Melissa Stone

@azuredragonpress.net

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Author, artist. Link tree: https://t.co/8XpZYOm3Gq

Path of the Warrior Melissa Stone
A paperback copy of "Murder Files" by J.R. Blackwood
Melissa is a master-level proofreader. She doesn’t just check for standard grammatical errors; she polishes the actual soul and rhythm of the prose. She caught subtle redundancies, visual echoes, and pacing bumps. If you need an editor who understands how to elevate a book to traditional, Big 5 publishing standards, Melissa is exactly who you want in your corner. Highly recommended.
The cover of Shattered Spirits by Cal Black
I managed to get some writing done this month, but nothing I can share just yet. It's a short story that will be part of an anthology I was invited to be part of.
I don't really do flash fiction, so here's some art instead.
“Pretty attack, but where were you aiming?” a voice asked from behind her. Zircon spun to face him. It was the same voice as before, but now Telarake could clearly tell he wasn’t human. While he could have passed for human, they didn’t have pointed ears, and purple was not one of their natural eye colours. His long, dark blue hair flowed around him as if stirred by a breeze. He wore a red jacket with purple shoulders and green trim over baggy green pants with purple cuffs. On his feet were plain brown flat shoes. “Who are you?” Zircon asked, xir voice hoarse as the strange man locked eyes with
I recently finished reading The Broken Sword by L.L. MacRae. It was a satisfying conclusion to her Dragon Spirits trilogy.
Dionne generally considers herself to be responsible. She gets her homework done on time and doesn't stay out too late. Badb tries to be responsible, but is often impulsive.
Badb likes to tell the story of the time her cousin thought she could fly by jumping off a stack of boxes, holding a blanket over her head. Dionne's favourite story is that she used to put her shoes at the front door, pointing to a spot in the house where she'd be hidding. Her dad would come home from work and find her. More often than not, her giggling gave her away first.
For beta readers, I look for familiarity with the genre more than anything else.
By the Power of Grayskull!: A phrase that activates the transformation or attack. Calling Your Attacks: Many Magical Girls shout out the names of their attacks. City of Adventure: The setting where a Magical Girl often lives. 11th-Hour Costume Change: Becoming a Magical Girl gives her a cool costume. Girls Love Stuffed Animals: You may find some in the main character's room. Growing Up Sucks: Common in some older series. Henshin Hero: A Magical Girl who transforms to use her powers.
Dionne's dad, Daniel Archer, pops up in the series from time to time. We also meet Hatemi's step-dad, Masaki Arai.
Kousei turned to Dionne. “Happy belated birthday!” “Thanks.” Dionne looked at her friends. “So that’s why you were there. You neglected to mention that part.” The two girls looked sheepish. “We were going to bring them by your place later today. We have them on us, but we wanted to see that mirror your grandma gave you and figured that would be an excuse to do so,” Hatemi explained. “You don’t have to come up with excuses; you guys know you’re always welcome at my place.” “What about me?” asked Kousei. “Am I always welcome?” “You don’t even know where I live.” “Well, no, but if I did, would I be welcome?” Dionne paused. “I guess so…” she said slowly.
I've DNFed books for unclear worldbuilding, boring plots, and bland characters.
I'm an overwriter. It's easier for me to cut content than to have to add things in.
I love maps. it doesn't matter to me how detailed they are, but I love them.
Before she or Hana could say anything, there was a distinct growl coming from behind Hatemi and Cory. Both girls turned to see what it was and then scrambled back a few steps when they saw Tigron. “You again!” Hatemi shouted, clutching at the front of her uniform. “Again?” Hana echoed. “You’ve seen him before?” She and Cory nodded. “Last night on our way to my place for supper. He attacked us at the train station.” “How did you escape?” Dionne asked. “That weird girl in the navy uniform saved us,” Cory lied.
Dionne has a fond memory of a family reunion they had in Jasper, Alberta. Badb is not particularly fond of her family, so she has few good memories where they're involved.
Saving the world is harder than homework. I thought of a really good one for SoD: H, but didn't write it down. Rookie mistake. Saving the world isn't just for teenagers.
I get a lot of inspiration from the media I consume (books, games, movies/TV). Sometimes, my husband or kids will say something that I have to put in my books. I have a small stash of lines I want to use.
My current autobuy authors: JCM Bearne Cheyenne Brammah Jacquelyn Hagen L.L. MacRae Michael R. Miller M.T. Zimny
A vukann shown with its humanoid form, egg, scale pattern, and typical colouration.
Badb shut the door firmly behind her and made her way to the bathroom, but detoured to the back door. It should have been locked, but Dreel knew better. He was one of the few civilians who knew her secret. As much as she wished he didn’t, it had come in handy to have a boss know that you sometimes had to step out, change your clothes, and help your friends save the city from the weird creatures that showed up from time to time. Such as now, she thought, squeezing her hand around the black pendant she always wore. She didn’t need the help of an item to facilitate the change, but she felt more at ease if she had it. In a flash, Badb Corby vanished, replaced by the sehashi known as Onyx. She felt the familiar surge of
Dionne would play as a ranger. Badb would create a rogue/bard multiclass.
Dionne enjoys being outside. Unless it's for gym class. Badb is more of the indoors-y type.
Dionne tends to be more on the serious side, but she enjoys language jokes and word play. Babd, on the other hand, likes to play pranks. To her, puns are the highest form of humour.
Hey there, I'm Melissa, and I'll be talking about Stars of Destiny. There are currently five books and a few more in the works. The MC of the currently published works is Dionne Archer. I'll also talk about Badb Corby from the in progress 'Stars of Destiny: Heart'.
I feel like if I have to explicitly say my dragons, I'm doing a bad job of saying just how much I love dragons.
I've been working on aspects of Keverynn since I was about 12-13. I'd jump at the chance to go visit.
Humans typically mark a grave with a stone carved with the deaceased's name, years of birth and death, and a short message. These stones are embedded in the ground at the head of the grave. The siathi cremate their dead. Ashes from the pyre are collected in a specially made urn and placed with the urns of past family members in a special vault.
