Mandy Mikulencak

Category: Blog

  • A Long Time Coming in the Blink of an Eye

    A Long Time Coming in the Blink of an Eye

    It’s less than two weeks to the release of THE LAST SUPPERS on December 26. That’s 12 days, 12 hours and change. The whole journey to publication has been mind-boggling – and lengthy. Which makes 12 days seem like a blink of the eye.

    • I started writing the book in September 2013. I just looked back at one of the first Word files I saved. The first page of chapter one is almost word for word what the printed book features, except that the draft was in first person and the finished product is in third person. (Many thanks to my nephew, Hunter Knox, who suggested the change.)
    • It took until February 2015 to finish writing the draft (including the back and forth with my main critique partner, Micki Browning). While still holding a day job.
    • My agent, JL Stermer, and I worked on it for the next four months (including the revisions she suggested).
    • The book went out on submission to publishers in October 2015.
    • John Scognamiglio, editor in chief at Kensington Publishing, read it over Thanksgiving and wanted to know what else I was working on. My agent and I pitched the synopsis for THIS SIDE OF CRAZY, the first book I wrote, back in 2010.
    • In mid-December 2015, John made the offer of a two-book deal.
    • During summer 2016, I revised the book based on John’s insightful suggestions. (He’s truly amazing. For those of you who love the character, Dot, he’s the reason she has a much more prominent role in the finished product.)
    • The cover was designed in January 2017.
    • In spring 2017, I learned the book would be the premiere title in Kensington Publishing’s new hardcover imprint, John Scognamiglio Books (named after my editor who was celebrating his 25th year with the publisher).

    The rest of 2017 has been a blur of promotion (thank you Vida and Lulu for your incredible publicity skills), reviews, anticipation and stress baking. Back in December 2015, I thought I couldn’t possibly wait A WHOLE TWO YEARS for the book to be published. And now, here it is. HERE IT IS. Methinks 2018 will be its own special kind of blur. I’m ready.

  • ‘YAY’ is the Word of the Day EVERY DAY

    ‘YAY’ is the Word of the Day EVERY DAY

    My fabulous agent, JL Stermer, emailed me the photo of the YAY cats after some particularly great book news. The image made me laugh out loud. With the release date only 22 days away, there’s been a lot of promotion by my publisher, but the book is getting buzz all over. Library Journal gave it a starred review. Barnes & Noble noted it as Best  New Fiction in December 2017. TheEveryGirl.com listed it among 10 Highly Anticipated Books Coming Out This Winter. But there is more quiet publishing news that makes me (and my husband) yell “Yay!” almost every single day. All the lovely reviews on Goodreads, the mentions in blog posts and on Facebook, the bookstores that are holding author talks/signings in January, the arrival of my author copies.  This is the stuff of dreams after many years of patience (and a fare bit of rejection).  [A side note: the cats are the exact same color as my girls who passed away in 2004 and 2014. It makes me think they’re celebrating these publishing milestones with me.]

  • Savory or Sweet: Spoonbread is Southern Love

    Savory or Sweet: Spoonbread is Southern Love

    In a recent interview, I was asked about the recipe appendix in my upcoming novel, THE LAST SUPPERS. Most of the recipes come from two cookbooks published in the 1930s. What rich source material! (Thanks to my cousin Kathy who found them at estate sales in Virginia.) The interviewer asked if I’d made all the recipes myself. I plan to, but so far, I’ve made three. One of those recipes — for spoonbread — is one I’ve had in my own recipe box for years. It’s one of my all-time favorite comfort foods and something I make quite often. This custard-like version of cornbread makes a perfect base for green chile beef stew. But my favorite way to eat it is piping hot with butter and molasses, just as Ginny, the main character in the book does. You can get a sneak peek of all the recipes here. If you decide to make any of the recipes, send me a photo and tell me how you liked it.

  • The Best Kind of Cheerleader

    The Best Kind of Cheerleader

    Seven years ago, I entered the rough and tumble world of publishing thinking I had a good idea of the frustrations and challenges that lay ahead. On social media, I followed other writers, published authors, agents, publishers, and others who were quite frank about what to expect — including rejection at almost every step of the process. What I wasn’t prepared for were the cheerleaders who championed my work. My friends, family, fellow writers and my amazing agent fall into that category. Today, though, I’m giving a shout out to John Scognamiglio, editor-in-chief at Kensington Publishing. This month, John celebrates 25 years with Kensington. Yesterday, the publisher announced John is getting his very own hardcover imprint — John Scognamiglio Books — and that my novel, The Last Suppers, will be the first book released from the imprint. At first, John intimidated me a bit. After all, he was the top dealmaker in fiction, according to Publishers Marketplace. Over time, though, I realized just how invested John was in my books and my career. His enthusiasm for The Last Suppers makes him the ultimate cheerleader in my opinion. Congratulations, John, on 25 years at Kensington and on your new imprint. I’m beyond honored to have you in my corner.

  • Feeling the Book Love

    Feeling the Book Love

    BURN GIRL officially debuted on September 1, but I’ve been feeling the love since July when friends and family from afar pre-ordered the book from Amazon. Here in Durango, CO, friends have flocked to Maria’s Bookshop to buy the book, keeping it on the store’s bestseller list for more than four weeks. Your support and wonderful reviews have made this one of the most extraordinary times in my career. I’m looking forward to upcoming events and appearances so I can talk to more readers in person. Next up? The Hot Mamas reading group here in Durango.  Good food, great conversation and new friends.

