3/11/22
I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. It's also been a while since I had a book come out! Let me fill everyone in: NSP is reorganizing their release schedule to provide dates that allow for more promotion and such. During that process, my last few reprints were shuffled around, and got bumped from their original proposed release dates. The new process is once a book has completed copy edits, it will be added to a schedule, and only then will I know a tentative release date. I have just finished a ton of copy edits, so I'm hopeful my next post will have a bunch of information on when they'll be available for purchase. For now, here's where all of my books that NSP has accepted for publishing stand: Books with completed copy edits right now include:
I expect to have more information to share on all those stories really soon. On a happier note, I have been writing a bit. Mostly in drips and drabs. I've been so busy with real life (and copy edits) that squeezing writing in continues to be an adventure. However, as you can see from above, I am almost done with all the reprints, which means I will definitely be able to return to writing really soon!
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1/23/22
Two years of pounding out reprints, desperately trying to ensure my readers don't miss out on any of my books all while working a full time job, has taken its toll. I'm definitely feeling the burn out. It's not just that I haven't been able to write nearly as much as I would like; I've also not been posting on my blog as much either. I truly enjoy interacting with my readers, but it has been months since I had the time or energy to put together something and post it. With all that said, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Just last week the final book in my Dragon's Hoard series, Melting the Ice Witch, was re-released. The only series yet to be reprinted is my Oracle series, and The Oracle's Flame, book one, should be arriving really soon (release date to come). In fact, my editor and I are already working on The Oracle's Sprite, book four, which means there is only one more reprint after that! Now is the time to start looking toward the future and what's next for my writing. Right now, I have two brand new books accepted for publishing at NSP: The Oracle's Current, the sixth and final book of my Oracle series, and Coven, the first book in my Witch's Circle trilogy. In addition to that, Hunter and Witch, the latter two books in that series, are ready for submission as soon as NSP is ready. I also have a fairy tale I'd like to submit to NSP's "Shorts" collection, but am waiting for my editor to have time to breathe before I send her that too. 2022 is therefore set in terms of what books will likely come out. My focus therefore must be getting books ready for 2023. That sounds like a long way off, but in the publishing world it really isn't. Over the last few weeks I've written small bits in Codified and Dragon Spy, and the aforementioned fairy tale will be part of a new collection I'm also working on. I can't make any promises as to what I might finish next, but I am looking forward to being done with reprints so I can focus exclusively on my new stuff, and can write blog posts about it much more often. 10/31/21
This is my second Halloween in my new house. The first one was a bust thanks to COVID, but this year trick or treating isn't cancelled. I'm hopeful I'll get a few, although that depends on whether it ever stops raining. I'm not into scary movies, but I watched Muppet's Haunted Mansion so I've done my due diligence for Halloween fun. I'm going to watch football the rest of today and root for my fantasy team members, and hopefully get a bit more writing done. Shiver and Quiver, my current story from my new fairy tale project is almost complete. I have to tie together the last scene in the final chapter and then write a quick epilogue. And then it's done! I haven't decided whether I'm going to save it for inclusion in another anthology or submit it as a stand alone, but I've got a while before I need to make a decision. Once it's done, I'm going to set it aside for a month or so before giving it an edit and then I'll start thinking about the next steps for this story. I finished the second round of edits for Melting the Ice Witch, the fourth and final book in my Dragon's Hoard series. I have fallen in love with this series again as I've been reading through each book, so I'm really glad it will be completely re-released soon. Melting is currently scheduled for a January release, but first is everyone's favorite baby dragon, Tori, as Stealing the Dragon comes out in December. Don't forget Road to Home is available for pre-order at NSP. It comes out on November 9th, but you can get it three days earlier at NSP. 10/18/21
