraph.

We have tried very hard to make the final product as perfect as possible (and we believe that overall, we have succeeded), although there may be isolated cases of mispronunciation, odd tone changes and so on. But we’re sure that the final results well justify the effort involved, and we’re proud of what you’ll hear when you listen to these audio-books.

The Angel Brings Fire audio-books are available on Kobo as downloadable volumes, broken into numerous chapters, each of which is in standard .mp3 file format. We have tried to retain the structure of the corresponding printed books as closely as possible, with only very minor adjustments (for example verbal notification of scene changes, where applicable) to accommodate audio-book mode.

Also, each of the Kobo The Angel Brings Fire audio-books includes a sample chapter that can be freely accessed by anyone with a Web browser, so you can experience a little of the audio-book in question, before making the commitment to buy it.

These audio-books range in price from the $15 to the $20 range (per book), which of course is roughly equivalent to what a conventional printed paperback book would cost, albeit somewhat more than the e-Book versions of each volume of the series costs. Basically, as is the case with all audio-books, you’re paying for the convenience of having someone else read you a story. If you’re on a budget, then just get the e-Book version and read it for yourself!

We believe that having these creative works in audio-book format, will make The Angel Brings Fire accessible to entirely new classes of readers, who are interested in the novels but who, for whatever reason, can’t commit to reading a long conventional book (or e-Book). We hope you’ll agree. Stay tuned to The Angel Brings Fire blog, for updates and further details!

* As a side-note, work is now underway on converting the successor series to The Angel Brings Fire, namely The Future Burns Bright, to audio-book format. According to our current schedule, which is very subject to change, we expect this project to be done by late 2nd Quarter 2026 (or thereabouts). Bonnie’s New Auntie and Bonnie Billings : Superhero will hopefully follow shortly thereafter, perhaps by the end of summer 2026.

Dear readers… after (it seems like) an eternity, I’m proud to announce that Bonnie Billings : Superhero (Epilogue #2 to The Angel Brings Fire and The Future Burns Bright, including Epilogue #1, Bonnie’s New Auntie) is finally DONE!

The narrative, which begins where Bonnie’s New Auntie left off, contains approximately 430 pages of exciting new content about the adventures of the Storied Watcher’s “New People”… and about the ages-old history of Karéin-Mayréij, back on her home-world.

Expect some big surprises in this exciting novel; Earth, the New People and the Storied Watcher, will never be the same! (See excerpt appended below.)

As is always the case for novels of this type, we are now commencing the cover artwork and final (paperback) publishing processes, so look for Bonnie Billings : Superhero to be available on Amazon (KDP) plus Lulu (iTunes) and Google Play Books, by 4Q 2025.

(The cover artwork will be posted to the main ABF Website when the former is done.)

See you “in the deep void”, as a certain alien goddess is wont to say!

I’m happy to announce that we’re closing in on completion of Bonnie Billings, Superhero.

Don’t be misled by the title, as, although it is descriptive, the book has a LOT of extra detail, which provides answers to the questions that some of you have had about the Storied Watcher — her life-history on a far-off planet, in particular.

I don’t have a precise ETA for Bonnie Billings, Superhero yet, but it surely is “real soon now”. As soon as the manuscript is completely written, I’m going to put it aside for a few weeks so I can think about the narrative before finalizing everything.

In the meantime… look below for a “sneak peak” at the first page of the novel!

Marcus Shields

Author, Bonnie Billings, Superhero

My track record with “Social Media” to date, has been an interesting one; for example I got permanently banned by Twitter (back in the days when it was “Twitter” as opposed to “X”) because I rhetorically told a troll who had been giving me grief, to “drop dead”. Evidently the wise content-censors on that platform are not familiar with English slang, or maybe they don’t care (pick one).

Whatever the reason, my account on Twitter ended up going the way of the Dodo, and, frankly, at the time it didn’t bother me much… subsequent events, that is, Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform and his turning it into a sewer of nonsense conspiracy theories and toxic far-Right propaganda, have only confirmed in my mind that leaving Twitter was not much of a loss.

