Category: Ge Mi: Part One - Mell Eight's Writing Blog

More Book News

10/20/2019

10/20/19

NineStar Press has also accepted the final three books in my Supernatural Consultant series! The two short stories, Dragon Adventure and Dragon Home, will be combined into one book. Right now the working title will be Dragon Adventures (we added the 'S', because we're clever like that), but inside the book "part two" will still be called Dragon Home. We're not wedded to the new title, so if anyone wants to suggest something they think is better, please feel free. NSP also accepted Dragon Lesson, which I'm super excited about. This means the entire series will be republished soon!

In other book news, there have been no new developments. It's too soon to hear whether NSP will accept the two books in my Wizard Wars series. It's also way too soon to get any additional tentative release dates. Edits for Ge-Mi: Nevada could arrive any day now, and once they start, edits for all my accepted books will continue to arrive almost non-stop for the next year. I know that is going to curtail my writing time considerably, but I am still going to try my best to get some new material completed as well. At the top of the list are my fairy tales, which I am sooooo close to finishing, and of course all the sequels everyone has so patiently been waiting for. I will keep working hard, so thank you all for your continued support!

Tentative Release Dates

10/10/2019

10/10/19

You read the title of this post correctly! I have some new release dates to share with everyone. These are tentative dates. I only have the release month and they are subject to change, but I'm so excited to have them to share with you. Here's what I've got:

March 2020: Ge-Mi: Nevada
April 2020: Dragon Consultant
May 2020: Ge-Mi: Taylor
June 2020: Dragon Deception
July 2020: Dragon Dilemma
August 2020: Dragon Detective
September 2020: Dragon Soldier

I know March seems like it's really far away, but there's a lot to get completed before then. Multiple rounds of edits, of course, plus everything else that goes into getting a book ready for publishing. I'm a little concerned that they're all getting released so close together, as it will be A LOT of work on my part to get all those edits completed, but this is the fastest everyone involved can work to get my books back out as soon as possible.

As you can see, Dragon Detective and Dragon Soldier were both accepted for publishing at NSP. I'm hopeful they will also accept the last three books (and I'm hopeful editing the entire series again will galvanize me into finishing Dragon Spy).

I have also submitted both books in my Wizard Wars Series to NSP. Ground of Resurrection (book two) was the one you all got to pre-order, but were never able to read. I don't know where they might fit into this release schedule should NSP accept them, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Ge-Mi is Going Well

8/9/2019

8/9/19

As you no doubt read in my last post, Ge-Mi, Parts One and Two were both accepted for publishing at NineStar Press. I'm super excited about it, as I love this series and I know my readers love it too. A new publisher does mean there will be a few changes that I want to make sure everyone knows about:

A New Title. Rather than Part One/Part Two, the books will now be known by the main POV. Part One is now: Ge-Mi: Nevada. Part Two is now: Ge-Mi: Taylor. (I am going to adjust how I'm referring to Di-Na as well to conform to this new title standard.)
Editing. Nevada's book (Part One) will be going to an editor. I don't yet know if there will be any substantive changes, but a fresh set of eyes on the story will likely catch new issues. If the story changes significantly, I will let everyone know. Right now I can't say what will happen.
Timing. NineStar just accepted both stories, so it's going to be a while longer before they're released. I don't know how long it will be or how spread out Nevada's book and Taylor's book will be. Please be patient with me as we work through this process.
Writing. I have added over 1k words to Di-Na: Kay (Part One) and hope to add a good bit more this week. The story isn't anywhere close to being complete, but any progress is good progress. I have the next two big scenes planned out, and I know who the bad guy is, but there's still a lot to flesh out. I do hope to have this story completed within the next few months or so, which means I need to get back to writing now.

As I continue to get more information about Ge-Mi and any of my other stories, I will share them here with everyone. I hope to have more news to share really soon! Thanks for all your words of support as we work through this together.

News: Writing and Ge-Mi

3/14/2017

3/14/17

If you haven't seen any of my (rather obsessive) posts about Ge-Mi: Part One, the story is up for book of the week at Love Bytes Reviews. All you have to do is vote. They don't need any personal information, you don't have to comment, and it only takes a few seconds. If you feel like this is something you can help me out with, please vote for Ge-Mi. Thanks so much! http://lovebytesreviews.com...book-of-the-week-poll-march-4th-10th-2017/
My Dragon's Hoard Short Stories are complete, including the edits. I have submitted it to LT3 and hope to hear yes or no soon.
I have heard back from LT3 regarding Dragon Adventure. Instead of going back to the editor for round two, it has instead gone straight to the copy editor. Luckily, I don't think Adventure needed considerably more edits. Mostly I just had a few questions for the editor to clarify things and the copy editor should be able to handle that just fine. Skipping the round of editing is why I haven't gotten any updates on Adventure in months, so it's nice to know it's still moving along. I don't know when I'll get the first round of edits for Dragon Home, the next book in the series.
I also don't know any release dates for my accepted stories, just the rumor that Dragon Adventure might be coming out sometime in May. I've asked for tentative dates twice and haven't received any response. I really do hope to learn release dates soon. If the May rumor is correct, I should start getting covers and blurbs for Adventure within the next two weeks. Since I don't know the potential release dates for Justified or Dragon Home, I can't speculate when I'll start getting anything for them. Again, I hope to learn more soon.

