Updates Archives - Lene Fogelberg

(7th Anniversary)

Written by Lene Fogelberg on October 8, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 16 Comments on (7th Anniversary)

I was woken up this morning by my husband and the girls singing Happy Birthday and carrying a tray with fruit salad and apple juice. The anniversary of my heart surgeries have become my “second birthday” and there is nothing better than to celebrate with my family and apple juice! (Readers of Beautiful Affliction know why.)

This year is extra special since my book just came out! Wow, that morning seven years ago I could never have imagined that one day I would hold a book in my hand, telling my crazy story!

Today seven years ago chapters 38–40–42–44–46–48–50 in Beautiful Affliction took place. I didn’t realize until now that so many chapters of my book happen during a single day! And what a day it was, I will never forget hugging my small girls goodbye before leaving them with my mother, as my husband drove me to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for my heart surgery.

(My husband just called and told me that he booked a trip to Bali next week! Yay!! So instead of a book tour I will relax on the beach and gaze out to the horizon, my absolute favorite view.)

I am so very grateful that my life was saved during my planned open-heart surgery on October 8, all those years ago, and then again thanks to an emergency open-heart surgery on October 9. After having been so close to death, it felt like I was reborn through the miracles that led me to this dramatic climax to years of fatigue, chest pressure and difficult breathing. This re-birth is what we celebrate on October 8, my second birthday.

It feels pretty great, being seven years old. 🙂 Last time I visited my cardiologist in Singapore, he couldn’t see any wear and tear on my new heart valve, so the wearing-out process seems to be slow, which is a good thing! It means I will not need the next heart surgery until many more years, hopefully, so I am very happy about that.

Thanks for stopping by and take care of your hearts my friends,

Lene

PS. If you’ve read my book, Beautiful Affliction, and liked it, it would mean the world to me if you would consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Thank you.

(Change of Plans)

Written by Lene Fogelberg on October 7, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 6 Comments on (Change of Plans)

Wow, there’s so much going on that the big book tour I had planned in October, spanning across Asia–Sweden–Philadelphia, USA, turned out to not perhaps be the best idea. We’re holding off on that for now, since I am completely busy answering interviews, appearing on radio (last night), writing articles and guest blog posts, not to mention answering readers who contact me daily with questions and letters and just to tell me how much they love Beautiful Affliction! In other words, a wonderful way to be kept busy!

My publisher has already planned a US book tour for me and fellow fall authors, but, it is just too much for me right now, especially also with our upcoming move to Malaysia in December. Wish I could go though, to meet readers and my wonderful “Pub sisters” that I have gotten to know this last year!

But we are actually planning to go back to Sweden around Christmas (when we are in between houses and our furniture are shipped in a container), and I have already started dreaming about Swedish Christmas food! 🙂

If you want to be kept in the loop on everything Beautiful Affliction, I try to post the big news on the page called NEWS, found on the main bar above. There’s also a lot happening over at Goodreads and Amazon, and the Swedish online booksellers, which you can check out!

For me it was a big deal to be published as main feature on Writer’s Digest, which I have been following for years. Writer’s Digest is the world’s largets platform for writers with 700 000 monthly visitors and it was such a joy to wake up one morning to find that they had published my article “5 Steps To Writing in Your Second Language”. (It’s about Joseph Conrad, the Swedish Chef, and me.)

Under NEWS you can also find author interviews, excerpts from my book, and several online lists that include Beautiful Affliction. For example it was great fun to see my book listed as the most anticipated memoir for fall on Buzzfeed!

Can’t believe my book has already been out in the world for three weeks! Time is flying by!

Thanks for all your support,

Lene

PS. Here comes the begging I have been warning you would come: if you have read my book, would you please consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads? Every rating and review means a lot to me. Thank you. End of begging for this time.

Publication Day!

Written by Lene Fogelberg on September 15, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 25 Comments on Publication Day!

The official publication day for Beautiful Affliction is finally here!

Today my book is released in bookstores all over the US! Amazon and other online booksellers started shipping the book three weeks ago, and I have been getting so many messages, pictures, favorite quotes, questions about the book, early reviews and offers to participate in interviews, that I have been kept up at night occupied with the labor of love answering all this!

Somehow I had imagined that my book would be released like a drop into the ocean, with a small PLOP and a few rings on the surface; never, ever could I have imagined the overwhelmingly warm reception my book is getting!

Only last week Beautiful Affliction was included in YourTango’s list: “11 Incredible Books Every Smart Woman Should Read This Fall“, alongside literary giants Elizabeth Gilbert, Margaret Atwood and Cheryl Strayed! What an honor!

I am continuously updating the Page called “NEWS” here on my website, found above on the main bar, where you can find more news as they come in.

JUST IN: Author Interview on Suzanne M. Brazil’s blog!

JUST IN: Review of Beautiful Affliction on BookPage!

Thank you for visiting on this special day and taking part in the celebrations!

Many Hugs,

Lene

Happy-dancing!

Written by Lene Fogelberg on May 3, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 12 Comments on Happy-dancing!