However, I obviously wasn’t alone in parting ways with Twitter, as many of that platform’s former users, including Yours Truly, have migrated to a new Social Media system that seems to be a little more sensibly managed. It’s called “BlueSky”.

While it has a few rough edges (notably, the interface is sometimes “down” due to server issues), BlueSky has so far shown a lot of promise and I plan to stick with it for the time being at least. Should you wish to look me up, search for :

god-of-abf.bsky.social

At :

https://bsky.app/

Hope to see you there!

I’m pleased to inform my readers (and casual onlookers) that on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, I was the main attraction of a book-reading event at the Tudor & Cashel Public Library at 371 Weslemkoon Lake Road in Gilmour, Ontario (https://tudorandcashel.com/services/library/).

Here’s a picture from the proceedings :

Author reading at the Tudor & Cashel Library!

The meeting, which was in support of the Library Book Club, was organized by Ms. Leanne Golan, head Librarian for the facility. (Many thanks again to Leanne, whose expertise in getting people to show up to the event, was very notable! .)

During the session, I gave an overview of the original inspiration for the Angel Brings Fire / Future Burns Bright series of science fiction / modern fantasy / superhero novels; I also provided a “sneak peak” at the text of my next (as-yet-unpublished) novel of the series, Bonnie Billings, Superhero.

I was ably supported by Ms. Val Fullard (https://www.valfullard.com/), who is the cover and art designer for the ABF / FBB series. Val provided some sage advice about “all those issues having to do with layout and graphic design, that nobody realizes are there, until you have to do them”. The audience found her commentary very informative and entertaining.

All in all, it was a highly successful and fun event. I’m looking forward to doing many more!

I will update this posting and include pictures or screen shots, when and if they become available.

Sincerely,

Marcus Shields

Author of The Angel Brings Fire, The Future Burns Bright, Bonnie’s New Auntie and Bonnie Billings, Superhero

After too long a hiatus, I’m pleased to announce the onset of my next project in the Angel Brings Fire / Future Burns Bright series of science fiction / modern fantasy / superhero novels…

Bonnie Billings, Superhero!

This novel, planned for completion either later in 2024 or early in 2025, will pick up the narrative after where Bonnie’s New Auntie (my last book) left off. Like Bonnie’s New Auntie, it is a YA-themed work, but unlike BNA it really does require that you read the latter book first, or not a lot of Bonnie Billings, Superhero, will make sense to you.

The theme of the book, incidentally, is “teenagers are notorious for having ‘growing pains’… so what happens when you’re a ‘super-teenager’?”.

Bonnie Billings, Superhero, has (so far) been a lot of fun to write. I hope you’ll find it as enjoyable to read!

Marcus Shields

Author, The Angel Brings Fire, The Future Burns Bright, Bonnie’s New Auntie and Bonnie Billings, Superhero

To all readers : Here’s a quick update on the status of the Angel Brings Fire, Future Burns Bright and Bonnie’s New Auntie series of novels, as of the end of 2022.

I took a hiatus from writing last year to attend to various personal matters (long story there; in my “day job” I’m an IT security consultant, and things have been busy at work), as well as attending to issues with some of the publishers from whom you can acquire these books.

Furthermore, in mid-2022, my wife and I welcomed a family of Ukrainian refugees (from Mariupol… need I say more) into our home, and much of the rest of the year found us preoccupied with trying to help these people “get settled” in Canada. It’s amazing how much we take for granted in North America… for example, just the ability to register one’s children in school; this is anything but “easy” if you’ve showed up in a foreign country, with little more than the proverbial shirt on your back.

Let’s hope that the terrible war now plaguing Ukraine comes to a rapid and just end in 2023. The people of that beleaguered country have suffered far too much, already.

Anyway, hopefully the issues that complicated the ABF / FBB / BNA project are now (mostly) dealt with and I’ll have more ability to write in 2023.

And on that note, right now, I’m considering a variety of potential story lines that would take place after the events of the previous novel series.

These are :

(1.) The further exploits of one Ms. Bonnie Billings (and her side-kicks, Megha and Anna-Maria), as the three teenagers (and Bonnie’s brother Dylan) learn the “ups and downs” of “how to be a super-hero”.

