Welcome :)

If you're looking for Del Shepard's Facebook Page is http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003347793277

*UPDATES!!*

Hello everyone! Yay, my writer's block is gone! I have resumed work on both my original work, and my fanfics.

I am removing the link to the MA version of DE that I have included in here. The site where those pages were hosted is no longer available, and I don't even have copies of those scenes any more (not sure what happened to them). DE as it is here, (with all it's flaws), is all there is.

Unless, of course, it's an AU that I've started and haven't finished yet. Hope to get those done, as well as my other half finished fics on here like the Dragon Age one, and Human Heart.

I do now have one book self-published, LoRaca, that can be found on the Amazon site. It's a short novella, one I started writing when I was about fourteen and finally polished up and got out there. I still have several original fics, listed below, that I am working on as well as the fanfic stuff.

Or, will be working on, once I can bash through the last of this block.

Cheers!

*QUICK IMPORTANT NOTE*

Unless we're good friends, please do not send me materials to read or edit. Please do not send me a premise for a story and ask me to write it for you. It's not that I'm not willing to do these things or trying to be a jerk, it's that my time is finite. I can either spend it writing my own work or I can spend it beta reading and editing other people's work. If I do that, I'm no longer a writer, I'm an editor.

If you have a fabulous idea for a story...by all means, write it! No one can write your story but you.

I try to avoid reading fanfic on the subject or genre I'm currently working on. I don't want to be accused of taking anyone's ideas, and I definitely don't want to unconsciously call upon something I read and incorporate it thinking its mine without conscious realization that it came from elsewhere. That's not fair to me nor to the people whose writing I unwittingly stole.

Also, I usually do not take suggestions unless A) you're a very good friend of mine and B) I've asked for a suggestion because I'm stuck. If you make a suggestion in a review or a PM and it appears in the story then it's because you just suggested to me what I was already going to do: you did, in fact, just guess where the story was going anyway. IF you make a fabulous suggestion and I DO decide to use it, I will not only tell you so before I do it, I will put you in the A/N as having made the suggestion. I strive to give credit where credit is due, and everyone deserves to know where a great idea came from. If I don't tell you and I don't include it in the A/N, then you pretty much just had a good guess on where I was going with the story regardless, and its coincidence that you happened to be right.

About me and my writing:

I know that my posting on this site has unfortunately slowed a great deal. I have finally got through my block but as I am trying to work steadily on my original fic I'm not posting nearly as much nor as fast as I used to. Please be patient with me.

I have been writing stories since I was five years old. I am a writer, it’s what I am, what I do, and what I can’t live without.

My specialized genres tend to be horror, fantasy, sci-fi, adventure, and thorough blendings of all four. I rarely have more than a basic premise in mind when I write and I tend to let the characters and tale tell me where it wants to go. I’m a huge believer in the fact that stories already exist, it’s simply up to the writer to bring them to life. You will find that I write a lot of (hopefully) strong female characters. Most, if not all of my stories will have LGBT representation, and I strive to be diverse in my writing and my characters when it comes to race, ethnicity, background, mental, and physical health/ability.

I have written in partnership with the very talented Carissa Starr and have written in partnership with others.

I’m not out to make money at this (though it would be nice if I could make a living). I write because I must, and writing is never complete unless there is a reader to take the story in.

I am also a lucid and repetitive dreamer. A lot of the ideas from my original fic come from recurring dreams I've had since I was very small.

Planned fanfic:

Some folk will be extremely excited to learn about some of the following. Note: Sequels do NOT necessarily mean anyone is safe. I am, as most have said...evil. :)

Terminator: On hold indefinitely

Dark Energy's last AU, Citadel: Currently in progress

Dragon Age: Origins: Currently in Progress

Dragon Age 2: to come

Dragon Age 3: to come

Wing Commander II, the Human Soul: to come shortly

Portal: On hold indefinitely

Kill Bill: On hold indefinitely

Destiny Fanfic: Currently in progress

Original Fic published:

Lulu bookstore stuff is no longer available. I have a self-published book, LoRaca, available under Amazon on Kindle or paperback format. I am working to get my other stuff done and published as well.

I have decided to write my original fiction (and attempt to publish it traditionally) under the same nom de plume I use here, Melara Dark. LoRaca is published under my real name, but for various and complicated reasons, going forward I will be using the name Melara Dark. I have both a facebook page for Melara Dark and my original writings, and a twitter account that I opened a while ago and will strive to actually use.

Links are:

Twitter- @Melaradark

Email- [email protected]

Projects on the table:

These are my original fic projects I have cooking on various burners.

As you can see, there are quite a lot of them (note...this does not generally include my collaborative work with other writers! One or two titles here are, however, collaborative...most notably the Oakfallow Series and Heart of the World). Below I have included a quick snip about what the series/story is about and it's genre.

Minutes Series:

Sci-fi fantasy, aliens. Isel is a Rescuun, an herbivorous alien race that lives on a peaceful planet. Having learned that conventional space travel is unrealistic, a brilliant scientist has developed technology that allows a candidate -Isel- to leave their body and explore the universe unbound by physics. Time becomes pure perspective -no matter how long Isel is out exploring from their perspective, to the perspective of the rest of Rescuu, they are only gone for eleven minutes. On Isel's initial jaunt they discover a distant planet named Earth, and decide to learn their ways...however it seems they're not the only one doing so, and the other seems more intent to learn humanity's methods of war and cruelty above all else.

Book one: 11 Minutes (undergoing final proofing; on hold for the moment)

Book two: Unnamed sequel (in progress)

Two additional titles planned, currently unnamed

Dragon Saint Series (this is not even close to the top of my to do list, held indefinitely):

Fantasy, sword and sorcery. A peaceful kingdom undergoes an invasion, and Princess Bethany Duncan goes to fight it to protect her family and her people. From the battlefield to realms unknown, Bethany tries to get back home and along the journey, learns of ways once long lost...the way of the Dragon.

Dragon Saint (the first book, told from the perspective of Bethany's journal the night before battle)

A Tale of Bethany

The Immortal War

Pale Hand (possible) Series:

Fantasy, sword and sorcery meets old west. 'Zombies', werewolves, gunslingers, dragons, trolls, magic. An orphan boy named Willem is the only survivor of an attack at the fishing camp where he has worked since he was old enough to lift a net. He is rescued by a mysterious woman who is trying to get to the palace to warn the royal family and their Champion of a threat that is spreading across the land, a threat that may indicate the return of long dead Gods and a long dormant evil that will spell the end of everything if it's not stopped.

Willem (working title, fantasy novel)

Kaloran Series:

Fantasy, sword and sorcery, elemental magic, clockwork technology, multiverse, epic series. On the world of Kaloran, the mortal elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air can be wielded by mages, with no mage able to control more than two of these elements. The immortal elements of Life, Spirit, Light, and Darkness can be controlled by no one. A vile and inhuman creature of Darkness has risen to plague the land, and the hushed whispers around campfires try to name it: the Fool King, the Colored Knife, the Grin, the Bright Huntsman -but none know it's true name. Also whispered is the name of the Rose of Fire, the only mortal who has ever been able to wield all four of the mortal Elements, and the prophecy that only aleepha can destroy this monster. Problem is, the Fool King has slaughtered all the aleepha, and the Rose of Fire died an Age past. Is hope truly gone? Or will it take something greater, something that has heretofore been impossible in the world of Kaloran...a harnessing the power of the Immortal Elements and finally forging the Prism of Ages?

Book One: Vhantalya (going through final edits) This is one of the top of my priority list, along with Reboot and Scarlett, noted below.

