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If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a shifter, come with me! I decided when I was much younger, that if I were a shifter, I would be a black panther. And most of the time, as a human, nobody would know! I would have the enhanced senses of the great cat, giving me an advantage over the mundane humans around me. But at night, I could prowl the woods and the fence lines, run through the fields free as any a cat could be, but with all the knowledge and understanding of the human me.

Of course, that could just be me and my weird imagination.

So, when I began the Gambler’s Folly series, those were the shifters I wrote. The office worker keeping track of files, the law enforcement officer tracking down criminals, the photographer taking crime scene photos and working on her private portfolio, a billionaire vacationing on Gambler’s Folly after taking care of a business concern. And then there is the 500 year old ex-mercenary now Interpol agent who lost his soulmate 200 years ago, who has lost everyone he’s ever known to death, and isn’t interested in another relationship.

Meet them all on Gambler’s Folly!

GAMBLER’S FOLLY

A book.

A series.

A fantasy world.

Stories about love and fated mates, most of whom had given up hope of finding love. But on Gambler’s Folly, every love story is a gamble and Fate always deals the final hand.

Book1–Gambler’s Folly

Damiano won his wife on one turn of the cards. Neither of them had any idea they were fated mates until later. And then chaos reigned as they tried to take it all in.

Book 2–Dante’s Angel

Dante worked with Damiano and was one of his groomsmen in the wedding planned on Earth. He never thought he would find someone to love, but Fate was already shuffling the deck…

Book 3–The Russian

Dmitri had lived for over 500 years and had lost his fated mates 200 years ago. The pain was so great he had hunted alone ever since. He didn’t want or need a mate, but Fate disagreed. Very few ever get a second fated mate, but after 200 years, it was time.

Book 4–Old Flame

Billionaire bear shifter, Kort Behrens, was unlucky in love. After 2 divorces, he had given up on a happy ending. So when he meets an old friend from his university days, he intends to simply help her get settled on her first trip to Gambler’s Folly. Nothing more. Fate, has other plans and the cards are turning up hearts…

GAMBLER’S FOLLY--a fantasy world where the rich come to relax, and Fate toys with people’s loves and lives. Gambler’s Folly, where every love story is a gamble and Fate always deals the final hand.

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Dante’s Angel is Book 2 in the Gambler’s Folly series. I hadn’t originally planned for a series. It was going to be one stand alone book to play with the idea of a man winning his wife in a card game. But I ended up writing a shifters romance set on a resort world, complete with a dark underworld and Interpol… The characters took over and wrote their own story.

But one of the minor characters in Book 1 intrigued me a little. I liked Dante. He was a younger member of the team and always seemed to be over shadowed by the others. He got the job of watching over Kari’s meals when someone tried to poison her. His team mates left him out in the rain to guard the door, saying ti was fine. He was shifted and wouldn’t mind the weather…

But he seemed like a sweet guy, a little shy, and working his way up through the ranks in Interpol. Maybe I could just write a little bit about him. What would it hurt?

First, where did he come from? Most of the other members of the team were originally from Earth. But Gambler’s Folly had been settled for a few centuries at this point. Maybe he was a native. And he met the others through Interpol. Part of what he brought to the team was home world connections. He knew the ins and outs of the place like none of them ever could. It was great for local intel.

But what about a girlfriend? He was a shifter. And in the first book we explored the concept of fated mates. What if Dante found his mate? Dam and Kari were leaving to go to Earth for their formal wedding. Surely hey would bring their friends along for the wedding. And they could include Dante.

Wouldn’t it be fun if he met someone on Earth who was his fated mate?

More fun if she was one of Damiano’s relatives…

And once again, the characters took over the story, with all its twists and turns. And the story of Dante’s Angel was born. The title came from his fated mate’s name–Angela.

So Dante was developed, complete with a family background. Immigrants originally from Sicily, but Dante was born on Gambler’s Folly. A panther shifter like Dam, Marco and Paulo, he goes full angry cat when his fated mate is threatened.

