March 2025 Project Wrap-Up

Hi all,

This is a few weeks late, but I wanted to do a wrap-up post about my March 2025 writing project. The final word count for Original Elementals #8: Turf is...

73,334 words!

It felt so good to write in the Elemental Dragons universe again, I didn't realise how much I missed it. At times I did struggle with writing parts, but for the most part this was an enjoyable experience.

This book centres on Tiegan and her companion, Turf. They take in an Eastern Dragon called Squeaky who they have to raise. Their mission is to get Squeaky to create a rainstorm big enough to help dragons. This is what Zmei tells them, but is it actually true?

Tiegan was a different character to write. She's quite selfish and willing to abandon others to save her own skin. She wants to keep her life the way it is, far away from Aria. Her and Turf live on the streets, though neither of them mind.

This book also introduces a new species of man-made dragons, the Vexwings. They're tiny dragons that get compared to rats or pigeons often. They terrorise the town that Tiegan lives in which causes trouble for the people living there. Because of them, their town is completely overrun and requires outside help to fix it.

The mix of the Eastern Dragon and the Vexwings makes life harder for Tiegan. Especially when Zmei gets involved and she finds herself unable to trust them completely. Draca has turned their back on her too, so it's just her and Turf on their own.

This book was fun to write and I love writing about dragons. The next book in the series will centre on Stella and this will be the penultimate book in the series. It will most likely be my November project as I'm planning a different book for July. 

That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed reading! Next week I’ll be posting about my dream merchandise, so keep an eye out for that next Sunday.

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March 2025 Project Announcement

Hi all,

It's time for my first writing project announcement of the year! This time I'm going back to Original Elementals with book number eight, Turf.

I'm aiming to write 50K for this book.

This time, the main character is Tiegan, the first Earth Elemental. As the title suggests, her dragon companion is Turf.

Her mission to help the Eastern Dragon. But this will be difficult as she's living on the streets on her own. The other originals are currently in Aria, hundreds of miles away from her. She has to help this dragon by herself and isn't aware of what the other originals know about Zmei and Draca.

After Lucia, Tiegan is the most skeptical about her mission. Instead of helping the dragon, she will show it how she lives on the streets and how she's better on her own. The Eastern Dragon will be young, and will see Tiegan as its parent.

I'm so happy to write about dragons again! After this book is done, there are only two more left to write in the Original Elementals series. This is my longest series that I've ever written and I can't wait until it's all done.

My plans for the series are still up in the air, whether I'll eventually put them on Patreon or just publish them outright on Amazon.

After I've done the prequel series I was thinking of doing a sequel series. It depends on what other projects I have that call to me at the time!

That's it for this week, see you next Sunday! 

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The Old Elemental Dragons Prequel

Hi all,

Before I started writing the Original Elementals series, I was planning a different prequel. This one would have been a standalone, set around twenty years before Elemental Dragons.

It would feature the parents of the elementals. Mainly focusing on Hazel's and Rocky's mother and father - Silva and Trey.

Silva just tries to keep her head down and get through school, but she's currently with Trey. He's a serial womaniser who dumps women when he has enough of them. His worst nightmare is having children as that would interfere with his dream of doing whatever he wants.

They would have been eighteen, just a few years away from graduating and going into the real world. Across a few weeks, they would have spotted something moving through the school at night. Upon further investigation, it would be a Hydra.

At first the group would try to report the dragon but they wouldn't be believed or listened to. A teacher and their dragon goes missing but no-one bats an eyelid. That's when the group decides to investigate themselves.

After a few disastrous tries, they manage to capture it. Instead of being hailed as heroes, they are instead scolded for capturing it as it would curse them and the school. Each of the group would then be cursed in various ways. A few would have been:

Silva would be destined to lose everything.

Trey would be destined to impregnate every woman he sleeps with.

Tran, Wes' mother, would have everyone always take the credit for her work.

Daynah, Marco and Mason's mother, would always want what everyone else has.

