Per Jacobsen's Blog
June 4, 2025
Book Bonus Material
Did you know that we made a webpage with bonus material for a bunch of Per’s books?
Here, Per answers the most frequently asked questions about the books and talks a bit about other things.
If you have the ebooks, you’ll have seen a link in the backmatter, but if you have them in paperback og hardback I’ll give you the
links here.
Accessing the bonus material requires a signup for his newsletter, but you can always unsubscribe later if that’s not your thing.
The Strung Trilogy: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/77529/123568403831063690/share
Dry: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/77529/123569114591528674/share
25 Days: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/77529/135351168446497991/share
The Rude Awakening of Theodor Moody: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/77529/155468219594835065/share
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How to Read the Books
We often get asked if there’s a specific order in which Per’s books should be read. While the trilogy is best enjoyed in sequence, the rest can be read in any order you like.
BUT if I were to reread Per’s books, I think I’d follow the order shown in the image.
And yes, I know Mansion of Mirrors isn’t out yet, but I still think it deserves a spot in the lineup. 
Here’s why I’d recommend this order:
1. Reading the prequel, Rose’s Story, right after the trilogy will have the biggest impact.
2. This order ensures you catch all the Easter eggs.
3. By the time you reach DRY—Per’s darkest book—you’ll already be familiar with his writing style and storytelling.
– Sarah
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Q&A – Per Jacobsen Answers Questions about The STRUNG Series – Round 1
SPOILERS – SPOILERS – SPOILERS (OBVIOUSLY)
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Only read this post if you’ve already read the Strung Trilogy and Rose’s Story.
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𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞?
Hmm … I try not to get too attached to my characters as I, just like my readers, know that no one really is safe, once the ball starts rolling. And weird as it may seem, I don’t always know who’s gonna die from the get-go.
As for the Strung series, I’d have to say that Tommy was one of my favorites. It took a lot of thought to figure out how to make his death impactful without having it take focus from all the other big stuff happening at Redwater. In the end I went with the short and sweet, minimalistic version, and I think it worked out well.
Another favorite is, of course, Mrs. Shanahan in Rose’s Story, because it was one of my real-life readers. That made it fun.
𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞?
Yes, it definitely keeps popping up in the back of my mind, so the book will probably become a reality someday.
𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬?
Yes. My money is on the pods that they found here and there in the other books. They probably contained some kind of critter-filled gas that started the spread.
𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐦𝐲𝐠𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐰?? 𝐎𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?
I believe the first ones infected were the police, and yes, by a different trigger than the gen pop. I also believe the infected authorities were the ones who orchestrated the infection of the blanks (following pre-coded orders, of course).
If we go with that, the aliens that took residence in the cops, etc. “sacrificed themselves” to ensure the survival of their young. They knew that the adult hosts wouldn’t last. Most of this will probably be clarified if the patient 0 book comes 
𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞? 𝐎𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 “𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥” 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭?
I always try to limit myself, so I don’t know much more about what’s going on than my characters do as I feel it makes it more realistic. So, I can’t say for sure, but I do have faith in mankind—and I’m sure there are other survivors scattered out there. At some point, they’re bound to start working together, right?
𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬? (𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫…𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐬)
Well, I’m pretty sure the patient 0 story will come someday. Other than that, I don’t think I’m gonna return to the Strung world. I do have another idea for a series that might land well with the Strung fans, though. It’s got the same vibe—and plenty of room for expansion
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐬/𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬?
It’s true that there isn’t a lot of info about what happened to the animals. Mainly that’s because I always try to limit myself and the reader to knowing only what the main characters know. There are, however, a few hints along the way.
1) Chili, the squirrel in the end of book: It gets scared when Billy awakes which must mean that at least some animals are aware of the parasites and flee.
2) The police dogs chasing Tommy at the hospital: These are still loyal to their “infected” owners and thus help them chase Tommy. The dogs themselves aren’t necessarily infected, though.
3) The deer that Randall spot in the deserted streets of Newcrest (book 2, beginning): This is some time after the first events and wild animals have started to move to populated areas as the blanks slowly disappear.
