THE STORY BEHIND THE MAKING OF:

THE GREAT PORTAL WARS TRILOGY!

Behind every work of art, movie, or book is always an incredible journey that many times goes untold. I do not want that to be the case with this trilogy. Prepare to embark on learning how ‘The Great Portal Wars Trilogy’ came to be.

It all started with a desire deep inside my heart. A little dream I kept a secret, wanting so badly to write a message that could intertwine deeper meanings which beheld the true heartbeat of the story. I have always loved C.S. Lewis and, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia.’ The Biblical principles mixed in with the fantasy spoke volumes to me. When I was a child and read that, I told myself that one day, I would want to do what he did but English was not my best subject. To be blunt and honest, I was actually quite bad at it! All those rules, which are completely essential, became like a cliff before me, pushing the dream to write further and further away. So instead of writing, I daydreamed, and kept the stories I came up with to myself.

As the years went by and I grew older, that quiet knocking grew with intensity. Sometimes in life, we as humans run from our destinies. We look at what has to be done, or what we feel we’re meant to do, and before we know it, the justifications on why not to do something have been clearly printed on the forefront of our minds, causing us to believe that ‘I ain’t right for the job!’ I was a Special Ed kid in the education world. My ability to learn was highly challenged. For a number of years, I felt unqualified to think I could be a successful author. Fear, doubt and trepidation to step out of the comfort zones are what keep us from reaching what we really could do. But if we decide to have a little faith mixed with an ounce of courage, be prepared to soar because it will happen.

Almost twelve years ago, I was presented with a journal and was encouraged to start writing. I remember picking up that pen for the first time. My hand shook as the first few sentences came out. Truth be told, they were horrible sentences; more like fragments of thoughts, faint images I saw in my head that I began to write down. Then more images came, then more and more! After seventy pages, I decided, maybe I should start typing this out, and that’s when it all began.

A little encouragement mixed with a tiny bit of faith and a pen. Decide to believe in yourself that you can do it. I put my trust in God, and I can tell you that He carried me through. But He wanted me to pick up that pen, take that first step and show a little faith. Never think it’s too late for you. There’s no day like the present; there’s no better day than the one you are living right now. Just choose.

Five years went into the making of book one. My very first editor was Patricia Dimaio Simon. She is my cousin who lived on the other side of the United States. At the time, she was a high school teacher with a PhD in English. So I mailed (not emailed), my first copy to her. Only later did I find out that it was filled with thousands and thousands of errors, all of which she corrected by pencil! She graciously accepted the task to work further with me after my first draft and so started our incredible two and half year journey of the editing of this book. Along the way, the workload, and the back and forth between us became over-whelming and so a phone call was put in to my Aunt Patty West. After hearing the mission, she became the third person to join our special task force. By now we were finally emailing the story back and forth and we upgraded to the fancy high tech of ‘3-way calling!” The three of us, all of whom were named after grandmother Placida, ironically, began on a journey which none of us knew where it would lead or how long it would take to get there. But one thing was for sure, all three of us would stick to this until the very end. I was the writer, Aunt Patty was the reader and the gal who said, “This just doesn’t make sense, Pauline.” And Cousin Patty was the corrector, aka, the brains of the operation (oh, did she have her work cut out for her!). Toward the end of our journey, there were months where those two became so dedicated to this mission that they clocked over three-thousand minutes with me over the phone in a month! I’m sure the phone bill was substantial…

It was these two amazing ladies that pushed me beyond what I thought I could do, and took the time I needed to teach me how to write in a way I never thought I could. They taught me how to fly and indeed, I learned to soar! This trilogy would never have come to be without their hard work, their dedication, and their perseverance. We were an incredible team and it was a journey that I will treasure deep in my heart for all the days of my life. I wish for all the world to know what they did for me. This is how ‘The Worlds of Earth,’ came to be.

Along this journey were several phone calls to my mother, Nancy Miosi. Whenever I needed to just talk out the ideas of the book, she would patiently listen to me over the phone for hours as I labored over difficult points I needed to be made clear in the book. Sometimes, it was just a word or a sentence that she would say that would turn on a light bulb in me. Her patience and understanding of the kind of person that I am helped me in times I needed it most. My parents, Tony and Nancy, have always been there for me and have supported me every second of the journey from the very start until the very end. I am blessed to have such wonderful parents in my life.

After the editing was finally complete, God brought forth others to help with getting the first copy self-published. The very first book, which is no longer available, had pictures in it. Friends and family members stepped forward and drew for me. Jon Proctor, now a young man, created the very first image of the creature known as the Skeign for me. When he was a teen, I actually taught him in Sunday school, along with Nicole and Mika Rivera. They all created the very first images that went into the first edition of ‘The Worlds of Earth.’ The other artist was my cousin Maria Forney. These great artists brought my book to life. However, in the revised edition, I did make the decision to take out the pictures, but credit must go out to them for the wonderful artwork they did for me.

Next to come along was my sister, Lisa Miosi, now Lisa Martin! With her connections, she found Rick Cortez for me who made a smashing cover design for book one for me! Her marketing expertise has helped me all the way through to the end and beyond! And then book one was finally published in December 2010.

Shortly after the publication of book one, I went into a few years of very difficult times. My marriage dissolved and all things were put aside in hopes to save it. However, this did not happen. After a few years of needing time to recover, I once again picked up the pen in order to finish what I had started a few years back. What I can say about going through those years is that God is my rock and I let His love and forgiveness reign in my heart. Today, though I am divorced, I can honestly say that the communications between us are healthy. Though it is not what either of us envisioned for ourselves, we both know and understand that God still has a plan no matter what happened. Just trust Him. There were days that I had to say these things out loud to myself over and over again, because the pain of the heart overshadowed everything. Push through, take one day, one step at a time, and you can make it through!

THE MAKING OF BOOKS 2 & 3:

When I had started this project, I had many friends and family encourage me, and that is how I started up again. Once I started typing, the story flew off the pages! Book two was written within a three month period. The ones who helped me with editing points for this book were my daughter, Rebekah Marquez, and my mother again. Both gave vital advice that helped to shape certain directions I took in this book.

I was also blessed with an editor, Laurie Larsen. She is also a very successful award winning author with a strong presence in Amazon and other venues. After meeting with her, she accepted the job of not only book two, but she went back and revised book one for me and is also the editor of my third and final book. Laurie is an amazing person in every way! I count myself blessed to have her as part of my team.

Special thanks to Balakumar Karunanidhi for his work in creating the cover for me. His willingness and friendship is a blessing to me!

For the third and final book, I have to thank Jose Paez for stepping up and working with me on the final cover design. Since this was the last one, I was incredibly picky and changed the design so many times on him. Patience is definitely one of his virtues! Thank you, Jose, for creating such a great cover design and being so patient with all of my endless design changes!

Emilie McDowell is my go to girl for all web design work. Her husband, Dave, also stepped in and helped with all my meticulous little requests. Both of them are wonderful people and I could not have done this without them.

Special thanks for my sister Lisa Martin, who will be helping me with promotions in the UK. I cannot wait to see all the great ideas you have in store to help spread the word of this book. I was blessed with one sister to grow and walk with me in this life, and Lisa is a precious woman of God. She is strong and courageous; one who has encouraged me to rise up and soar.

Thank you FB family and friends for helping me to spread the word through FB. Your help and support is a gift I treasure in my heart. I love every one of you!

Lastly and most importantly, I give thanks to the Lord. He put it on my heart to write the trilogy. Though challenges came, He carried me through. God bless every one of you.

Spread the word of this trilogy and I pray that many will be blessed by reading it.