Much like Innermost before it, Don't Let Me Go also went through various creative stages and processes, including creating the perfect cover that would well represent the story. Below are the three tries it took before getting it right the fourth time.

Click on each image to view the full size cover but I promise you that there's not much to see there. These covers were particularly hideous and I'm grateful that the one that was actually used didn't look like one of these!

Do you like audiobooks? Do you want a free one? You've come to the right place! While searching for a producer for my newest book I've come across long forgotten Audible.com download codes for my poetry book! I'm kind of embarrassed that I forgot about them for a total of almost six months but you're lucky day hasn't gone away!

I'm not interested in doing some big raffle for these codes since I'm slowly building a marketing campaign for "Don't Let Me Go" that comes out on August 1st so if you want one of these just fill out the form below simply saying that you want a code and I'll forward you one straight to your email. You don't owe me a single thing in return, through I would be extremely grateful for an honest review on Audible, Goodreads and whichever other platform of your choice.

These codes are sent out on a first come first serve basis so don't delay if you want to get your hands on one! Below are instructions on how to redeem your free audiobook if you're new at this.

1. Go to my book's page on Audible.com.
2. Add the audiobook to your cart.
3. If you are prompted to sign in, please create a new Audible.com account or log in. Otherwise, proceed by clicking “Do you have a promotional code?” beneath the cover artwork of the audiobook.
4. Enter the promo code, and click "Apply Code."
5. A credit for the audiobook will be added to your account. Click the box next to “1 Credit” and click the “Update” button to apply the credit to the purchase.
6. After you select “1 Credit” and click “Update” to modify your shopping cart, the price for the audiobook will change to $0.00. You may proceed through the checkout by clicking “Next Step” and “Complete Purchase” on the subsequent page. 

Book Reader Magazine recently published their 'Featured Authors' interview with, of course, me! You can read the original post (and get interviewed yourself) by clicking here or just read the copied text below. If you have any questions head over to my 'Ask the Author' page on Goodreads or email me for an interview!

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Jamila Mikhail, I’m 21 years old and I’m a Canadian writer. I was born in British Columbia but lived here and there, even moving seven times in five years at one point! Finally, now that I’m an adult I came to settle in Ottawa, the capital and also the city of my dreams. We aren’t quite halfway through 2018 yet and I’ve already accomplished most of the dreams I’ve had for the last ten years! I share this dream with my cat Squeaker who has been my number one buddy for the last three years. She doesn’t meow, she literally squeaks the sissiest noise I’ve ever heard come out of a cat, and I’ve had cats my whole life.

I’m currently a student in law and human rights, which is my other passion aside from writing. The two merge more often than not though, because somewhere in my stories there will always be a character or situation that deals with real life contemporary social issues. Aside from this I’m a lover of snail mail letters, a postcard collector, a real foodie and a maker of toy soldiers. I’ve made myself a little army with old and recycled parts and they keep me in line in my writing!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember. Growing up I didn’t have cable TV or anything like that (I didn’t get my own until I was 19 years old actually) so books, and also the newspaper, were my connection to the rest of the world. Nowadays I love books both to escape reality for a little while, and to educate myself about pertinent and important topics in my society and the world at large. You can learn anything from a book, that I believe.
I’ve also loved writing for just as long. I first began steadily writing in 2004 (I was seven years old) and actually still have all the old notebooks with my scribbles and two-page stories in them. It wasn’t long before writing became my way to cope with life, but most importantly it was the only socially acceptable way to express myself and my grand ideas. I tend to be bold and writing enabled me to make that side of myself shine.
I began writing on a serious basis in 2011 on the advice of my therapist who was treating me for PTSD at the time, and my first completed manuscript “The Distant Factory” was born. It’s actually available for free on my website along with several other books. I didn’t publish anything until this year though, because it is no small task and I had to get my $#!& together before venturing out into that. It turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
This is probably the hardest question for me to answer because I literally drive all over the road here (and often drive all over the real road in my car too). I particularly love reading non-fiction about the Second World War and the Korean War since my own grandfather served in both of them and that’s also what inspired me to get into the human rights field. My favorites are definitely the autobiographies of the people who lived through the darkest days in humanity, these otherwise ordinary men and women are not only my favorite authors but also my heroes.
I also love reading true crime and psychological books that seek to explain why people turn into war criminals or serial killers and other things like that. I am fascinated by people and love being able to observe both the humanity in them and the horror in them.
My grandmother has inspired many of my writings through the years and was always pushing me to write some more. Sadly she passed away on March 11th of this year and writing is what has probably kept me alive since she’s been gone. Otherwise, my own life and the things I witness and hear about happening around me are generally what inspire me to write. That’s also what makes my stories easy to relate to.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “Don’t Let Me Go” and it is young adult fiction, geared towards readers from age 13 to adults. It actually began as a short story writing prompt in 2014 and turned into a novel-length manuscript by 2015 (the original short story can be found on my website) but it didn’t go much further than that. It remained dormant on my computer until National Novel Writing Month last year. I knew that I wanted to revive it, but also rewrite it because it was pretty awful in the beginning. I won’t lie, I totally flunked out during NaNoWriMo after rewriting only about 10 000 words. The manuscript remained dormant again for several months until my grandmother’s passing.
After that it only took me about a week and a half to complete the final draft of 78 000 words. It wasn’t hard for me to sit in front of my computer and type thousands upon thousands of words during the worst time in my life because it made me feel better and gave me purpose. Getting the whole thing ‘publication pretty’ so to speak took another two months but I’m very satisfied with how everything turned out. I think my grandma would be very proud of me even though she wouldn’t be able to read the book either way because she only spoke French.
“Don’t Let Me Go” mixes contemporary issues and situations (in this case, a teenage girl named Joanie who is reeling from her parents’ bitter divorce and struggles with school) with a little bit of fantasy, history and science. Joanie decides to pass the time by making military action figures and much to her surprise, one of them comes to life! Adler is a soldier straight out of the Second World War (but Joanie is the only person who can see him) and helps Joanie navigate rough waters that include depression, domestic violence and bullying but what she doesn’t know is that Adler also hides a secret…

