Category: Justified - Mell Eight's Writing Blog

News: Release Dates

3/22/2017

3/22/2017

There are many reasons why I shouldn't guess potential release dates for my upcoming books, the main reason of which is that I'm usually wrong. In this most recent case, I was very wrong. LT3 has provided me with all the upcoming dates they were able to schedule this far ahead of time and pretty much all of my guesses proved to be way off. Here's the official dates (which are subject to change, but should be mostly accurate at this point), so mark your calendars:

Dragon Adventure: May 17, 2017
Justified: June 21, 2017
Dragon's Hoard Reprint and Short Stories: July 12, 2017
Dragon Home: August 9, 2017
Dragon Spy: October 11, 2017

The only book that LT3 has accepted for publishing that is not on that list is Kelpie Blue. If I might guess (and at this point you've hopefully realized that my guesses aren't worth much), I would say December 2017 or January/February 2018.

In other news, Dragon Soldier, Dragon Detective, Dragon Adventure, and Dragon Home will be released in print in Supernatural Consultant Volume 2. This print compilation continues from where Volume 1 left off and should be released around the same time as Dragon Home in August.

Supernatural Consultant Volume 2 is also being considered for release in audio. The decision hasn't been made just yet, but I have been told it is on the list of potentials.

And the last bit of release news is that once the edits for the reprint of The Dragon's Hoard series are complete, the series will be submitted for translation into Spanish.

News: Coming Soon

3/19/2017

3/19/17

The next three books on my coming soon list are starting to come together. First were the covers, which if you missed you can check out HERE. Next are the release dates. Dragon Adventure will come out on May 17, 2017. Mark your calendars for this short story.
I was also given a tentative date range for Dragon Home of sometime in June or July 2017. That date can't be finalized until LT3 and I are through with my Dragon's Hoard series rerelease process. The series will most likely be released in the same time frame as Dragon Home (barring any unforeseen editing snafus). This matters because LT3 isn't going to want to release Dragon Home too closely to my Dragon's Hoard series. This could be as simple as one comes out in June and the other July, but that determination can't be made until Dragon Home and my Dragon's Hoard series have completed the editing process.
Adding to that is Justified, which will also need a release date. It's far too soon to even guesstimate when Justified might be coming out. It is currently in a long line waiting to go back to the editor for a second round. Once it's through the line and the editor's time, I still need to complete those edits. Then it's off to the copy editor. Only at that point will the story be far enough along to start thinking about dates. If you give a month for each step in the process (March for the editor, April for me, May for the copy editor, June for formatting and other considerations) we're looking at a potential for July, August, or September, but again that date would be dependent on when the Dragon's Hoard series and Dragon Home are released.
After that it's impossible to guess anything. Dragon Spy is presumably next on the list, followed by Kelpie Blue, which was accepted by LT3 this past week. Those are months and months away from being published. Fall or winter of 2017 or even early 2018 is the best guess I could give. It's really exciting to me to see all these books slowly fall into place and, as always, I'll keep my readers updated as I learn more.

Three Cover Reveals

3/17/2017

If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably noticed the three new covers I got this week. For those of you who don't check Facebook, here they are!

Dragon Adventure

May 17, 2017

Aqua and Rios are bored, which is always a recipe for disaster. They decide that taking a trip to visit Nickel would be a ton of fun, so they hop on a boat and go sailing down the river. Niagara Falls separates the two kits from their destination, not that they're aware of that fact, and their fun adventure quickly turns into a desperate fight for survival.

Dragon Home

June or July 2017 (Tentative Date)

With Rios happily mated and planning an entire future, Aqua can't help but feeling left out. The brother that had always been his chief playmate and best friend was planning to leave him behind, which isn't at all acceptable. The obvious answer is to leave first, so Aqua packs a bag to go on an adventure. Yet this adventure isn't anything like his last one and the chances of him surviving to return home alive dwindle every moment.

Justified

More Information Coming Soon

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 Progress

2/14/2017

2/14/17

The first round of edits for Justified are back with LT3 to start round two. I completed them early, which means this story is off to a strong start. Hopefully the second round will go as smoothly. I'm also expecting the second round of edits for Dragon Adventure to appear any day now, given it's been almost three months since the first round was completed. I have a feeling the edits for Dragon Home might be coming soon too. It's a lot to look forward to and I'm excited to get these stories polished and ready for publishing this year.
I finished editing Kelpie Blue and gave it a final polish before submitting it to LT3. In a few weeks I'll learn whether the funky formatting is good to go if LT3 accepts it. The next book in this series, If A Butterfly Don't Fly, is stuck on a tricky bit of plot. I'm working on a build up that leads to a big battle. The problem is, I can't decide if I want the big battle to be the final battle, or just one fight that eventually escalates into the final battle. The romance has also hit the rocky point in the plot and I need to figure out how my characters want to overcome this and start really falling in love. I want to have this story completed soon, but until I figure those two bits out, I'm stuck for the moment.
Instead, I've been working on two other stories. I started working on the third book of my Magnified trilogy again. I added a few thousand words to the prologue, which is starting to shape up nicely. I have some ideas for the rest of the book, but I really need to flesh out more before I can delve in. Getting the prologue completed is important because it introduces the structure the rest of the book builds off of, so I'm glad to be working through this important first step.
The other story I've been working on is The Sentinel's Prophesy. You don't want to know how long it's been since I last opened the document for this story. I never meant for this story or the final book in my Oracle series, The Oracle's Current, to languish this long. I was distracted by my Supernatural Consultant series and by the travails of a new job, but now I'm hoping to figure out the rest of this series so I can get it off my to-do list and into my readers' hands. Prophesy is a side story to the series, but it is important because it explains the origins of the Oracle and her Dragons. The problem I've had with writing it is that the two main characters spend the first half of the book extremely depressed. Writing that emotion--and making sure to get it correct--is hard work. Last night I worked for hours on this story and when I looked at the word count I realized that I had only written 500 words. As soon as I get my characters through the depression phase, this story should start really moving. I've had the plot planned out for a while now; it's just been the actual writing that's been hard going. Here's hoping this story is the next on my completed list!

