ellenmillion

A mystery at Shifting Sands Resort!

https://books2read.com/thawinghishart?store=amazon



Return to the island resort for shifters only in a humorous and heartfelt holiday novella that is a happy escape and a story of hope and healing. It does stand alone, but you'll enjoy it even more if you've read the series and know its secrets.

(And if you haven't, volume one of the omnibus is marked down for December to the price of just one book!)

( Spoiler-y writer thoughts behind the cut... )

2022 was a trashfire of stress...and it still turned out pretty well. I wrote books I'm really proud of, and I got a few bestseller flags, and I did some art I love and worked on a project of my heart. It was a rollercoaster. I'm not sad to see the year end, but I grew and loved and created and it was worth it.



Some of my proudest highlights: The Dragon Prince's Secret and The Dragon Prince's Magic. Dragon's Instinct. The Flamingo's Fated Mate. Januraven. Junicorn. Hare Today. Gnome Sweet Gnome. First Comes Love trilogy and an impulsive free Christmas story. 

Goals for 2023:

Man, I trimmed this list a BUNCH, and it still looks like a lot.

• Release Suddenly Squirrel
• Revise and publish Unicorn's Instinct.
• Write and publish The Dragon Prince's Betrayal
• Write and publish The Bear in the Birdbath (Lawn Ornament Shifters 3)
• Write and publish Wolf Without Warning (Suddenly Shifters)
• One more book? Gryphon's Instinct? New series?? Ack! 
• Finish Shifting Sands Resort in audio
• Get Green Valley Shifters into audio
• Frank merchandise on Redbubble
• Write more efficiently and improve my craft
• Up my newsletter and marketing game
• Januraven
• Junicorn 
• Finish my Secret Passion Project

I'm so delighted with this book!

I'm pretty sure it is my new favorite, of the books that I've written. (Sorry, Scarlet and Frank!) I absolutely love Ian's journey to find balance and Olivia's longing to belong to something, and Seltzer's feline desire to play with the tiny squirrel next door who is sometimes a little girl (and also breathes fire). It is a book full of magic, and trial, and joy. It's sizzling hot, hilarious, and heartfelt, and most of all, it's hopeful. I'm so happy to have it out in the world now.

https://books2read.com/dragonsinstinct/?store=amazon

Something in the Water is free until Friday! https://books2read.com/something-in-the-water

Short, hot, and hilarious, Francis never thought he'd need to search the Internet for "I can turn into a dog..."

Sea Monster Month was originally a thing we did at Torn World (a shared world that I ran with many wonderful creative people that had giant snowy unicorns, flying cats, and sea monsters). The original Sea Monster Month was in May, but when I decided I needed to use it as an art card challenge for myself, I didn't want to put it back-to-back with Junicorn.



I really had fun with these. I knew that I had a very busy month in April, so I purposefully didn't let myself get wrapped up in making perfect or complicated cards, and I even used the same general compositions a few times. I just wanted to capture the essence of sea monster... and I also wanted to play with media that I love but don't use a lot. I worked up some of the these backgrounds in advance - many of the acrylic ones came from projects that I did YEARS ago that never felt finished. (Clearly, they needed sea monsters.)



I learned a lot about technique, just by playing with markers and letting myself be loose. No pre-sketches, which is very unlike me! The watercolor-looking artcards are Copic alcohol markers, the acrylics were Posca paint markers (I use these for ornaments and absolutely love them) over acrylic painted canvas (well, mostly canvas).

Prices are $10 and $15 for originals! Prints are $5 each or 3 for $10. (All shipping, including international, included in these prices.)

I am not doing an art challenge in May, but I will be back in June with Junicorn! (My seventh year of it!)

Secret isn't always safe...

Are you ready to fall into a world just askew of familiar, where magic is an ill-kept secret and dragons rule a collective of small kingdoms? The Dragon Prince's Secret continues the Royal Dragons of Alaska series with a wild ride of a romance romp, full of fantasy adventure, family, and feelings. It's available today for Kindle, in Kindle Unlimited, and in paperback. I hope you enjoy it!

https://books2read.com/dragonprincessecret

People are already saying: "Such an amazing series!" and "The twists at the end had me on the edge of my seat!!!" and "Don't you dare make me wait a year again!!" (I hope I don't!)

Well, January was certainly a lot of month. But one good thing that came out of it was #JanuRaven! I did 31 tiny bird art cards, and now I'm giving them away!

Here's the final project page: https://ellenmillion.com/januraven2022.php

I'm really happy with how these turned out - I experimented with different media and styles, and it was a really fun, low-pressure project that helped me get through a long, dark month. Prints, magnets, and bookmarks are available of all designs except #9, which was done on sparkly silver scratchboard and there's just no way to reproduce that. Shipping (including international) is free.

I am giving all of the originals away, because I wanted to spread a little joy during a time that has been really weird and tough. (Patrons got first dibs, because they were the ones who made sure I could do this!) No strings, no requirement to share (though you may), no pressure. Please note that winners are selected by random draw, but I might pick and choose who gets which one based on your favorites.

Here's the giveaway: https://forms.gle/DanwBMWYbJUJjsFKA (ends Feb 8!)

(oo, I should make a JanuRaven icon...)

 

Write a book.
Edit a book.
Revise a book.
Edit the revised book.
Pay someone to edit the revised book.
Have someone ELSE edit the book.
Edit the book one last time oneself.
Publish the book.
Find typos.
Edit the typos.
Republish the book.
(two years later)
Republish the book in a printed collector's edition.
Open the printed collector's edition to immediately find a typo on page 12.

TRUE STORY.

Ever been in an argument you'd like to turn into a bear to get out of?

Anna fears her life is going nowhere fast. The neighbor is a jerk, the apartment is a wreck, the landlord won't fix things, all the food in the fridge is gone...and now her boyfriend Logan is a bear! Abruptly a Bear is a getting-back-to-good, happy-ever-after, hilarious romp of a novella. Now available in ebook and Kindle Unlimited!

https://books2read.com/abruptlyabear

Each installment in the Suddenly Shifters series is a satisfying standalone with humor and heart, all of them weaving together in an intriguing mystery in a little town where people are suddenly able to shift.