This is just a message to say that this website's privacy policy has been updated to comply with the new GDPR rules. This should come as no surprise since you've probably gotten tons of messages in your inbox about this already, but I too am committed to your privacy and to running an ethical and secure online business. I promise to keep your personal information secure but I can't promise that my stories won't offend you!

I've also created a brand new privacy policy page that can now be found in the navigation menu on the left. Would you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us.

Good news! You can now preorder the ebook version of Don't Let Me Go for only $0.99 (UDS) for a limited time! Those of you who are on my email list have already gotten this announcement delivered straight to their inbox, but it's time for me to share the good news with you guys as well!

The regular list price for this title is $5.99 and this discount of $5 off will not last forever so if you'd like a Happy Meal on top of a book you might want to get this title right now. Preorders are currently available through Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, Apple iBooks, Kobo and Barnes & Noble. More retailers are currently being added too. This title officially comes out on August 1st in paperback, ebook and audiobook.

Curious to read a preview or to give me some early feedback? You can read the first two chapters by clicking the button below! Please leave your comments in the form because I would definitely like to know what you guys are thinking so far!

I'm sure that you've already seen it on the homepage, but I've also already started my next project called After Anderson. I'll post a formal announcement about it later because right now the spotlight is on my first young adult novel that is sure to be a great lighthearted read for both the young and old alike!

On top of battling the normal teenage angst that everyone goes through, Joanie is also reeling from her parents’ bitter divorce and having to cope with her mother’s new boyfriend and father’s new family. Alone in a new town and without  friends, she turns to passing the time by indulging in her longtime hobby of making toy models of soldiers and is both amazed and shocked when one of them comes to life.

Despite her millions of unanswered questions and having to make sense of new mysteries every day Joanie comes to find a loyal and trustworthy companion in Adler, a lieutenant in the Wehrmacht and a member of the German Resistance during World War II who must also find a way to handle living in modern times on top of being invisible to most of the population.

The two of them will have to fight several battles on many fronts in both the physical world and unseen realms as they both try to comprehend Adler’s new existence and piece Joanie’s broken life back together.

I'm proud to present you with my second book review from the team at Realistic Poetry International for my poetry book "Innermost" that is available in paperback, ebook and audiobook formats. Click here to read the original post on Realistic Poetry's website or read the copied text below! Don't forget to leave a comment as well!

If there’s only two things I understand at a visceral level, those would be trauma and poetry.  Innermost by Jamila Mikhail encapsulates both with an astounding breadth, depth, and respect, displaying both the cause and effects of PTSD while somehow managing not to instantly set off my own post-traumatic triggers even once.  As a warning, if you do have PTSD, there’s an excellent chance that you will see at least one of your triggers in this book, and I strongly encourage any such reader to treat the foreword as a content warning for the entire volume.  Even so, I give this a 5-star rating, without any doubt or hesitation.

With each poem I read, I found fragments of myself throughout.  Even the first, “A Man Called Joachim”, reminded me of a man I had loved and lost, yet never had to begin with.  “Broken Glass” brought me back to my childhood, even though I’m fairly sure it was about domestic abuse, but that sort of behavior transcends a single scenario.  “Black Soul” perfectly records the self-delusions of depression and self-loathing, the relentless belief of one’s own worthlessness, even that one is an innate threat to others.  It quietly captures the occasional death wish, the urge to suffer, the need to make the pain stop, regardless of how.  Each poem is yet another window into the very nature of human suffering and the manifold ways in which it comes to linger as trauma and post-traumatic stress.

While it definitely shows a world of monsters and demons, Innermost never forgets its humanity or compassion, and I’d consider it a must-read for anyone trying to better understand their own past traumas.  Even if you don’t find answers, you’ll know you aren’t alone, that others have been where you are, and that death is not the only way out.

I am very happy to present you all a recent five-star review for my poetry book "Innermost" that I received from Realistic Poetry International's Honest Book Reviews team. You can read the original post on their website or read the copied text below. I hope that this might motivate you to get your own copy if you've been thinking about it!

