Category: Justified - Mell Eight's Writing Blog

What's New?

2/8/2021

2/8/21

Fingers crossed, but I haven't had any home issues in the last week! I'm running out of big ticket appliances to replace, which hopefully means there's less available to go wrong. Not worrying about my house does mean I have more free time to focus on writing!

Circle Y, the second (untitled) book in my (also untitled) series about a witch and some werewolves, has reached the halfway point. I've introduced the bad guys, set up the main drama, and am ready to get the ball rolling. FYI, if anyone has any suggestions regarding what you think I should title the books or the series, I am definitely open to recommendations. I'm not in a rush to decide, since I won't be submitting these stories to NSP until the end of 2021 at the earliest, but it would still be good to have something to actually call them.

I have also reached the point in book two where I need to start thinking about a book three. I'm not certain there needs to be a third book, but I'm loving these characters and want to keep working with them for a few more books. The problem boils down to: is there enough plot to carry more books? I am hoping as I keep working on the latter half of Circle Y, I'll be able to come up with an answer.

On a different note, I have begun work on the first round of edits for Justified, book two in my Magnified series. Magnified comes out in March (only a few short weeks away!), so I don't want to spoil anything for first time readers by talking too much about Justified right now. Let me just say the edits are going smoothly and I expect Justified to stay on schedule for a May release.

Here's a quick status update for my books being released in the next few months:

March: Magnified
- Completely edited with a lovely cover. Will be released on time.
April: If A Butterfly Don't Fly
- Working on copy edits and awaiting the cover. On track to be released on time.
April: Wounded Alpha
- Awaiting copy edits and the cover. On track to be released on time.
May: Justified
- Started first round of edits. Technically too early to say, but appears to be on track for release on time.
May: The Coup and the Prince
- First round of edits should be arriving as soon as I'm done with Justified's. It's too early to know about being on time for proposed release date.

More Tentative Release Dates

8/26/2020

8/26/20

I have tentative dates for when more of my books are going to come out! They are subject to change (they've already been changed once already), so don't go setting them into stone. I can almost guarantee the dates for the releases in 2022 will very likely be changed as more of my submitted manuscripts are accepted and woven into the release schedule. Still, it's good to know in terms of planning ahead, so I'm sharing them with you now:

2020
- October: Dragon Adventures (Supernatural Consultant 6)
- November: Dragon Lesson (Supernatural Consultant 7)
2021
- January: Kelpie Blue (Out of Underhill 1)
- January: A Little Fairy Dust
- March: Magnified (Magnified 1)
- April: Wounded Alpha
- May: If a Butterfly Don't Fly (Out of Underhill 2)
- June: Road to Revenge (Road To 1)
- August: Ground of Insurrection (Wizard Wars 1)
- September: Road to Home (Road To 2)
- November: Justified (Magnified 2)
- December: Ground of Resurrection (Wizard Wars 2)
2022
- January: The Oracle's Flame (Book 1)
- March: The Oracle's Hatchling (Book 2)
- April: The Oracle's Golem (Book 3)
- June: The Oracle's Sprite (Book 4)
- July: The Oracle's Prophecy (Book 5)
- August: The Oracle's Current (Book 6)

As you can see, it's going to be very busy. There's a lot to do in a short time frame, but I'm looking forward to getting all my books re-released for you. In case you were wondering, the brand new, never before published books, are in bold. Fingers crossed I can finish another book and add some more bold lines for 2022! I'm also being lazy and not putting links for more information into this post. Instead, please go here where I've been adding the links as I get them.

I will definitely keep you in the loop as these dates come closer, and if any dates are changed, I'll let you know that too. The next few years are going to be a wild ride, but it's so nice to see so much progress already being made!

Another Long Post With Good News

2/23/2020

2/23/20

It's been a very long February for me. Some unhappy family issues pulled me away from writing for about two weeks, and I'm only now caught up. That said, a lot has happened recently that I want to fill you in on, so I'm going to write another long post full of fun information. Read on:

Submissions to NineStar Press:

Wounded Alpha, Kelpie Blue, If A Butterfly Don't Fly, Magnified, and Justified were all accepted for publishing at NineStar Press! I'm super excited as I really love these books. As soon as I have concrete information on release dates, I'll share more, but it won't be until August at the earliest.
I have officially maxed out NSP's release calendar for 2020. What that means is NSP can't assess any more of my submissions until they create their calendar for 2021. Everything else I've already submitted to them will therefore have to wait, and I won't be submitting anything more until they tell me it's okay.
I also submitted my Dragon's Hoard series (minus the short stories as I'll have to add one more to get to the length requirement), Elemental Ride, The Coup and the Prince, My Truest Love, and Wings of the Stars. They're going to have to wait, along with my Road To series, for the 2021 calendar.