(2.) In the vein of “Gulliver brought down by the Lilliputians”, Karéin-Mayréij is beset by lawsuits over “slights real or imagined”, brought by various U.S. citizens who believe that she (and / or her followers among the “New People) has somehow wronged them. The President and Minnie Chu are caught in the frustrating position of having to support petty harassment of an alien goddess who saved the planet from complete destruction… something tells me that this all will turn out badly for the complainants!

(3.) Some or all of the crew of the now-defunct Eagle and Infinity spacecraft, re-visit Mars (but this time, without the distraction of a planet-killer comet, on their minds). What do they find, as they explore the cave complex where they first found mighty Karéin-Mayréij? Do they encounter the “Ancient Ones” that the Storied Watcher described to Bob Billings?

(4.) Fast-forward a few years; characters like Curtis Claremont, Elissha Billings and Kevin McGregor, are now young adults, each with his or her own super-powers. How do they use these abilities? Are they all still able to obey the Storied Watcher’s orders never to use super-powers, in a “dishonorable” manner?

(5.) Then, there are some really “out there” possibilities; for example, stories set in the far future (in which Earth, now mostly populated by “super-beings”, ventures out into interstellar space), or in which an evil Watcher (one whom Karéin-Mayréij thought that she had defeated, eons ago and galaxies away, tracks her down on Earth, resulting in a Titanic battle), or in which the Storied Watcher is forced to abandon Earth entirely, for some catastrophic reason… or other themes to similar effect.

I’m honestly not sure which, if any, of the above appeal to me, and note that one or more of these themes could be combined in the same novel or novels… but if you have a preference, now’s the time to say! (Drop me an entry in the blog’s “Comments” section.)

Happy New Year, everyone!

Marcus Shields

Author, The Angel Brings Fire, The Future Burns Bright and Bonnie’s New Auntie

I’m very proud to announce the general availability release of my latest science fiction / modern fantasy novel, entitled Bonnie’s New Auntie .

This is an “Epilogue” to the final volume of The Future Burns Bright (e.g. Book #4, The Future Alight, of the second series); however, Bonnie’s New Auntie, can also be read as a “stand-alone” novel, without having read either The Angel Brings Fire or The Future Burns Bright, beforehand. (Obviously, though, you will understand more of what’s going on, if you have read the previous two series.)

Bonnie’s New Auntie is also a more “Young Adult” – oriented novel compared to the earlier series… although there’s plenty within it to interest audiences of all ages! The book can be ordered from Amazon (paperback / Kindle format), from Lulu (EPUB iPad format) and from Google Play Books (PDF generic e-Book format).

The Plot (spoiler alert!)

The novel tells the story of one Bonnie Billings, 16.5-year-old daughter of Simon Billings of Phoenix, Arizona… and, therefore, niece to Bob Billings, of Tucson, in the same state. Endlessly bullied and condemned by her weight and personal appearance issues to being “the last kid called for the volleyball team” at her boring, run-of-the-mill American suburban high-school, Bonnie’s day-to-day routine is all about “surviving… not thriving”.

Tonight, Bonnie’s Uncle Bob (and, his mysterious and newly-acquired immediate family) are due to drop in to the Phoenix Billings clan’s residence, for a long-postponed get-together. Bonnie isn’t looking forward to the occasion; especially, she fumes at seeing Uncle Bob’s new trophy girlfriend, whose unnatural, supermodel-like attractiveness is everything that Bonnie ever wanted for herself (but couldn’t dream of obtaining).

Bonnie hates this newcomer, with a resentful, jealous passion. But the Billings teenager is in for a big surprise… because “Sari” (as Uncle Bob’s new “squeeze” has been introduced to the Billings clan), is unlike anyone who has ever walked on the face of Planet Earth… and Bonnie’s humdrum, “C”-student lifestyle, is about to get the ultimate in “celebrity make-overs”!