David, Melia and Violet's father, would lose his dragon due to his own laziness.

After cursing them, the Hydra moves on. But none of them believe that their curses will come true. It's only when David refuses to take his dragon, Amelia, to the vet that it all starts to unravel. He couldn't be bothered to take her, so her minor wounds got infected and she died.

Tran reports the group to the headmaster but he takes the credit for discovering what they've done.

Over the years, Trey impregnates four women, one of which is Silva. He has Rocky and Hazel with her. He manages to find a woman who is infertile, but even she manages to get pregnant. He eventually leaves Silva, which makes her curse come true. He takes the money they made from the experiments on their children too.

Ultimately this was discarded when I made the elementals clones rather than the biological children of their parents. I liked the idea, but I wasn't quite sure if I could ever tie it together properly with the main series. Hence why it was scrapped and I came up with Original Elementals instead.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this book bundle before it expires:

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Original Elementals Virtual Advent Calendar

Hi all,

The virtual advent calendar is back for the fifth year running! This year, the theme is Original Elementals. There will be twenty-four facts spread over twenty-four days! The facts will be about the following subjects:

Aosmhor

Zmei

Vivid

Draca

Each topic will get six facts each.

As with all the previous years, an ebook can be won on December 25th! The following books are eligible:

Blood and Water

Venom and Earth

Glass and Ice

Cinder and Fire

Mute

Years

Nirvana

Heaven

Purgatory

Hell

The Plague’s Hope

The Blazing Serpent - to be claimed on release day in 2025

If you would like a chance at winning one of my ebooks, please read the rules below and go to my Facebook page: Jessica Turnbull Author.

If you’re not sure what to look out for, check out some of the previous facts that have been posted:

I hope you have fun if you participate! Next year I’ll be doing a calendar for the Curse of Anubis series! Here is my Facebook page again so you can participate: Jessica Turnbull Author.

That’s it for this week! Good luck to everyone who enters, see you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out this book bundle too:

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NaNoWriMo 2023 Wrap-Up

Hi all! 

For NaNoWrimo this year I pledged to write 50k for the first draft of Original Elementals #7: Stormburst. After taking a break in July I thought I would go back into full swing into the Elemental Dragons universe. 

My word count is... 

I managed to finish the first draft on the final day and I am pretty pleased with the result. This book was a lot easier to write than other books I've done and I found I didn't get as burnt out. I don't know if that's because I love writing about dragons or if I was just in a better place mentally when I started writing it. 

This book focuses on Logan and his mission. He is to help a Sea Serpent find a mate. Although he thinks that this will be easy, he soon discovers that it would take longer than he hoped. The town of Serpentbridge is introduced, who live alongside Sea Serpents in harmony. 

Logan is based off of my cat, Rocky. When he passed away in August I was devastated. Especially since I knew this book was coming up. But I thought it was quite therapeutic and I was glad to give him the happy ending he deserved. I also managed to fit his girlfriend, Serena, into the book as well! Serena vanished one day so I wasn't sure if she passed away or ran away from home. Either way, I am so glad that I could get them together again for the book. 

This book also solidifies everyone's distrust in Zmei and most of the characters turn their backs on them. One decides to stand by Zmei rather than their friends, however. Draca comes across as the good guy but if you've read Elemental Dragons then you know that's not the case. 

The next book that I will be working on is Turf, the eighth book in the Original Elementals series. As I've said previously, I'm hoping to make a Patreon which will be a dragon lovers paradise. The books from the Original Elementals series will be posted there first and then published on Amazon at a later date. 

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week! 

NaNoWriMo 2023 Project Announcement

Hi all, 

With November on the horizon it's time for me to announce my project for NaNoWriMo. This time, I'm going to be writing 50K words of the first draft of Original Elementals #7: Stormburst. Now that I've taken a break to write Missing Constellations, I feel a lot more refreshed to step back into the Elemental Dragons universe. 

First off, what is NaNoWriMo? It’s a yearly writing event where you have the month of November to write 50,000 words. This can be for a new book or an already existing project. I always start new books for this event.