Writing:

I have fixed my Oracle series! It took a bit of finagling, but I made the changes without having to significantly alter the plot. The series is officially ready and waiting to submit when NSP gives the okay. I have also added 1k words to The Oracle's Current, the sixth, and final, book in the series. The real drama is just starting, and I'm about to introduce the love interest, so I'm really excited about where the story is going. I'm hoping I can get it completed before The Sentinel's Prophesy is released by NSP (should they accept it, of course).

Editing:

I was able to complete the second round of edits for Dragon Consultant. I got them back to NSP late because of my family issues, so I don't know if that will effect the release date. I'm hoping April is still far enough away that it won't, but we'll see. Next for Consultant is copy edits, which will hopefully arrive soon.
I am working on the final proofreader's edits for Ge-Mi: Part One. There's not a lot to do, so I'm hoping to have them completed and back to the editor by today. That should be it for edits for this book, so I don't foresee any issues meeting the March release date. I will hopefully have an exact date available for you soon. The first round of edits for Ge-Mi: Part Two should also be heading my way in the near future as well.

Book Covers:

I have seen the first draft of the new cover for Ge-Mi: Part One and it's really nice! It's simple, but lovely, and is definitely more safe for work than the original cover. I can't wait to see the final draft, and then share it with all of you!
I have been asked what I want for the new cover for Dragon Consultant. I think I want to go with something simple again, but still bright and happy, and focused on kit-level destruction. I'm really looking forward to what the artist comes up with, and I can't wait to share it with you.

That's it for news for February. I know there's a lot going on, and it's probably going to continue being a fire hose deluge of things to do until at least this time next year. I'm enjoying it, though, and I'm so glad you're all sticking through it all with me as we all patiently wait for all my books to become available again.

So Much Good News!

1/31/2020

1/31/20

I can't tell you how many blog posts I've written this month where, just before I was ready to post, I got more news and had to rewrite. I think this is my third or fourth attempt to get out a blog post, but there's so much to tell you I'm just going to post what I have, and I may end up writing another blog post tomorrow. Either way, this post is really long, but I promise there's exciting stuff inside. Read on:

Submissions to NineStar Press:

Both Ground of Insurrection and Ground of Resurrection have been accepted at NSP! The editor really seemed to like them. I'm so excited Resurrection will finally be available for you to buy. I can't estimate when a release date might be, but I'd like to think sometime in 2020.
I am still waiting to hear about Wounded Alpha, but I'm very hopeful. I know the editor has it in her queue, so it's moving along in the submission process.
This editor asked me to submit all the other stories I had ready, so I have submitted six more books to NSP. All the completed books from my Road To, Magnified, and Out of Underhill series have officially been submitted. The editor will evaluate them all and will let me know whether NSP is interested.
My Dragon's Hoard series, The Coup and the Prince, and Elemental Ride are next on my list. I need to get them formatted for submission first, which will take a little longer for The Dragon's Hoard as I'll need to read through to make sure all the page breaks are correct and such, but I hope to have all of those books submitted by next week.

The Oracle series:

I know many of you reached out to me asking for The Oracle series to get republished as well. I inquired with NSP as to whether it was possible to republish The Oracle's Flame as-is, and the answer was the expected no. However! I have an idea that will fix the issue without substantially changing the plot or too much of the characterization. I just need to find the time to actually get it written. If I'm able to make that change, NSP is willing to assess the entire series, so I will have to find the time somehow.
Of course, this means Heart's Tournament will not be reprinted. There's no way to soften the same issue within that story as it's integral to the plot. Until I figure out whether it's worth trying to self-publish it, that story will have to remain out of print.

Editing:

The copy edits for Ge-Mi: Part One are complete. I have sent them back to the editor. I don't know whether NSP has one more editing step before it gets turned into an ebook, but it's closer to being ready to go.
The second round of edits for Dragon Consultant have arrived. What about the first round, you ask? That was one of the things I wrote in a previous blog post that never got published, but I finished those too. I should have the second round complete within a day or so.
The Supernatural Consultant series as a whole will be marketed for a YA audience. That means a few things will have to be changed to make it suitable for a slightly younger audience, but I promise there are no changes to the overall plot and characterizations. Lumie will always be Lumie, and I don't think there will be any changes at all in the later books.
Once I finish the second round for Consultant, there will be copy edits. I'm also expecting to see the first round of edits for Ge-Mi: Part Two, which I'm super excited about. I'll try to let you know when those arrive.

