Hello Friend!
I hope the new year is treating you well! February is wrapping up, and it’s hard to believe we’re already two months down in 2021. I set some rigorous goals for this year centered around writing, reading, health, and personal growth. I’ve been pushing hard towards each one. I've organized this email so you can glance through the topics you're most interested in.
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💫 Communication: I’ve set a newsletter schedule of once every two months. That means you’ll be hearing from me at the end of February, April, June, August, October, and December. In these updates, I’ll include progress on my book projects, any new useful blog posts, and a smattering of life updates.
💫 Blog: Most of my blogs are centered around book reviews. If you’re interested in new reads, this is a great place to flip through some of the books I’ve recently read. I rate every book on a 5-star scale. I’ll list out four of my favorite reads from the past two months at the bottom of this email with links to my reviews.
Recently, I wrote a blog on my favorite books for writing. This blog is ideal for new or aspiring writers looking for reading recommendations to expand their craft. You can check it out here or click the image at the bottom:
https://www.authormelissamitchell.com/single-post/aspiring-writer-book-recommendations
💫 Writing: I wrapped up my first draft for my assassin steampunk series at the end of NaNoWriMo in November and took a few weeks off during the holidays. At the start of the new year, I dove head-first into content edits on Verath the Red. Content edits are rough. It requires me to go through and address content, delete scenes, add scenes, flip paragraphs around. All in the effort to keep the story flowing smoothly. I’m currently 2/3 of the way done with this. After that, VtR will require some read-throughs and copy edits. I’ve also started outlining book 4 titled, Koldis the Green. The outline is still pretty sparse. I need to fill it out, work out details in the magic system, etc. I’m hoping to start writing it in April at a snail’s pace of 1 chapter per week.
💫 Publication: I’m pushing hard to get Verath the Red published and available world-wide early fall. Ideally sometime between September-October 2021. This will all depend on how edits go. Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements.Koldis the Green: I’m planning to reveal the cover for Koldis the Green in the next newsletter. So, the end of April. At one chapter per week, I MIGHT be able to start posting 1st draft chapters on Wattpad as early as June. No promises though. I don’t like to hold myself to a difficult obligation. Already got enough of those in my life!
💫 Social Media: This year marks my 1-year-anniversary as a “bookstagrammer” on Instagram. It’s become a serious “hobby” of mine. I adore books, taking photos of books, talking about books, collecting books, and sharing new books with others. So I’ve crafted my Instagram platform to center around this. You can always follow me to learn what I’m up to, what I’m reading, and what my favorites are. There's a link at the top of this email, or type in my handle: @melissa.nicole.mitchell
💫 Personal life: I’ve been living my best life. Working from home took a solid 6-8 months to adjust to. I finally feel like I’ve struck a good balance between work, writing, reading, other hobbies like bullet journaling, and my personal life. I keep pretty busy, taking advantage of every spare weekend minute, but I make sure to give myself down time when needed. It’s always important to listen to your body and give yourself the time needed to relax and heal. I’ve been taking walks every day unless it rains, giving myself some quiet time each afternoon, and trying to eat better. Currently, my husband and I are working our way through all 8 seasons of Vampire Diaries. We watch one episode together each night, and it's so much fun.
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Well, that’s about it from me for now. My favorite reads from the last two months can be found below, and many more over on my blog. Thank you all for your continued support and patience as I get my next Dragonwall installment completed.
All my best,
Melissa
Book Recs:
