January 2019 – Jessie Mihalik

Polaris Rising Chapter 3

January 29, 2019 / Author News, Snippet, Writing

I hadn’t planned to put up chapter three because the whole chapter was just over what I was contractually allowed to share, and I didn’t want to leave you hanging in the middle of a scene.

But HarperCollins shared it on their page (thanks to Ness on Twitter for the heads-up), so I asked permission to share it here, and my editor was kind enough to give me the go-ahead!

Head over to my Polaris Rising page to read the first THREE chapters (click READ MORE). Then don’t forget to preorder because we’re just one week away from release!! Cue the panic flail. 😂

Polaris Rising Chapter 2 and Audiobook Sample!

January 22, 2019 / Author News, Writing

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We’re just two weeks away from Polaris Rising’s release. Two. Weeks. Ahhhhhh!

If you mosey over to the book page, you’ll find Chapter 2 has been added. Click READ MORE then scroll down. Enjoy!

Also, HarperAudio posted a sample of the audiobook on their SoundCloud account, which I will now attempt to embed:

You can preorder the Audible audiobook or audio CDs.

I have to say, it is deeply strange to hear someone else reading my book. The narrator does a fantastic job, but it’s lived in my head for so long that it’s odd to hear someone else’s interpretation.

I can totally understand why some authors don’t listen to their audiobooks. I don’t know if I’ll fall into that camp or not, because now I kind of want to hear how she reads the rest. :)

Also, don’t forget to check if you won an ARC. A couple people haven’t emailed me yet!

Polaris Rising ARC Winners!

January 19, 2019 / Author News, Giveaway, Writing

Thank you so much to everyone who entered to win an ARC of Polaris Rising! And thank you for sharing so many positive comments—I loved reading them all!

The random number generator has spoken and the following people were selected:

#62 – Mary S
#10 – Deb
#7 – Faith
#8 – Laura
#64 – Taylor Alcantar
#46 – Madeleine S.

If you didn’t win, never fear, we’re only two weeks and a few days from Feb 5! Which is a big combination of 🎉 and 😳.

WINNER INSTRUCTIONS:

Please double check the link to the winner comment to make sure you’re the right winner because some of you had popular names. :)
Email me at [mylastname]writes at gmail.com (replace [mylastname] with my actual last name). If you have trouble, get in touch via the contact form.
Please email me from the email you used to comment, so I can verify you’re the right person.
Include your name and address. Also, let me know if you want the book personalized (signed “To [Name]”) or just signed. If personalized, please include the name you’d like me to sign it to.

Polaris Rising: ARC Giveaway and Book Signing!

January 9, 2019 / Author News, Events, Giveaway, Snippet, Writing

We are just under four weeks away from the release of Polaris Rising! I can’t believe it. And to make it even more unbelievable, I am going to have a book signing at BookPeople in Austin, TX on Saturday, February 9 at 2:00 PM!

A book signing! At a bookstore! 😱

If you are local, please, please consider coming. I feel a little bit like one of those MLM people, trying to coerce people into attending, but my nightmare is I show up to a room full of empty chairs. So tell your friends, tell your mom, and heck, tell your friends’ moms. :)

You must buy the book from BookPeople to get it signed, but you can come meet me and hear me nervously ramble for free!

If you are not local, you can still order signed books and BookPeople will ship them straight to your door! Details are available on the event page.

And if you haven’t preordered yet, now is an excellent time. :) Preorder numbers are important for a debut author, so if you’re planning to pick it up on release anyway, it would mean a lot to me if you preordered:

A million thanks to everyone who has already preordered or requested it from the library or told their friends about it. You all are the best! 😍

I’m doing two things to celebrate being less than a month from release. First, I’ve made some quote cards with tiny little snippets of PR. These will go up on Instagram first before migrating to my other social media.

Instagram is new for me and I’m still trying to find my footing, but here is the first snippet! (I’m not using the built-in embed because it’s terrible, but if you click the image, it’ll take you to the Instagram page with a bigger version.)

There are moments in your life when you absolutely know what you should do and then you absolutely choose to do something else entirely.

This was one of those moments.

—Ada von Hasenberg, Polaris Rising

Let me know what you think!

Secondly, I’m giving away six ARC copies of Polaris Rising! 🎉🚀🎉

Your patience in reading this far was rewarded!

To enter to win an ARC, here are the rules. Please read them all! Incomplete entries will be ignored.

1. The entry period starts now and ends on January 18, 2019 at 12:00PM (noon) CST. You must be eighteen or older. Open to US and international readers.

2. Leave ONE top-level comment (i.e., not a reply) below and tell me about something positive. It could be a promotion at work, getting to spend time with family, a book you love, etc. Let’s put some happiness out into the world. :) Duplicate top-level comments will be deleted. You are welcome to reply to other comments, though, because those won’t count as entries.

3. Comments must be on the blog post on my site (www.jessiemihalik.com). Comments on Facebook, Goodreads, etc. won’t count.

4. Come back after 1/18 and see if you’ve won! Winners must claim their book. Instructions will be included in the winning post.

I’ll start: In addition to all the publishing awesomeness, my husband got a new job he’s excited about, and I recently read The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker. It was really fun. It’s like a high-fantasy Leverage where a determined woman turns a rag-tag bunch of criminals into a team for a crazy plot to save the empire. And it’s free!

Happy New Year! (Plus Publisher Giveaway!)

January 1, 2019 / Giveaway, Life

I hope your 2019 is off to an excellent start today! My day involved sleeping in after ringing in the new year with friends last night, so I feel like I’m starting off on the right foot. :)

Last week we had an awesome Christmas with our family. My husband and I grew up in the same small town and our parents still live there, so the holidays are pretty easy for us because we can see both sets of parents at the same time.

My brother was in town, too, so I got to spend time with my nephews. At 3 and 5 they are utterly adorable (and inexhaustible). We spent a day at an amusement park and their tiny little legs held out for longer than mine. :)

Mr. Mihalik and Nephew 1
Nephew 2 and the Abominable Snowman

The week went by so fast, I can’t believe we’re already to New Year’s Day. And just a tiny bit over a month away from the release date of Polaris Rising. Cue panicked running and screaming.

I’m still planning to give away another set of ARCs in a week or two, but my publisher, Harper Voyager, is currently giving away 15 copies over on their Facebook page.

You don’t need a Facebook account (it links to a non-FB page), but it’s US only and ends 1/7 at noon EST. Head over to check it out and read the rest of the rules. If you do have a FB account, you might drop a like or follow on Harper Voyager’s page in thanks. :)

How was your holiday/new year?