Come along with me to Italy for the wedding! It’ll be fun!

And you can save money if you go this week… Dante’s Angel is on sale for only $0.99 through Saturday!

Happy reading to everyone!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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You know how it is. You go away for a week and it takes you two at least to get everything at home running smoothly again. But I think I’m about there. Maybe…

I’ve been working more on Scotch and Soulmates. I want to get it done as soon as I can so it can be ready for the holidays. No promises, but I’m hoping.

So what are you reading tonight? If you’re waiting for Paul and Sophia to make an appearance. have you read the rest of the books from Gambler’s Folly? How about a little preview of the series?

Gambler’s Folly is a futuristic world out in the galaxy. A pleasure center, it has everything you might want–mountain chalets, peaceful lake houses, white sandy–or black sandy–beaches with blue-violet water. Sunlight that is a little paler yellow than the sunlight on Earth. And in the capital city of Speranza, you will find luxury hotels, upscale casinos with formal dining rooms, dance floors, and 5-star cuisine.

Most of those who come to Gambler’s Folly are mundanes, non-shifters. But due to Interpol’s Special Division, quite a few of those in law enforcement are shifters of various sorts. The owner of the Stella d’Oro luxury hotel chain, Damiano Leone, is a leopard shifter, as is his wife and soulmate, Karianna. You’ll find them in most of the books, as their hotel dining room has become a meeting place for the MC’s in the series. And not only is Damiano part of the underworld syndicate, he is an agent with Interpol, a fact most don’t realize.

With all the shifters coming and going to Gambler’s Folly, it is inevitable that several have found their fated mates there, leading to the idea that on this world every love story is a gamble and Fate always deals the final hand.

Gambler’s Folly, the first book in the series, sets the scene and the tone of the series. Brought to life after I heard a song about a man winning his wife in a card game, I tried to figure out how that could happen in the modern world. And Damiano and Karianna were born. She and her first husband came to this world to work on their marriage, only he had a gambling problem. Offered a choice to get out from under his debt at the Stella d’Oro, he takes the offer. One hand of cards. Win or lose, his debt with them is cleared and he has passage back to Earth. But if he loses, he signs divorce papers and Karianna becomes Damiano’s property. When his hand is a queen high straight, he thought he had it made. But when the other hand is a royal flush, he signs papers and says goodbye, only to be murdered on his way to the space port.

Damiano is furious. He had nothing to do with the murder, but convincing his new wife of this fact is proving difficult. And she is not used to being out in the limelight. As the owner of the Stella d’Oro and one of the most powerful members of the syndicate, he is used to it. And then they discover they are Fated Mates. Let the games begin.

All the MCs in the series are shifters. Dante’s Angel is once again leopards, as Dam and Kari head to Earth for the family’s formal wedding for them. Dante, who works with Damiano, is in the wedding party, but he’s a little nervous. He’s never been off his home world and he’s kind of shy around women. This all changes when he meets Damiano’s cousin, Angela. How could anyone know a jealous ex would show up or that Dante would have to fight a duel before the wedding?

Next we have The Russian, Dmitri Ivanovich Volkov, and Danni. He’s a dire wolf shifter and over 500 years old. He lost his soulmate 200 years ago and has avoided relationships ever since. But he hadn’t reckoned on Gambler’s Folly. Danni is in her early twenty’s, works for Interpol in the office, and is trying to make ends meet while taking care of her mother, who has been ill. There is also a jealous not-quite-ex of hers who has the idea she is his to claim. She has no time for relationships. Fate disagrees. Talk about an age gap…

What’s next? Old Flame! Elizabeth has been a widow for four years and lives alone with her cat, Puzzle. She has her Reiki clients to talk to, but otherwise, she stays home, taking her time to heal. She doubts she’ll ever seek another relationship. While she had been married for thirty years or so, there had always been something missing. Kort is a billionaire and a bear shifter. Twice divorced and a string of gold diggers later, he has given up on ever finding true love. Elizabeth’s family gifts her a vacation package to Gambler’s Folly, which she can’t comfortably refuse. On the way there, she runs into Kort, who she had known in university and hadn’t seen since. Fate is already dealing the hand and setting up their second chance for romance.

