Just eight more days, and on November 27, 2019 my debut novel will be released. I’m excited and terrified at the same time. Here’s the pre-order link and blurb below:
Tilly Morgan and her four-legged companion, Kodiak, are just trying to survive the alien arrival. Two years ago, the visitors unleashed devastation—a world-wide EMP followed by a deadly virus that wiped out more than half of humanity.
Traversing the lonely landscape, she runs into an alien on patrol with one order: eradicate all human life. A mysterious, dark-haired stranger named Jareth comes to her aid, and she reluctantly allows him to join her quest to find her sister. He even persuades her to let the damaged alien tag along against her better judgment.
As her group travels the desolate world and inches closer to her goal, she’s forced to examine her unwanted feelings for Jareth and come to terms with her heart, even if the truth threatens to destroy her and everything she’s come to believe.
Yay! I finally got the okay to release the cover art for my novel that will be coming out in November (hopefully).
The publisher and artist did a fantastic job, and I couldn’t be happier. If you have a chance, check out DLG Publishing Partners on Facebook–or pull up their website–and show them some some love with the like button. They are hitting the ground running–and I hope they continue to grow.
Once I get a concrete release date, I’ll be back to share the information and link. In the meantime, I’ll be neck-deep in edits in an effort to meet that November release date.
My manuscript was picked up by a publishing company and I’ve signed the contract! All the waiting and worrying finally paid off. I’m not sure of the publishing date yet, as my editor still needs to get back to me with edits, but hopefully this year.
I’ve had several people ask how I was able to get a traditional publisher’s attention, and I really don’t have a trick. My journey in writing started years ago when I was a teen, but fell by the wayside over the years as I took care of my family.
In 2017, I began dabbling with writing once again. I wrote and illustrated a children’s series, self-published it on Amazon, and was content for a while. Earlier this year, though, the writing bug bit again.
On a whim, after taking a required English class for a degree plan, I decided to write for myself, and if others wanted to read my stories, that would be even better. The first couple of short stories were so-so. My daughter edited one and pushed me, pointing out the plot holes and shortcomings of the story. She’s a great editor, by the way, and doesn’t let too much bias get in the way, understanding what it takes to make a good story.
Anyhow, after writing my first novella, I decided to write a full novel for young adults. My passion is science fiction, and I’ve always loved to watch a relationship develop, so I melded both genres into one. After finishing the manuscript, I submitted it to two publishing houses and opted to sign with the current publishing house. Once I receive the okay, I’ll be posting links and information about the book.
Long story short, I didn’t use any tricks to get a publishing contract–I just got lucky. Considering I just recently started writing again, and the second manuscript I’d ever written was accepted by the second publisher, it was an incredible stroke of luck.
The only trick I can think of is this: don’t give up and keep submitting. Oh, and make sure you edit your baby over and over again. Trust me, if you think it’s ready, it’s not. I STILL find errors throughout each page.
Self-publishing several previous children’s books, I had no idea how intimidating the “real” publishing world is. From the query, the literary agents, the publishing companies, and then onward to the dreaded “wait-and-see if they’re interested in my manuscript” months, it feels…brutal. I’m still in that last phase of hurry up and wait, but I’m curious how many others out there feel the same angst every time they submit a manuscript? What do you do to pass the time, besides research and writing?
Two enemies unable to fight each other’s pull. Will love bind them to Heaven or curse them to Hell?
After being marked by his father and thrown into the land of Nod, Cain’s wrath and vengeance know no bounds.
Finding a tentative place in Lucifer’s army, Cain longs to become a dark angel, crash through the gates of Heaven, and deliver retribution.
Lucifer assures Cain he’ll finally earn long-coveted wings once Cain captures Phoebe–the only human immune to his mark and stirs emotion in his dark heart–if Cain can deliver her to Hell.
Torn between the burning hatred for his father and a consuming obsession for Phoebe, Cain is faced with an irreversible, life-shattering choice.
