Between Drafts with Janelle Ewing

Issue #2 – The one with bats, crocodiles, and the waiting game.

Hello again, and welcome back to Between Drafts. If Issue #1 was about elephants, hyenas, and baby gorillas, this one is about patience, sharp lessons, and paying attention—plus a healthy respect for things with wings and teeth. This isn’t a fast read, but it’s a considered one. A mix of writing updates, travel tales, conservation notes, and a few things learned the hard way.

Let’s get into it.

Photography Spotlight: Australia from the Air

Earlier this year, I drove and camped across Australia’s Top End, and for the first time, dipped into aerial photography. I completed four flights—three in a small plane, and one in a helicopter. Doors off. Altitude around 2,500 feet. Wind ripping past hard enough to snatch a camera clean out of your hands if you’re careless. (Yes, I used a shoulder strap for my camera. No, that alone would not save your equipment.)

You lean out just enough to shoot straight down at the landscape racing beneath you. Too far, and physics wins.

It’s thrilling. It’s difficult. And it’s humbling.

Even in the helicopter, you’re moving fast, constantly adjusting settings, framing, and timing. The image featured here shows a river system at low tide spilling across a salt flat. At first glance, it looks like a plant. Or soft coral.

It’s neither. It’s water.

One of the things aerial photography taught me is how often nature repeats itself—patterns echoing across scale, species, and ecosystems. The wild has a visual language. From the air, you start to read it differently.

Planning an Australia trip? Dreaming of one? Ask me anything—where to go, what not to bring, or how to survive the sweltering mid-day heat during the dry season in the Northern Territory.

Conservation Focus: Let’s Talk About Bats

I’ll admit it upfront: bats have always terrified me. Yes, bats and vampires are basically synonymous in my mind. A visit to the Tolga Bat Hospital in Australia changed that—giving me a completely new respect for bats, from microbats to full-sized flying foxes.

Bats are ecological workhorses. They devour enormous amounts of insects, saving billions in pest control. They pollinate plants like bananas, mangoes, and even agave (yes, tequila). They spread seeds that help forests regenerate. Even their guano earns its keep as a natural fertilizer.

They’re also struggling.

In Australia, habitat loss and extreme heatwaves are causing mass bat deaths, while urban expansion and orchard conflicts only add pressure, despite their role as essential nocturnal pollinators.

Back home in Texas, the story isn’t much different. We host more than 30 bat species, including the world’s largest bat colony at Bracken Cave, yet populations are declining due to White-Nose Syndrome, habitat loss, wind turbines, and pesticides.

The image shared here is of a wild little red flying fox (Pteropus scapulatus), native to northern and eastern Australia. They roost by day and fly out at sunset in spectacular numbers.

Practical tip: if you camp under a roost, wash bat guano off your car quickly—it can etch the paint. Nature is generous, not gentle.

If you want to support conservation work, other than the Tolga Bat Hospital, the Australasia Bat Society in Australia or Bat Conservation International in the US are worth a look.

Bats don’t need to be feared. They need space, shade, and a little respect.

Travel Tales:
Crossings, Crocodiles, Consequences

Australia does not mess around when it comes to river crossings.

One of the most famous is Cahills Crossing in Kakadu National Park, where vehicles drive straight through crocodile-infested water while massive saltwater crocodiles gather downstream. People also fish from the banks there. Yes—fish. Voluntarily. We watched from the safety of the viewing platform and, thankfully, didn’t see much action that day. Which was fine by me.

But later, on Yellow Water Billabong, a tributary of the South Alligator River (named by an English cartographer before anyone had properly met a crocodile), we got front-row seats to something unforgettable.

We were on a pontoon boat—close. Very close—when a crocodile lunged and caught a fish just feet away. Then came the part that stuck with me: it swished its head back and forth in the water, washing reeds and debris off its catch before swallowing it whole.

Efficient. Methodical. Definitely a carnivore.

I guess its mother never said, eat your vegetables.

It was phenomenal to witness—ancient, precise, and quietly terrifying. A reminder that in northern Australia, the landscape isn’t just beautiful. It’s watching you back.

Life With Fur: Doing Good Work

Big news from the small-dog division.

Maggie has officially passed her therapy dog certification and is now volunteering alongside her big pack sister, Missy. Watching her step into this role has been quietly wonderful—and a little surreal.

Together, they’re working with me as Houston Ambassadors at Hobby Airport, visiting child therapy clinics, hospitals, and schools, where stressed-out seniors desperately need some puppy love before big exams. (Turns out dogs are excellent at reminding humans to breathe.)

Maggie takes the job seriously—calm, focused, and very aware that people are counting on her. Missy, the seasoned professional, leads by example. I mostly hold leashes and try not to get emotional.

It’s a privilege to see them do what they do best: show up, sit close, and make hard moments a little easier.

Writing Update:
Queries, Pitches, and the Waiting Game

The short version: things are moving. Slowly. Which, as it turns out, is exactly how this part works.

Over the past few months, I’ve queried literary agents across the U.S., Australia, and the U.K., and pitched to three agents face to face. Two of those agents asked to read pages. One asked for the entire manuscript.

That’s a big deal in a world where most traditional publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. An agent is the gatekeeper to those doors, so now I wait to see whether one opens.

If representation doesn’t shake out, there are strong indie presses I’ll pursue next. But for now, it’s very much a “refresh email, don’t panic” season.

A huge thank you to my beta readers, who gave thoughtful, honest feedback and helped push the manuscript into its best possible shape. You know who you are—and this book is better because of you.

To keep my fiction-brain limber while waiting, I’ve been writing short stories and entering literary competitions. I’ll report back next issue on how those go—and I’ll share a few pieces along the way, if you’d like to read them.

The Fastest Literary Rejection I’ve Ever Received

I recently submitted a query online to a U.K.-based agent and received a form rejection in under 12 hours. Given the time difference, that’s practically a speed record. Upon rereading their response, I realized the issue wasn’t the book—it was me. I had completely missed the mark and queried the wrong agent.

Lesson learned (and worth sharing):

• Scrutinize an agent’s manuscript wishlist. If they don’t represent your genre, don’t query them.

• At larger agencies, an assistant often reviews queries first. This is your initial filter.

• If your manuscript is YA sci-fi and the agent’s wishlist says romance, your letter is going straight to no.

• If it’s your first book and it’s over 100k words (outside of epic, world-building fantasy or Sci-fi genres), the odds aren’t great.

Rejections aren’t personal—but sloppy querying is avoidable. This one was on me. Consider it a public service announcement.

Spread the Word

If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to a friend who loves writing, travel, animals, or just a good story told with heart. Questions? Comments? Funny dog stories? Hit reply—I’d love to hear from you.

Up next: Philippines Underwater-fewer words. Better breathing.

Plus, a picture book featuring Maggie in the making, short fiction on submission, and preparations underway for South Georgia Island.

Thanks for reading.

If something here nudged you to write, wander, or pay attention to something you usually rush past, my work is done. If not, I’ll try again next issue. Here’s to a new year with room for curiosity and the occasional wrong turn.

Until next time,
Janelle
Keep exploring, creating, and chasing the good kind of wild.