  • The Good, the (Not So) Bad, and the Early

    The Good, the (Not So) Bad, and the Early

    As BURN GIRL’s release date of September 1 draws near, I find myself checking early reviews (NetGalley and GoodReads) a little obsessively. Because reviews are subjective by nature, so is the definition of ‘good.’  Sure, it’s awesome to get the five-star reviews and anyone would count those as good reviews. I’m finding, though, that two- and three-star reviews aren’t necessarily bad. I get insight into what other readers look for — what turns them on and what turns them off. For example, one woman didn’t like that I used the F word three times in the book. Another was angry that the main character didn’t go directly to the police when she was thrust into a dangerous situation. I’m learning to respect these opinions rather than dread them.

  • (Don’t) Fear the Red Pen

    (Don’t) Fear the Red Pen

    Today, I printed a hardcopy of my manuscript to proof because I always miss things when I work solely on the electronic copy. I rummaged around my desk drawer for my red pen and a memory overtook me so completely I had to sit down.

    Several years ago in a critique group, two of the writers said they thought pages marked up with red pen seemed punitive and harsh. (Later, my nephew who’s getting his PhD in English lit said the same thing.)

    Because I started my career as a journalist and editor, I’d grown accustomed to pages that bled. I’d ripped through others’ work and editors tore through mine. By the time I started writing fiction (and critiquing other people’s fiction), I used a red pen because my feeble old eyes needed the contrast from the black type. Or, so I told myself.

    Today, I can admit I thought their comments about the red pen were hooey. I’d survived some pretty harsh editors and bosses over the last 20 years and feel my writing is stronger because of it. Couldn’t they just toughen up? But the publishing world is already full of rejection – from agents, from publishers, from readers. I’d failed to recognize this was the very reason writers need to be compassionate with each other – even if that means using a pencil or black pen on critiques if that’s what they prefer.

    In late October, my book editor sent revisions that I needed to make to my debut novel coming out next year. I braced for today’s equivalent of bleeding pages – TrackChanges in Microsoft word. What she sent instead was the most wonderful “critique sandwich” – first, she said some amazingly supportive things, followed them with the changes to be made, and ended with something else amazingly supportive. It made all the difference between being demoralized at the thought of revising to being energized by it.

    Honestly, I don’t own pink or orange or green pens. I still edit my own work in red. But I’m still glad for the memory that bubbled up today.

  • Birthday Wishes Already Granted

    Birthday Wishes Already Granted

    My apologies for the long hiatus from the blog! Life and illness and a day job and all sorts of things derailed me. But today warrants a post about gratitude.

    As I celebrate my birthday, I’m reminded of what an extraordinary year I’ve had since last October 21. The two biggest milestones were signing with my agent, JL Stermer, and the sale of my YA contemporary, FACING FIRE, to Albert Whitman and Company.

    But I’m especially grateful for everyone who has supported me since I first started writing fiction six years ago: my amazing critique partners and beta readers; Jenni Baker, for designing my awesome website; Carson Jones, for taking incredible author photos; cheers and empathy from the online writing community, especially FizzyGrrl; my husband, Andy, for always reminding me it wasn’t a question of “if,” but “when.”

    Today, I don’t need to blow out candles on a cake to have my wishes come true. (Thank God, because there are too many candles to count). And the only birthday presents I need are those I already have: family, friends, love, support, time to write, courage to fail, space to grow.

  • When Five Years Doesn’t Seem So Very Long After All

    When Five Years Doesn’t Seem So Very Long After All

    In the past five years, I’ve written four books. I’ve had some low periods (really low periods) when I thought this day would never come. But as this dream unfolds, I am grateful for the many family members and friends who always maintained that it wasn’t “if,” it was “when.” So, here it is… One very persistent story idea that refused to leave me in peace. One agent and her assistant who took a chance on a dark, yet hopeful, story. One enthusiastic editor who convinced her editorial board that the book needed to be published.

  • Score: Universe 1, Mandy 0

    Over the last several months, I struggled with two health issues in addition to, you know, LIFE. All along I had a conversation with the Universe that went something like this:
    UNIVERSE:  Slow down.
    ME: Too busy.
    UNIVERSE: I mean it. Slow down.
    ME: Uh-uh. Too much work and stuff…you know, important stuff.
    UNIVERSE: You’ll regret it later.
    ME: Whatever! Shut up and leave me alone!

    So, I continued with work and more work. Found an agent and signed with her. Finished up edits to the YA book that hooked said agent. Started writing next book. Struggled with (ignored) health issues while working, working, working.

    Finally, my bum shoulder (health issue #1) screamed out to be heard. After physical therapy, etc., the surgeon suggested ‘minor’ surgery to shave off a bit of acromion bone to stop the impingement. Minor surgery ended up being anything but. I woke up in recovery to find they’d clipped off part of my bicep and reattached the bicep to bone. Arm has been in sling for five weeks now, and was almost completely immobile the first four of those weeks.  I still have weeks of physical therapy to regain function.

    In fact, most of this post is being typed with my left hand (non-dominant) only.

    These past few weeks have been some of the hardest in my life. The Universe told me to slow down.  I’m not only slowed down, I’m at a standstill. And it’s uncomfortable. But probably the biggest blessing in my life. I have had unprecedented amounts of time to re-prioritize, to think through what I really want from life and work. One thing has really stood out: because I haven’t been able to type, I haven’t been able to work on my book. And I miss writing. A lot. And I regret all those months I whined about writer’s block and not having time, etc. I had time. I just didn’t take advantage of it.

    Thank you, Dr. Furry… for removing part of my bicep and replacing it with perspective.