Category: - Mell Eight's Writing Blog

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.

The Oracle Series Flash Sale

4/23/2015

Today is the day for the Oracle Series flash sale as part of LT3's birthday party! The entire Oracle Series--The Oracle's Flame, The Oracle's Hatchling, and The Oracle's Golem--are all on sale for 50% off. If you're been waiting for the best moment to get your copy of any of those titles, now is that moment. Click here or on the covers below for more information about each story and for purchasing information.

Cover Reveal: The Oracle, Volume One

1/1/2015

The Oracle, Volume One is the print version of The Oracle Series. It will contain the first three books in the series: The Oracle's Flame, The Oracle's Hatchling, and The Oracle's Golem. It's yet another gorgeous addition to the covers for this series! As of this moment, the only information I have about this upcoming book is the cover and the fact that it actually exists. The second I learn more, including a release date, I will share it with you. Until then, please enjoy this beautiful cover!

2014 Goals Results

12/30/2014

One of the things I started doing in 2014 was posting my monthly goals. It's worked really well, so I figured I might try doing the same thing for the entire year. Here is how I did in 2014. Look for my 2015 goals to come out in a few days!

Book Releases:

Paint, Guns, Money, and Love came out in February and ran as a serial story with LT3. It came out in ebook and print few months later in June.
The Oracle's Hatchling, book two in The Oracle Series, came out in ebook in March.
Wings of the Stars, part of LT3's A Loose Screw collection, came out in ebook and print in April.
Heart's Tournament, part of LT3's Won't Back Down anthology, came out in ebook and print in May.
Heartbeat, part of LT3's Satisfaction Guaranteed anthology, came out in ebook and print in September.

Books Ready for Release:

Road to Home is edited and ready to to arrive in stores in January.
The Oracle's Golem, book three in The Oracle series, is also ready to be released in January.

Submitted Manuscripts:

The Oracle's Sprite, book four in The Oracle series, has been submitted to LT3.
Dragon Consultant, book one of my new Supernatural Consultant series, was also submitted to LT3.

Completed Manuscripts:

Thunderbird, my submission for LT3's Intertwined collection call, is back from a beta reader and almost ready to be submitted.
Ground of Insurrection, my submission for LT3's Devil's Land collection call, is in edits.
Dragon Deception, book two in my Supernatural Consultant series, is completed and in need of editing.
Magnified, the longest story I've ever written at 60k words, was also completed. I want to finish writing the sequel, Justified, before getting Magnified ready to submit.

Writing Progress:

Dragon Detective and Dragon Spy, the next books in my Supernatural Consultant series are growing daily.
The Oracle's (Water) and The Sentinel's Prophesy, the next books in The Oracle series, are also taking form.
Kelpie Blue wins the award for the most progress made this year. It's only reached 20k words, but it took the most research and planning of any of my stories to get there.

Other Accomplishments:

I started posting monthly goals to keep myself on task and have had a fair amount of success with it so far.
I created a monthly newsletter to help keep readers and fans informed.

News: The Oracle's Series is Growing

11/3/2014

11/3/14

The Oracle's Sprite is done! My November goal is complete!!! I've given it a quick read through and started formatting it for submission. The plan is to set it aside until December at which point I'll pull it back out for a more thorough edit. The Oracle's Sprite will be submitted to LT3 before the end of the year.
There's even more exciting news about The Oracle Series: the planning for the print versions is underway. You read that plural correctly! The Oracles Flame, The Oracle's Hatchling, and The Oracle's Golem will be in volume one. The Oracle's Sprite and The Oracle's (Water) will comprise volume two. I have no idea when volume one might be released, but I will let everyone know as soon as I learn more.
I hope everyone has had the chance to see the beautiful cover for The Oracle's Golem. If you missed that post, or if you want to see it again, go HERE to have a look.
Don't forget to pre-order your copy of The Oracle's Golem today. It's available for a 15% discount until January 20th. Road to Home is also available for pre-order. Don't miss out on these opportunities.

The Oracle Series: Progress Report

5/3/2014

I have been working on The Oracle Series for a year now. It's been a lot of fun creating the world of the Monastery and the magic of the Castes and the Dragons. Recently I've been trying to expand the world too. I've made a lot of progress and I thought I might share it with you:

The Oracle's Flame began as a story for an anthology call, but when LT3 asked me if it could be released as its own separate ebook I agreed. There was potential for a series there and I wanted to try writing it. This book introduced the world I was exploring and the magic of the Castes.

The Oracle's Hatchling added depth to the post-war world of the Kingdom of Altnoia. It also introduced some of the major issues plaguing the Monastery. It was a bridging book which ended the plot leftover from Flame and introduced the plot for the rest of the series.

The Oracle's Golem is the book I just finished writing. It tells the story of the Dragon of Earth, but it also shows a lot more of the Monastery than I've ever written before. There is some corruption that needs to be addressed as well. I think readers will really like learning more about the Monastery as a whole and about the difficult job the Oracle has. I don't want to give too much away, but I really enjoyed writing this book.

