Ask the Author: Melissa Mitchell
Answered Questions (5)
Melissa Mitchell
So the entire series is about Mina and Rixon for all three trilogies. Just different adventures for them. Each trilogy is a new leg of their life/adventure. The fourth book is “Witch’s Ruin” not Wielder’s Ruin :)
Books 1-3: journey to rockfall and defeating demons in rockfall
Books 4-6: journey to the capital to face the king and problems agains the kingdom.
Books 7-9: undecided but maybe centered around the citadel
Hope that makes sense!
Books 1-3: journey to rockfall and defeating demons in rockfall
Books 4-6: journey to the capital to face the king and problems agains the kingdom.
Books 7-9: undecided but maybe centered around the citadel
Hope that makes sense!
Melissa Mitchell
I can see why this is confusing! I’m planning either 6 or 9 books. I’m releasing them as trilogy sets. I’m doing this for a very specific reason. Each trilogy spans an event and that event gets tied up at the end of the trilogy. Each trilogy follows the same characters. So, for the first trilogy, Rixon and Mina must make it to Rockfall and address / fix the demon issue plaguing the outpost. At the end, their task is done. That wraps up that trilogy of “Wielder’s _____” books. The next trilogy, with titles that follow “Witch’s ______ “ will be a new issue/adventure for them. These were originally going to be single books. Three total. But I decided to break each book into 3 novellas to make the reading experience different, so that each book could be read in a single sitting if a person wanted to, rather than a 150,000 monster. I haven’t decided 100% if I’ll be doing a 3rd trilogy. If I do, the titles will be “Demon’s _____” and will finish the series out at 9 books. So either 6 or 9 depending on how the next two go. But the overall umbrella is the “Lady Witch Series” Anyway, hope that answers your question :)
Melissa Mitchell
While I have a couple ideas I’d like to explore, I haven’t had a chance to plot them out. I’m hoping I get some down time between book 3 and 4 or perhaps book 4 where I can write another one. So perhaps late next year (2022?)
Melissa Mitchell
Hi Alison! Great question. I've been asking myself the same question for years, and the answer is YES! Last year I got to thinking, "How can I incorporate "light" into my writing, since light is something I work with on a regular basis?" After all, much of my degree centered around light manipulation. I came up with the idea for a new book trilogy, the first of which has a working title of "The Color of Light." This is fantasy-steampunk story based in a Victorian-esk fantasy world. Light is used as the means of magic, where different wavelengths of light have various amount of power. So Red, Orange, Yellow would be less powerful than colors like Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. The country is named "Candela" which is actually a unit of measurement. Tabby's sidekick is named "Nit" (another unit of measurement) and the city where most of the action takes place is named "Chroma." Tabby, our MC, is a "Spect" which is basically a secret agent of the "Spectrum." The Spectrum is a guild of assassins doing the crown's dirty buisness. One of the interesting things about this world are the "prisms" and "prism tech" where prisms are the means for power. Prisms can be incorporated into machines formerly powered by steam, and the color emitted by the prism would then power the machine. Those who build these machines are called "Lumineers" :) So basically, i've taken a lot of light terminology that I deal with on a regular basis, as well as some of the physics of light, to create the magic and technological system. It's still a fantasy, so of course much of the ideas are "fantasy-based" since prisms would never really be able to power machines. But it's fun! I've gotten the full outline done, as well as the first few chapters. Hoping to have it totally finished by the end of the year so I can submit it for queries. Thanks for asking!
Melissa Mitchell
Writer’s block is a tough animal to befriend. I have a number of ways I deal with it. First, inspiration is key. Usually if you are having writer’s block, it is because you don’t have enough inspiration for what you are writing, be it a new chapter, a set of dialogue, or a short scene. I call upon various ways to inspire myself. One of these inspiring facets is music. I really connect to music. Listening to movie music especially helps me, because it calls various emotions to my surface. Another way I battle writer’s block is reading. If i’m stuck in a certain point of my writing, I pull up a book i’m reading and let myself get lost in the story. Sometimes when you think too hard about something, you end up building a brick wall in your mind, and nothing is going to get through. Better to just distract yourself for a little while. Another way is to just write something. Sometimes we think that what we write must be the perfect piece, a final draft. In reality, if you just start writing something you know probably will not make it to your final draft, something silly and unrealistic for your story, a starting point, you’ll find that the creative juices just start flowing without even realizing it. Finally, having a good plan is key. Make sure you outline the scene, dialogue, or chapter you are writing. List out bullet points of important information that you want to convey. List out bullet points of the details you want to include, be it setting details, character descriptions, etc. Usually if you have a good plan laid out, and you expand upon it, you’ll be writing before you realize you’ve tricked yourself out of writer’s block. Hope that helps!
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