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.

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: All Sorts of Stuff

5/20/2016

5/20/16

I think I forgot to mention that LT3 accepted Justified, the second book in my Magnified series. It probably won't be released until 2018 at the earliest, but it's still extremely exciting to have this series moving along. I don't have much at all planned for the third, and presumably final, book in the series. I want to finish a few other books before I start delving into that one. There's a lot of research and planning involved with the Magnified series and I would prefer to have fewer things on my to-do list before I start tackling something so involved.
The copy edits for Dragon Dilemma are back with LT3. This book is good to go for release in just two weeks!
Have you seen the cover for the print compilation of Dragon Consultant, Dragon Deception, and Dragon Dilemma? I've posted it a bunch of places, but check out my website to see more. It's the same artist doing the rest of the series and I am again impressed by her amazing talent. I'll do an official cover reveal this weekend.
I'm still working on the edits for The Case of the Wandering Wolves. If you remember, I sent this story to two beta readers for some help fixing a few major issues. The beta readers did a great job, but apparently I wasn't able to fix everything they pointed out. The editor noticed my mistakes immediately, so it's back to figuring out how to fix this same issue. It's not something I can just smooth over; I need to figure out how to rework a few sections so the issue vanishes entirely, but I'm struggling to figure out how to manage that without the story falling apart entirely. Hopefully I can get it worked out before the edits are due, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to send it back to the editor begging for advice.

News: Release Date and More Good News

4/16/2016

4/16/16

Magnified now has a release date: September 7, 2016. That's not too far away! LT3 and I have started talking about the cover and since the editing is complete Magnified will definitely be ready to go on time. I know I've said before how excited I am for this book to come out and now with a release date my excitement is growing even more.
The next big thing I've learned is LT3 is going ahead with a compilation print version containing Dragon Consultant, Dragon Deception, and Dragon Dilemma. We started talking about the cover, which is going to be awesome. I think this print book will be released along with Dragon Dilemma in June, so make sure to look for it then.
I've also spoken with LT3 about starting the cover for Dragon Detective, book four of my Supernatural Consultant series. I don't have an official release date yet, but my best guess might be this December or next January. It depends on whether Ner Li, my story for LT3's Sharing the Season call, bumps Detective's release date back a few months.
I haven't heard anything about any of my other stories. The Case of the Wandering Wolves is next on my list of submissions, so I'm hoping the first round of edits come for that soon. Although, given that TCotWW won't be released until at least ten months from now I'm probably getting way ahead of myself. I might see the edits for Ner Li or Elemental Ride first. I'm also waiting on copy edits for Dragon Dilemma. I don't expect to hear yes or no about whether LT3 accepted Justified for a while, but that is another item I'm waiting to hear about. I'll be sure to let everyone know once I hear about any of my stories.

News: Various Things

3/4/2016

3/4/16

Thank you to everyone for your advice regarding Justified. I have submitted it. Hopefully LT3 will like it. I doubt I'll see any edits for a long time, but at least it's not lost and forgotten on my computer. As soon as I hear any news about Justified I'll make certain to let everyone know.
Ge-Mi: Part One was accepted for publishing. It's my first sci-fi story that isn't part of an anthology or collection. My main character had his DNA crossed with a cat, which made him extra special. His rival, Taylor, had his DNA crossed with a dog. You can see where the fun starts and it only gets better from there. Ge-Mi has two parts, and Part One does come to a satisfying conclusion, but I'll hopefully be able to find time to get Part Two written sometime this year.
The second round of edits for Magnified are coming along. The editor left detailed notes of things I need to fix and get right, so it's slow going. This story is going to be amazing when the edits are done. Once I return it to LT3, I'll ask about potential release dates, so hopefully I'll be able to get it into your hands soon.

February Goals: Results

2/29/2016

I didn't do too badly in February. I got a little off track with writing some new stuff, but overall I think I got a lot done. Here's how I did:

Editing. The first round of edits for Dragon Detective was returned to LT3. I received the second round of edits for Magnified too late in the month to finish by today, but I will have them done soon.
Supernatural Consultant. Dragon Soldier is complete and I've submitted it to LT3. Dragon Adventure and Dragon Home have both been submitted to LT3 as well. I hope to hear whether they like them soon. I've also poked at Dragon Spy at bit and it's coming along nicely. Alloy's first book also has a large chunk of planning completed, but I won't start writing it until Lumie's story is complete, which might require multiple books.
Justified. I have completely edited and formatted Justified and I'm really happy with it. I'm in a bit of a conundrum about whether to submit it and could use some advice.
Writing. I did a lot of writing this month, although not exactly in the stories I had hoped to focus on. My Coliseum story is starting to come along and I've resurrected an old story about an incubus called Ink. Both are very interesting to write, and I didn't mind working on them, but I would have preferred to focus on my works in progress instead of starting something new. Still, I can't complain about writing no matter what the story.