Did you check out my “Books” page recently? If you did, you might have noticed the TWO BLURBS I got for Beautiful Affliction!!!! (*happy-dancing*)

In praise of BEAUTIFUL AFFLICTION:

“Gripping, powerful, touching, beautiful. A memoir about a woman who fights to remain alive because of her daughters and her husband, a story everyone can relate to and will want to read to the inspiring end.”
—Mette Ivie Harrison, author of Ironmom and New York Times Notable Book The Bishop’s Wife

“Lene Fogelberg’s memoir of living with an undiagnosed malfunctioning heart since childhood is a testament to the power of love. She allows us, the lucky reader, access to her innermost fears and guilts, offering up her story with such beautiful prose that one is enticed to linger over each word.”
—Rossandra White, award-winning author of LOVEYOUBYE

I am so happy and honored these wonderful authors, Mette and Rossandra, took their valuable time to read and review my book, I have to confess; tears of gratitude have been shed!

Also, my two wonderful blurbs are already up on Amazon!

Beautiful Affliction is now available for pre-order in the US and internationally! In Sweden you can register your interest at Adlibris, here are the links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/lenefogelberg

Swedish delivery, Adlibris: https://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/beautiful-affliction-a-memoir

Global free delivery, BookDepository.com: http://www.bookdepository.com/Beautiful-Affliction-Lene-Fogelberg

I know some of you have already pre-ordered and I am so happy and excited about that! Thanks a million for your support my dear friends! It means a lot to me!

Love,

Lene

New Cover

Written by Lene Fogelberg on February 10, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 8 Comments on New Cover

Lots of stuff happening!

Got the new cover today! The long subtitle has been shortened to “A Memoir”, hope you like it as much as I do.

Also, got my manuscript back from the proof reader, wow, very interesting!

My editors have done a fantastic job and there really wasn’t that much to consider, but as always, commas need to be moved or removed, a few things need to be reconsidered etc. (In a 85.000 word manuscript “a few” commas and edits, actually means a lot of work!)

I enjoyed reading the “style guide” the proof reader wrote for my book: a three pages long document outlining my style and special words that I use, which the next person down the line can go to if a word or phrase sounds a bit odd or confusing (might happen if you read a page out of context); they can just check with the style guide: “oh, it’s a Swedish word”, or “oh, that’s a special expression used by this author”.

And did you notice the changes in my blog? Did you see what I did there? 🙂

A background picture from Bali–you are such amazing friends supporting me on this journey–I wish I could bring you all to my favorite beach in Bali and buy you all a freshly squeezed pineapple & coconut juice and then we’ll sunbathe in our chaise lounges and listen to the waves breaking against the coral reef at the edge of the lagoon and then we jump into the green water and feel the waves carry us in their cool, glittery arms. That’s what I wish I could give you, but at least I can give you a taste of it here in my blog.

See you soon friends & take care!

Lene

New Subtitle

Written by Lene Fogelberg on February 4, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 8 Comments on New Subtitle

An interesting development yesterday!

Do you remember I told you of our search for the perfect subtitle?

Turns out the marketing team wasn’t that keen on the subtitle! I got an email yesterday: they’d been in a meeting discussing it and they asked me if I would agree to take it out; just keep “a memoir”.

Now that we have the cover and the title, I agreed with them that the subtitle is somewhat redundant. So it’s going to be shortened to: “a memoir”.

Very interesting process! You never know what’s gonna be on the table!

This is very good for a control freak like me. 🙂 I learn to go with the flow, view it for what it is: a process, and trust the professional people I’m working with.

I’ll keep you posted of further developments!

Lene

Book Cover!

Written by Lene Fogelberg on January 31, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 23 Comments on Book Cover!

The cover for my upcoming memoir is finalized!

I am super excited to present the cover for Beautiful Affliction!

Several times a day I’m checking out the cover, (which I have saved in my iPhone), just to make sure it’s real, I guess. This whole thing is starting to feel surreal, but it’s really happening!

I do hope you like it. It is original in the context, I feel, and that is partly why I like it so much. Actually I think it fits my story perfectly.

I came up with many suggestions for cover designs, but my publisher, Brooke, maintained that my story needed an edgy cover, which at the same time gives a clear image of what the story is all about. Seeing her vision come to life by the amazing cover artist, I understood what she meant by this.

I very much appreciate the thoughts the cover artist and my publisher have put into this. The occasional letters in italics, reminiscent of irregular heartbeats, giving the sensation that something’s off… The stitches and the needles put into the mannequin, sort of beautiful and terrifying at the same time. And the red paper heart, ripped in two and fastened with needles.

When I look at this image, a similar image comes to mind; that of a plastic model of the torso that is used in schools all over the world, which you can open and take out the organs one by one, until you reach the heart…

And I love the overall poetic ambiance, that the cover artist has distilled from my story and managed to show in the cover.

In addition, I feel the cover taps into my Scandinavian heritage, with its clean lines and expressive use of color. I love the play with light, and also the grayish light itself feels like home for me, like it’s coming through a window from a sinking Swedish winter sun.

Lene

New Pub Date!

Written by Lene Fogelberg on January 21, 2015. Posted in Blog, Updates. 13 Comments on New Pub Date!

Woohoo!

We have a new publishing date for my upcoming memoir!

BEAUTIFUL AFFLICTION: A Memoir of Surviving Heart Disease, will be released September 15, 2015.

This is great news, since this gives us more wiggle room when planning the book tour that will span over three (!) continents: Asia, Europe and North America. October was a little tight, but September 15 is just perfect!

More news to come!

♥Lene