Books

Chaos Reigning Chapter Two!

The cover of Chaos Reigning on a background of alien planets.
Preorder Now!
Available May 19, 2020
www.jessiemihalik.com

Time marches ever onward and we’re now just over three weeks away from the release of Chaos Reigning! 😱 Yes, I had to check the calendar twice to ensure that was correct, because it doesn’t seem like May 19 should be here so soon. After March was 1000 years long, it seems like April has flashed by in no time at all.

Putting out a book called Chaos Reigning right now feels like a certain kind of irony. I would prefer a little less chaos in real life, please and thank you. And putting out any book right now feels fraught. Bookstores are closed, gatherings are canceled, and so many people have lost their jobs and are struggling.

But I also think books are super important—as a distraction, as an escape, and just as pure joy in a world that’s not so joyful right now.

And local indie bookstores are just as important, and struggling just as much. Details are still being worked out, but if you preorder CR from one of the indies I’m working with (list coming soon!), you’ll get a signed book plate, bookmark, and button. Here’s a sneak peek at the different book plate designs:

Four different book plate stickers with space backgrounds, a bookmark with the PR, AB, and CR covers on it, and a Badass Space Princess button on a bamboo desk background.

And if you preorder the ebook instead, I’ll send you a bookmark and a sticker (not shown because they haven’t arrived yet).

Hopefully I’ll have more info to share later this week, once the indie stores are sorted, but I wanted to let you know that something was in the works to thank you for supporting me through my very first trilogy! :)

And, as always, if CR isn’t in your budget right now, I totally understand, and I would encourage you to request it from your local library. Many libraries are happy to purchase books requested by patrons, and many libraries also loan out ebooks now, which means you don’t even have to leave your house.

And now for the reason why you’re really here! If you head over to the book page, you’ll find the second chapter of CR waiting for you. Happy reading!

CHAOS REIGNING cover. A woman with dark, curly hair, in a long leather coat, facing left and holding a blaster. The background is an alien landscape with a planet and two moons in the sky and everything is shaded green-blue.

Preorder:
The Ripped Bodice | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | IndieBound

Aurora Blazing eBook on Sale for $1.99!

"Mihalik fills the void for every Star Wars fan who wished the franchise had more kissing." —BookPage.

Aurora Blazing on sale for $1.99!

This is just a quick note to let you know that the Aurora Blazing eBook is on sale for $1.99! I checked US, Canada, and UK, but other international sites may vary. The sale is only scheduled to run for a few days, so don’t wait too long. :)

Get your copy!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | IndieBound

You can also read the first three chapters!

And, if you are signed up for my newsletter, you have a little surprise in your inbox (in addition to the sale notice). Happy whatever day this is! 😂 I hope you all are doing well!

Chaos Reigning Chapter One!

Yesterday, I turned in the first pass page proofs for Chaos Reigning. This is when it really starts to look like a book, because the PDF is formatted like the print book. For example, here are the title page and first page:

Don’t those look like real book pages? Yay! The page proofs are the last time I’ll read the book all the way through, and my last chance to catch any mistakes. I’ve read it so many times at this point that catching mistakes is difficult, but the formatted text makes it easier to see if I’ve overused a word in a paragraph. Which I do. A lot. :)

Page proofs also mean that the text is 99% done. There may be questions from proofreaders that change a tiny bit later on, but it’s mostly set in stone at this point.

And that means I can post the first chapter! 🎉

If you mosey over to the book page, you’ll find all of Chapter One in its (nearly) final glory.

We’re just a smidgen over two months out from release (May 19!!), and I can hardly believe it. I don’t know what happened to January and February, but I would like those months back, please and thank you.

If you haven’t preordered yet, now would be an excellent time. Or ask your library to buy a copy. Or your BFF. Or your dog. (Send me photos of that last one!)

CHAOS REIGNING cover. A woman with dark, curly hair, in a long leather coat, facing right and holding a blaster. The background is an alien landscape with a planet and two moons in the sky and everything is shaded green-blue.

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

This is the Consortium Rebellion trilogy’s last hurrah, and I would be delighted if it went out with a bang, because that ups the possibility of more Consortium stories in the future. Thank you all for sticking with me for my very first trilogy!! 😍🥰

Chaos Reigning Copyedits and a Snippet!

Yesterday, the copyedits for Chaos Reigning landed in my inbox. That means we are inching ever closer to release, which I can hardly believe. This will be the final book in the Consortium Rebellion trilogy and the the final book (for now) set in the Consortium universe.

I have ideas for future books, but they’ll have to get in line behind all of my other commitments. Speaking of, I haven’t forgotten about TQT, but it’s been eclipsed by contracted work, including the proposal for my new series (yay!!!), as I warned was possible. I promise I’m still doing it, just much later than I had hoped. :/

But enough with the sadness—time to celebrate CR being almost a real book! Here’s a little snippet to tide you over until copyedits are done and I can post the first chapter. And if you haven’t yet, now is an excellent time to preorder because the book comes out in May! ;)

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


I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror and willed myself to calm down. Alexander—now Alex—had flustered me, and I felt like I needed a cold shower. I shivered as I remembered his knowing grin. Maybe two cold showers.