The Sentinel's Prophesy is a side story that I have just started writing. It is set in the world of the Sentinel, a man set to watch over an ancient evil so he's able to protect the world from it returning. The magical powers of his followers are affiliated with light and dark. Its been interesting playing with it so far. It is set at the same time as Golem and can be read before or afterwards without any spoilers, although I would suggest reading Flame and Hatchling first.

The Oracle's Sprite is the next book in the series. I'm currently planning it out in my head and I hope to start putting words to paper soon. This story will be focused on the Dragon of Air, but there will be a lot of flashbacks to the war in Altnoia that occurred between Flame and Hatchling. To those readers who complained that the fighting was missing, this story is why. I didn't want to ruin Sprite for you!

The Oracle's (Water) will be the last book in The Oracle Series. I've actually written the prologue for it because the story itself has a bit of overlap with Golem and I needed to get (Water) organized in order for the events in Golem to make sense. I won't start working on (Water) until Sprite is done.

The Sentinel's (Dark/Light) are two potential additional books I would like to write at some point as well. I barely have any plot planned for Prophesy and I have no idea what would go into either of these two books. I'm hoping something will come to me and these books will become a reality. Until then, they'll remain in my future maybe-to-write list.

So that's The Oracle Series in brief. If you want more information please head to the series page on my website or my current projects section. Or, you could always buy Flame and Hatchling and find out firsthand!

News:

3/10/2014

3/10/14

The Oracle's Hatchling is selling well and everyone I've heard from seems to really like it! Thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed.
The last three books in The Dragon's Hoard Series should be arriving in audiobook stores in just a few days. I'll keep everyone posted on when they come out!
LT3 has very kindly agreed to take on Third Time's The Charm. I'm very grateful for their help getting my short story ready for everyone to enjoy. Of course, they just sent me back some edits and at first glance it looks like I might end up rewriting the entire thing! The comments and suggestions are amazing and very detailed, which means I have a lot to do to get it fixed up. I'm looking forward to the challenge!
Kelpie Blue is really starting to take shape. I'm trying to figure out just how fast I want the romance to go, especially since there are going to be some time skips. I also need to solidify the overarching plot that will carry the story through to the end. I would say I've never worked on something this complicated before, but Magnified and If A Butterfly Don't Fly are both as challenging. I'm kicking myself a little bit for working on all three at the same time.
Riptide Publishing has posted new anthology prompts. Without an invitation or an agent, being accepted for an anthology call is the only way to become one of their authors. I have ideas for three or four of their calls so I'm going to give it a try! Keep an eye on my Current Projects section for all the info on what I'm working on. LT3 also has a new call out that I'm interested in writing for, so I have lots to work on! I really hope I can do it!

Out Now: The Oracle's Hatchling

3/5/2014

Ling is hated because his birth killed his mother. He hopes that testing will ease his troubles—either his rank will be so low that everyone forgets about him, or it will be so high they'll be forced to respect him. What he doesn't expect is to walk out of the testing chamber with an egg emblazoned on his back. Laughed out of the Monastery, Ling hides himself in Altnoia, where he becomes embroiled in a plot to overthrow King Edan and the Oracle who supports him.

The ringleader behind the plot is Prince Damarion, son of the evil despot who forced King Edan to flee in the first place—but his motives are not anything that Ling could have anticipated. Neither could he anticipate a friendship, or what that friendship could become, and the choices it would force him to make.

News: Coming Soon and Writing

2/28/2014

2/28/14

There's only a few more days left to preorder The Oracle's Hatchling. It comes out next week!
My next book to come out is Wings of the Stars, part of the Loose Screw anthology LT3 put together for their existing authors. I'm working on the copy edits right now, which is the last step in LT3's editing process. I expect it will be available for preorder in the next few weeks! Be sure to also check out all the other stories in the collection.
I'm still plugging away at all my stories. I'm trying to work out a timing issue in Kelpie Blue, so that story has stalled for the moment. Is it okay to jump an entire year in one chapter? I may have to add another chapter between what is currently planned for chapters two and three to make the time skip less jarring. I'm thinking of titling it, When Water Freezes and Kelpies Mope, but since I don't really have more plot than that title implies I can't say for certain how the story will work just yet.

I've also been working on If A Butterfly Don't Fly. It's a story with lots of bands and music, so I've been trying to figure out the lyrics for two songs. In My Truest Love, my last musically inclined story, I got away with snippets of lyrics from a chorus, an abbreviated song, or just a song title. If A Butterfly requires a full length song, which is darned hard to write!

Magnified is currently being stubborn. I think the muse in charge got offended that he was so rudely shoved aside by his brothers to make way for Out of Underhill. I'm not sure who the evil villain is just yet or what his/her motivations are, which makes it difficult to set up the foreshadowing I need. The romance portion of the book is starting to take shape, which is a plus, but it isn't quite enough to force the story to move forward.

Instead of working on The Oracle's Golem, I started writing book four. Book four doesn't have a title or more plot than just the prologue. It's also contingent on the ending of Golem, which I haven't written yet. Why it decided that now was a good time to pull my attention was beyond me. I'll get Golem finished soon, I hope. I know exactly how the book is supposed to go, so it's really a matter of finding the motivation to sit down and write it.