Steen Langstrup's Blog, page 6

YOUR NAME IS YOUR BRAND, YOUR TRADEMARK

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Agnes Birkemose’s bloody name tag. A detail from the cover of the Danish first edition of ‘Finale’.

Excerpt from my soon-to-be-published novel ‘Finale’:

He flicks the lock on the backside of the name tag, making the long needle spring open. “The most important thing in showbiz, Agnes Birkemose, is to get your name out there. You name is your brand, your trademark. It’s all about printing that name into the minds of your audience. Nothing’s more important than that. You know that, don’t you?”

Paralyzed, Agnes has stopped struggling to free herself from the ropes. She hardly breathes.

“Your brand,” the clown says tenderly. “I’m holding your brand in my hand, Agnes. However, in this show, nobody’s watching me.” He laughs. “Not with two beautiful and topless girls in the same room. Not a chance. Belinda?”

“…yes.”

“Would you be so kind as to place Agnes’s brand where everybody will notice it?” He holds the name tag before Belinda’s face, waiting, until she reluctantly receives it. Then he steps back. “Place it.”

“Wh…where?”

I never liked author branding. I never felt comfortable being one. I always had this urge to challenge whatever brand people forced on me. It felt like some sort of prison to me. Like I had struggled all this time to make it, only to find myself as a prisoner of my own creation. I guess, those feelings found their way out writing ‘Finale’.

‘Finale’ will be published in English on May the 25th, and in German on May the 14th.

FINALE – English release date, paperback and e-book

[image error]I am proud to announce the release date for the English editions of my award winning novel ‘Finale’.

‘Finale’ is the novel behind the upcoming terrifying Danish motion picture of the same name. It is a novel in the tradition of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostel and Saw.

Both e-book and paperback editions will be released on May the 25th 2018. E-books are available for pre-orders.

Denmark is in the finale. Everybody is watching the game at home. At the gas station out by the highway, the two young women working the night shift are expecting a quiet evening and very few customers.

However no customers means no witnesses. They have been chosen to star in a completely different show.

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NEW SHORT STORY – and it’s free!

[image error]Honestly, it’s been far too long since I published a story in English. That’s about to chance this year. I got some great stuff coming up.

The first book to be released is a spooky short story. It’s out now.

It’s called ‘And The Monkey Smiles’ and it’s FREE!

(In most places but so far, not on Amazon.)

 

The scent of strangers greets Maja as she arrives back at her apartment after a vacation in Hawaii. However, the Italians who rented the place while she was away has left more behind than just a scent. A nightmare is ready to unfold.

‘And The Monkey Smiles’ is a creepy tale, perfect for at quick thrill, loaded with goose bumps.

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Debut in German

I[image error] am proud to announce that on May the 14th 2018 my first book in German will be published by the Random House imprint Heyne Verlag.

The book is called ‘Finale’ and is a translation of my award winning Danish novel ‘Alt det hun ville ønske hun ikke forstod’.

You can read more about the book and even preorder it by clicking HERE. The link is in German of course.

Exciting news

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A still from the upcoming Danish movie ‘Finale’.

A few days ago, I was told that the upcoming Danish movie ‘Finale’ based upon one of my novels had finally made it through post production. Soon, I should be allowed to the see the film myself. I am so excited and can’t really wait any longer.

No release date yet but I’ll let you know as soon as I get one.

Later this spring the book behind the movie will be published in German by Heyne Verlag (Random House Germany) and in English by 2 Feet Entertainment.

More info soon …

Are you a book blogger?

Looking to do a review, interview or an article on one of my books?

In need of free review copies of my books or author photographs? Or wondering if I want to be your next guest blogger?

Tell me a few words about yourself, your book blog, your favorite genres and authors, and I’ll get back to you.

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Filed under: 2 Feet Entertainment

Messy Business reviews ‘The Informer’

Author Jason Beech reviews my novel ‘The Informer’ on his blog ‘Messy Business’.

“All the characters are tragic, in search of something they can’t have. The war gives some of them a chance at something they lacked in peacetime. For others, it’s a horrific disruption of their lives. Whoever you follow, there’s a stickiness to the characters, an accumulation of nervous sweat that sticks to them throughout. They smell each other’s fears and desires, and use them against each other.”

You can read the full review here.

Filed under: Sabotage, The Informer

Short story removed from Swedish libraries

[image error]This summer, while I was in Mexico learning to scuba dive, one of my short stories was removed from libraries in Sweden due to reader’s reactions. They simply found the story too distrubingly scary, the publisher, SMSpress, informs. After threats of police involvement in the matter, the publisher was forced to remove the title from the libraries.

The short story is called ‘Tomorrow you die’ and is published as a series of text messages to the reader’s phone. It’s a story about a woman being stalked by a killer. So far, the short story has been published in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

[image error]In 2012, when ‘Tomorrow you die’ was originally published in Denmark, something similar happened, as readers got so caught up by the terror of the story that they ended up reporting the killer in the story to the police. This event ended up on the tv-news in Denmark, and it was decided to warn readers about the intensity of the story.

So far, the Norwegian readers have stayed calm, reading the story.

 

Filed under: Short stories

Messy Business reviews ‘In the Shadow of Sadd’

I accidentally stumbled upon a review of ‘In the Shadow of Sadd’ on a blog called ‘Messy Business’. The blog is written by author Jason Beech.

He wrote:

“There is tons to love about this [In the Shadow of Sadd]. I like the rain-drenched atmosphere and the claustrophobia it creates, keeping these people hunched inside a van, an apartment, a house; all desperate in some way. It’s impressive that this feels like the work of one author, instead of four, using a different voice for each character, but keeping the tone of the whole consistent. All four chapters hurt my stomach, worrying about the outcome, knowing what a bastard Jimmy Sadd is, and how he likes to hurt people for the fun of it.”

Click here to read the review in full.

Filed under: In the shadow of Sadd

Can I ask a favor of you?

If you have read any of my books and liked the story, it would be fantastic if you could leave a review of the book where you bought it. Reviews might not matter much to bestselling authors, but to a foreign and mostly unknow writer like myself, struggleling for that breakthrough, they can really help a lot.

Also, please be sure to add your email to my newsletter to get a message when new books are published in English.

All the best from Copenhagen,

Steen Langstrup.

Filed under: 2 Feet Entertainment