Jessie Mihalik

All of the Chaos Reigning Preorder Bonus Info in One Place… Finally :)

May 14, 2020 / Chaos Reigning

First, today (May 14) is the last day to enter to win an ARC, so head over to the giveaway post before midnight!

If you’ve preorder CR, I want to give you some goodies as a thank you, while supplies last!

Print Preorder Bonus! A picture of the four different bookplate designs as well as the button and bookmark. While supplies last, at participating bookstores.

If you want a print book, then I recommend buying from The Ripped Bodice (five left as of Tuesday), Love’s Sweet Arrow, or Mysterious Galaxy (new yesterday!).

Not only will you be supporting an independent bookstore, you’ll also get a bookmark, button, and signed bookplate (while supplies last). If you want a signed book, this is going to be your only option until the world is safer.

Ebook Preorder Bonus! Get a bookmark, sticker, and note. While supplies last.

If you’ve preordered an ebook, a print book from another store, or requested that your library buy a copy of CR, then I’ll send you a sticker and bookmark along with a (very) brief note, while supplies last. I have supplies to send about sixty of these, and it’s open to US and international readers as long as you live in one of the 190 countries that support USPS First Class Mail.

Because I have no idea how many of you are going to respond, here is how I’m going to do it: you don’t have to send me proof of your preorder/library purchase request, but if you do, you’ll move into the verified line, and I’ll send out swag to the verified people first.

So if 20 people verify, I’ll send them swag first, even if 50 non-verified people responded faster. Then I’ll send the remaining swag to the 40 non-verified people, in a first come, first served order. If 80 people are verified, the first 60 will get swag in first come, first served order.

Clear as mud? Excellent. :)

To claim, send me an email at mihalikwrites at gmaildotcom with the subject Preorder Bonus. If you want to send proof, then include a screenshot of the order/library purchase request page or forward the order email (feel free to redact personal info), whatever is easiest. Also include your name and address. All emails must be received by May 18 at 11:59PM CDT, but I wouldn’t wait if I were you. :)

I’ll start sending out swag in the middle of next week based on the plan above, and I will eventually respond to everyone via email (so you know whether to check your mailbox or not), but it won’t be until I start sending stuff. If I hit sixty verified people super fast, I’ll update the post.

And if you still need to preorder, I’ve got you. :)

We’re just five days from release! 😱🥰🎉

Chaos Reigning ARC Giveaway!

May 12, 2020 / Chaos Reigning, Giveaway

Most of my Chaos Reigning ARCs are trapped in the HarperCollins building while all of the employees are working from home. But my lovely editor arranged for a few extras they had on hand to be shipped to me so that I can give them away to you all!

Because it’s so close to release, this is going to be a much shorter giveaway than usual—just three days—and even then you probably won’t receive the book before release. Hopefully the wait will be worth it. :)

See below for details on how to enter, but first, may I tempt you with some delicious preorder bonuses?

If you want to support an independent bookstore and get some additional swag, including a bookmark, badass space princess button, and bookplate signed by yours truly, then you can preorder a print copy of CR from The Ripped Bodice, Love’s Sweet Arrow, or Mysterious Galaxy, while supplies last. Last I heard (see below for updates!), they each had about 15-20 preorders remaining, but you can probably contact them if you want to be really sure you’ll get the bonus items.

UPDATE 5/12 4:36PM: The Ripped Bodice is down to less than five, so get your orders in fast!

UPDATE 5/13 3:08PM: Mysterious Galaxy has also agreed to include preorder swag! They have 15-20 preorders remaining!

If you prefer to buy the ebook or the print book elsewhere, I’ve got you, too. I’ll send you a bookmark and sticker, and international readers are included, as long as USPS delivers first class mail to your country. More details later this week!

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.

Interplanetary intrigue and romance combine in this electrifying finale to the Consortium Rebellion trilogy.

As the youngest member of her High House, Catarina von Hasenberg is used to being underestimated, but her youth and flighty, bubbly personality mask a clever mind and stubborn determination. Her enemies, blind to her true strength, do not suspect that Cat is a spy—which makes her the perfect candidate to go undercover at a rival House’s summer retreat to gather intelligence on their recent treachery.

Cat’s overprotective older sister reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Cat cannot go alone. Alexander Sterling, a quiet, gorgeous bodyguard, will accompany her, posing as her lover. After Cat tries, and fails, to ditch Alex, she grudgingly agrees, confident in her ability to manage him. After all, she’s never found a person she can’t manipulate.