Author Jamila Mikhail’s book “Innermost” is an emotional and mental poetry documentary that captures some of the author’s darkest hours and coldest moments of her life as she strives to fight against the devastation of depression, rejection, disappointment and a broken heart.

This book reverberates with a passionate, yet lethargic voice of pain that isn’t afraid to confront their imperfect reality, despite the heartache and mental anguish it may cause. The idea of true love is noticeable throughout the book with romantic poems that embody sentiment, compassion, empathy, desire and fantasy- others show us merely the fragments leftover after all has been shattered to pieces... just like broken glass.

Poems such as "Broken Glass" remind us of a classic Lifetime movie drama, using the similia "broken glass" to represent the significant damage that has occurred between two hearts and lives due to the grueling effects of alcoholism.

In this poem, as with several others, Mikhail's words are evocative and feel real, exposing some of her inner weaknesses and vulnerability to life, as she’s out on a thin limb clinging to the past and dear memories of when she once recalls her house truly being a home.
Emotional-based, the author's style of writing is like prose poetry and uses the literary elements of symbolism, metaphors, and situational irony to compare and depict real-life circumstances to figurative scenarios; an example of this is the depiction and comparison of her own internal battle to the idea of being lost at sea.

 Mikhail uses the figurative depiction "lost at sea," (also the title of a poem) to embellish and emphasize the stormy rapture of turmoil and turbulence impacting her relationship with her partner, in which she is quickly plummeting saying, "…I'm drowning in the waters I know." We take this moment to truly imagine the depths of the author’s fear, lost without compass in a world that has the potential and power to swallow anyone and anything in its way, such as the mighty sea! The feeling is nothing less than devastating. And the fact that the author makes a point to use such a dramatic and intense illustration tells us she is more than overwhelmed, isolated and dubious- she is going under. Will she survive?

Living miserably in the gloomy shadows of her own self-loathing and contempt, the narrator struggles greatly with finding inner-peace and finds it nearly impossible to gain any sense of contentment, severely discouraged by the tempestuous winds of adversity. She furthermore accentuates this unforgiving reality when she openly defines the color of her spirit as, “black.”

Behind this thought is a poem entitled "Black Soul" that shares the author’s honest viewpoint on how she connects and relates to the color black while figuratively defining its emotional impact and obscurities. The poem is written as an extended metaphor and possesses an intriguing, cryptic vibe and is no coincidence, emotionally, as black as a day with no sun.

We must add that from a technical perspective, Mikhail really shows off the usefulness of metaphors in this piece by means of multiple detailed comparisons that stem from her own personal pain, sadness and depression. Each depiction is intimate, and just like the color black, “lack hue and brightness,” ultimately drawing a shadowy portrait of her distressed spirit and consciousness. The poem takes an ironic turn towards the end when she says "Black makes me feel alive. Black is the color of my soul," attaching herself and her very existence to the bleak and mysterious nature of the darkness.

Author Jamlila Mikhail’s poetry can speak to so many broken spirits and suffering hearts and I can definitely recommend this book to others. More than a presentation of conflict, adversity and pain, this book reads as a poetic testimony of perseverance, heart, love, courage and transition in which the author digs deep down into her soul and embraces her hearts innermost.

Hello fellow poets and readers! I'm very happy to tell you that Verses Undone, my free mini poetry book, is now available on several more platforms including iBooks, Kobo and more but no worries if these formats aren't your fancy because you can still read it entirely online or download the PDF and convert it to another format of your choice.

Unfortunately it's not on Amazon's Kindle store because KDP does not let indie authors upload free books. The minimum price needs to be at least $0.99 through KDP and I refuse to accept a single dime for these free uploads, but nonetheless you can download a Kindle-compatible format from Smashwords which is of course free!

In the upcoming weeks and months I'll also be working on adding the rest of the free books to these platforms, as well as formatting and uploading the two that are currently missing from the Free Downloads page. These past few weeks I've been without home internet and without my computer so I've had many obstacles in my writing journey but I'll get to that eventually so please be patient!

Until next time, I hope that you enjoy reading this book in various different formats and if you enjoy my free work I would like to humbly ask you to support my writing career by purchasing a paid book in either paperback, ebook or audiobook format.

I'm very happy to announce that this month I've officially rolled out my free book review service for fellow independent authors. I'd been thinking about that for a while after being unsatisfied with the current tide of book bloggers but lacked time with having to take care of my grandmother on top of my own health issues. Sadly, my grandmother passed away on March 11th and I want this book review service to be in memory of her.

This project is still extremely new hence my book blogs don't have many followers thus far, but I have many followers on Twitter, Goodreads and Amazon who will see your book and what I think of it. Click on the above button to see all the submission guidelines and to send me a copy of your book for a free review.

It is my hope that this project will be beneficial to other indie authors because being one myself I completely understand the struggle to get honest reviews from normal people, not to mention those who charge insane prices just for a few sentences! This is my way to pay it forward to the rest of you so take advantage of it!

The Amazon Giveaway for your chance to win a free Kindle copy of Innermost ended yesterday and ten lucky winners have been given their prize but my Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win an autographed print copy is still on! You can read all of the details in a previous blog and enter below! Good luck and happy reading!