New Website!

I have a new website. Please find me at jannielund.com from now on.

Cover Reveal: A Thousand Sunsets

Okay, remember last year when I was being all vague about a new book? Well, I'll stop that right now. A Thousand Sunsets will be published by Melange Books, and the talented Stephanie Bibb has created a beautiful cover for it that I'm extremely excited to show you!

Struggling to be a dad and a son, Alexander didn’t know he was lost. Living her dream, Sarah didn’t know she needed to be found. Enter cupid in the form of a dying man, who hasn’t had much contact with his children and grandchildren in the years after his wife’s death. In the meantime, however, a new family has formed around him. Patrick McCullough’s staring contest with death and wish to unite the family of his blood and the one of his heart kindles love meant to last, causes tempers to flare, and creates second chances that are given, taken, and thrown away. In the middle of the chaos, a young boy struggles to stay afloat.

At this time, the goal is to release it in July. I'll pester you all with the exact date once I have it. 

STROBE by Holly Stephens: Cover Reveal

Cover Design by Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers

Summary:
Strobe, simply put, is a voyeur's playground. A place where people can heighten their sexual awareness, play with fire, and combust all under the same roof. It's a place where people come together and a place that can push people apart.

Sloane Renard knows sex.

She knows what the textbooks tell her. She doesn't know her world is about to be torn upside down by one man. A man who will push her limits and force her to see herself in a new light.


Lennox Coymns knows sex.

He knows how to push the boundaries outside of the bedroom. He doesn't know that one woman is about to make him question everything he thought he knew. A woman who will see past the man he is and into the man he could be.

As Lennox teaches Sloane about the world of voyeurism, she learns more than how to let herself be free with sex; she learns how to be confident and sexy- the kind of woman Lennox desires.

But can sex and love keep themselves separated or will these two fall under the dark spell that is the hypnotizing lights of Strobe?

*Recommended for ages 18+ due to sexual situations.

Author info:
People have often told Holly that she lives in a fantasy world. Little did they know, she was building an empire of stories in her head to one day share.

She's a mother first, a wife second, and a writer third. Holly is so thankful to have been given this chance to get her stories out of her head and onto paper.

When she's not writing, Holly sells plumbing (no she's not kidding) and reads romances that leave her heart a flutter. She know a ridiculous amount of pop culture information and can quote certain movies word for word. Music drives her to write and to also sing off key.

Her first novel, Second Rate Chances, is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

You can find Holly on twitter at @hollygeauxlitly or Facebook, www.facebook.com/Hollystephenswrites



Happy New Year!

With roughly twelve hours left of 2013, I'd like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year. It's been quite the year, and I have high hopes for 2014, as well. For you as well as for myself. "A Thousand Sunsets" will be published next summer, and I have so many interesting projects and plans - all of it stuff that I can't wait to share.

I'm sure a lot of you will be putting on your party hats tonight - be safe out there! <3

Merry Christmas!

It's that time of year again. Merry Christmas to everyone -- I hope your holidays are blessed with all the Christmas cheer.

I will be celebrating Christmas at home with my family this year. Hopefully with the chance to relax and recharge the batteries after a long, hectic fall. We well be enjoying a traditional Danish Christmas dinner of roasted duck and rice pudding, sing carrols, and exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.

If you find yourself bored during the holidays (caution, self-promotion alert!), allow me to remind you of the little story that is Clear as Glass. If you're Danish and have forgotten the mandelgave (prize for whoever finds the hidden almond in the rice pudding on Christmas eve), it will serve you nicely for that, as well.

Merry Christmas from me to you! 

A Short Story With a TV Appearance

 

Yes, it's a picture of a TV screen. Yes, I took it. Yes, the short story on the screen is mine. And yes, it's in a TV commercial. The story is featured in a Best of edition of a Christmas anthology that comes with a Danish magazine this week, which is what the commercial is about. Imagine my surprise when I saw it this morning as I knew nothing about it!

 

 

VJS Cover 2013

This year's Ved julelampens skær cover:

My story is called "Den tossede julenisse," and it's the sixth year running I'm contributing to what is the oldest Christmas anthology in Denmark. This year, sadly, we lost one of it's most faithful authors, Lissi Scheel-Thomsen, who inspired me to gather my courage and submit for the first time. That was six years ago, and it will be strange to see an edition without her words in it. I never had the pleasure to meet her even though she was local, but she was a true inspiration.

Release day is sometime next month.

Novel to be Published in 2014

Exciting news! (Though not exactly new--sorry!) I will have more details to share at a later date, but I can let you know that a certain novel that I have mentioned before will be published next year. I'm so excited about it, and I really wish I could say more, but I can't. Not yet, anyway.

Keep Going!

Sometimes it’s hard to keep going. It seems hopeless when all you get out of your hard work are rejection letters – editors turning down their thumbs at your blood, sweat, and tears – the best you felt you had to give. It seems pointless when reader response is non-existent and even your friends don’t read what you write. It hurts. You give a little slice of your soul, and it feels like no one gives a damn.

The cure for your heartache?

Remind yourself why you write. You don’t write for faceless editors. You don’t write for readers. You certainly don’t write for your friends. You write because you can’t help yourself. You write because your head is overflowing with stories you think would look good on paper. And you know what? Chances are that you’re right. People just haven’t noticed yet.

Feel better? I do.

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

2013 is only hours away, and my usual New Years melancholia is setting in. I am by no means a fan of the night ahead. I don’t celebrate—instead I get caught up in my head, thinking about what I’ve done and neglected to do over the year. I think about the people who are no longer with me. I wonder how I can make sure that the next New Year’s Eve will be different.

2012 was an important year in The History of Jannie Lund. I made some decisions that I’m extremely proud of, put my will power to the test and to good use, and learned a lot about myself and others. To celebrate that—even if I don’t celebrate the night—I’ve tried to take on a more positive approach. Will power and all that.

It’s like no matter how hard life is—no matter how much you struggle—then there are lights in the dark. My lights include my friends. They may be spread out over the globe geographically, but they are always in my heart. Some of you I’ve seen this year—some of you I’ll see next year. Some of you I might never see at all. But I still love you. Friendship is stronger than distance.

I go into 2013 lighter than I went into 2012. Go me. I fulfilled dreams in 2012, and new dreams are waiting to be fulfilled in 2013. There’s that novel. There’s that friend from Connecticut who’s just waiting to outrun me in Copenhagen. There are those goals I’ll never say out loud until I’ve achieved them (though I might spill them on WhatsApp). There are boundaries to test. Life to enjoy.

Wait.

What’s this?

I’m being all positive and shit. And it’s New Year’s Eve. Something’s wrong...

Happy New Year! May 2013 be filled with blessings for us all.

Merry Christmas



On this Little Christmas Eve (as it's called where I come from), I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and and a happy New Year. :) May your holidays be blessed with happiness and joy.

Thank you to everyone who has inspired me, supported me, and helped me in 2012. You all know who you are. <3

I'll see you in 2013!

P.S. If you haven't gotten your copy of "Clear as Glass" yet, it's not too late. Get it on Amazon or the Silver website.  

Clear as Glass Release Day

"Clear as Glass" is finally here!

 

Kristin thinks there is Christmas magic in glass artist Daniel Hawkins' glass baubles. And when snow traps her in the same house as him, the magic becomes passion--and maybe more--under the Christmas tree.

 

Get it on the Silver Publishing website or on Amazon. Enjoy! And don't forget to add it on Goodreads.

Cover Reveal - Second Rate Chances by Holly Stephens

Sam wakes up in the hospital expecting to find his girlfriend by his bedside. Instead, he finds a bleached-blond diva, claiming to be his fiancée, hovering over him. When he learns that he's just woken up from a coma and has lost the last three years of his life, any semblance of stability he thought he had falls down around him. All he wants – all he needs – is Lil.

After countless visits with her shrink and too many sleepless nights waiting for the one man she loves to walk back through the door, Lil wants nothing more than to separate herself from the life she used to have. But the moment Sam smiles at her, Lil knows it's going to take more than self-restraint to stay away.

Second-Rate Chances is about a young man fighting to regain his memory, and the one thing in his life that felt real. A modern-day Samson and Delilah, it's a look at what it means to love and be loved, and to fight though it seems hopeless.

Release Date: January 10, 2013

About Holly

People have often told me that I live in a fantasy world. Little did they know, I was building an empire of stories in my head to one day share.

I'm a mother first, a wife second, and a writer third. I'm so thankful to have been given this chance to get my stories out of my head and onto paper.

When I'm not writing, I sell plumbing (no I'm not kidding) and read romances that leave my heart a flutter. I know a ridiculous amount of pop culture information and can quote certain movies word for word. Music drives me to write and to also sing off key.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Winner!

And we have a winner of the giveaway. The soon-to-be proud owner of her very own copy of "Clear as Glass," as well as a Rosendahl holly Christmas ornament, is...drum roll, please...

@erroneous78

Congrats! The ornament will be on it's way in the mail as soon as I get your address. :) The book will be available for download on the 20th when it is released.

