Dragon Dilemma is a book I almost decided not to write.  I had some basic ideas cobbled together for a plot, but I had some difficulties formulating it into an actual book.  At the same time, I knew some sort of book at this point in the series was absolutely necessary.  Since I couldn't figure out what needed to be written, I instead set this book aside for a bit and went to work on Dragon Detective. 

As I was writing Dragon Detective I realized something important.  While Nickel, the main character in Detective, is well-fleshed out in previous books, the dynamic that holds his family together and would be able support him through his difficulties wasn't quite up to par.  Dragon Consultant, book one, had introduced the world, my characters, and the plot that would carry over through many books to come.  Dragon Deception, book two, delved further into Mercury's life and expanded on the saving-the-dragons plot.  Dragon Dilemma, book three, therefore had to be about home and family.  Having a new focus grounded Dilemma and I was able to twist the plot around until it flowed properly.  Family  dynamics and how Dane and Mercury were able to create a happy family out of their difficult beginnings became the overall plot.  There was still a good bit about saving the dragons, of course, but it's a secondary focus in this book. 

Dragon Dilemma also quickly turned into a bridging book.  This is the last story I have planned from Dane and Mercury's perspectives.  The next book, Dragon Detective, has Nickel as the narrator.  Dilemma therefore had to conclude one MC's story while welcoming another without straining the readability of the series.  It is also the bridge between the two planned arcs in the series.  Those of you that have followed my blog postings already know that Dragon Soldier, book five, concludes one arc and Dragon Spy, book six, the book I'm writing at the moment, opens another.  Dragon Dilemma is peppered with hints and foreshadowing for Dragon Spy, which will hopefully allow the two arcs to meld seamlessly. 

(For those of you wondering where Dragon Adventure and Dragon Home fit into this overall plan, the fact is they don't.  They were fun larks that I wrote as a break in tension that I think you'll enjoy, but they don't fit into either arc.  They'll be released after Soldier and before Spy.) 

Everything that Dragon Dilemma brings to this series is valuable.  I am worried some readers will think this book is a little boring because it lacks the level of action the previous two had, yet at the same time there have been a few readers demanding more depth at home.  I am hoping Dilemma will bridge that divide as well and will be considered to be another excellent book in the series. 

Dragon Dilemma will be released on June 1, 2016 and is currently available for pre-order for a 15% discount.  Get your copy today: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...

I got a new job and it starts this month.  It's full time, which means my free time for writing is going to drop drastically.  I can't yet say what I'll be able to work on or if I'll even have any time for writing.  However, I do have obligations to my stories that I'm contracted for, like edits, so I'm going to focus my free time on those. 

1. Edits.  I am already working on the second round of edits for Magnified and hope to have them back to LT3 soon.  I am expecting copy edits for Dragon Dilemma, as well as the second round of edits for Dragon Detective, so should those arrive this month I hope to return them to LT3 quickly.  Any other edits I receive will also take top priority. 
   
   
2. Writing.  Writing is something I've been doing for so long that I know I won't be able to stop now just because I have a new job.  The question is whether I will actually have any time to write.  My focus must be on my new job for now and all my free time must therefore go towards succeeding there first and on writing second.  Absolutely anything I can get written in my stories, even if it's only a few sentences here and there, will satisfy this goal. 
   

I think it's a new world record for me.  Here I was, thinking it would take me the rest of the month to finish writing Dragon Adventure, and I ended up completing it in two days.  I'm very excited to have another story in this series done, but I'm just a little flabbergasted at the speed.  I have set it aside and in a few weeks I'll pick it up again to edit and format for submission. 

Considering the fact that I now have two more weeks to work on something else, I started thinking about what my next project should be and I quickly realized that Dragon Adventure was a bit lopsided.  Aqua and Rios are two water dragons you'll meet in Dragon Dilemma (coming out June 1, 2016).  They're very minor characters, but they are adorable ones.  I wanted to write a fun short story set in the series, but not affiliated with the overall plot, and Aqua and Rios fit the bill perfectly.  Dragon Adventure was born, but it ended up focusing almost exclusively on Rios with Aqua taking a nap through much of the actual adventure.  I quickly came to the conclusion that Aqua also needs a story of his own.  Dragon Home is the tentative title for Aqua's story.  It's only going to be 10k words, just like Dragon Adventure, and be mostly fluff and filler, but it will be a ton of fun as well.  I am going to start working on it as soon as this blog is posted. 

I think I needed this short story interlude as an author, not just to give the series a break.  Dragon Soldier is a very plot heavy book as it brings the first arc of the series to a close and I struggled with it for a while.  Writing the pure fluff in Dragon Adventure turned into a mental health break for me before I dive into Dragon Spy, which opens up the second arc in the series.  I think Dragon Adventure helped clear my head and get me refocused on this series and I'm hoping Dragon Home will get me prepared to return to Dragon Spy with a vengeance. 

I also need to figure out where the series is going next.  I am planning on more books after Spy, but I don't have any firm plot ideas put together just yet.  I know Lumie is going to need another book and that Alloy will get two of his own as well, but I have some ideas of also returning to Nickel and Platinum for a book or two.  It's all still a bit of a jumbled mess, to be honest, which is yet another reason why taking a break with Adventure was good for me.  I need more time to figure out my next steps, especially since Dragon Spy will need to provide the proper setup for everything that comes next in that arc. 

The plan right now is to submit Dragon Soldier and Dragon Adventure to LT3 at the end of the month.  If Dragon Home is completed by then too I'll submit that as well.  If LT3 accepts them, they won't be released until 2016 or even 2017.  I just wanted to let my wonderful readers know that there's much more to come in this series.  I really hope you're looking forward to Aqua and Rios as much as I am and I'll definitely keep everyone up to date as all my stories in this series move through the publication process. 

Dragon Dilemma is book three of my Supernatural Consultant Series.  This is probably my favorite cover yet for the series.  It's so bright and vibrant, which echoes the kits perfectly, yet doesn't hide the destruction they are so capable of.  Dilemma comes out on June 1, 2016.  It should be available for preorder soon.  I will keep my blog and twitter feed updated with news as this story comes closer to being published. 

For more information, visit Dragon Dilemma on my website:
http://melleightfiction.weebly.com/supernatural-consultant.html#Dilemma

I'm still a little bit shocked at how much I was able to get written this month.  I am very happy with what I was able to get accomplished.  Here's how I did:

1. Edits. Dragon Dilemma is back with LT3.  I don't have an official release date just yet, but with the editing done it shouldn't be too long before I know more. 
   
   
2. Ge-Mi. I didn't exactly complete this goal.  Ge-Mi ended up getting pushed aside for some of my other stories.  Part One is complete, which is still amazing progress on this story, but I haven't had a chance to really get into working on Part Two. 
   
   
3. Anthologies.  Elemental Ride returned from my beta reader.  They really liked it and suggested some additions I could make to really solidify the story.  I haven't had a chance to work on it this month as I've been working on other things, but the due date is coming quickly so I'll have this story ready to submit soon. 
   
   I completed writing my Hanukkah story.  It still needs a bit of editing and a title, but it should be ready to submit next month. 
   
   
4. Everything Else.  I filled this section of my goals with Justified, which I ended up completing.  There's a lot of heavy editing that I still need to do, but the hard part of actually writing it is done.