Keverynn is presently dealing with its Fourth Darkrider Incursion. The year is 2256. War and disease go hand in hand, with people displaced from their homes and the improper--if any--disposal of the bodies left in its wake. Prior Incursions: 729-740, 1026-1029 2084-2087
The Atharian humans (Ashrinn, Asharos, et all) believe that, after death, their souls are sorted and sent to one of two locations: Jannat or Jahnaman. While neither location is precisely a heaven or hell, Jannat is the preferrable destination. They believe that the balance of one's deeds in conjunction with their behaviour detemines one's eternal home.
Ashrinn is no stranger to death. Prior to the events of Path of the Warrior, she dealt with the death of her favourite aunt. Her job as an agent puts her around death more often than she'd like, and once she started working with the Azure Coterie, that has become increasingly frequent.
The chume'taly wear a shade of green that is nearly black as their mourning color. The body is cleaned, prepared, and dressed in finery and laid out on display for three days before being interred at the base of a tree or in a grove. It is believed that doing so allows the spirit of the deceased to permeate into the wood. Funeral trees are never cut.
Nightrunner is a female ivenkli who is the patron of death. Krillinn is the god of the afterlife and is most often portrayed as human. The emblem of death combines both of their sigils. Left: Nightrunner Right: Krillinn
Death is a thing universally mourned, particularly among the longer-lived races of Keverynn. The universal emblem of death takes on many forms, but this is the most common.
image is of a digital coupon from No Frills. Text reads: No Frills Exclusive 1000 points For every purchase of no name Cow Manure 12.5 kg.
Couples most often buy or build a home of their own. They begin this process during the engagement phase of their relationship, moving in together after marriage. The eldest child is expected to take care of their parents in their senior years. Most children continue to live with their parents until they get married. It is unusual for them to go off on their own.
While their relationship isn't officially declared in the books, Dragonlord Deiwynn eir Valaha is married to a dragonrider named Anturamiyann. Their early relationship is detailed in Exile's Song.
Ashrinn isn't married, but she ound up inadvertently Bonding to a siathi named Anghiel in a bit of magic gone wrong. She had never wanted marriage, but now she's having to navigate a permanant link to what is essentially an alien man.
In most marriages, children are the understood and expected outcome of a marriage. Until such a time--if that's even what a couple wants--it is expected that both parties share the load of running a household. How they determine who is responsible for what is ultimately up to them.
Siathi marriages are a civil institution and are usually simple affairs. Services are performed either in private with a few witnesses or in public with lots of people in attendance. For wolflings, marriage isn't seen as a long-term thing. Couples come together for a variety of reasons, but it's generally understood that children are the end goal.
Magic has been out of practice for over a thousand years. Siathi Tower Masters and a few enclaves of wolflings are the only ones with any skill left. The siathi towers have built-in enchantments that enable communication between towers. No one knows how this was accomplished, let alone how to replicate it.
Siathi like to stand at least an arm’s length apart when speaking. Any closer and it makes them uncomfortable. They often dislike talking to humans, as they tend to stand much too close. Showing the back of a closed fist to a siathi is asking for trouble, as it's very aggressive. When passing something to another, they always use both hands as an added level of sincerity. To do otherwise is disrespectful and can be perceived as a grave insult.
There are several characters who can speak multiple languages. This doesn't include people who know and use words from other languages. Kolashti, a wolfling elder, speaks Bach'ai, her native language, and has limited fluency in Venlevi. The siathi Tower Masters are fluent in Venlevi as well as their native Doshann.
How trustworthy the news is really depends on who you ask. There are always those who think the people responsible for putting out the broadsheets are hiding things. Most large towns and cities have broadsheets available for reading and for sale inside taverns and libraries rather than delivering them to individual homes. With the current war, there is surprisingly little propaganda being put out. People don't generally need to be told that the invading Darkriders are something to be feared.
While the vaen primarily rely on spoken words to communicate, they also make use of their ears and tail to convey how they feel. They believe that if a person's words say one thing and their ears say another, the ears are the truth. By default, a vaen's ears are upright and face forward. Tails are typically held straight behind them, curled upward slightly so their tail hair doesn't drag on the ground.
There are a variety of methods to send messages long distance. What method used depends on where you are, the message's destination, and how urgently you want it to get there. Sending a message from one town to another in the same province will most likely go via horse or carriage. The Five Provinces have designated inter-province couriers, who are usually retired dragonriders. These riders also carry urgent missives.
There is rarely a need to send coded messages, but sometimes a special alphabet is used when sending sensitive information.
The siathi homeland is called Salcreria. The root words for it are salme (valley) and creria (homeland).
I did a whole month of writing out words in Keverynn's different alphabets. I did more with Asdi than I did with Venlevi, so here is the Venlevi alphabet.
There are some words that are more polite than others. In Bach'ai, ale is the formal word for yes. Ann is the more commonly used, less formal word. Mehinn is the polite way of saying hello in the Provinces. When talking to someone of higher status, it is better to say chyeveku.
Venlevi is a little different from English in its word order. Word order: Subject -> Object -> Verb “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into “Mary the door opened with a key.”
Viavre grann uorsque'a cheurge stropuon tord. (May the winds ever favour you) - Traditional siathi blessing
Some common greetings: Chume'taly - Fre ani Wolfling - Aufek (informal), chaladi’aninn (formal) Provinces - Mehinn Siathi - Trarle duacte (formal), truacte (casual) Nomads - Sokzi