This book will be bittersweet as the main character, Logan, is based off my late cat, Rocky. Everything will be written in his perspective, though he won't be exactly the same as his clone, Rocky, in Elemental Dragons. I miss my cat a lot and I'm hoping that this book will bring me further towards healing. It's going to be hard to write as he's always going to be in the back of my mind but I know he would want me to keep writing. 

This story will focus on Logan and his dragon, Stormburst. His mission is to help Sea Serpents. Although it isn't going to be as easy as he expected. First he needs to track down a Sea Serpent, which is difficult when you're locked up in a camp with guards patrolling at all hours of the morning. He already doesn't trust Zmei so will not be listening to their advice much. 

Stormburst is not fully developed enough to fly with a rider, but because Western Dragons are so new their companions aren't aware of this fact yet. She has had a growth spurt between books but not enough for her to support Logan on her back. The book will delve into his disappointment with this and how this affects his relationship with her. 

The other Originals will appear as well, but mainly Benjamin as he is Logan's best friend. 

I'm looking forward to diving back into the Elemental Dragons universe as I really need to scratch that itch to write about dragons! Completing this book will draw the series even closer to it's end and I can't wait to start publishing these books. 

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading, see you next Sunday. 

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April Camp NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up

Hi all!

With Camp NaNoWriMo over with, I thought I’d talk a bit more about the project I was working on. Original Elementals #6: Sunrise is almost complete, I’m hoping to get it done within the next few days.

This book follows the first Light Elemental, Lucia, and her dragon companion, Sunrise. The two of them have never gotten on, due to the fact that Lucia wishes that she had a different dragon and has made several attempts across the series to try and swap him for a ‘better’ one. Because of this, Sunrise is quite angry and depressed, he doesn’t play like other dragons and loves to fight. This one is set outside of Aria, so the other Originals only make brief appearances. This book also delves more into the Amphiptere species, how they act and why Lucia’s father uses their scales and feathers to make clothes.

My final word count is…

The rest of the first draft should be finished in the next few days and then I can take a break until Camp NaNoWriMo in July.

The main character was a lot of fun to write about, as she’s gotten some screen time in the other books but the other Originals don’t see her as much more than an annoyance. In Sunrise, she got her chance to shine and grow and lose some of her attitude that has been showcased in the other books. She’s also another one to complete defy Zmei and forge her own path, even if her opinion was different than when she started. She has never trusted Zmei and knew that when it was time for her mission that she wouldn’t complete it.

The Amphiptere are showcased in all of their glory in this book. Ever since I wrote the short story, Orange to Blue, I’ve wanted to write more about them and explore them a bit further. In Sunrise, they live on a farm in the mountains that Lucia’s father runs. They are kept in small cages but are fed well. They shed twice a year, on the Summer and Winter Solstices. Their shed skin is then collected to be fashioned into clothes.

Overall this book was a lot of fun to write and once I’ve finished it I can take a break from the Original Elementals series. I’m still sticking to my plan of writing three books and then a completely different standalone to keep my mind fresh. But I’ll talk more about that project in July!

I hope you enjoyed reading, see you next week!

PS; don’t forget to check out this giveaway:

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Dragon Species Featured in Original Elementals

Hi all!

This week I’m going to give you a sneak peek at all the dragon species that will show up in Original Elementals. Some have already been in Elemental Dragons, but a lot are ones you haven’t seen before.

The list won’t contain details about each species just so there are no spoilers, but you can look up most of them. The Fauxboros, Zmei and Vivid are my own creations so you’ll have to wait to hear from them in the books!

Western Dragon

Drake

Hydra

Ouroboros

Fauxboros

Lindworm

Wyvern

Amphiptere

Great Serpent

Sea Serpent

Eastern Dragon

Fairy Dragon

Wyrm

Draconic Hybrid

Zmei

Vivid

Zmei and Vivid are technically unclassified species as they were created by Sandstone separate from other species. They have features from a lot of dragon species which makes them more formidable in battle.

