Mindy McGinnis

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The Saturday Slash

Don't be afraid to ask for help with the most critical first step of your writing journey - the query.

I’ve been blogging since 2011 and have critiqued over 200 queries here on the blog using my Hatchet of Death. This is how I edit myself, it is how I edit others. If you think you want to play with me and my hatchet, shoot me an email.

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My thoughts are in blue, words to delete are in red, suggested rephrasing is in orange.

Ashra doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Not even when her cybernetic arm starts talking to her with a Southern drawl and a bad mouth. Fantastic hook! My only comment here is to put this altogether as one sentence Ashra doesn't believe in ghosts... not even when

In a world where corporations run the Network, and the Network runs everything—the traffic system, the electricity, the water, even the animals—technology is paramount. But technology is imperfect. Failures happen; code breaks, signals go down, malware gets unleashed. And that’s where Ashra steps in.

As a Hunter, Ashra’s job is to track down rogue tech that have disconnected from the network—the drifters, the critchers, the ghouls and creepers—and eliminate them. When she accepts a case to look into why the fish in Bodega Bay are dying, she expects it to be easy. What she doesn’t expect is to find herself embroiled in a mystery bigger and more sinister than she could have predicted, involving a virus that is spreading through the Network, turning living people into drones.

Thankfully—or unfortunately, depending on who you ask—she’s not alone. By a sick twist of fate, Ashra finds herself saddled with an unexpected companion; a mouthy, charming companion echo here with the word companion, find a different word for one of them by the name of Penny, who after losing her body, uploads her consciousness into Ashra’s cybernetic arm. She’s brash, she’s clever, and she’s the best lead Ashra’s got. If only she would stop flirting with her.

The Ghost in the Machine is an 80k mystery set in a world where science fiction and horror mingle, and romance blooms. Irreverent and dark, it will appeal to fans of Gideon the Ninth and The Murderbot Diaries.

Extremely few nitpicks here. You're in excellent shape - start querying!