Thank you, everyone, for participating! :)

GIVEAWAY

Win a copy of my Christmas ebook, ”Clear as Glass”, and an original Danish Rosendahl Christmas ornament!

Later this month “Clear as Glass” will be released. To celebrate that I’ve decided to host a little giveaway.

THE PRIZE is a copy of the ebook and a silver holly Christmas ornament from Rosendahl. I did consider a glass bauble in true “Clear as Glass” style, but it’s been my experience that glass doesn’t always ship so well.

 

 

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is follow me on Twitter (@jannielund) and tweet the following:

I entered the "Clear as Glass” by @jannielund Christmas GIVEAWAY! Details here: http://bit.ly/TjlWkf

OR

leave a comment on my blog or Facebook post.

All posts must be received before December 9th where I announce the winner. I will ship the ornament quickly so it can hang on your Christmas tree this year if you win. The book will be available for download on December 20th.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

The lovely and amazingly talented M.A. Stacie tagged me in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop, which means it's time to reveal a little about what I'm working on at the moment.

What is the working title of your book?
It's called "Finding Eve". Initially it was just to call it something, but the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward keeping it as the title. At least until something better pops up.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
A while ago I read a series of articles about children in Spain that had been kidnapped. Some were taken on their way home from school or whatever, and some were taken at birth by hospital staff. The parents were then told that their childen had died at birth and were so deformed that they shouldn't be looked at. Decades later the truth is slowly being unraveled. Reading about it broke my heart, and the stories stayed with me until one day I formulated a loose plot idea and sat down to write.

What genre does your book fall under?
Contemporary romance.

What is the one (two!) sentence synopsis for your book?
 Who can find Eve? Her family, the man who loves her, or the woman who used to be Eve?

What are the central themes in your book?
Above all, love. Love between a man and a woman. Between parent and child, brother and sister, which leads us to another very central theme - family. And belonging somewhere. I said above that it was reading about kidnapped children that gave me the idea for the book, but the story is actually about the aftermath - about the kidnapped child - now woman - returning to the family she was taken from.

Describe a random character in your book:
Lucas Quinn. He's the twin brother of the main female character, and for almost thirty years he has lived with knowledge that few others believe. His sister, who was kidnapped when she was only a few months old, is alive. He feels her out there somewhere - he knows she's not dead. But he can't find her. He's stubborn and loyal, never backing down when he truly believes in something.

***

Holly Stephens, Sherry Gomes, and J.M. O'Bryant - consider yourselves tagged to tell us all about your Next Big Thing!    

December Promo Scavenger Hunt With Free Holiday Story Book Give Away and Site Wide Discount Code Scramble

 

Happy holidays! Silver Publishing wants to give our fans more than 60 chances to win either a free Holiday Story from our 25 Days of Christmas Releases or for a lucky random five 20% off codes! And if you are really dedicated there is a Word Scramble included that will provide a discount for titles purchased during the last week of December!

To make it even more exciting, the authors participating may offer new and interesting content or contests of their own to help distract from the frantic pace of the holidays.

So, how does it work?

VJS 2012

I received my advance copy of VJS in the mail today. There are two of my short stories in there - "Det der virkelig tæller" (What Really Counts) and "Hjem til jul" (Home for Christmas).

"Det der virkelig tæller" is contemporary Christmas with a healthy dose of Murphy's Law. Sofie in her newlywed bliss decides to tackle Christmas dinner for the entire family for the first time. Enter Murphy and his law...

"Hjem til jul" is a nostalgic tale of the young Sine waiting for her beloved to come home for the holidays.

VJS 2012 will be relased on November 6th.

More "Clear as Glass" Info

"Clear as Glass" is now up for presale on Silver Publishing's website! The release date is December 20th, but you can pre-order it now if you want. Avoid the Christmas rush. ;)

It's also on Goodreads, so go add it immediately!

"Clear As Glass" Cover

CLEAR AS GLASS now has a cover! Although all 25 stories in the series have the same cover, I like to think that the eye candy is Danny, the extraordinary glass artist, from my story. :)

Here's a little taste of what it's about:

An interview with the glass artist, Daniel Hawkins, gives Kristin a glimpse into his magical world of Christmas, as well as into her own past. Trapped in the same house for the night by the snow, they discover their own magic under the Christmas tree. Passion gives way to awkwardness when the past intervenes, but magic of the Christmassy and romantic kind is too powerful.

It looks as if the release day is December 20th, so Christmas can't come quick enough this year. I'm so excited!