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The Trouble With Titles

1/20/2018

2 Comments

 
1/20/18

I have been working on my untitled coliseum story off and on for about a year now.  It's purely fantasy with a type of dragon character I haven't utilized before.  Writing it has been fun even though it hasn't been smooth sailing.  I am finally approaching the climax of the story where the hero must fight the bad guy and I realized I needed to come up with a title.  The problem is that the only potential titles I could think of were 'Dragon Sands' or 'Dragon Moons'.  Both would fit with the story and I'm leaning towards the former, however I realized that the title is far too similar to that of my Supernatural Consultant series.  Every single one of those titles are two words and start with 'Dragon'.  The last thing I want is for someone to spend money on what they think is the next Supernatural Consultant book, only to be greeted with a vast desert and a cave full of dragon eggs instead.  I don't know what to do.  Should I use 'Dragon Sands' anyway?  I could use your advice, so please let me know what you think! 

Speaking of Supernatural Consultant, despite not being on the short list I mentioned in my last post, book seven is the story I started working on.  I've added about .5k words, which was enough to set the next scene and build some drama for what's coming next.  Which brings me to my conundrum about this story as well.  I originally settled on 'Dragon Trick' for the tentative title because it fit with the rough outline in my head.  As the story continues to expand on paper, I'm realizing that 'Trick' is not the right fit after all.  In fact, I think I might be leaning towards resurrecting 'Spy', which was scrapped as the title for book six (Dragon Lesson).  Do you think if I started calling book seven 'Dragon Spy' I would confuse readers who associate that title with Dragon Lesson? 
2 Comments

News: Dates and Edits

10/15/2017

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10/15/17

I'm so glad to hear everyone is enjoying Dragon Lesson!  All the reviews have been positive so far and it's really wonderful to know that the next book in the series is just as anticipated as the previous ones.  I'm still writing the next book, which will feature Nickel and Platinum again (and will probably have Lumie and Goldie popping in and out throughout) and will continue the new arc.  It's going to take a while before it's ready, especially considering how many other projects I have going at the moment, so until then feel free to check out all the other books in the series.

The next book I have coming out is Hadash Aviv, which is a reprint.  It was originally published as part of LT3's Kiss Me at Midnight collection and while in print was nominated for a Goodreads M/M Romance Member's Choice Award for Best Law Enforcement.  All the edits for the story have been completed and I can tell you not much has changed.  The edits fixed a few word choices and a couple of commas, but the overall content is the same.  If you own the previous printing, there is no reason to buy this one unless you want the new cover (which is awesome).  For those that haven't read Hadash Aviv before, the official release date is December 13, 2017.  It should be up for preorder at LT3 any day now. 

Kelpie Blue is the next story on my upcoming list.  I was given a release date of January 31, 2018, which coincided with my receiving the first round of edits.  The edits are not easy.  The editor wants a lot of big things tweaked, which will require multiple rounds of edits.  I've been working hard on them, but I'm not certain January is entirely doable.  I'll let you all know how it goes and whether LT3 decides to make any changes. 
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Out Now: Dragon Lesson

10/11/2017

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Dragon Lesson

Picture

    All Lumie wants to see is Goldie's beautiful smile, but the only expression he ever shows Lumie is tears. When Goldie asks him for a favor, Lumie leaps at the chance to finally see Goldie happy.

    Goldie wants to live a life free of the fear that has chained him for so long, but breaking free once and for all may come with a higher price than he and Lumie are prepared to pay.
Buy it Now
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News: This Past Month

10/3/2017

4 Comments

 
10/3/17
  • I just realized yesterday that it's almost been a full month since I posted anything.  I did not mean for such a long amount of time to pass, but it somehow has.  The last two weeks have been crazy with the holidays, but I still should have been able to post a few more times in September.  I apologize for not keeping everyone in the loop with my stories! 

  • The most important bit of information is Dragon Lesson is coming out next week.  You only have a few short days left to pre-order it for 15% off at LT3: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...
     

  • The second edits for Dragon Lesson have also come and gone this month.  I really like how it turned out and I think you'll enjoy it too.  Lumie's first story and the start of the second arc in the series are both very important, and I think I was able to capture all of that in Dragon Lesson.  You'll all be able to let me know what you think next week! 

  • I submitted The Coup and the Prince to LT3 yesterday.  I took another look at it after letting it sit for the entire month.  All it needed was a few tweaks and a bit of shining up, so once that was done I sent it in.  I'm hoping LT3 likes it! 
4 Comments

News: The New Title

8/12/2017

2 Comments

 
8/12/17
  • After conferring with all of you, and emailing back and forth with LT3, the new title that will replace Dragon Spy has been decided.  There were a number of considerations that went into it, including how well the new title flowed off the tongue and how many previous titles had the same initials.  We decided against Dragon School because it doesn't really flow all that well and said no to Dragon Direction because there are already so many stories that are DD.  In the end we went with my first instinct and I am quite happy with it. 

