Writing

Back Into The Deadline Cave

/ Writing

My next book (the second in the Starlight’s Shadow trilogy) is due a month from today. :flails: I’m on track, mostly, but I have to write at least another 20k words in that time, so I’ll be around even less than usual.

I’m trying to finish drafting by the end of the month, giving me time to do a quick editing pass, but we’ll see what happens. If it works, the book will be done in two weeks, which is completely wild to think about. I feel like I’ve been writing this book forever, but it’s only really been since March.

Of course, March also feels like it was a year ago, so… 🤷🏻‍♀️

In any case, if you want to keep up with me, I’m on Twitter most often. Right now, I’m waxing poetic about how perfect Ted Lasso is, even on the rewatch. Oh, and how For the Wolf put me through the wringer as a reader (in the best way!), before delivering an HEA. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Copyedits, Plumbing, and Scorpions

/ Hunt the Stars, Life, Writing

It’s been a week in the Mihalik household and it’s only Wednesday. In the best news, I turned in copyedits for Hunt the Stars yesterday, which means it’s continuing to inch ever closer to becoming a real book. To that point, I saw a sample of the interior layout this morning, and it’s looking really good! As a hint, let me just say that I will still need my metallic Sharpies for signings. :)

In less great news, last week our kitchen sink decided that it was done being a sink and wanted to try life as a tiny pool filled with icky drain water. Despite our best efforts (and a 25′ plumbing snake), we were unable to fix it over the weekend, so we called in the pros.

Kind of.

Our normal plumber was busy, but he recommended another company. They were… adequate…ish.

Yesterday, the plumber came out and started working, but after an hour or so, he decided that he needed a longer snake, which he didn’t have, so he’d have to come back.

So today he arrives with his snake and an extension he can hook on to make it longer. So far, so good. He runs 65′ of snake into the pipe, which is probably only 30′ from the sewer clean-out opening, but it doesn’t make it through. So he attaches the next part and keeps going.

Finally, we see the snake in the clean-out, but it doesn’t really look like it has anything on it, and water still isn’t draining. So the plumber decides to pull it back through with a bigger head on it. Still seems reasonable.

Only, he somehow manages to disconnect the two lines, so one gets stuck in the pipe without either end attached or accessible.

The plumber puts in a panicked call to his boss, they confer for a while, and he finally manages to fish it out. But then he’s spooked and refuses to try again, so he puts everything under the sink back together and tries running water.

It drains!

He doesn’t know how or why, but he charges us and skips off on his merry way. We let him go and considered it a sunk cost. Hopefully the drain will continue to work, but if not, we’re hiring someone else. 🤷🏻‍♀️

And, finally, to add insult to injury this week, while I was cooking bacon last night, a scorpion crawled out of the vent hood and fell onto the stovetop. By the time I safely moved the pan without dumping lava-hot grease everywhere, the scorpion had disappeared.

And lest you think I imagined the whole thing, it was Mr. M who pointed it out in the first place. He erroneously claimed it was a lizard, which is why I was trying to move the pan away to save its life. When we both saw Mr. Scorpion chilling on the stove, we switched from rescue to murder and started scrambling for appropriate murder equipment, but the scorpion had vanished.

Today, the scorpion is still missing. I’ve named him Phil and I hope to never see him again.

So that’s how my week is going. 😅 How about you?

The Tomato Thief

/ Life, Writing
A black and white night-vision image of of opossum on our back deck.

This is Larry. Larry is a thief, albeit not a very sneaky one because he made quite the ruckus while climbing up into our container garden. And then, when I opened the door and yelled at him, he just continued munching on tomatoes like I wasn’t even there.

Bold, our Larry.

I wouldn’t begrudge him a tomato or two if he ate the whole thing, but noooooo. Larry likes to eat a few bites and then move on to a nice, fresh tomato, leaving devastation in his wake. For such a little guy, he really can pack away the food.

Larry finally moseyed on after I stepped outside and clapped at him. Lest you think me a heartless monster, I tossed the half-eaten tomatoes after him so he could continue his meal in the woods behind our house. I think he must’ve appreciated the gesture because we haven’t seen him in a couple of days now.

Or he’s just biding his time while planning his next attack. 😂

In non-opossum-related news, I’m still writing the second book of the Starlight’s Shadow trilogy (yes, the series has a name now!). I’m a little over 62k words now and aiming for 100-105k by August 15. I’m still on track, but only just. I haven’t started working weekends yet, but that time is coming soon. Related: how is June almost over?!?!