News: Things I'm Working On

2/11/2017

2/11/2017

Reviewers are really liking Ge-Mi: Part One, which is so amazing to hear. This story is so different to what I normally write, since it's sci-fi and there isn't a single dragon, and I was a bit worried that my usual readers might not flock to Ge-Mi the way they have to my Supernatural Consultant series. I'm glad to learn that my fears were unfounded. If you've read and enjoyed Ge-Mi, don't forget you can always post a review to Goodreads, Amazon, or wherever you purchased your copy. I am always eager to know what you thought and to learn from any constructive criticism you can offer.
I'm still plugging away at the edits for Justified, but I'll have them back to LT3 this weekend. There's a few more little things to fix and an overall read-though, and then it's back to the editor for round two. I need to start working on the final book of the trilogy (although my editor has already asked for an additional side story about the dragon in the book). I have some ideas and have started building the prologue, but each of the books has been set on a theme and I haven't settled on what my theme for this book will be. I'm leaning towards a Passover/Exodus sort of idea, but I need to flesh it out a bit more before I can really start working on it.
Once the edits are back with LT3, it's finally time to return to Kelpie Blue. I've let it sit for a bit to marinate, and now I need to go over it with a fine toothed comb. Editing for submission is always exciting because it's my last chance to polish a story before LT3 makes the decision if they want to accept it for publishing. This story is also a bit quirky in that it's different to what I usually write, but I really, really love the story and the characters so I think it will go over well. My only concern is that it has some odd formatting that LT3 and some readers might not appreciate, but I'm going to give it a try anyway.

Out Now: Ge-Mi: Part One

2/8/2017

Ge-Mi: Part One

A hundred years ago evil scientists spliced human genes with those of animals, creating a genetic mutation passed on through the generations. Hated because of their differences, these Ge-Mis live on the fringes of society where they scrounge and scrape to get by.

Nevada is half Ge-Mi, and hides that fact behind baggy clothes and by keeping distance between himself and everyone around him. One day his peaceful life is shattered by an explosion and the arrival of a pack of wolves to sniff out the culprit. Wolves have excellent noses and as Alpha, Taylor can sniff out every one of Nevada's secrets—and the harder Nevada tries to resist, the more difficult staying away from Taylor becomes.

News: Edits and Writing

2/6/2017

2/06/17

I have received the first round of edits for Justified. There are a few things I need to add, including elongating one scene, and a few things to fix. Overall, the editor had wonderful comments. The new character I introduced in the story, a dragon named Khan (because how can I write a story without a dragon in it?) is a big hit and overall the editor enjoyed the story.
I can extrapolate what getting these edits now means in terms of release dates for the rest of my submitted manuscripts. After Dragon Soldier comes out on March 8th, I don't have any firm release dates. I believe Dragon Adventure was scheduled to come out sometime in May. LT3 likes to keep about three to four months in between the release of another book in the same series, so Dragon Home will probably be scheduled for late August, in September, or for early October. Sometime between May and August--possibly July, but remember I'm just guessing here--is when Justified will be released. Dragon Spy will most likely have a fourth quarter 2017 or first quarter 2018 release date. Of course, all of this will only occur if I get my edits back in time. I am hoping LT3 will contact me with additional information soon.
Kelpie Blue is complete! After four long years of research, writing, getting stalled, writing some more, getting distracted by dragons, returning to this story, etc. etc., Kelpie Blue is done. This is my story with the adorable blue water horse (ie. Kelpie) that just wants a hug and to maybe take a bite out of your shoulder for lunch. The next step is to start editing, which I'm hoping won't be too onerous. I've edited the first two thirds of the story over and over as I was trying to figure out how to bring this story to the climax and the ending. While I"m definitely going to go over the entire story, I will be primarily focusing on getting the ending as perfect as the rest. The goal is to have Kelpie Blue ready to submit to LT3 this month. I'll definitely keep you posted on how that's going.
And don't forget that Ge-Mi: Part One comes out in a few short days. Make sure you get your preorder in for a 15% discount today, because it comes out on February 8th! https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...