Book Two: The Scryer and the Scribe

Book Three: The Rose of Fire

Book Four: The Cauldron of the World

Book Five: The Blood de Valint

Book Six: The Fool King

Book Seven: The Light of Souls

Book Eight: The Court of Hubris

Book Nine: The Prism of Ages

Line Series:

Modern day fantasy, surrealistic, multiverse. Ellen Scarben's across the street neighbor is...strange. Nellie's a recluse and seems a bit touched in the head, keeping herself and her dog behind a fence and enduring the neighborhood kids vandalizing her property. None of that stops Ellen from befriending her, however...call it her sympathetic nature. Then one day, Ellen walks in on a home invasion. Poor, odd Nellie Teal is now dead and it seems she's left Ellen her house. She plans to sell it...until she walks into the backyard and a river appears out of nowhere. Where does the river lead? What were the invaders looking for when they tortured and killed poor Nellie? Whatever the answers, Ellen is sure she's not going to like them...

Book one: Upline (published) This will be re-edited and put up for self-publish but it is also not top of my priority list atm.

Book Two: Downline (in progress)

Book Three: Throughline

Book Four: Midline

Book Five: Outline

Book Six: Endline

Oakfallow Series:

Modern day horror, 'haunted house'. The castle of Oakfallow was once home to Regina Winternight, a sadistic woman who delighted in torturing her staff and was not averse to the most cruel forms of murder. When she finally goes on a full massacre the local constabulary rush in only to find all living things within dead at Regina's hand. One spots Regina stepping behind a door to the castle's famed 'maze floor' but when he opens the door she's nowhere to be found, vanished completely as if she had never existed. Many, many years later a paranormal research team lead by Dr. Kaelyn Maynard are asked to study the castle and film a documentary about its haunted past, in light of an unfortunate tragedy and a rising rash of activity in the castle itself. Kaelyn is only interested in the phenomenon but soon realizes she and her team may be playing with more than they bargained for as it seems that Regina Winternight may never have left at all.

The Legend of Oakfallow (undergoing extensive rewrite)

The Haunting of Dark Abbey Hall

Non-Series books planned:

Scarlett (This is top of my priority list and should be in beta read status by end of 2021. Follow Melara Dark on Facebook or Twitter for more updates).

Scarlett is a modern day superhero story.

Ferry Tails and Witches (not at top of list)

Ferry Tails and Witches is a storybook fantasy, and firmly tongue in cheek. In a rickety and somewhat unimpressive castle, on the edge of a swamp that would be better termed 'the epitome of false advertising' than anything approaching 'dire', a girl ran. Her name is Lysette, and she has a problem. Her problem being that there is a witches' convention that's being called, they expect Eugenia to attend and prove certain skills...and the witch she's supposed to be enslaved by can't even turn herself green and has more a beauty mark than a wart on her nose. What's a girl to do, when her best friend is supposed to be her slave master and the evil beast that guards the castle is a tatty little dog? If the other witches found out, it'd be their necks, but Eugenia is utterly useless as a witch. Isn't she?

Reboot (right now this is one of the three at the top of my list that I'm working on)

Reboot is a modern day suspense story with shades of horror and post apocalyptic tones. David Rusk is the only one left in the world, so far as he knows. It's been that way for years now, after whatever it was that happened...happened. On one perfectly normal morning every living thing in the world beside David disappeared. What's more, every day appears to be the same day and at the exact same time everything around him...well, the best word he has for it is 'reboots'. He doesn't know what caused this, or what will happen next, he's just trying to survive. You see, he's the only one left in the world...except for the monsters.

The Dreamer (at bottom of list, have not even started beyond idea)

The Dreamer is a modern day surreal 'thriller'. One day, out of nowhere, a new website appears. No one seems to host it, no one can explain where it came from or what it actually is, but it quickly becomes a world wide viral phenomenon. The only thing that appears on the website is a constant stream feed. For most of the hours of the day, this feed only says 'stand by', but for a few hours each day the feed is full of surreal images and sounds, all seeming recorded from a 'first person' point of view. But what do the images mean? What are they? Some think they're just AI generated randomness, a kind of deep fake project. Others think they're religious in nature, or contain secret coded government messages. But is the website's biggest fan, eccentric rich-boy Thomas Dayner, actually right? Are the images actually dreams? And if they are...who is the Dreamer?

I will of course add to these lists as new ideas come to me or as things are finished/reworked/I dig out some of my old projects and go 'oh yeah, forgot about this one'.

Thank you for reading, and enjoy!