10/20/23
Toss in a little magic, a bunch of political intrigue, a pair of twins and their love interests, and apparently you get a great story! At least, per the reviews I'm getting for Twin Elements. I'm so happy everyone seems to have enjoyed it! If you haven't gotten your copy yet, I posted a bunch of links HERE, but it's available at most major retailers. I have completed writing my story Soulbond, which I plan to submit to NSP for their internal Valentine's Day call. The story ended up being short and sweet, almost fairy tale style, with a strong emphasis on the magic and the romance. I really think you guys will like it! It's due to NSP in just a few weeks, so this is a bit of a rushed timeline for me. Normally when I complete a story I give it a quick edit before setting it aside for a minimum of six to ten weeks. This allows any nuances of what I meant to say versus what is actually on the page to fade from my memory, and when I return to the story I can be much more objective. Soulbond can only sit for about two weeks before I have to start editing or else I won't make the deadline. Luckily Soulbond is a short story, so I should be able to get it finished in time. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes! I have completed writing the epilogue for The Prince in my Princes of Toval series. which means this story is also done! I really, really like how this book turned out. The magic is advanced, the characters are dynamic, and I think I've pulled the romance in nicely. Especially in the epilogue, which is all about the romance. This weekend I am going to give The Prince a once-over to complete a basic edit, before setting it aside. Unlike Soulbond, The Prince will receive the full two months rest I prefer. I plan to pull it out again for a more in-depth edit sometime in the end of December or early January, and submit it to NSP for their consideration once it's ready. Keep an eye out on this blog around then if you want to know more! In between all that other writing, I've somehow found five minutes here and there to start writing the third book, The Spy. I'm maybe 500 words in, so it's not much, but it's a start that I think is very promising. The Spy is set a few years after The Prince concludes, with a totally new set of magic rules and a fun new plot. I expect this will be the final book in the series, as it finally ties together the last loose ends from The Chef (book one). Also, Vivary Tales has been mentally harassing me, begging to know when I can return to working on it. I chose to focus on The Chef (and the sequels) instead, as both books were too intricate to write simultaneously. Plots are percolating so I can't stay away from Vivary Tales too long. As soon as The Spy is done, I will have to return to Vivary Tales. That said, I don't actually know how long The Spy will be. I have two major plot points that need to be explored in separate, but interlinked, arcs. I'm going to aim for 50k words, hope I actually get to 60k, but be willing to settle for 40k if that's what the story calls for. As soon as I'm really able to start digging into the writing, I'll be able to make a better estimate.
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9/3/23
Twin Elements has a release date! October 17th! That's really soon, much sooner than I expected. I haven't seen a draft of the cover yet, which is a really big step in terms of getting this book ready for all of you to read. I therefore didn't expect to see a release date until November or even December. October 17th is a very pleasant surprise. I will let everyone know when Twin Elements is available for preorder and will definitely share the cover as soon as I get to see it myself. In more great news, as I promised, I took The Chef out of hibernation and gave it another read through. I fell in love with the story again as I was reading, and as I was editing I somehow managed to expand it just enough that it squeaked past 60k words, which was my minimum word count! The Chef is still my second longest story; Magnified is longer. However, I'm really, really happy with how The Chef turned out! So happy, in fact, I've gone ahead and submitted it to NSP for consideration. I don't expect to hear whether NSP says yes or no for a while, but I'm excited to move this story on to the next step. Writing for The Prince, the second book in my Princes of Toval series, is going really well. The new scenes I'm adding after getting my characters down from that cliff have really helped this story flow much better. I have resigned myself that this book will likely tap out at 50k words, rather than the 60k I originally wanted, but I think 10k words fewer is better than forcing this book to expand when it doesn't want to. That would make the story feel tough and stilted, rather than the fun flow I'm going for. I still have a lot left to write, but I'm hopeful this story will also be ready for submission before too long. Aside from that, I haven't done much else with my writing. I have started some planning for book three in Princes of Toval. I'm calling it The Spy. I know who the main characters are and have been figuring out some of the major plot points. The main conflict still needs some work, but overall this story is in good enough shape that I can start writing as soon as The Prince is complete. I also have a vague idea for a fourth book, but it's entirely dependent on one of the plot ideas for The Spy going well, so I make no promises just yet. 8/4/23
Happy August everyone! Summer is really flying by. The crazy humidity is finally taking a break, so the weather isn't too bad. To be honest, it feels like autumn, which makes me worry I'm in for another slam of crazy weather sometime soon. Summer, particularly a summer like this one has been, isn't going to go away easily. I'll enjoy this lovely break while it lasts. Has writing been going well? I really wish I had an answer to that question. I finished writing chapter 10 of The Prince today. It was longer than the word count I wanted, which is good, but I'm still behind on the overall word count for this story. I've reached the halfway point in the plot, where I finally get to pull all the threads I've been building together as we head to the final battle. I'm incredibly excited to write it, but I'm also aware I'm probably going to be about 10k words shorter in this book than in book one, The Chef. I'm hoping I get some inspiration that will allow me to expand somewhere, but the opportunities for that are dwindling the further I get into the story. Luckily, I really, really like how the story has turned out, so, length issues aside, I'm happy with it. I have figured out the major plot points in the third book, which I'm calling The Spy. I am currently planning for it to be half the length of the other two, but am open to it growing if the plot calls for it. I'm still thinking up my working blurb, so there's not much else to share just yet. First, I have to finish writing The Prince, of course, but I'm looking forward to starting this book too! I mentioned I had an idea for a dungeon-style story with dragons. I wanted to give the idea a go and wrote most of the prologue and some of the first chapter. I can already tell this story is going to be amazing. I have the main character fleshed out, the post-apocalyptic setting, and some of the plot, but I'm missing the main conflict. I plan to peck at this story when I need a break from The Prince, but until I get a better handle on the bigger picture this story is still just a dream. |
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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