Final Thoughts

I hope you’ll enjoy reading Bonnie’s New Auntie as much as I enjoyed writing it, over the past year or so; COVID-19 has been difficult for everyone, and perhaps reading the novel will help you forget about the pandemic for a short while. (Semi-relevant sidenote : The Storied Watcher’s “New People”, while naturally immune to virtually all human diseases, also can’t get vaccinated… since you can’t stick a needle into them without it being melted off; and even if you somehow got the vaccine into their bloodstream, it would be automatically destroyed by their alien-powers. So — when “COVID-40” shows its ugly face… are the “New People” the only sentient beings left on Planet Earth? Or do they all die off, because they can’t be vaccinated? )

As always, if you have any comments or observations (good, bad or indifferent), by all means leave them as responses to this blog; I read all of them and value everyone’s perspective.

Sincerely

Marcus Shields

Author, The Angel Brings Fire, The Future Burns Bright and Bonnie’s New Auntie

I’m very proud to announce that (after many fits and starts, not to mention unanticipated delays), the second and final series of novels in the combined tale of the Storied Watcher’s advent on Earth, in 2040, has finally been published!

The Future Burns Bright consists of four volumes, entitled as follows :

Note : Against Time was previously known as The Race (Part 2).

As of today, these novels are available in both e-Book (Kindle / .MOBI) and paperback formats from Amazon (the .EPUB and .PDF e-Book versions for Apple iBookstore and Google Play Books are available now for the first two novels; the rest will be published later).

Here’s the URL that you can use to find The Future Burns Bright, on Amazon :

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Marcus+Shields&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Note : For some obscure reason, Amazon has labeled Storm In The North and The Race as being in a “2-book series” (whereas, of course, the series incorporates all four novels referenced above). Fortunately, this does not have any effect on your ability to access and purchase the other two novels of The Future Burns Bright.

There will be ample time for “lessons learned” and reflections later, but for the record… writing the story of Karéin-Mayréij’s advent on Earth in the year 2040, has certainly been a lot of work, and while I’m completely satisfied by the final results, I’m glad to be finally at the end of this marathon.

I will still be publishing bits and pieces of the narrative on this blog (and elsewhere) over the foreseeable future, of course; but I will be taking a hard-earned rest from “real” novel-writing, for the time being.

Also for the record, I’d like to answer a question that comes up from time to time : “Why did you do two different book series… and why is each series made up of four fairly-long novels?”

There are many technical reasons (associated with the paperback publishing process) for this, but the honest answer is, “I wanted to write the story that I wanted to write”… it’s basically that simple.

As all authors know all too well, when one embarks on a project like this, one is besieged with (often, unsolicited) advice (often from people who have never written, much less published, anything longer than a business memo) about “how to make your books, ‘better'”). Either the book is too long, or it’s too short, or it has too much dialogue or action, or too little, or, or, or… (you get the idea). Failure to fully implement all of this (often, self-contradictory) “sage advice” inevitably (in the opinion of your self-appointed “editors”) will inevitably doom your novels to the bargain bin in Walmart, or wherever.

One tries to be polite when listening to this stuff, but everybody has their own limits, I suppose.

So, at the end of the day,  either one writes the book that one is satisfied with reading back to oneself, or one doesn’t. That’s what I tried to do. It’s up to you to evaluate how successful the effort ultimately was.

Long before I started out on writing The Angel Brings Fire, I had a very clear idea of who Karéin-Mayréij is, what motivates her, and so on; she’s obviously a complex, multi-faceted character, and shortly after putting pen to paper I realized that even if just writing a short book about her might be theoretically possible… it wasn’t what I wanted to do.

I wanted to write a narrative that would not only be interesting for other people to read, but that would fully explore the Storied Watcher’s personality, that would explain the nature of her supernatural powers, and that would (in particular) show how she reacts to and overcomes, adversity. I also wanted to properly depict what might happen to human society, if a being on Karéin’s level actually showed up on Planet Earth (clearly, this wouldn’t be just some story that gets its “15 minutes of fame” and then everybody goes back to following the sports scores). Finally, there’s the concept of “wouldn’t it be great, to have super-powers?” Sure it would… as long as it doesn’t get a government run by nervous (but otherwise quite ordinary) human beings, declaring you to be “Public Enemy #1”!

SPOILER ALERT!

(if you read this one before reading the rest of the books, it’s on “you”… not “me”!