So if you’re ready for a shifter romance, on a futuristic world, with oh so much more–intrigue, jealous exes, underworld mob connections, emotional healing–come to Gambler’s Folly! Come on… You need a vacation.

Have a wonderful weekend and watch for sales starting in September!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Welcome to one of my favorite vacation spots! Gambler’s Folly!

So where did it all begin?

My husband and I like to listen to folk music at times, and one day the song South Coast came on, which started me thinking about the circumstances outlined in it. The song tells of a man winning his wife in a card game, which isn’t something you hear about every day. Of course, it was set in a world a long time ago, back when Baja California was a much wilder place.

How could something like that happen in the modern age? Winning a wife in a card game… Hmm… How about a fantasy world, futuristic, where the normal rules on Earth don’t necessarily apply. Where a man known as the Prince of the Underworld can make things happen, or people disappear. Who also has more than one secret in his life, one being his shifter abilities as a black leopard.

Maybe his name is Damiano, and he owns a chain of luxury hotels and casinos, and someone owes him a lot of money from gambling. A man who has a beautiful wife named Karianna who could be in danger, if others come after him for debts. How can he get his money back and keep the woman safe?

It’s Gambler’s Folly, and a game of chance with life changing stakes seems the way to go. One turn of the cards and his debt is forgiven. If he wins, he keeps the woman, leaves the planet, and never comes back. Lose, and he casino owner keeps the woman, the man leaves, and never comes back, all debts forgive.

The cards are dealt. The debtor turns over a Queen high straight and thinks he’s going to leave with his wife.

The owner’s representative turns over a royal flush.

What nobody understood was that Fate was also playing. And when it comes to love stories on Gambler’s Folly, Fate always deals the final hand.

So this book, Gambler’s Folly, began the series. Imagine a world where normal everyday people can buy holiday packages to this exotic world, billionaires and high rollers escape the normal crowds on Earth, and where a whole department of Interpol is run by shifters of various sorts, all tracking contraband and the occasional murder that shows up with what they’re tracking. A world where shifters seem destined to find their true fated mates.

Book two takes a look at one of the minor characters I found interesting in the first book, Dante. A co-worker of Damiano’s, he has no luck at love. But back on Earth for Dam and Kari’s wedding, Fate is once again dealing the cards, and finds a match for Dante with one of Damiano’s cousins! Read more in Dante’s Angel.

Of course, there had to be more, what with this whole beautiful world to explore. And I found just the right character when I saw a photo of a Russian rapper, Geegun. First glance and I said, “That man is a werewolf.” And The Russian was born. Over 500 years old, he hunts alone since he lost his soulmate two hundred years ago. On Gambler’s Folly for business with Damiano and Interpol, Fate decides he has been alone long enough and deals the hand.

And the latest in the series is Old Flame, bear shifters and billionaires! Someone reminded me of a guy I once knew a long time ago, and I remembered he always looked like a big bear. And Kort Behrens was born, so to speak. He’s a billionaire bear shifter who, after two divorces and a string of gold diggers, has given up on finding true love. He’s going to Gambler’s Folly for business and, with a little luck, some rest and relaxation.

Elizabeth has been widowed for four years and isn’t at all sure she even wants to think about another relationship. Coaxed out of her little home in Appalachia, she discovers her kids have bought her a vacation package to Gambler’s Folly. With no way to gracefully decline, she is determined to go to this luxury vacation spot, take in the natural beauty, spend frugally, and return refreshed and ready to tuck back into her little place with her cat, Puzzle.

Neither of them counted on Fate dealing them a completely different hand.

