My dizzies are mostly gone now and I’m writing full time again. To get myself back into June’s mindset, and get the next book in the series finished, I’ve been rereading How to Sex Your Snake. I had planned on reading some for you but I suck at it, so I’m going to defer to Rosie Zwaduk, the audiobook’s narrator and share the first two chapters.
If you’re a baseball fan, and the cubs/marlins game on May is on TV where you are, check out the game. A friend and I will be sitting a few rows up behind home plate. Look for my turquoise hair!
I wrote this as I waited for Herman’s Hermits to start. (Epcot Garden Rocks Series) This month has been crazy and fast. Took mom to Key West for her birthday. Got photos with the clothing optional bar sign at Garden of Eden but we were too scared to climb the stairs. (Been there done that was terrified much) Caught up on sleep. I’ve been working on a new June Nash novel and indulged in too many 10 hr writing days. Did some West World binging. Great show. Watch it!
While you wait for the new June novel, I have a free micro misadventure. June is trapped in Costa Rica and nature is not her friend. Get it free on Amazon or Kobo. Tell a friend and leave reviews! Every time you do June smiles at a random Dewzer. And it helps me get up in the morning and write more.
That’s it for now. Stay cool (the heat sucks today) and Write On,
Are you a member of Goodreads? If not, you should be. I’m giving away some signed copies of my latest book, How to Sex Your Snake this summer and that’s where you’ll find them. The first contest goes live at 12:01 am on June 6 and runs till June 13. (I believe it ends at midnight)
Oddest looking dogs ever. Wait. Those are baby cows.
It’s been just shy of two months since James died. I was scrolling Facebook a couple of weeks ago and stumbled upon an unattributed quote that sums up my sadness.
“I believe the hardest part of healing after you’ve lost someone you love is to recover the “you” that went away with them”
There’s still that daily need to text him about things. He would have loved the pickup full of cows. I suppose in time the hollowness will fill back in. In the meantime, all I can do is get up off the couch and get on with it.
And on that note, the new book cover book…
My soon to be released book
In less than 48 hours, June’s life will go from low-key to ludicrous thanks to a pool of blood, a missing body, slithering creepy crawlies and the imminent incarceration of her famous twin-brother.
Read the 1st chapter now and get 2 and 3 when you join the book release mailing list.
So is it done?
No. But I’m finally back to my 40 hour work. A late summer release is still looking good.
If you feel so inclined, check out the first chapters, sign up for the book announcement list and then drop down to the comments and let me know your thoughts on the cover.
The clutch is finally hatching! These silly babies are like a month over due. Have I mentioned the babies before now? I don’t recall and I don’t feel like looking back over previous posts. I think these are green rat snakes but I could be wrong. I’m just an innocent bystander, they’re my husband’s hobby. Though, for a year, I was mom in charge while he was stationed in Turkey. At that point in time, he had a collection that, including babies, topped out at about 100. It would take me an entire Saturday to feed everyone. Then I had to play with new babies to get them used to humans. And by playing I mean holding the little rascals, letting them crawl all over my hands. If I had a nickel for every time one of them bit the skin between my thumb and index finger….
I hope everyone had a lovely Hanukkah and Christmas. I took too many days off work and played with company. Any weird gifts? The strangest thing we got was…well, I don’t think there was anything strange this year. We discovered a nifty video game called Never Alone. It’s a gorgeous 2 player with fascinating stories and history of Alaskan natives. Check out their website and read up on how the game came to be. A great lesson on not letting someone tell you something can’t be done.
I suppose I should do a quick word count. (as I’ve mentioned before, this is more for me to keep track of my progress as I can’t imagine anyone being all that interested!)
I think I mentioned that I didn’t like the ending to the A story and cut about 7 thousand words giving myself a mini heart attack. (that’s 23 pages at 300 words per page) Well, I finished 3 new chapters, ended up ahead in the count and love the new direction. I was so happy with it, I almost stood up in Mcd’s to read what I’d wrote. At least, I would have cut into the crazy old man collection that was bashing the President. (by 10 at night, the place is pretty empty. Just the crazy old man club and me. We always nod to each other but keep our distance)
How to Sex Your Snake
Genre – Mystery
New this week – 2,436 words
Total Count – 46,962 words
Release date: Early 2016
Chapters 1-17 are done. (I rewrote 15-17) Ch 18 needs some work but is completely outlined. Ch 19 is done. Ch 20 might be done. Ch 21 needs a bit of work. Chs 22-24 are just in outline stages still. My editor has me giving her daily updates with the goal of sending her the manuscript on Jan 2. We’ll see. It will be a push because I have commitments on new year’s eve and day. No, not the drinking kind!
Stay safe if you’re doing the drinking kind of things. Use Uber (or the like) or stay home and as always
Write one,
Melissa
Ps.
Did you get something weird for Christmas or Hanukkah?
Got woken up a bit after 5 Sunday morning and had to drive to the next town over to pick up the kid from his night shift job. We’ve always told him, if he’s too tired to drive, call and we’ll pick him up. So we did. (living in the boonies sucks sometimes) The rest of the day was spent being exhausted while some pretty intense storms kept the house dark and dreary. Tried waking up with a movie, Star Wars, but we kept konking out and then rewinding to the last point we remembered. I’m not sure we ever saw the whole film. After napping off and on all day, we were surprised to actually sleep through the night. I’m working from the living room today. It’s a bit cold at my desk, and this table has a nice view of the golf course.
Last week, or so, I finally got around to having an expert look at a very small scene that I knew was full of all sorts of errors. I figured it would be an easy fix, once I found out what would really happen in that situation. Boy was I wrong. The changes rippled all through the entire friggin’ book. So, since then, I’d been rewriting and making notes of what still needed to be fixed. (I’m pretty mad at myself because I know better than this. Always check with your expert first.)
Hurrying through mosquito loop.
Then two days ago, I needed to clear my head so I took the dogs for a walk. We didn’t get far before I realized I could easily fix everything with the next scene and nothing after that would have to change. Now, I’m going through and doing some restorations. I’m anxious to finish this and get back to work on the edits of the last couple of chapters.
Once all that’s done, the manuscript still needs to go back to the editor for a last look and then onto the folks checking for formatting and missed errors. (I keep finding extra spaces at the end of sentences. This is so much easier to see on a printed sheet) Because of this, I’ve updated the approximate release date.
Onto the word count.
How to Sex Your Snake
Genre – Mystery
New since Thursday – 3389 words
Total Count – 37859 words
Release date: Pre-orders mid October
Goals for next week: keeping up with the edits and then actually writing a post next Sunday. That’s a huge goal. I’ve been terribly lax about keeping track of my week’s work.
Things will be much easier now that the golf season is winding down. I have my last day in the bar cart soon, probably this Saturday. For the rest of September, I’ll still follow Mark over to the bar on his nights and write at a back table. The course closes at the end of the month so it won’t be long until I’ll be able to get into a writing routine for winter.
Most of this week was delightfully lost to chats with mom. I only get to see her twice a year, because of how far apart we live, so I’m okay with that. And the best part is that I’ve now got notes tucked away for a novel based on one of her early careers in ’48. (mom did a lot of cool stuff including working for the FBI in DC when she was 17) Thanks to all the stories I’ve heard this past month, there is potential for a regular series. I will pencil this one in to start researching this summer.
On to the Sunday Word Count.
How to Sex Your Snake, June Nash 1:
Genre – Mystery
New this week – 1814 words
Total Count – 24,531 words
Release date: Late Spring 2015 – still on track
Goals from last week:Finish 9, 10 and 11. Get the beats done for 12. Well, I finished ch 9 and that went to my editor, Lisa. Ch 10 is about half done and I didn’t get to 11. I did however, get all the beats down for the rest of the book. That took me two days and none of it is included in the total word count. At this point in time, it all clocks out to 17 chapters. That could change as I do the actual writing. Sometimes, a chapter will morph into several. Ch 5 became chs 5-8. I am running out of time though. I really wanted to finish by April 26th. I’m back on the road again for 3 weeks starting the 27th and I wanted to just relax. Especially after May 4th cause I’ll finally see my husband again after 2 months apart. I kinda forget what he looks like.
For now, I will keep the release date as still on track until next Sunday. Then I will adjust, depending on how much of the book I have left to write. I have not checked in with the cover artist recently. I need to do that at the end of the week. And that’s it.
Goals for Next Week: finish the book. I still have a lot to write but my outline is extremely detailed so that will make things go faster.
Have a good week and write on,
Melissa
p.s.
The photo is from a cafe in Key West. Chickens are feral on the island. The tourists love them. The locals hate them. Now that I’m away from my happy place, I miss the chickens. If we move back, I’m sure I’ll hate them after a week or so.
a mid 1800’s cup for mustache wearing tea drinkers.
I’m still on the road and missing the family. Right now, I’m sitting in Starbucks for the free wi-fi and I’m losing feeling in my keister so let’s get right to the word count.
How to Sex Your Snake, June Nash 1:
Genre – Mystery
New this week – 1561 words
Total Count – 22,717 words
Release date: Late Spring 2015 – still on track
Goals from last week: Finish 9 and 10 and get a good draft of 11. Well, 9 is very close to done. I have less than a page that needs to be edited. I’m just kinda stuck on one little part so I’m calling it quits for the night. I wrote most of the beats for 10 and a couple for 11. I also figured out the exact ending down to the last line and wrote the beats for the first chapter of the next book.
Goals for next week: Finish 9, 10 and 11. Get the beats done for 12. If I can’t get through these goals I will fall behind and most likely miss my deadline of April 26th. I do not want to miss my deadline, so I will by kicking butt this week to get through these chapters. I was a bit distracted this week and lost a whole day, yesterday to the salon. 7 hrs and 45 mins to get my hair re done. I kid you not. I’m still irked but might be able to write about it in the near future.
Melissa Banczak 