Author name: Jessie

Jessie Mihalik has a degree in Computer Science and a love of all things geeky. A software engineer by trade, Jessie now writes full time from her home in Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing co-op video games with her husband, trying out new board games, or reading books pulled from her overflowing bookshelves.

Polaris Rising Snippet on Ilona Andrews’s Site!

Ilona and Gordon were kind enough to host a new snippet of Polaris Rising! Head over to their site to check it out. You’ll also find the story of how we first met. :)

And if you came from their site, welcome! Chapter One of Polaris Rising is available on the book page. A few other snippets are also available.

If you enjoyed the snippets, you might also like my novella, The Queen’s Gambit. I wrote it as a blog serial last year, then edited and published it. TQG2 kicks off in the next month or so, also as a free serial first, so now is an excellent time to check it out. :)

Edit: And, of course, I am eternally grateful to Ilona and Gordon for sharing! 😍

Diamond Fire

Happy book birthday to Ilona Andrews! Diamond Fire is out today! It showed up on my Kindle last night just as I was planning to sleep, so I started it, because of course, and let me tell you, it was sooooo hard putting it down.

Diamond Fire

Nevada Frida Baylor and Connor Ander Rogan cordially invite you to join their wedding celebration. Summoning, weather manipulation, and other magical activities strictly forbidden.

Catalina Baylor is looking forward to wearing her maid of honor dress and watching her older sister walk down the aisle. Then the wedding planner gets escorted off the premises, the bride’s priceless tiara disappears, and Rogan’s extensive family overruns his mother’s home. Someone is cheating, someone is lying, and someone is plotting murder.

To make this wedding happen, Catalina will have to do the thing she fears most: use her magic. But she’s a Baylor and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her sister’s happiness. Nevada will have her fairy tale wedding, even if Catalina has to tear the mansion apart brick by brick to get it done.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Kobo

 
And if you are in the USA, don’t forget to VOTE today! You can read Diamond Fire while you wait in line! Win win! :)

A Camping Weekend

Today dawned cold and dreary, which makes me even happier that we spent the weekend at Enchanted Rock with sunny, 85°F weather. We almost didn’t go because the rain forecast was more than 50%, but my optimistic husband talked me into it, and I’m so glad he did. It sprinkled on us a few times, but mostly the weather was lovely.

Also, because it’s in the boonies, we didn’t have cell service, which meant a weekend away from being constantly connected. It was awesome. I am tethered to my phone as much as the next person, and there were a few times I would’ve liked to post a photo to social media, but overall, it was nice to disconnect.

Plus, look at this amazing campsite we snagged.

Campsite

Book Two Update and Snippet

Book two has been sent off to my editor! Woohoo!

I have to admit, sending in book two was far scarier than sending in book one. After all, she liked the first book enough to buy it. This one is an unknown. What if she hates it? What if the first book was just a fluke and I’ll never write anything as good/better? And so on and so forth. Thanks, brain, for making me neurotic. :/

In less crazy news, book two has a title: Aurora Blazing. It’s due out late next year, currently October (subject to change, etc, etc). Somehow, Goodreads already knows more about it than I do. I don’t know what kind of data ninjas they have over there, but nice work.

Polaris Rising is the story of Loch and Ada. Aurora Blazing picks up where PR left off, but it’s the story of Bianca and Ian. Bianca is Ada’s sister.

Here’s a little snippet from Aurora Blazing. This is from the rough draft and subject to change/be cut from the final draft. :)


My com vibrated and Ian’s info reappeared on my glasses. The five-minute block had expired. I confirmed Aurora was on course for orbit, then accepted the video link as voice-only on my side—I could see him, but he couldn’t see me.

If I’d thought I’d seen Ian at his angriest before my meeting with Evelyn, I’d been dead wrong. I’d never seen him so furious as he was right now. His face was set in lines of granite and his eyes blazed with temper. His jaw was clenched so hard I was afraid he’d break his teeth.

It seemingly took him a force of will to open his mouth. “Lady Bianca, return to the ground. Now,” he gritted out.

POLARIS RISING Early ARC Winners!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered to win a copy of Polaris Rising! I found so many new books to read thanks to all of your recommendations!

There were 116 entries total, which is beyond amazing. Because so many of you entered, I’m giving away an extra ARC! Harper Voyager was incredibly generous with my allotment of ARCs, so if you didn’t win this time, never fear, you’ll have another chance closer to release. :)

And if you sign up for my author newsletter, you still have four more chances to win (one winner per month).

As always, if you want to guarantee yourself a copy of Polaris Rising, you can preorder it now from your favorite retailer! We’re just a little over four months away from release. 😳😱

Preorder links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books
Kobo | Google Play | IndieBound

And now, the moment you’ve all be waiting for: the winners, as selected by random number!

#110 – RobC
#56 – Amanda Fink
#32 – Janeen Horne
#83 – Kimberly

WINNER INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Please double check the link to the winner comment to make sure you’re the right winner. :)
  2. 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.
  3. Please email me from the email you used to comment, so I can verify you’re the right person.
  4. Include your name and address. Also, if you want the book personalized, please include the name you’d like me to sign it to.