The Queen’s Gambit: Cover Reveal, Preorder, and New Snippet!

The Queen’s Gambit is now available for preorder! Woohoo! Seeing my name on a novella at Amazon is kind of surreal, I have to admit. :)

Behold, the cover:

The Queen's Gambit Cover

Many thanks to Natanya Wheeler at Nancy Yost Literary Agency for her help with the cover design!

Preorder links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

Print on demand paperbacks are coming, but they will not be available until closer to release/on release day.

I also created a fancy book page where you can read the blurb and the first two chapters. There weren’t a lot of changes early on, so for those of you who read the serial, below is a peek at the beginning of Chapter Eight.

BEWARE: Mild spoilers ahead for those of you who didn’t read the serial! Proceed with caution.

 
 
 
 
SPOILER BREAK
 
 
 
 

Chapter Eight Snippet:

I glanced into Valentin’s cell on my way past the door, then froze and backtracked. Another look confirmed what I had seen the first time—the cell was empty.

The hallway was clear. The door to medical was open, but the bridge and my quarters were both hidden behind closed doors. The bridge door should’ve been open.

I quietly moved to the door to my quarters. When it slid open, I peeked inside. The bedroom was empty but I couldn’t see into the bathroom. I entered, keeping an eye on the door to the bathroom, but nothing moved.

I opened the wall panel that hid my armory. None of my weapons were missing. I pulled out an electroshock pistol and checked the magazine. I considered grabbing a plasma pistol as well, but if I couldn’t take out Valentin with a magazine full of stun rounds, then things would be dire indeed.

I cleared the bathroom, then moved out into the hallway. I cleared the rec room again, followed by medical. Valentin was either on the bridge or hiding in the cargo bay, and I’d bet all of the imaginary credits we’d negotiated that he was on the bridge.

The door to the bridge slid open as I approached, surprising me enough that I stopped in my tracks.

Valentin looked up from the navigator’s terminal and barely glanced at the pistol in my hand. Both of his hands were visible and he appeared unarmed.

“I found the tracker,” he said calmly. “It was hidden deep in the life support code. You were right to turn everything off.”

I brought the pistol up and he tensed but didn’t move.

“How did you get out?” I asked quietly.

“I told you I’m good with software,” he said with a grin that stopped just shy of cockiness.

I stepped into the room, keeping the electroshock pistol trained on him. “You were in an isolation cell.”

“Not really,” he said. “If you want true isolation, you need a Faraday cage. Software isolation can be defeated.”


I’m really happy with how the edits turned out, and I can’t wait for you all to read the updated version!

If you want to read a little bit more before July, I suggest you subscribe to my author newsletter because I’ll be sending out a preorder email with a longer snippet!

Until then, here are some handy preorder links! ;)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

50 thoughts on “The Queen’s Gambit: Cover Reveal, Preorder, and New Snippet!”

  1. Oh boy the cover looks great and I really like the changes in the snippet. Can’t wait to read the rest of the changes!!!

  2. I will be ordering QUEEN’S GAMBIT for the library as soon as the print version is available – congratulations on making your dream a reality! And the cover is excellent, very evocative.

  3. Jessie,
    This is wonderful. I would have been delighted to have this a novel, and would cheerfully pay more for the longer spiel! Interesting characters and good character development is hard to do, and needs to be rewarded.

    1. Thank you! At this point, I write too slow to do two novels a year. We’ll see if that changes in the future, but for now I’m happy with a long novella and a novel. :)

      1. Jessie,
        . Be that as it may, I would still wait for a full novel. Besides, with the hard turn you just handed us with the re-write of Chapter 8, you now have us all hanging over the edge of the cliff trying to figure out where things are going now. And yes, I have TQG on pre-order. So, put on Marche Slave, and back to the keyboard!

  4. Preordered as I promised and can hardly wait. I am so happy that the cover is exactly what I envisioned in my head for the heroine. You did not pull the sexy, empty-headed blond space gal. The new cover has her looking thin, tired and tense and fits in with the world that you created for her.
    Kudos to you Jessica. Thank you and thank you for the snippet and the new twist that you put in. Is different from the serial but very logical. It fits. Hugs.
    BTW, I have my eye operation on the 9th. Hopefully I will be able to see well enough to enjoy Queen’s Gambit. A most welcome treat to look forward to.

  5. Just pre-ordered. Yay, I’m so excited! The sneak peek at chapter 8, threw me for a minute. Then… Loved it!
    Beautiful cover too!

    1. Thank you! And you have no idea how relieved I am that the cover is getting love… an author never knows until the book is out for people to see. :)

  6. Ack, I know you are excited about the cover but…. anyone with any expertise with a firearm would not stand there with their figure on the trigger… not that it would do much since her other finger is in the trigger guard behind the trigger…. but still.

    And anyone versed in gun safety will cringe every time they see that cover.

    But, um other than that nice cover…. thank you for the snippet

    1. Sorry… should not have written that, but since I teach firearm safety as part of my job it just sort of flowed out.

      I really enjoy your writing and look forward to the release of TQG. I am excited about seeing how you revised it and how the story might have changed from the original serial release.

      1. It’s okay, I figured it would be something people complained about. However, having looked at approximately seventy billion stock photos, I can say with some authority that the Venn diagram of cover models photographed with guns and cover models who’ve actually taken a firearms safety course is pretty much just two separate circles. Compromises had to be made. ??‍♀️?

  7. I’m pleased you posted the pre-order short cut. I’d only received the email today (6/8), so I searched your name on Barnes and Noble, but nothing came up. With your posted link, I was able to order right away. Look forward to the revised version and owning a copy that I can re-read whenever I want!

    1. Thank you! I don’t know why the search didn’t work. I just tried it and the book came up, but possibly because I’d been to the page before.

  8. Dear Jessie,
    I am so grateful to Ilona Andews for introducing the BDH to your writing.
    TQG was a captivating story as it was when you were posting a chapter each week for your fans, so I am anticipating an even more exciting read now the last round of edits are done and you are going into print!
    The cover is gorgeous and I especially like the intensity the model brings to Samara’s demeanor.
    Congratulations; your baby is beautiful – both inside and out!

  9. Love the cover, enjoyed the serial. Also thanks to Ilona another member of the BDH here!
    Look forward to buying the novella when it’s out :)

  10. Great cover. I’m glad you chose a female (since a female is the main protagonist) rather than the usual shirt challenged ( aka bare chested ) male.
    Preordered on iBooks. I’m looking forward to reading it.
    Best wishes for a successful launch into publishing from another member of the Ilona Andrews’ BDH ( Book Devouring Horde).

    1. Thank you! I looked at a lot of covers and many of them were shirtless men. Those books must sell, but I just couldn’t do it. We’ll see if I get rewarded or not for bucking the trend.

  11. You can also recommend that your local library buy a book. Most of them have a spot on their webpages for recommendations nowadays.

    1. Oh, that’s a great idea. I just checked and found it available in Overdrive to recommend as an ebook. Score! Thanks for the tip!

    2. I just tried recommending to my library, but I am over my recommendation limit ?

      But apparently in 1 more day I can recommend again ?

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