    What do you all think about Dragon Lesson? 
     
  • I have just finished the first round of edits for Dragon Lesson.  They're going back to the editor for a second round, since I rewrote a couple scenes that need to be looked over.  Now that those edits are done, I need to decide which of my completed stories--If A Butterfly Don't Fly or The Coup and the Prince--I want to get ready for submission first.  Unless the edits for Kelpie Blue suddenly appear in my inbox (which, since I don't have a release date for it to plan myself around, that could happen), I should have a few weeks without edits to focus on lots of other things. 

  • Dragon Lesson is available for pre-order at LT3.  You can get it for a 15% discount if you buy before October 11, 2017.  You can also add Dragon Lesson to your to-read list on Goodreads in preparation for October.  It feels like a long way away, but October will be here before we know it. 
2 Comments

News: Allergies Make Life Difficult

8/5/2017

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8/5/17
  • These last two weeks have been very interesting.  Last week my family and I went to the beach for the entire week.  I spent quite a few hours sitting in a chair, my feet buried in the sand, the sound of the surf in my ears, and a book in my hands.  Needless to say, I didn't get much editing done.  I had hoped to make up for that this week, but then something outside bloomed.  When my allergies get really bad I start wheezing and my sinuses fill up.  I end up with tightness in my lungs and a sinus migraine.  In addition to the fact that I'm not breathing spectacularly well and am coughing to make up for it, the pain in my head is horrible.  Plus, I get light sensitive with vertigo.  Looking at a computer screen has been almost impossible.  The only solution is Benadryl as painkillers don't touch it, so I've basically spent most of this week either suffering at work or asleep at home. 

  • Given the fact that Justified comes out next week, I knew I had to suck it up and get the copy edits completed.  I somehow managed it and Justified is now ready to go.  Make sure you get your copy for a 15% discount before Justified comes out on August 9th. 

  • I haven't finished the edits for Dragon Spy, which is a problem.  If my head behaves, I would like to spend the rest of this weekend working on them.  I need to get the edits back to LT3 asap as we're beginning to run short on time.  I think I've settled on Dragon School as the new title, but I want to run it by the editor first before I make a decision. 

  • You can probably guess how well the editing is going for the two stories I've completed and want to submit to LT3.  I haven't touched them, but I have been thinking.  I don't want If A Butterfly Don't Fly to come out too close to Kelpie Blue, the prequel.  I don't have a release date for Kelpie Blue yet, but I know I want to give at least six months of space between the two stories.  If I submit The Coup and the Prince first (and LT3 accepts it), that will increase the amount of space.  It really depends on how the last bit of editing goes for both stories, which I can't start until after Spy is back with LT3. 
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News: Edits and Titles

7/23/2017

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7/23/17
  • I have received the first round of edits for Dragon Spy, the next book in my Supernatural Consultant series.  They appear to be pretty straightforward, so I'm making good progress.  There was one major plot hole the editor pointed out and a few other smaller issues, but the biggest thing the editor recommended was that I change the title.  The editor stated that they thought "Spy" didn't seem to quite fit with the overall theme, which made the title a bit misleading.  I can totally see where the editor is coming from, so now I'm bouncing new ideas around in my head.  I'm leaning towards something along the lines of "Dragon Lesson", but I'm not sure that's strong enough to fit in with the rest of the series.  What do you think?  Would you read a book titled Dragon Lesson, or can you recommend something else that falls along the lines of learning or growth? 

  • Sometime in the next week I am going to pull out If A Butterfly Don't Fly and finally give it a last edit.  It is ready to be submitted.  I always feel guilty bombarding LT3 with multiple submissions at a time, so I'm definitely going to wait until after I've heard yes or no from them on Butterfly before I pull out The Coup and the Prince for that story's final edit. 

  • I still haven't settled on a story to work on next.  That's probably a good thing because it means I can focus on the edits I need to get completed.  Still, I prefer to be writing.  Hopefully one of my stories will jump out at me sometime this week. 
0 Comments

News: A Successful Week

7/17/2017

2 Comments

 
7/17/17
  • I completely closed the document for If A Butterfly Don't Fly and have refused to open it again.  If the document isn't available, I can't nitpick at it.  It's been a full week since I finished the story and I'm going to try to give it one more week before I give it a last edit and submit it.  I would like to wait until August, but I'm not certain whether I'll be able to last that long. 