“You can’t help but feel for Cain as the book continues and you learn…
This book was so good that I couldn’t put it down. It’s sweet and there’s really no sex but it’s still so hot. Viktor is a cocky British rockstar working on getting his fame back on track. He’s been through rehab and dealing with his demons. He’s been clean and sober for two years but he’s arrogant as hell. When he meets Angela she puts him in his place and for the first time in his life he’s had to work for the cookie. Angela pushes him away but like the energizer bunny he keeps on coming for her. I thought for sure he was going to give up when her cat pissed on his designer boots, but no! I never laughed so hard. This story is so romantic and Viktor is grumpy and cantankerous and I just loved him. I gave this book five stars and I highly recommend…
Tilly Morgan and her four-legged companion, Kodiak, are just trying to survive the alien arrival. Two years ago, the visitors unleashed devastation—a world-wide EMP followed by a deadly virus that wiped out more than half of humanity.
Traversing the lonely landscape, she runs into an alien on patrol with one order: eradicate all human life. A mysterious, dark-haired stranger named Jareth comes to her aid, and she reluctantly allows him to join her quest to find her sister. He even persuades her to let the damaged alien tag along against her better judgment.
As her group travels the desolate world and inches closer to her goal, she’s forced to examine her unwanted feelings for Jareth and come to terms with her heart, even if the truth threatens to…
It’s only nine days until The Betrayer, Book 2 of the Baltin Trilogy, releases and I’m super stoked. It’s the follow-up to my debut novel, The Descendant, and I had even more fun writing the second story.
In the first book, I introduce Tilly Morgan and her lovable hound, Kodiak, to the reader and show the budding relationship between Tilly and Jareth. At the end of the story, the reader watches Tilly’s character beginning to grow and accepting the sudden twist thrown into her life involving Jareth.
In The Betrayer, the reader–just like Tilly–meets another alien race, the Henokans, who have pursued the Baltins and plan to make them pay for their crimes against both Henoka and Earth from the release of the Baltin plague. She’s brought underground to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and learns at least one large group of military survived the EMP and virus. She also discovers more information about the Baltin and Henokan war in the Trappist-1 system, and the bracelet Jareth gave her at the end of book one.
Balancing the relationship between Tilly and Rhys was a fun challenge, because even though Tilly’s in love with the scoundrel, Jareth (though she refuses to admit it to herself), the reader can see major differences between him and Rhys. Rhys is extremely likable even though he’s stern and strong. It’s these differences that shed light between Jareth’s character–who’s a bit of a bad boy with a dark side, and Rhys’s persona–who’s wholesome and gentle–that causes some angsty moments with Tilly’s psyche. Of course, Tilly’s adorable mutt, Kodiak, reappears in book two, complete with his normal antics. The dog is obsessed with food, let me tell you. He even gets to sit with her in a military cafeteria and eat out of his own bowl.
The reader is also introduced to a new protagonist, Colonel Robertson. His character was fun and therapeutic to write. I really wanted to kill him in several chapters. Haha. He’s one of those people who lusts for power, and doesn’t care who he has to stomp on to reach his end goal.
Currently, I’m about seventy-five thousand words into The Redeemer, which will be the final book of the trilogy. Then, I’ll start the prequel, which will follow Tilly for two years before The Descendant. It will be a true apocalyptic, alien invasion novel, and will demonstrate why Tilly hates being alone, why she’s a little more aggressive than your normal twenty-year-old, and how she came to have such a potty mouth.
Here are the links for the books. And please, if you enjoy the stories, consider leaving a review. As authors, we rely on ratings and reviews to help readers decide if our story is something they’d be interested in picking up.
Here’s a recent interview by AllAuthor.com. If you’re a writer, definitely look into this site. They have a lot of great tools for those of us who are either independent or who are published by smaller houses.
If you’d like to help this new author out, my debut novel’s cover art has been entered for allauthor.com’s January cover contest. I’d love to have your vote. There’s no sign up or need to give personal information–just a click on the book you choose.
Visit my Facebook page (facebook.com/melcriddell), let me know you voted, and I’ll enter your name into a random drawing on January 8 to receive a signed, first-edition copy mailed straight to your door.
The kind writers at Celthric have featured me, along with my debut novel, The Descendant, in an online interview. I had a lot of fun writing answers to the questions because the process encouraged me to really think about the origins and inspiration for the story. Not only did it make me ponder where it came from, but it also helped to elaborate on the themes of the book.
If you’re interested in Science Fiction Romance or Apocalyptic stories, feel free to check it out on Amazon, or borrow it from Kindle Unlimited at this link: https://amzn.to/2PDeCqx
Melissa Riddell 