So if you need a break and love luxury resorts, casinos, lively night life settings, come with me to Speranza on Gambler’s Folly.

If you prefer white or black sandy beaches, private islands, or quiet mountain lakes, I’ve got you covered! You’ll find plenty of that on Gambler’s Folly s well.

And this month, you can choose any one you want at a discounted price! Come over to Smashwords and discover my worlds at a discount!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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I’m about to head to one of my favorite worlds–Esperance!

It all started with a dream that kept repeating ever night. A dream where a powerful ruler looked out across a crowd of women standing in a field, nervously waiting for him to make a choice. And when his eyes found those of a beautiful, raven haired young woman with sparkling blue eyes, he knew he’d found the woman he wanted to be his First Lady.

Esperance, a frontier type world which was nearly destroyed centuries ago when it lost contact with Earth. What brought it back from the brink of destruction was something peculiar to one segment of the population who had developed psychic abilities. They were able to exert enough influence to restore order once again and bring their people back into a civilized society, ruled by these multi-talented First Lords.

Over the years, others developed Talents in varying areas, which keeps things exciting. I mean, who couldn’t use a little bit of mental telepathy or telekinesis once in a while?

Jareth, First Lord, Book One of the series was born. After that the stories just seemed to flow. I had to tell Viviane’s story, once she’d begun to develop psychic abilities of her own. And in MORGAN–The Pixie and the Green Man, I explored Morgan’s back story. Why she came to Esperance and what happened once she had changed clans. The hesitant romance developing between her and James and all the intrigue which followed.

Of course, we had to delve into Viviane’s family, after her brother was exiled and a new heir chosen, in Too Many Talents.

Come meet these incredible people on one of my favorite worlds, Esperance! All books are right now at Smashwords

And as Always,

Don’t Forget..

…to Share the Romance…

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Well, today is one of those days and I need to vent. Sorry…

As you may know, I also write as Sultonna Nadine. She writes the stand alone books. I write the series. So far, she has four books in print.

Now today I was supposed to have a Book Club Author Q&A for Sultonna’s latest, Lady Calloway. As most of my books are, it is a cross-genre, multi-layered tale of romance. Set in an alternate Victorian reality, this historical fantasy romance pits the church against personal freedom. Our MC must choose between the church he serves and the woman he loves.

As a church agent, being married to a heretic can have dire consequences if he fails in his duty. But his heart says he must protect his wife at all cost. And when they both begin to develop forbidden mental abilities, they have to flee toward what they hope is a place of safety to escape the church they were once devoted to.

In a world where even your thoughts can convict you, where can you find safety, when the church is the law of the land?

Seems like it ought to be popular. The comments I’ve received have all been positive. They loved the duty vs. love angle, the multi-layered story.

Here’s a quote from a reader.

“I am still thinking about Lady Calloway, and frankly, I feel like I’m owed emotional compensation.

I came expecting romance. Somehow I ended up wrestling with questions about faith, danger, relationships, and human nature. That’s not a complaint, by the way. It’s actually what made the story so memorable.

One thing that has stayed with me is how fearlessly you blended spiritual themes with deeply human struggles. It made the characters feel real in a way that’s becoming increasingly rare.”

Or here’s another one.

“What you have created here is not a typical historical romance where the only obstacle is social standing or a disapproving parent. It is a story about faith, heresy, and the terrifying discovery that the church you serve would condemn you for the very abilities awakening inside your own mind… I came away from Lady Calloway with a clear and unshakeable conviction:

“This book belongs in the hands of every reader who loves forbidden love stories with real stakes, every fantasy romance fan who wants their magic grounded in historical tension, and anyone who has ever had to choose between what they were taught and who they love.”

So I don’t know what to do here. In spite of all the promotions I’ve run, and others have run for me, in spite of being all over social media and most major retailers, I’m not really getting any sales. Everyone says to fix my keywords, change my genre descriptions on Amazon, get it listed om Listopia, I’ve done a lot of that already with nothing ot show for it.