This book is a little different than the previous one. I thought it was terrible, but I started reading it from the beginning this weekend and it’s not (yet, at least—I’m not finished, lol).

But I can’t edit a blank page, so I’m moving ever onward because for me, at least, editing is waaaaaay easier than drafting. Once I have the whole picture, I can go back and smooth out the rough spots.

I hope. :)

Hunt the Stars Edits Are Done! Here’s a Tiny Snippet!

/ Hunt the Stars, Snippet, Writing

This morning, I sent off my edits for Hunt the Stars. I added about 6k words, bringing the total manuscript to just under 113k, which falls right between Aurora Blazing and Chaos Reigning.

This was a pretty fast edit for me because I usually plan for about a month, and I finished in under two weeks. I’ve now read this story more times than anyone should, and I still love it, so I hope you all will, too.

Bree, half of writing duo Kit Rocha, read an early copy (before I was done editing, even!) and had a few very nice things to say about it over on Twitter, including, “Ok I just finished my early copy of Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik and somehow it’s my favorite thing she’s written yet, it’s AMAZING…” which made my whole weekend, y’all. 💕😭

Here’s a little snippet of the first chapter to celebrate turning in edits. This hasn’t been finally approved or copyedited, so it’s still subject to change, but I won’t tell if you don’t. :)

And, in case you missed it, HtS is now available for preorder. The cover isn’t up yet, but I’ve seen a rough draft and it is IN-CRED-I-BLE! 😍 I can’t wait to share!

Preorder:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Google Play | Kobo | IndieBound

I leaned against my ship’s cargo ramp and watched with narrowed eyes as four soldiers in Valovian armor stalked through the landing bay. This was a human station in human space—Valoffs shouldn’t be here. Yes, we were at peace—for now—but both sides had made it clear that they preferred it when everyone stayed in their own sectors.

The soldiers moved from ship to ship. At each, the group leader spoke to the ship’s captain for a few minutes before continuing on. They moved like Valoffs rather than like humans wearing stolen armor, so I raised my mental shields as they approached. It wasn’t easy for a human to learn to shield against Valovian abilities because we had no natural defenses, but I’d learned the hard way during the war. Certain death provided excellent motivation.

The leader was male: tall and muscular, with thick, black hair, dark eyes, and skin a shade or two lighter than my own golden tan. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t immediately place him. He was encased in layers of synthetic black armor from neck to feet, and I knew from experience that it would deflect all but the strongest plas pistols and blades. It had exactly two weaknesses, and you had to be within reach to exploit either of them.

The group stopped several paces away, but even at this distance, their leader looked almost human. In general, Valoffs had a wider variety of hair and skin color and were a little taller than humans, with a slightly finer bone structure. However, their eyes were the biggest giveaway. Their irises were often threaded with multiple vibrant colors, and they had better-than-human night vision. They spent a lot of time in the dark—days on Valovia were only ten hours long.

…

Hunt the Stars Edits Are Done! Here’s a Tiny Snippet!Read More »

Hunt the Stars Edits

/ Hunt the Stars, Writing

Edits for Hunt the Stars landed on Wednesday, which means I’ll be quieter than usual as I work on polishing the book. Or maybe I’ll be less quiet as I work on procrastinating. Could go either way, lol.

Selling a book on proposal is an interesting experience. The first book I sold, Polaris Rising, was completely finished, and editors read it before deciding whether they wanted it or not. They knew exactly what they were getting.

Once you are a little established and your books are doing okay, your editor no longer expects you to write a whole book before they buy it because publishing works on very long timelines, typically more than a year.

So authors write a proposal. It’s an overview of the next book, and the series, if applicable, that gives the editor a general idea of where the book is going and if they’ll be interested in acquiring it. Some proposals are super in-depth.

Mine was not.

Since I’m not a plotter by nature, my proposal involved some general ideas, a high-level blurb, and part of the first chapter. So my editor sort of knew what she was getting, but only very generally, which made turning in the finished book a bit nerve-racking. AB and CR were a little of the same, but at least they had an established world to build on. A new book series is a blank slate.

But luckily, my editor loved it, and didn’t ask for her money back, so we’re all good. 🎉😂 Now I just have to shine it up and then get back to writing book two. Happy Friday!

P.S. I’m still planning on sending out the newsletter I promised last post, I’m just waiting on Bookshop to update with HtS, so it’ll probably be Monday. Most of the other stores have both paper and e-books available for preorder now. Come on, Bookshop, you can do it!