After I’d dawdled as long as I could without looking like I was hiding, I returned to the bedroom. Alex was sitting on his pallet on the floor, looking at his com. He glanced up, and I tilted my head toward the bathroom. “All yours.”

He nodded his thanks and gathered his bag. Once he was gone, I slid into my enormous, fluffy bed. I looked at his sad little pile of blankets and hardened my heart. No. This was his decision. I’d offered an alternative and he’d chosen this. He could live with his choices.

“Jarvis, lights twenty percent.” The overhead lights flared to life, slightly brighter than a night-light setting. Alex would be able to see, even after coming out of the fully lit bathroom.

I set the windows to gradually lighten in four hours. The sunlight would wake me without the need for a harsh alarm. I checked my com one final time, but I hadn’t gotten anything else from Bianca. I wondered if she was getting updates from Alex or Aoife, or if she assumed no news was good news.

With nothing left to do, I turned off my bedside lamp and closed my eyes. Restless energy pulsed under my skin, but I feigned sleep.

Alex returned with a whisper of sound. He settled on his pallet and turned the overhead lights off. He was perfectly still and quiet, without so much as a discontented sigh. It would have been so much easier to ignore him if he’d acted disgruntled, but his quiet acceptance sent sympathy and guilt swirling through my veins. He had to be uncomfortable, but you’d never know it.

I lasted for maybe ten minutes before I sighed and whispered, “Are you awake?”

“Yes.” His voice rumbled from the dark. “Do you need something?”

“Jarvis, lights five percent.” The room was still deeply shadowed, but I had excellent night vision and could see clearly even in deep darkness. However, this would be easier if I could pretend the shadows hid us from each other. “Bring your pallet. You can sleep on the other side of the bed. On top of the covers.”

There was a long, silent pause. Finally, he asked, “Are you sure? I don’t mind sleeping here.”

Exciting News!

I know it’s been radio silence around here, but that’s because I was working on something SUPER SECRET, and today the secret is out!

Behold!

Author of Polaris Rising, Jessie Mihalik's HUNTED pitched as a gender-switched MANDALORIAN but with romance, featuring a fierce intergalactic bounty hunter, her motley crew, and a grim former foe who's hiding more than a few secrets to Tessa Woodward at Voyager, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in January 2022, by Sarah Younger at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency (world).

If you don’t know what you’re looking at, this is the Publisher’s Marketplace (the book industry’s deal news source) screenshot of MY NEW BOOK DEAL!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Tessa Woodward, my absolutely amazing editor at Harper Voyager, has agreed to do three more books with me! I am delighted that I get to continue working with her and the team at Voyager because as far as I’m concerned, they’re the best in the business. :)

This will be a completely new series, set in a new world, but it’s still science fiction romance. What follows is VERY EARLY info, so it’s subject to change.

The first book, tentatively titled HUNTED, will follow Octavia Zarola, a tough bounty-hunter hiding a soft heart, and her sworn enemy, Torran Fletcher. It’ll be a true enemies-to-lovers, with a few other surprises thrown in. I’ve written a little bit of it to get a feel for the world/characters, and it’s going to be so fun! I love Tavi’s crew, who’ll feature in the second and third books.

I’m usually not a plotter (at all), but when you’re making a proposal for a new series, the publisher wants more than “uhhh… it’s a space romance,” so I know more than usual about these characters already.

Do you want a tiny, tiny peek? Shhh, don’t tell anyone. ;)

Rough draft, unedited, subject to completely change! This is their first meeting. I’ve removed a few spoilery things (I have to keep some secrets), but they’re in a space station landing bay and Octavia is leaning against her ship’s cargo ramp, watching as Torran’s group goes around and talks to various other ship captains.


The group leader raised an eyebrow. He was all hard angles and harsh beauty. Sharp cheekbones, strong jaw, straight nose.

Behind him waited three soldiers, all in full armor—including the battle helmets that covered their faces. I couldn’t tell if they expected trouble to find them or if they were prepared to be the trouble.

“Are you the captain of this ship?” the leader asked in lightly-accented Common.

I straightened away from the ramp. I wasn’t particularly tall, and I had to look up to meet his eyes, which added an annoyed bite to my tone. “Yes.”

“I am Torran Fletcher. I want to hire you.”

Now I understood why all of his previous conversations were so short. This one would be, too. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m a bounty hunter. I hunt criminals and murderers; I don’t work for them.” And I especially didn’t work for one of the top Valovian generals who’d led the war against the Federated Human Planets. No wonder he’d looked familiar. He’d been one of our priority targets, but as far as we knew, he’d never been anywhere near the front lines. Disgust pulled at my lips. Coward.

His piercing gaze seared me. “I know you. Lieutenant Octavia Zarola, hero of Rodeni,” he mocked before his expression hardened. “Slaughterer of thousands. You are worth a lot in Valovian space.”

My palms itched with the desire to grip a weapon. The enemy stood at my door and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it unless I wanted to cause an intergalactic incident. Which I did, very much. But the thought of my crew stayed my hand. I couldn’t go and get myself killed for a vengeance that was three years too late, not when people still depended on me.


Ooohhh… drama. LOL. I hope you enjoyed the tiny snippet. :) Happy Valentine’s Day!