  • I focused exclusively on The Coup and the Prince this past week and to my surprise I was finally able to finish it.  This story was stalled for a few months while I figured things out and I am happy with how it turned out.  Unlike Butterfly, I haven't been regularly editing the story as I went to help stave off writer's block.  I would instead switch to working on something else.  That means Coup will need a full month of rest before I can start editing.  I'll pick it up again at the end of August, clean it up, and get it submitted. 

  • Which leads me to another what's next dilemma.  I have so many books on my to-do list at the moment, but none of them are calling to me.  I'll try poking at a bunch of them to see if anything bites.  Unfortunately, if the muses aren't talking, I don't know how much actual writing I'll be able to get done.  I'll let you all know whenever I settle on something. 

  • The last bit of news isn't as exciting, but for those of you who love Lumie I know you'll be glad to hear it.  Dragon Spy, Lumie's first story in my Supernatural Consultant series, has begun moving forward.  LT3 has posted it on Goodreads, which is an indication that they think the story is still on schedule.  I expect to get the edits any day now as there's only three months until release day.  I'm hoping in conjunction with those edits I'll learn some potential release dates for the two other stories LT3 has accepted.  There's so much to look forward to and I'm excited to get started. 
2 Comments

News: Covers, Edits, and Writing

7/1/2017

0 Comments

 
7/1/17
  • For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you probably saw that I added all six new covers for my Dragon's Hoard series.  They're absolutely amazing.  I loved the old covers, of course, but these are super special too.  Six covers is too much to share in a blog post, so if you want to check them out they're on Facebook and they're on my website. 
     
  • Finding the Wolf, the first book in my Dragon's Hoard series, is available for pre-order.  If you purchased it in the past, DO NOT bother buying it again (unless you want to for some reason).  There have been edits, but it is basically the same book.  What you can do, is when the series is re-released you can dig through LT3's rather difficult purchased page and find your original download.  As far as I'm aware, you should be able to download the new version from that page.  I don't know what to do if you purchased your copy from Amazon or another ebook site.  If you are a brand new reader of the series, then make sure you DO get a copy now while it's on a preorder discount.  The reprints of the entire Dragon's Hoard series as well as the new Gathering the Hoard short story set should all be available July 12th. 

  • I have been plugging away at the edits for Justified and I am almost finished.  All that's left is a final read through--which I've already started--and then I'll send it back to LT3.  Justified is available for preorder, and you can always go onto Goodreads and add it to your to-read list.  It comes out really soon too on August 9th, so get your preorder in now.  
     
  • I have also been able to get a lot of writing done this past week.  If A Butterfly Don't Fly has passed 30K words, which means I have less than 10k left to write.  The twist I added has turned out amazingly and I'm really happy with how this story is progressing.  The plan is to have it completed in July so that by the end of August I can start getting it ready for submission to LT3.  By then I'm hoping to have more news to share about Kelpie Blue, the first book in the series.  Kelpie Blue was accepted by LT3, but aside from that I don't know anything else about its progress.  Of course, the next set of edits I should be getting are for Dragon Spy, which I know my readers are excited about since Lumie is the main character.  After that is when I'm expecting to start getting word about Kelpie Blue. 
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News: Procrastination is Going Well

6/24/2017

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6/24/17
  • I received the edits for Gathering the Hoard, the Dragon's Hoard short stories, and for Justified and I did start working on them both, but then the next thing I knew I had somehow managed to write 5k words for If A Butterfly Don't Fly and hadn't touched my edits in a week.  That was not my intention in the least bit, especially since both sets of edits are already running a bit behind schedule.  My plan to bust my butt this weekend and see if I can get the edits for Gathering the Hoard done and get a good chunk of Justified completed too has so-far been successful. Gathering the Hoard was just returned to LT3, so if I can get a lot accomplished in Justified, I can stop feeling guilty about procrastinating from edits by writing. 

  • Speaking of If A Butterfly Don't Fly, that story is going amazingly well.  I've added 5k words and I think I've figured out an extra twist that will make the story longer and will also help to strengthen the romantic elements.  Right now there is a romance, but it's a little stilted, and the twist will hopefully help to iron everything out.  I hope to reach my goal of 40k soon. 

  • The reviews for Dragon Home have been beyond amazing.  Everyone seems to have really enjoyed reading it, which I am so ecstatic to hear.  The next step for this series is Dragon Spy, which is slated to be released this October.  I'm hoping to have the next book in this series mostly written by that point, but that's only going to happen if the edits stop coming in so quickly.  Since I still have three more stories I haven't seen edits for just yet, I have doubts on my ability to get book seven completed before book six is released.  The good news is, I think I've come up with a title for book seven.  What do you think of Dragon Trick?  That's still subject to change, of course, but it fits with how the story is writing so far. 
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    Mell Eight is an author writing with LT3.  For more information about Mell and her writing, please visit her website: http://melleightfiction.
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