Writing:

I completed The Beast from my fairy tale project. That just leaves A Heart's Dream to finish and then the anthology will be complete. As always, this is a time issue. I need to find the time to sit down and write it, and this was at the top of that to-do list, but has been supplanted with fixing The Oracle's Flame.
Aside from that, I haven't had the chance to get much writing done. I don't know I'll be able to write more as long as edits keep appearing regularly, but I'm going to do my best to keep on writing as much as I can whenever I can.

News: Submissions and Writing

8/19/2017

8/19/17

I read through both stories I completed last month and they have ended up in totally different directions. The Coup and the Prince was first and I quickly realized that the story wasn't ready yet. I made a bunch of changes and have decided to let it sit for another week or two. At that point I'll pick it up again. I then took a look at If A Butterfly Don't Fly and I am super happy with it! I went ahead and submitted it to LT3 and I'm hoping they like it too. I will let you know what LT3 decides.
There still hasn't been any word on the stories I'm waiting on. I submitted Ground of Insurrection almost two months ago, so I'm hoping to hear whether LT3 accepted it any day now. I also haven't had any news about Kelpie Blue in five months. I don't know what LT3 is thinking about for release dates, but I could have the first round of edits in my inbox tomorrow or two months from now. The reprint of Hadash Aviv is in a similar position to Kelpie Blue: no projected release date and edits that could appear at any time. I am hoping to have some news to share for all three stories soon, so keep an eye out for my post about it.
The reviews for Justified have been stellar. Readers are liking it even more than Magnified. I really enjoyed writing Justified, so it's wonderful to hear how much you all are also enjoying it. Codified, the third and final book in the series, still has a ways to go before it's completed. I'm hoping to have it ready sometime next year.

Out Now: Justified

8/9/2017

Justified

The world of vampires and werewolves is in upheaval. The magical community is under attack by a great evil power trying to destroy them all and their strongest fighter is oblivious with his nose glued in a spell book. Yani has given up hope in getting Aaron back on track. He knows he instead has to focus on his own future and the lives of those he loves, even if it means losing Aaron, the love of his life, forever.
Yani's life isn't the only one in flux. As the battle heats up and lines are drawn, the rest of his friends must fight for their own survival in a world with no answers to the terrible magic attacking them.

News: Writing Continues

7/5/2017

7/5/17

I got the second round of edits for Justified back to LT3 within plenty of time. Hopefully this means the release date won't need to be pushed back again. It's available for pre-order at LT3, so make sure you get your copy before it comes out on August 9th.
If A Butterfly Don't Fly has been going amazingly well. I am still on track to complete it this month. I only have 3k words left to write to reach my goal of 40k and the epilogue (which is all that's left to write) should get me there. I'm looking forward to finishing this story after three long years of writing it.
Of course, I had firmly told myself that the two books in my Out of Underhill series would be it for the series. Each book takes a huge amount of research and planning to put together, which, while an important aspect to every book I write, takes away a considerable amount of time and energy from my other stories. I wanted to be done with Underhill so I could focus on the rest of my rather extensive current projects list. Then I got an idea for a third book that will tie the entire series together. It's a book that has to be written, so right now I'm very firmly looking at a trilogy. It will be my second trilogy series--Magnified is my first--and I'm looking forward to writing it. I'm not looking forward to all the research I have to do first, so I'm probably going to work on some of my other stories before starting to tackle this one.

News: Covers, Edits, and Writing

7/1/2017

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.

News: Procrastination is Going Well

6/24/2017

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.

News: A BIG Change

5/9/2017

5/9/17

Dragon Home is available for preorder at LT3. You can get your copy HERE for a 15% discount. Some of you might be surprised to see it up before Justified. I know I was, and then I saw the release date and got very confused. Turns out, the releases of Dragon Home and Justified have been switched. Here are the new dates:
- Dragon Home: June 21, 2017
- Justified: August 9, 2017
At my best guess, this happened because Justified is running behind in the editing process. It's a big book with a lot of nuance, which requires more time to edit, and it definitely wouldn't have been ready for release next month. Dragon Home, on the other hand, is short and sweet with minimal edits. I am almost done with the second round and it will be back to LT3 with more than enough time for June 21st.
Dragon Adventure is coming out next week! I'm so excited to share the first half of Aqua and Rios' story. It's a fun little interlude before we hop back into the main story with Dragon Spy in October. If you want to get 15% off, make sure you preorder before Dragon Adventure comes out.