All of the species above will appear in the series at some point, some will appear in multiple books. The main characters have to help one of the species with Zmei’s guidance, though as times goes on it becomes clear that Zmei doesn’t have their best interests in mind.

The book that I’ll be writing in a few weeks’ time, Sunrise, will feature Amphiptere dragons. I’m excited to write about them as I’ve only written them in a short story before. I’m looking forward to fleshing them out and how Lucia reacts to them.

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles!

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Soar Through the Sky

The Dragon Heirarchy

Hi all, 

This week I'm going to tell you about the dragon hierarchy in Elemental Dragons. In this universe they have dragons who they consider god-like and a few of them have appeared in the series or will appear in Original Elementals. 

Arcturus. 

The companion of Stella, the first person to develop all the elements. He is considered to be a demi-god for the powers he had. He appears in the Original Elementals series and his companion will have her own book. 

Draca. 

Draca appears in both series, though in Elemental Dragons they are just a clone. They are at the bottom of the rung in the hierarchy, only being one above regular dragons. They work alongside Zmei and then eventually break away from them to work for their own goals. They are considered more of a demi-god in the series. 

Hydras. 

All Hydras are considered gods due to the fact that they are immortal. They appear in many stories across different time periods. The most famous story is the one of Hercules and the Hydra, though in this story he isn't seen as the hero. 

Zmei. 

Zmei only appears in Original Elementals. They use Draca as their pawn to help with their plan. They are the one who created the elements and helped the Originals get their powers and distribute them across the country. They are closely linked to Western Dragons, though this will be explored further in Original Elementals. They call themselves the king of dragons and are considered a god due to their supposed immortality. 

Vivid. 

Vivid is a dragon that has been lost to time. They used to serve Sandstone loyally alongside Zmei before they were cast out. The reasons are only known to Zmei and Sandstone, who forced them into exile. Some stories say they live in a prison deep within the Earth, while others claim they are chained to clouds in the sky. 

Sandstone. 

This dragon goes by many names, though the current one they use is Sandstone. They are immortal and appear every 450-600 years to wreak havoc on the land. They are the biggest of all dragons and the creator of every dragon species. Unfortunately to their size they perish soon after appearing. Their body rots and they go into a slumber until it is time to wake up again. Their flesh regrows and they scour the land for food. They are the very first dragon and the top of the hierarchy. They created Zmei and Vivid to keep an eye on dragonkind when they are slumbering. 

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles!

Time to Thaw Out with a Free Short Story!

Soar Through the Sky

After the End

Camp NaNoWriMo Project Announcement - April 2023

Hi all!

Every time I participate in a NaNoWriMo event, I want to make a little announcement post beforehand as well as a brief overview about what the book will be about!

For this April, I will be hoping to get 50K words written in the first draft of Original Elementals #6: Sunrise. This book will be in the point of view of Lucia, the first Light Elemental, who will be leaving Aria to help her father with his business. He sells items made from dragon parts; be it scales, feathers, claws or teeth. She has been tasked with helping Amphiptere Dragons, but they’re her father’s greatest asset in his business. Her relationship with her dragon, Sunrise, will also be explored. The two don’t get on at the moment as the dragon is horrifically scarred and won’t listen to a word she says.

Sunrise and Lucia will be the main focuses of the book, but the rivalry between the Krystalans and the Cindaraans will also come to light. Lucia is brash and thinks that she’s always right, so I’m looking forward to telling her story and hopefully showing her in a more neutral light. The other Originals will appear too, with Benjamin having a large role in this book as well. I want to be able to explore Sunrise’s relationship with other dragons and why he treats them the way he does.

This will be the last book in the Original Elementals series that I will write before taking a break. The next book that I write will not be in the Original Elementals series and will instead be something completely different. This is so I don’t get exhausted writing in the same series and also enables me to write some standalones that I’ve been planning for years.

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.

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After The End