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Melanie Tays

Author of young adult novels

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Melanie Tays

Confessions of an Author (Secret Novel)

June 12, 2024 by Melanie Tays Leave a Comment

So, I have a few confessions to make:

  1. I wrote a new novel
  2. No, it’s not the one I’ve been talking about
  3. It’s in a totally new genre
  4. I’ve already started querying agents

About 2 months ago (April 18th to be exact), an errant thought crossed my mind for a story, which is not uncommon. But this thought just kept going and going and a whole psychological thriller started to unveil itself in my head. That same day, I started writing, and it came together more seamlessly than any novel I’ve ever written.

I told almost no one I was working on this novel until it was all done. But within 4 weeks, almost to the day, I had a completed 77K word manuscript. I found some beta readers and spent a few more weeks editing. Now, after only 56 days, I find myself ready to start querying agents. That’s right, I’m planning to traditionally publish this one.

About the novel:

GETAWAY is a face-paced, woman’s fiction, psychological thriller. Evelyn Ashcroft, a former nurse turned stay-at-home mom for complicated reasons, has her carefully managed life upended when her college ex, Dustin Cole, suddenly contacts her after fifteen years. Before she knows it, FBI agents are at her door, and she’s thrust into an undercover operation with the last person she ever wanted to see again. It was only supposed to be one evening, but soon she and Dustin are on the run from a dangerous crime ring.

Confined for days in a safe house with Dustin, Evelyn is forced to confront her past while unraveling the truth behind their forced reunion. She has something that dangerous people want, and they’re willing to go to extreme lengths to get it. No one can be trusted—especially her seemingly-perfect husband, Grayson, who has clearly been plotting something.

I know this is a different genre than the YA dystopian I have previously published, but I’m pretty excited about it. I had so much fun writing this novel, and I have some killer ideas for more books I’m now dying to write. I’m hoping many of my readers will come along with me on as I navigate this new journey into traditional publishing and adult fiction.

I’ll still be writing YA sci-fi, too. I’m so exited to see this new journey unfold.

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, News and Updates Tagged With: Getaway

Wall of Fire Goes Wide

March 1, 2024 by Melanie Tays Leave a Comment

I’m excited to announce that Wall of Fire has broken free and is now everywhere. What exactly am I talking about? Well, up until just a few weeks ago, the eBooks for the entire Wall of Fire series were contractually locked into Amazon exclusively. But now, they’re available just about everywhere you could wish to look for books (including most book retailers and many library apps). To celebrate this new found freedom for my books, I’ve temporarily set Wall of Fire to FREE across all the platforms, so you can grab the first book of the series and jump right in.

Check out all the stores where you can find them here, or open your library app and browse for them there.

Now I have to ask favor that’s pretty simple, but HUGE for me. If you’ve read any of the Wall of Fire novels, can you take a quick minute to post a review on one or two of the new sites where it’s now available? You can even copy and paste an old review from Amazon or Goodreads if you’ve reviewed it there in the past.

I can’t tell you how much this would mean to me, and what an impact it has on helping other readers discover this fun, exciting, YA dystopian series.

Click here to quickly and easily find the books on all the stores. 

Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: Updates, Wall of Fire

New YA Novel is in the Works

September 5, 2023 by Melanie Tays Leave a Comment

I’ve been working away at my upcoming novel and series starter, Empowered. This is a YA sci-fi, dystopia with superpowers. It’s been so much fun to work on, with lots of surprises along the way.

It takes place in a futuristic dystopian society where a certain subset of the population (our heroine, Tori, included) has the potential to develop supernatural powers. Complicate this scenario with a web of deception, inter-dimensional travel, and Tori’s complicated relationship with her longtime best friend, Wes.

I am very much a discovery writer. No matter how hard I try to outline and plan ahead, so much of my book has to be worked out in the trenches of the pages. It can be frustrating and mean A LOT of deleted words throughout the process (like hundreds of thousands of words). But it’s also so awesome when it all finally clicks into place and I get to discover my own story, finally.

This world and story is the conglomeration of ideas that have been rattling around in my head, some for as long as thirteen years. There are even elements of an unplublished novel and a very different short story I wrote over a decade ago. I never would have thought they had anything to do with each other at the time, nor a dozen other intriguing ideas I’ve played with in my head and on the page for a couple of years now. So to see it all clicking and so many elements finally fitting perfectly to make an epic sci-fi, dystopian adventure is truly exciting.

Make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter to get all the latest new and updates. Newsletter subscribers get behind-the-scenes details no one else sees.

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, News and Updates, Writing Tagged With: Empowered, Updates

Life Update – Yikes!

March 4, 2023 by Melanie Tays Leave a Comment

Life around here has been a bit chaotic the last few months as I’ve been dealing with some family challenges that have required a lot of time and attention. We’re also in the process of moving, and as you read this I’m probably loading boxes. None of this was expected, and while I’m hopeful that these will be good changes long-term for our family, it’s put a big strain on us in the near term. 

All that being said, I’m sad to say that my newest novel and series starter (which will probably be titled Empowered) is temporarily on hold. I just can’t wrap my head around preparing a book for release or moving forward with the rest of the series just yet. Once I get life back under some semblance of control, then I’ll also be picking up the book again. I’m so sorry to everyone who has been anxiously awaiting news on this book. I know it’s been slow, but it is still coming.

Make sure you’re subscribed to my email newsletter for updates.

Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: Empowered, Updates

Celebrate with Me

May 18, 2022 by Melanie Tays Leave a Comment

Melanie Tays

I love May because it’s springtime, and it’s the month I was born. Around our house, celebrating birthdays tends to spread out at least a few weeks and sometimes the whole month. This tradition came from my husband, but my kids especially have really picked up on it. My birthday isn’t actually until the 29th, but I did enjoy heading off to a Coldplay concert last Thursday night with some friends and then sleeping in the next morning while my husband got up and got the kids ready for school for me (you know, because it’s my birthday this month).

But it’s no good for me to have all the fun and get all the gifts, so I’ve decided to give away my entire Wall of Fire series (all 4 books) in PAPERBACK to a lucky winner. Click here to enter. There are lots of ways to enter, but you’ll get the most entries by referring friends. I know a lot of people are hesitant to refer friends to a giveaway because they don’t want to lower their own chances of winning, so I’ve decided to give away ANOTHER copy of the complete Wall of Fire series in paperback. If the winner was referred to the giveaway then they win AND the person who referred them also wins. So, the more friends who enter the giveaway through your social sharing links (which you’ll see as soon as you enter the giveaway) the better your chances are of winning.

Who am I kidding? I LOVE giving stuff away and I  LOVE when new people discover my books. So, if I’m being honest, this giveaway really is just another way for me to have fun for my birthday. But when it comes to fun, you know what they say: the more the merrier. So I hope you’ll join me, and I hope you win these awesome books!

Filed Under: Fun Stuff, News and Updates

Final Inferno – Bonus Wall of Fire Scenes

March 13, 2022 by Melanie Tays Leave a Comment

Just when you thought Wall of Fire was over with First Spark – think again.
 
Final Inferno is 4 chapters of never-before-released Wall of Fire awesomeness. It covers before, during and after the Iron Trial (the maze) from Eason’s perspective. See why he wasn’t ready to leave, why he pretended not to remember Emery, and what dangers he was secretly navigating.

This set of scenes is a lot of fun and should answer most questions people might still have after reading the series. I’m super excited to share it with you today!

Grab your free copy of Final Inferno here.

Filed Under: Fun Stuff, News and Updates Tagged With: Wall of Fire

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