The Home for Mell Eight's Original Fiction

Mell Eight is an author of LBTQIA original fiction, primarily M/M. 
If that is not your thing, hit the back button, otherwise welcome and enjoy! 

Out Now:

Justified
August 9, 2017

Coming Soon:

Dragon Lesson
October 11, 2017

Current Projects:

  • Ge-Mi: Part Two
  • Fairy Tales
  • The Case of the Hopping Hare
  • The Coup and the Prince
      --Editing

Submitted Projects:

  • Kelpie Blue -- Accepted
  • Hadash Aviv -- Accepted
  • Ground of Insurrection
    -- Accepted
  • If A Butterfly Don't Fly
        --Accepted

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I have been working with Less Than Three Press since December 2011.
Supernatural Consultant Volume One received this award.
Hadash Aviv was Nominated!

News:
9/9/17
  • The short answer is, unfortunately, nothing.  I don't have writer's block, it's just for some reason I am much more interested in reading books than I am in writing them.  This happens to me on occasion and I can't complain because if I don't read what I love, how can I write it?  Still, I wouldn't mind having the urge to keep working on my stories. 

  • I did have a lot of success last week with writing.  I started and completed a short fairy tale to add to the group of tales I'm putting together.  It was totally unplanned, but I kind of love the story.  It's based off of Cinderella and I'm tentatively calling it Happily Ever After.  Of course, this brings my total of fairy tale stories up to seven, which isn't a good number for me.  I'll need to write another one for obvious reasons, but before that I would like to finish some of the others. 

  • I did write another 1k words in The Red Apple Witch after I finished Happily Ever After.  The Red Apple Witch is almost complete.  I have one more battle to write, the true love's first kiss scene, and then the final wrap up.  The story has been planned out for years and I'm really hoping that this year is the one I finally finish it. 

  • That leaves my fairy tale stories with a lot to do.  A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes still needs a new title and a lot of writing.  I have been thinking about how to rework the issues in Thunderbird, but I haven't actually written it yet.  I need to write the eighth story for which I have a tentative idea that still needs more fleshing out.  And then I need to go through and edit Cinder-Elle and Cleanly Wrong, which I will be resubmitting as part of this group.  It's a lot to get completed, but there's no due date so I am happy with every bit closer to completion I get. 
8/28/17
  • LT3 has accepted Ground of Insurrection and If A Butterfly Don't Fly!  Both contracts are in the mail, which means both stories are starting their journey to being published.  I am so excited! 
     
  • Ground of Insurrection marks the beginning of a new series, although I don't think it will be a long one.  Right now I am working on the sequel, Ground of Resurrection, but don't have any additional plans for more books.  The series is set in a high fantasy world that is definitely one of the stranger ones I've come up with.  It was fun to write, so I'm hoping the editing process goes smoothly and you all will have it in your hands soon. 
     
  • If A Butterfly Don't Fly is a completely different type of story.  It's paranormal fantasy like Kelpie Blue (book one in the series), but it goes into a world that is also stereotypically high fantasy.  Readers will want to have read Kelpie Blue first before delving into Butterfly, but I promise you all will love Kelpie Blue so that isn't exactly a hardship. 
     
  • I will let you all know about release dates for both those books, as well as the two previously accepted books I haven't heard dates for just yet, the second I learn them.  Until then, you can always read Justified, which was released just a few weeks ago, and Dragon Lesson, which will be coming out in a few short weeks. 
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. 
8/12/17
  • After conferring with all of you, and emailing back and forth with LT3, the new title that will replace Dragon Spy has been decided.  There were a number of considerations that went into it, including how well the new title flowed off the tongue and how many previous titles had the same initials.  We decided against Dragon School because it doesn't really flow all that well and said no to Dragon Direction because there are already so many stories that are DD.  In the end we went with my first instinct and I am quite happy with it. 

    What do you all think about Dragon Lesson? 

  • I have just finished the first round of edits for Dragon Lesson.  They're going back to the editor for a second round, since I rewrote a couple scenes that need to be looked over.  Now that those edits are done, I need to decide which of my completed stories--If A Butterfly Don't Fly or The Coup and the Prince--I want to get ready for submission first.  Unless the edits for Kelpie Blue suddenly appear in my inbox (which, since I don't have a release date for it to plan myself around, that could happen), I should have a few weeks without edits to focus on lots of other things. 

  • Dragon Lesson is available for pre-order at LT3.  You can get it for a 15% discount if you buy before October 11, 2017.  You can also add Dragon Lesson to your to-read list on Goodreads in preparation for October.  It feels like a long way away, but October will be here before we know it. 
8/9/17
8/5/17
  • These last two weeks have been very interesting.  Last week my family and I went to the beach for the entire week.  I spent quite a few hours sitting in a chair, my feet buried in the sand, the sound of the surf in my ears, and a book in my hands.  Needless to say, I didn't get much editing done.  I had hoped to make up for that this week, but then something outside bloomed.  When my allergies get really bad I start wheezing and my sinuses fill up.  I end up with tightness in my lungs and a sinus migraine.  In addition to the fact that I'm not breathing spectacularly well and am coughing to make up for it, the pain in my head is horrible.  Plus, I get light sensitive with vertigo.  Looking at a computer screen has been almost impossible.  The only solution is Benadryl as painkillers don't touch it, so I've basically spent most of this week either suffering at work or asleep at home. 

  • Given the fact that Justified comes out next week, I knew I had to suck it up and get the copy edits completed.  I somehow managed it and Justified is now ready to go.  Make sure you get your copy for a 15% discount before Justified comes out on August 9th. 

  • I haven't finished the edits for Dragon Spy, which is a problem.  If my head behaves, I would like to spend the rest of this weekend working on them.  I need to get the edits back to LT3 asap as we're beginning to run short on time.  I think I've settled on Dragon School as the new title, but I want to run it by the editor first before I make a decision. 

  • You can probably guess how well the editing is going for the two stories I've completed and want to submit to LT3.  I haven't touched them, but I have been thinking.  I don't want If A Butterfly Don't Fly to come out too close to Kelpie Blue, the prequel.  I don't have a release date for Kelpie Blue yet, but I know I want to give at least six months of space between the two stories.  If I submit The Coup and the Prince first (and LT3 accepts it), that will increase the amount of space.  It really depends on how the last bit of editing goes for both stories, which I can't start until after Spy is back with LT3.