When my alarm goes off in the morning, the sun isn't even close to rising. It's still warm enough during the day that I don't need a coat if I'm wearing long sleeves, but I can't keep the windows in my house open for too long. And yet, the leaves aren't changing quite yet. It's an odd time of year, but I love it. Somehow that anticipation always leads to more interest in writing. I've made some progress on a couple of different stories. The most progress was with Shiver and Quiver, the new fairy tale I've been working on. It's reached 20k words, which is a lot for this type of story from me, but I think it's still got approximately 10k more to go. Because it's so long, I'm oscillating on whether to include it in a new anthology or make it a stand alone. I love how A Little Fairy Dust came out, so I was hoping to do that with Shiver and Quiver, but none of the stories in Fairy Dust were nearly so long. I guess it depends on how the rest of the anthology forms up, but I'll definitely keep everyone in the loop regarding where this story is headed. I also pulled out and dusted off The Case of the Wandering Wolves. I hadn't bothered to submit it for republishing because it was so short, but I added a 2k short story/epilogue to it and now it's ready to go. When am I going to send it in to NSP? Good question. NSP is doing some reorganizing of their release dates right now. Until I know how the rest of my submitted stories are going to fall, I've held off on submitting anything else new. Hunter and Witch from my Witch's Circle series are both complete and ready for submission, which brings my total to three stories I'm currently sitting on. I'm hoping to get all three in to NSP sometime within the next month or so. Aside from that, I've mostly been editing. We've just started working on the first round for Melting the Ice Witch, the fourth and final book in my Dragon's Hoard series. Stealing the Dragon, the third book, and Road to Home, the second story in my Road To duology are finished with copy edits. I'm well on my way into 2022 for my releases, and I know we will be completed with reprints very soon! 9/15/21
The incessant editing is finally starting to slow down now that more of my books have been re-released, which means I actually have time to focus on my writing. It's a very nice change, and it's really making me look forward to when the reprinting process is done and I can return to a more normal writing schedule. I was able to complete Witch, the third and final book in my Witch's Circle trilogy. The original epilogue grew too large, so I turned it into another chapter instead. That meant when I started working on the new epilogue, I was able to keep it short and sweet. Witch will now sit for a while to marinate, after which I will give it an edit and format it for publishing. Hunter, the second book in the trilogy, is ready to be submitted to NSP. As soon as I have a free moment I will send it in for consideration, however my schedule for the next few weeks is insane so that probably won't be until October at the earliest. Given the first book in the trilogy, Coven, won't be available until mid to late 2022, I'm not in a rush to get the last two books submitted. I added a large chunk to Dragon Spy as well. I was finally able to get two of the main players to meet, which means the drama can really begin. Spy has a long way to go, but it's been so long since I was able to work on it I'm taking even this little bit of progress as a victory. I have decided to trim it down to two points of view, instead of the three the original outline had, which makes it flow a lot better. You'll hear from Nickel and Alloy, and it's Alloy whom I'm going to put through the ringer. Nickel's POV is needed to help with the overall plot, and he'll have an adventure of his own, but poor Alloy's story is going to be center stage. The only other book on my active to-do list is Shiver and Quiver from my new attempt at a fairy tale anthology. The entire story is plotted out, I just have to find the time to write it. It's growing in bits and pieces and I'm probably about halfway through, but it's still going to take a bit more time. Once this story is complete, I'll get to work on the second story in the group, but, as I said in an earlier post, it will very likely be years before this anthology is done and in your hands. For anyone who celebrates Yom Kippur, I hope you have a g'mar chatima tova, a good and meaningful fast. 7/17/21
Coven, the first book in my Witch's Circle series, was accepted for publishing at NSP! We haven't officially signed the contract, but I'm super excited. By the time Coven is released (best guesstimate is the end of 2022), I will be done with reprints. I can't wait to return to a more normal writing and publishing schedule, and Coven is the first step in that process. Hunter, the second book in the series, is also completely written. I was in the process of giving it one last edit before I format it for submission, but I had to pause temporarily because I received more edits. I hope to have Hunter submitted for consideration with NSP within the next few weeks. I am still writing Witch, the third book. I am stuck on the final sentence for the book, and then I have to write a quick epilogue, which I already have planned out. Hopefully I'll be done writing it soon! Unfortunately, that's it for the writing front. I haven't had time to work on anything else. June was incredibly busy both at work and in life, and I've spent the first half of July catching up on all the little things that fell by the wayside, i.e. laundry. The latter half of July is mostly open, so I hope to finish Witch and return to working on some of my other languishing works in progress. However, that depends on what edits I receive. I recently completed the second round of edits for Ground of Resurrection. That means editing for all my upcoming releases through October are in progress. I am waiting on edits from the proof reader and copy editor for all those books, which is a good sign they are on schedule for their respective release dates. Road to Home is currently scheduled for November, so I expect to start working on the first round of edits for that book soon. As long as the edits continue to go smoothly (and as long as my real life isn't too busy) I will hopefully be able to get in some writing time as well. Maybe by the end of 2022, my publishing life really will be back to normal! 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:
1/30/21
Every time I mention I'm having an issue with my house, someone invariably nods sagely and says "the joys of home ownership". Every time! I'm wavering on whether it's actually joyful. I bought a house because I couldn't stand to stay in my noisy, smelly, and annoying apartment, and I don't regret that decision at all. However, to date I have had to replace every single appliance in my kitchen, my furnace, my AC, and now my water heater. (Finding water leaking into my basement Wednesday morning was less than ideal.) I'm waiting for that moment where home ownership is stress free, when I can simply enjoy having my own space without worrying something else is going to go wrong. At this point, I don't think I'm going to reach that stage until after I've rebuilt the entire house from scratch, but one day I know I will achieve the elusive joy of home ownership. On a happier note, I have seen the first draft of the cover for Magnified. It blew me away! I can't wait to share it. Also, all the edits are done for Magnified, so it is completely ready to go for its March release. I have also completed the second round of edits for Wounded Alpha, so that's on pace for an April release. I haven't had much time for writing these past few weeks. My untitled Circle stories are still going well, which is nice, but I haven't had a moment to dig into any of my other works in progress. I am thinking of scraping the third book in my Wizard Wars series. I'm not sure the overarching story warrants a third book, and my efforts to force one to happen anyway aren't going well. Maybe that will change once the first two books are released again, but for now I'm setting it aside to focus on more pressing books. Now that my home ownership issues have (presumably) been solved, I plan to focus my free time on writing rather than on calling plumbers. Wish me luck! 1/15/21
The installers got to my house a little after eight this morning, worked all day, and by 4 PM I had a new furnace! Right now my house smells like whatever crud is burning off the new furnace, but that toasty marshmallow/acetone smell is still better than the burnt oil stench I've been enduring the last few months. Once everything is burnt off, I'm hoping I won't even notice when my furnace is on. I have received the first round of edits for Wounded Alpha. This is a brand new, never before published story, so I'm incredibly excited it's moving closer to being released! My amazing editor really likes the story too. I am hoping to finish this round of edits this weekend so the story can continue moving along in time for its April release date. I have also had a lot of success on the writing front. My witch/vampire/werewolf story is complete. It needs a lot of edits. I started writing the sequel, which is when I realized I needed to fix a couple of things in book one to ensure I had proper continuity. After I fix things in book one, I'm going to set it aside until the sequel is also done, just in case I find something else I want to change. At some point I will also have to come up with book and series titles, but for now I'm just going to enjoy writing again. 12/31/2020
I hope everyone has a very happy new year and I'm wishing you bright things to come in 2021! So far my writing in 2021 is looking good: For my upcoming books, A Little Fairy Dust will be released on the 4th (you can pre-order it HERE), Magnified is in excellent shape for a March re-release, and we have begun the first round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly, which is currently scheduled to come out in April. Once this first round of Butterfly is complete, I should receive edits for Wounded Alpha, which is also scheduled for April. This is excellent progress on both re-releases and for some brand new material! I am excited to continue moving forward with getting all of my old stories available again, but I'm also really happy to offer brand new books for my longtime readers. Right now I have three completely new books coming out in 2021: A Little Fairy Dust (which does reprint Cleanly Wrong and Cinder-Elle, but also has seven additional new stories), Wounded Alpha, and Ground of Resurrection in September. I am really hoping to fit in some writing in 2021 as well. I already know editing my re-releases will be a constant, just as it was in 2020, but I am going to try my best to try to continue to work on brand new books. I have made good progress on the start of my brand new (currently untitled) series about a witch having some difficulties with vampires and werewolves. I'm hoping to complete at least the first two books in that series over the next year. Of course, I also want to spend some time with Lumie (as his stories in Supernatural Consultant series aren't done yet), and I want to make progress on the third and final books of my Magnified, Out of Underhill, and Wizard Wars series. And now it's time to watch the ball drop and get 2021 started! |
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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