9/28/23
I usually take some time off around the holidays to spend at home with my family. The holidays themselves are very hectic. Rosh Hashanah was multiple big dinners with family and friends, and synagogue. Then Yom Kippur was a 25 hour fast (sundown to sundown), much of which was spent in synagogue. And then about 30 people came over to my parents' for Break Fast, which is a large, buffet-style meal to help recover from fasting for so long. I went a touch crazy with baking. I made apple bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, blondies, mixed berry pie, lemon bars, gluten free plum cake, and hermit cookies. It was a ton of fun, of course, and now that the holiday is over I'm spending the rest of the week hanging out with my parents. What all that means is I haven't had much time for writing. At all. The Prince reached 39k words and I've added 1k to Hadash Aviv, but that was last week. This week has been nothing. I guess you could say it's been relaxing, and when I return to the real world of work and responsibilities I should be refreshed enough to tackle the rest of these stories. The Prince will probably not reach 50k as I hoped. All that's left is the finishing touches, which is probably only 5k more. I'm hopeful I'll be able to add more during the editing process, but we'll see. Hadash Aviv is also a toss up as to whether it'll reach the 15k minimum. I would need to add 6k more, which is a lot for a story that was originally purposefully short and sweet. If I get to at least 10k, I'll ask whether NSP wants it for something else. I've seen the draft for the cover of Twin Elements, and it's glorious, but I can't share it with you yet. I'm hopeful the preorder will be up soon, so I can share that too! And that's everything I've been up to the last few days. Like I said in the title, I don't have much to share. Maybe next week things will pick up again!
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9/17/23
Right now I'm celebrating the Jewish New Year, called Rosh Hashanah, which translates to "head of the year". It is a lunar new year, since the Jewish calendar is lunar. We celebrate by having large family dinners featuring apples and honey, and attending synagogue for special services where the shofar (carved rams horn) is blown. I baked apple bread and traditional honey cake and had a great time celebrating with my family. For anyone who celebrates, L'Shanah Tovah! May you have a sweet and happy New Year! Next we start preparing for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which comes ten days after Rosh Hashanah, and is the most important holiday in the Jewish tradition. I have a few days before that, though, so I'm trying to get some writing done! The Prince has reached 32k words, which is excellent! I have some really fun scenes left to write, and then an epilogue that will hopefully help set up book three. I do think I'll reach 50k, but it'll be close. However, I am hoping that when I go back and edit, I'll be able to increase the word count by expanding some scenes. I'm still only on the first draft, with two or three editing rounds to go before I will send it for submission, but I'm really liking how it's turning out so far! Speaking of editing to increase word count, there's a call for spring-themed stories and I immediately thought of my short story Hadash Aviv, meaning New Spring, that was never republished. Hadash Aviv is one of my few contemporary action/adventure stories. I've always really liked it and was very disappointed I couldn't figure out a way to republish it. Of course, the call is for stories a minimum of 15k words, and Hadash Aviv was originally written for a call for stories less than 10k. I have begun expanding this story, with a couple of new scenes and more description in the existing story. I basically need to double the length of the story. So far, I've added over 1k, so I only have 6k more to write before I can decide whether it's worth submitting. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress! I got to see the first draft of the cover for Twin Elements, which comes out in exactly a month on October 17th, and my jaw dropped. I can't wait to share it, because it is amazing! Aside from that, it's been a quiet week, but I hope to have more good news to share very soon. 11/29/18
I am home sick today. Sore throat, low grade fever, cough. Ugh. I keep waking up from a nap and wondering when I can take another nap. It sucks. Even if I had the energy to write, which I don't, I can't use my leave from work for writing purposes. Instead, I'm hoping to read a good book. Since I didn't have edits this past weekend, I got to read Mercenaries of the Stolen Moon by Megan Derr, which just came out. I enjoyed it so much I went and reread the rest of the series...again...and bought Mercenaries in print. Now I need something else to read in between my naps today. I've got an overstuffed bookshelf in my apartment and a bunch of ebooks on my computer, so I'll figure something out. Here's some super wonderful good news: Ground of Insurrection has been nominated in the Fantasy category in M/M Romance's 2018 Members' Choice Awards on Goodreads! The last book I had nominated was Hadash Aviv back in 2013. Given I only have two books eligible for nomination this year, having even one of them chosen is amazing. Voting