4) The bumblebee: I put that scene in there to give a sense of going full circle from the beginning of book 1 and the end in book 3. The dedication in Randall’s script (HumbleBilly) also served as my guideline for his motivation and arc, so it made sense in my head to tie a bow on it with the bumblebee.
And, since it’s just the bunch of us talking privately, I’ll let you in on a little secret. The inspiration was from a talk about the idea of reincarnation that me and my son once had where we agreed that if one of us passed, we’d come back and visit the other. I asked what animal he’d like to come back as. He chose a bumblebee.
So, to recap: I believe the animals are still there, adjusting to a world that no longer is dominated by humans.
𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞?
I didn’t see it as a series, no. What I had was the first book, and I liked it, open-ended and all. However, it was very well received, especially in the US, so it made a lot of sense to start thinking seriously about making more—and luckily, there was more to dig out
– 𝘗𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯
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25 Days – Audiobook, New Cover, the Publishing House & Plans for 2025
As you may know, Per was offered a publishing deal for 25 Days with one of the world’s biggest publishing houses—an opportunity you’d have to be crazy to turn down!
So we’ve been working closely with their team this spring to prepare for a major release across U.S. bookstores in fall 2025. Exciting stuff! 
In this post you can see the brand-new cover. Their team had some specific ideas, we had ours, and in the end we found a really great middle ground that everyone is happy with. We can’t wait to see it in bookstores.
The trade paperback will be released on September 30 so that everything is ready for the countdown to Christmas.
And we’re very excited for the audiobook version (I know a lot of you have waited for this) which is actually already released! You can also find all of the versions here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/25-Days/Per-Jacobsen/9781668209592
I’ll make sure to keep you posted on what’s happening with ’25 Days’ as we get closer to the big re-release.
As a quick sidenote: releasing a sequel the same year a Big 5 publisher is doing a major launch of your book? Not a good idea . So just to confirm—Per won’t be releasing a sequel to 25 Days in 2025.
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3,000 ratings for Strung
We just hit 3,000 ratings for Strung (and yes, I love a nice round number 
), which is incredible.
It got me thinking about that time back in 2021 when we had just published Strung (the English translation) on Amazon and were eagerly waiting for the first reviews. I remember how impatient I was to see it hit 10 ratings—I’d read somewhere that it becomes easier to advertise a book once it has a few reviews under its belt.
Back then, only Strung 1 was available on Amazon, and we were still unsure about everything. I’ve always been up for new challenges, but when Per first suggested translating his Danish novel into English to release it internationally, I was very hesitant. The thought of figuring out international publishing felt overwhelming and very time-consuming.
Needless to say, it turned out to be the best decision of Per’s career.
We quickly discovered that publishing on Amazon came with opportunities that simply didn’t exist in the Danish market. And we saw that his stories really resonated with readers in the US, UK, and Canada.
That realization was a huge motivator. Per started writing the next book in the trilogy while I dove headfirst into learning everything I could about publishing, marketing, and building an author career.
Fast forward to now:
Strung has 3,000 ratings—which, by the 1:10 rule of thumb, means around 30,000 people have read it! Per has released 7 translated books in total, one of which was a Christmas bestseller that opened up even more opportunities.
We still laugh about how hesitant I was to take the leap into international publishing—because doing exactly that changed everything.I’m still Per’s biggest fan. I absolutely love his writing and think he’s incredibly talented. And I’m so grateful that I get to handle the not-so-creative tasks (publishing and marketing) so we can be on this amazing journey together.
– Sarah
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The Mansion of Mirrors – Cover Reveal and Preorder
I’m so excited to finally share that The Mansion of Mirrors will be released on July 15th, 2025!
As you may know, up until now it’s only been available in Danish.
This story is something truly special. It’s actually the first book Per ever wrote, and we’ve always wanted to bring it to his international readers. Now it’s finally happening.
Mansion of Mirrors is more character-driven and layered than some of Per’s more recent thrillers—but it still delivers that emotional punch (and creeping dread) that his readers love. If you’ve enjoyed 25 Days, Strung, or DRY, I’m confident you’ll enjoy Mansion too.
You can pre-order the ebook here and have it automatically delivered on launch day: https://geni.us/mansion
It will be big-ass book of around 500 pages . I just created the preorder for the signed hardback version on the website as well: https://authorperjacobsen.com/mansion-of-mirrors/
So if you know you’re getting a signed book, you can order it already now. It will also help me to know how many author copies I should order when that time comes.
I’m guessing that I’ll receive those so that I can send out the book (+ a bit of special Mansion swag) in July or August. I’m sorry I can’t say it more precisely at this time .
How does The Mansion of Mirrors compare emotionally or thematically to 25 Days or Strung?Per got asked this question the other day and it’s such a great question that I wanted the post it here along with his reply:
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That’s a very interesting question, and it’s actually something I’ve thought a lot about over the past couple of months while translating it. Because yes, there is a difference between Mansion and my other books.
The Mansion of Mirrors was not only my first published novel—it was actually the first story I ever wrote. It was a sort of “learning by doing” process, where I had to figure out the different elements of the craft as I went along, so an observant reader will probably notice a development in the writing style throughout the book. I know I saw a clear difference between the first and second halves myself.
Another difference is the genre. As my readers will know, I like to move between genres, and The Mansion of Mirrors has a fantasy element that none of the others have.
In terms of emotional and thematic content, I’d say it fits in quite well with my other books. It deals with a fairly heavy topic—grief and the taboo of death—while on the surface telling a fantasy story about two people who involuntarily end up on a journey together. And yup, my usual M.O. also applies here, so there’s no guarantee of survival—or a happy ending—for anyone.
– Per Jacobsen
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March 4, 2025
The Coolest Birthday Present Ever
Today is my wonderful husband’s birthday and he got the most special present ever!
Back in December, while the reader group was reading ’25 Days’, my niece, Emely, asked the members to send her a photo of themselves showing the book and their town/country.
She then spent countless hours sorting them and making this HUGE poster with the images.
Per was so surprised and happy, and what a cool and personal gift that was!
It was so nice of Emely and of all the participating readers and this poster will forever be a reminder of the incredible December we had in 2024.
Thank you from both Per and I .
– Sarah
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January 29, 2025
Publishing Deal – Breaking News!
Now that it’s been officially announced, I can FINALLY share the good news with you all!
After the overwhelming success of 25 Days in the U.S. and the UK, we were approached by two imprints under the Simon & Schuster umbrella, who were very eager to buy the rights to the book. Needless to say, landing a deal with one of the biggest publishing houses in the world is obviously a huge win for us. In addition, it opens up a lot of doors. For instance, I now have a rockstar of a literary agent in the U.S., David Hale Smith—and I really can’t imagine anyone better to represent my interests.
So yeah, it’s been an exciting time with all the negotiations and whatnot, but now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief and share that the deal is done!
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October 30, 2024
Join the ‘Buddy Read Facebook Group’ for 25 Days
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August 26, 2024
Q&A – Per Jacobsen talks about the inspiration to become a writer
It’s time for Per Jacobsen to answer another question :-).
QUESTION:What inspired you to become an author?
ANSWER:Unlike many of my colleagues, I haven’t carried around a dream of being a writer for all my life. In fact, I started writing quite late in life – and by coincidence, really.
I have a good friend who, some years ago, told me that he was in the process of writing a novel. This sounded like a fun project, and I thought I’d also try to write a story of my own. So, I sat down at the computer in the sound studio I had at the time – and before I knew it, I had the first 50 pages of what would later become my debut novel, The Mansion of Mirrors. So, writing stories only came late in life.
However, since then I have looked back on my youth, especially my time in boarding school, and realized that I’ve always enjoyed telling stories. Back then, we often sat in a semi-circle at night, and I was asked to entertain my friends by making up a story. So maybe it was in the cards after all.
- Per Jacobsen
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