News: Submissions, Editing, and Writing

1/31/2017

1/31/2017

Dragon Spy was accepted by LT3! I'm so excited! You have no idea how happy I am to finally be writing again and for the writing process to be bearing such wonderful fruit. More on that below. Spy is the start of the next arc (careful readers of the series will have some inkling of what the new arc might be because I have been hinting). Unfortunately, I'm still not sure what book I want to work on next for this series. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon because I definitely have some awesome plans for our favorite dragons!
The copy edits for Dragon Soldier have been returned to LT3. It's almost ready for release on March 8th, so make sure to get your pre-order in now: lessthanthreepress.com/bo oks...
And don't forget that Ge-Mi: Part One comes out next week! If you want it for a 15% discount, pre-order ASAP: lessthanthreepress.com/books...
Now that Dragon Spy is completed and accepted by LT3, and now that I've given up on forcing A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes to be completed this month, I don't have a story I'm focusing exclusively on. I really want to take this opportunity to shrink my to-list, which is far too massive. There are a number of stories on it that I have been slowly working on for years and years. Ge-Mi: Part One was a story that sat for a very long time, so seeing it finally be released is galvanizing. There are two stories on my to-do list that are just as old--if not older--than Ge-Mi: my Dragon's Hoard Short Stories and Kelpie Blue. I've been stuck on the Dragon's Hoard stories for a while. I know what I want to write, but the words just aren't coming. Every once in a while I pluck away at it, but it's not growing the way I want it to. Kelpie Blue, on the other hand, is huge. This story has taken so long to write because of the sheer amount of research it has needed. The mythology, horses, and everything else that's gone into it has required careful checking and double checking to make certain my facts were all correct, which has slowed the writing process down considerably. I would absolutely love it if Kelpie Blue were the next story I submitted.

In the last few days I've added over 10k words to Kelpie Blue. It's finally approaching the final fight scene/climax and every last bit of remaining plot has been completely planned out. I know exactly what's going to happen next. All I need to do is write it all down. That will still take time, of course, but I've been working on Kelpie Blue since 2013. A few more weeks or months won't hurt.

News: My Current To-Do List

1/25/2017

1/25/17

The final proof for Ge-Mi: Part One is completed and Ge-Mi is therefore ready to go for its February 8th release. You can read an excerpt and preorder for a 15% discount at LT3:
https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...
LT3 is also hosting a giveaway for Ge-Mi on their Goodreads page:
https://www.goodreads.com...giveaway---ge-mi-by-mell-eight
I am working on the copy edits for Dragon Soldier. They're straightforward--fixing commas and smoothing sentences--and I hope to have it returned to LT3 this week. With the copy edits complete, all that's left to do for this story is the final proof and it will be ready for release on March 8th. You can also preorder for a 15% discount at LT3: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...
I unfortunately will not be able to finish my story, A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, for LT3's For the Hoard call. I really like the story, but the plot has been fighting with me. The first draft only wanted to be 5k words--LT3 was asking for 20k--and my efforts to expand were only leading towards 10k. I think I finally have a good idea to get the story's length up, but I won't be able to finish it by the end of the month. I do have a few ideas for alternative ways to submit this story (maybe I'll combine it with some of my out of print books?) so I hope to have it completed soon.

News: I'm Still Writing

1/15/2017

1/15/17

In case you missed it, The Case of the Wandering Wolves is out! It was released last week and has been receiving positive reviews overall. I really hope is everyone enjoying it!
I've been working on the next book in my Trickster's Eye series. I've written 2k words this past week and I want to keep going. It's at about 5k words out of a total of 15k, so I'm hoping this will be my next completed story. No promises, of course, since I haven't planned the entire story out yet. I've got the basic outline, but some of the finer details are still eluding me. However, while working on the story I realized something: there is another story in between Case One and Case Two. The problem is, The Case of the Hopping Hare is being written as Case Two and I really don't want to change its dynamic as the second book. This series isn't like my Supernatural Consultant series where slotting in an extra book to enhance the overall plot is possible. That leaves me with the conundrum of a good bit of plot that occurred between the two books of this series that doesn't have a story to go with it. I'm hoping that I might be able to incorporate it into a prologue or a flashback in Case Three. What that means for Case Two is that while I have to mention the fact that plot happened, I have to find a way to do so without spoiling my future plans. It's a difficult line to balance, but I think I've figured it out so far.
The copy edits for Ge-Mi: Part One have been returned to LT3. This story is ready for release. February 8th will appear really quickly, so make sure you get your preorder for a 15% discount in now: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...
I haven't heard anything else about any of my other stories. I'm waiting on copy edits for Dragon Soldier, the second round of edits for Dragon Adventure, release dates for Dragon Adventure, Dragon Home, and Justified, and I haven't heard whether LT3 will accept Dragon Spy (although since I just submitted it last week I don't expect to hear for a while). I also don't know when the audio books and Spanish translations for the first books in my Supernatural Consultant series will be released. The translations are up on Goodreads, but I can't find them on LT3's site. As soon as I do hear something about any of these, I will share it with all of you.