Is it time to stop trying to publish? Is it worth all the work for no return?

I don’t know. You, my readers get to decide.

For now, I’m going to have something cold to drink and wait for next winter’s firewood to be delivered. Maybe I’ll go over and work on another post and hope for the best.

It’s all right. I’ll get over my mood after a while.

Just remember for me,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Can you help me? I need a little advice from someone on the other side of the reader/writer line.

As an indie author, I do everything myself, not just the writing. The writing is the easy part. Afterwards comes the editing, and it takes time and effort. I am sometimes able to have someone help me with the editing after I’ve been through a book several times myself. And there is a program I sometimes use which helps point out words I over use, or which tone down the emotion of the book.

Now let’s talk about book cover art. I can’t afford to pay someone to put together the cover art. And the few times I’ve tried, I didn’t like the results. So I use an online program, sometimes with AI assist, to create a book cover I feel portrays the story I’m telling inside.

After all the editing is as finished as it can be, and I have the cover art, there is the formatting so I can publish it through Amazon or Draft2Digital–which links all my books to retailers through Books2Read. All the keywords to come up with to help place it correctly for people to locate it. I’m not necessarily the best person to decide this. People who read the books and offer suggestions come up with categories and tropes I would never have dreamed existed in those pages.

And once I get to Amazon or Draft2Digital, I have to decide what price I want to ask for. What is my book worth? There are suggestions in the documentation for each site, which I use to gauge my list price. I don’t want to charge so much people are afraid to take a chance on the book. But at the same time, I don’t want to give it all away for free. I do have sales several times a year. During some of those, I do list a book or two for free, and generally I give away quite a few. While I’m happy when people want to read my books, it is disappointing when they only want them for nothing.

With my last book–Old Flame–I paid several people to help with the promotion and marketing aspects and got absolutely nothing in return. I did just as well by myself. Now with Sultonna Nadine’s new release, Lady Calloway, I am besieged by promoters and marketers wanting to help me get my book out to readers. For anywhere from $200 on up.

I’m not made of money. Never have been. And if throwing money at it worked, you would think Old Flame would have sold like hotcakes.

You might ask why I don’t hire some of this work out. And the answer would be the expense of it. For an editor to do a final editing for me would be over $1000 per book, minimum. Cover art? Anywhere from $150 on up to as much as I want to spend. Formatting? Several hundred dollars. And then there are the book trailers and all the social media posts to put together. Trailers start at around $200 and go up from there. By the time I paid for all that, I would have several thousand dollars invested with no guaranteed return.

So tell me, what am I doing wrong? I get great reviews, when I get them. Most are 5 star reviews. Everyone says the writing is excellent, the tropes are popular, the categories are popular as well. And I’ve reworked the keywords and categories on all the outlets to take advantage of them.

What am I missing? I’m not complaining about the work, except the editing… It’s doing all the work with nothing to show for it, while getting all kinds of emails and reviews with people who love it, but apparently love it only if it’s free.

Go take a look at my author pages and books. And then come back and give me your opinion. Why would you buy or not buy my books? What turns you away?

Amazon Author page for Mellie Miller

Books2Read for Mellie Miller

Amazon for Sultonna

Books2Read for Sultonna

Anyway, enough rant. It has just been a disappointing year. If you’ve read any of my work, please at least rate it for me. A review would be great.

Have a wonderful weekend.

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Ever have one of those weeks that just didn’t seem to go right? Where everything was kind of on the disappointing or depressing side? Yeah? That has been my week so far. And since a new week starts tomorrow, I guess it was all week.

I would say the most aggravating thing was an email I received from someone wanting to help me with promoting my work. Now I know I’m not the greatest at marketing and promotions. And in the past, I have hired people to help me with that–people who were recommended to me. They did help a bit, though not as much as I had hoped for.