opens next month and I'll post all the links you'll need then. I don't have any news to share about my upcoming books. If A Butterfly Don't Fly and The Coup and the Prince are still in process, I know that much, but I don't know anything else about them just yet. The Sentinel's Prophesy is also going to start the editing process sometime soon. Ground of Resurrection has been submitted, but I won't hear whether it's been accepted for a few more months. As for writing, I've had a good week. Ge-Mi: Part Two is almost there! I've had to pause actually writing in order to organize and plan the final battle scene, but that's led to good progress. I am hoping to have it completed by the end of the year. Wounded Alpha, my story for LT3's Bound by Nothing call, has been sitting for long enough. I'm thinking if I have some energy tonight, I might start giving it a final edit. I've decided it would be better to get it done and submitted sooner, just in case I get drowned in edits again. The last thing I want is for the submission deadline to arrive while I'm busy with other things. This way it's one less thing on my plate. For now, though, it's time for another nap. Hadash Aviv
12/5/17
The reprint of Hadash Aviv, my short story crime thriller, is coming out next week! LT3 is having an amazing sale, so make sure you pre-order your copy soon. I'm super excited about this story coming out as a stand alone. It may be short, but it's definitely one of my favorites. That's why I was so happy LT3 agreed to reprint it. I hope you'll like it too! I'm still chugging away at the edits for Kelpie Blue. The hardest part is that the editor pointed out something that I completely agree has to be fixed, but getting it fixed correctly is proving to be quite a challenge. I think this time I may be able to get it right, but there's still so much to get done and the due date is coming up fast. I still absolutely love the story and the characters I've created for this unique world of the fae, but I know I will love it even more once the edits are done and gone. The Coup and The Prince was accepted for publishing at LT3! It's a cute stand alone story that I've been working on for the last two years and I'm super excited to see it heading towards publishing. Hopefully it will tide you all over until I am able to complete Ge-Mi: Part Two and/or the next Supernatural Consultant book (which I know you are all waiting for). Speaking of writing, I've been a very bad author. Instead of working on anything on my to-do list (which is far too long), I started writing a contemporary story. It's about soccer star with a serious injury, the nurse caring for him, and the gang trying to extort them both. It's an idea I've had in my head for a while now, but I never actually wrote it down. I went on a trip recently and while I was bored on the airplane I couldn't help typing up the first 4k words. It's not anywhere close to being complete, so I've added it to my to-do list. My plan is to put that story aside to work on something else, so presumably my next blog post will have some good writing news. 11/7/17
LT3 and I have been sending emails back and forth. I've asked far too many questions and probably annoyed the heck out of them (sorry!), but it was very productive nonetheless. I now have lots of news to share with you. First, the cover for Supernatural Consultant, Volume Two has arrived! Volume Two is the second print compilation in the series and will include Dragon Detective, Dragon Soldier, Dragon Adventure, and Dragon Home. LT3's plan was to try to get it to the printer today, so--barring human error and unforeseen circumstances--it should be for sale sometime next week. I will let you know when it's up on LT3's site. I know Amazon and some of the other online stores take a bit longer, but at least you'll know when to start looking. Second, Volume Two has been included in the list of books to be turned into audiobooks. I believe it is currently third on the list and audiobooks take time to make, so look for it to be available next February, March, or April. I'm hoping to be able to pin down a more exact date when the book is sent to the voice actor. Third, LT3 and the editor for Kelpie Blue conferenced and came to the same conclusion I did: a January release date for Kelpie Blue--given the extent of the edits--just wasn't realistic. LT3 provided me with a new release date instead. Look for Kelpie Blue to be in your hands on March 21, 2018. And, don't forget to pre-order your copy of Hadash Aviv, my short spy thriller. It will be released in just over a month, on December 13, 2017 and (if you haven't read it before) I think you'll really like it. It's a reprint, so check your ebook libraries to see whether you already purchased it, and then if you haven't go grab your copy today: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books... 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. 8/19/17
3/28/17
3/26/17
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Coming Soon
Gifting a Dragon's Heart
March 19, 2024 Soul Bond
January 30, 2024 Twin Elements
October 17, 2023 Witch
April 15, 2023 AuthorMell Eight is an author writing with NSP. For more information about Mell and her writing, please visit her website: http://melleightfiction. Tags
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