But Alex proves more difficult—and more desirable—than Cat anticipated. When she’s attacked and nearly killed, she and Alex are forced to work together to figure out how deep the treason goes. With rumors of widespread assaults on Serenity raging, communications down, and the rest of her family trapped off-planet, Catarina must persuade Alex to return to Earth to expose the truth and finish this deadly battle once and for all.

But Cat can’t explain why she’s the perfect person to infiltrate hostile territory without revealing secrets she’d rather keep buried…

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

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. Winners announced soon!

The entry period starts now and ends on May 14, 2020 at 11:59PM CDT. You must be eighteen or older. Open to US and international readers.
Leave ONE top-level comment (i.e., not a reply) below and tell me about something you’ve enjoyed recently. It could be a book, a TV show, spending time at home with your dog, whatever you like. The world is not great right now, but let’s celebrate the small positives! Duplicate top-level comments will be deleted. You are welcome to reply to other comments, though, because those won’t count as entries.
Comments must be on the blog post on my site (www.jessiemihalik.com). Comments on Facebook, Goodreads, etc. won’t count.
Come back on May 15 and see if you’ve won! Winners will be picked by random number and must claim their book. Instructions will be included in the winning post.

Chaos Reigning Preorder Bonus with The Ripped Bodice!

May 1, 2020 / Chaos Reigning

I am delighted to announce that The Ripped Bodice will include a bookmark, a Badass Space Princess button, and a signed bookplate with the first 30 50 (you all are amazing and went through 30 so fast!!) print preorders of Chaos Reigning!

I was supposed to have an event with Jeffe Kennedy at The Ripped Bodice at the end of the month, but because of *waves around at everything* the live event was understandably canceled. (We’re working on pivoting to a video, I’ll let you know when I have more details!) I’m sad that I don’t get to visit the store, but I’m happy that I can still help support them remotely.

If you would like a print copy of CR and want to support a small, romance-focused independent bookstore (and get some fun bonus swag!), then preorder here!

The bonus is not listed on their site yet, but I have confirmed with them that they’ll include it, so preorder away, and get cracking because they will only have 30 50 bonus packets to include. I’ll update the post if they let me know they’ve sold out. (Update: The 30 sold super fast, so I increased it to 50, but don’t wait!!)

Just 2.5 weeks to go! Ahhhhhh!

Get your bonus:

Baking Mishaps

April 28, 2020 / Life

Like seemingly half of Twitter, I’ve taken up bread baking during the apocalypse—sourdough, to be specific, because I couldn’t find yeast for the longest time. I started off making the America’s Test Kitchen no-knead sourdough, but I never turned out a great loaf. It always tasted delicious, but it was shaped more like a hockey puck than a nice round loaf.

America’s Test Kitchen is usually bulletproof for me, so I don’t know what was going on with that recipe, but judging by the comments section, I wasn’t alone.

After tweaking the recipe several times and continuing to fail, I moved on to King Arthur’s no-knead sourdough.

Why no-knead? Because I’m lazy. I’ve watched a small mountain of sourdough YouTube videos now, and I didn’t want to invest quite that much time, effort, or equipment. The more hands-off, the better. And the KA recipe delivers on all fronts: the hands-on part doesn’t take too much effort and you don’t need a special proofing basket.

And behold, my first loaf with the new recipe: it’s tall, round, and beautiful.

A golden-brown, nicely rounded boule of sourdough in an enameled cast iron dutch oven.

It’s also 100% stuck to the bottom of the pan. Welded, one might say. Fused, perhaps. The crust and pan have atomically bonded into a new entity never before seen. 😂😭😭

I got it out, but only at great sacrifice. You can’t see it here, because I’ve cleverly hidden the bottom, but zero bottom crust remains on the loaf. But, other than that teeny tiny (terrible) mishap, isn’t it lovely?

The loaf out of the pan on a wire cooling rack, where you can hardly tell the bottom crust is missing.

I’m going to try the recipe again, only this time I’m going to use parchment paper to (hopefully) prevent the stickage. I should’ve used oil this time (instead of the flour I tried), but I didn’t want to have to scrub the residue off the pan.

That plan did not work out like I thought it was going to. 😂

Have you started baking this month? If so, how’s it going? Have you had any mishaps?

Chaos Reigning Chapter Two!

April 27, 2020 / Chaos Reigning, Writing

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!