A word of advice. If you want me to consider hiring you to help me with something, don’t write a completely disrespectful email to me, pointing out things I already know (because they’re in my bio), and getting things from my bio incorrect. (like the fact that I’ve never in my life run 3 miles 3-5 times a week) And don’t sneer at the fact that I’m doing the best I can with what I know to do.

Did I enter a book cover contest? I sure did, because I thought it would be fun and get my book a little visibility. Did I adjust my key words as suggested by a couple people I communicated with to bring it more in line for what readers may be searching for? You bet I did.

But am I going to quit using two pen names for my writing? No. Because those two names write different books. Mellie Miller writes the books in my series. Sultonna Nadine writes the stand alone books that take different paths. And each name has her own blog and page on Amazon and Goodreads.

I also cross reference them so people will know we are the same person writing two different types of books.

If you want to help–and you want me to consider using your expertise–don’t make fun of me. “I finally wrote a theocratic dystopia with telepathy. Then I discovered that my telepathy could not help me communicate my author name to Amazon.” 

This does not in any way help me are encourage me to use your services. Neither does, “You run 3 to 5 miles three times a week. Run your author brand the same distance.” 😅 And yes, this person actually put the emoji in the email.

Which book are they talking about? My latest release as Sultonna Nadine–LADY CALLOWAY–A Question of Heresy. If you’re a fan of fantasy romance, romantic intrigue with a dystopian vibe, some religious conflict, moral conflict, and duty vs. love, check it out.

Anyway, done with my rant. If you’re looking for either of my pen names online, check out:

Mellie Miller at Amazon or at Goodreads

Or Sultonna Nadine at Amazon or at Goodreads

Want to check out Sultonna’s blog? It’s right here on WordPress.

Sorry if I sound a bit irritated this week. I’m trying to turn things around.

And I still don’t run 3 miles 3-5 miles a week, nor do I intend to start.

And as always, friends,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Welcome to Georgia, where Mother Nature can’t decide which season we should be in. Two weeks ago, it was summertime. I was out walking the dog in shorts and a tank top.

No seriously. I was.

Now the weather has turned colder, with a high today in the mid 40’s F and Monday night’s temperature is predicted to be around 12 F.

You read that correctly. 12 degrees Fahrenheit! With snow and freezing rain. My body can’t shift that fast. I can get accustomed to the cold. We lived in the North and in Wyoming for years. And I can get accustomed to the heat. We lived in the desert Southwest for a while. And freezing rain is total crap. I don’t mind a little snow once in a while. But freezing rain is a whole other story.

The good news is that it seems like a good time to catch up on a few things. Crocheting, knitting, and that TBR stack I’ve been chiseling away at. And let’s not forget the editing.

My alter ego, Sultonna Nadine, is still busy editing Lady Calloway. With any luck, she’ll be able to have it out to you by mid-summer. That is if she ever gets the cover art sorted…

At an rate, if you’re going to be affected by this winter storm, go stock up on some reading material. My Gambler’s Folly series can be good for heating up your evening, with some hunky shifters and feisty women. Or there’s Esperance, where a little Talent might just give your love life a little boost.

Take care out there with this crazy stuff headed in for the winter. Stay safe and warm.

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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We’re in the middle of the winter holiday season, and if you’re like a lot of us, you need a break from reality. So come on over to Books2Read for a sale on all my books listed there. The first three books from Gambler’s Folly and all four books from Esperance are included in this sale.

Whether you love shifters or paranormal abilities–or both–go on over to Books2Read and choose your next read today! You can also check out the books from my alter ego, Sultonna Nadine while you’re there. Magical alternate reality, genies, and mysterious desert secrets all waiting for you.

And the best part? Each of my books is priced at only $0.99 each!

So go over and choose your adventure for the evening. Take a break from the chaos. I suggest a cup or glass of your favorite beverage, a nice fire, and a cat or dog or two. Sink into that comfy chair and slip into a fantasy world with me.

Happy reading to you all and happy holidays.

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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