By the seat of our pants… again.

Sitting in the hairdressers at that really unattractive point where half your hair is piled on top of your head and the other half is wet and being sectioned for trimming - I suppose they need that harsh white light that gives you the complexion of a Kudlak to see what they are cutting - when my phone flashed up with a message from a girlfriend…

“Well well – I was just flicking through the City News and who should I see but the gorgeous smiling face of my famous author friend – So proud of you girls xxx”

To which I immediately responded to with an eloquent, “Huh?”

The next message to flash up was a picture of a news article containing the selfie that Sair and I had taken in my front garden (and are currently using as our bio pic) with a little piece about what was then our upcoming Book Launch. Much excitement and squealing ensued and my hairdresser raced off to find a copy... mid cut. Once she returned the article was found and it was declared that Sair and I were officially D grade celebrities.  Woohoo!!

So the big day finally arrived and with it brought the butterflies. During the weeks leading up to our launch we had been asked; “What happens at a book launch?’’ in various ways, several times. The truth is, we had no idea and as with most things, were flying by the seat of our pants.  For us the launch was not about selling books, it was about exposing as many people as we could to the story and giving Enlightened one more big push before we turned our attention to book two. And that we did! Knees shaking we made a speech to a packed out room, did a short reading of the Vadoma scene from page 8 and did lots of wriggling out of giving away spoilers for book two – we have some very savvy Enlightened readers out there! So with the champagne flowing and music playing we chatted about our favourite characters and plot twists, it was amazing to have so many Enlightened people in one place. Alas there were no Kaul, which was quickly pointed out by a few of our guests, a blatant oversight which we promise to address for the next one!
Check out the photos from the launch here  Enlightened Launch Photos

Now with Enlightened simmering gently away, we are changing focus and immersing ourselves once more in Lumeer. And one thing we can promise, if you liked the first one... you are going to LOVE the second one!!!

Insert Excited Girly Squeal Here!

An amazing write up from the very talented Martina at HerCanberra

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‘Enlightened’ with Sarah and Jen’

By Martina Taliano — August 02, 2014

  After you watch an episode of your favourite TV show or finish reading a great book do you have that friend that you just have to debrief about it with? That friend that when something wonderful happens you ring them and tell them about it and they give you the exact response that you need? Or when something terrible happens they are the one you ring, and if you are lucky enough to live in the same area they rock up with wine/chocolate/pizza/flowers.

Jen and Sarah met years ago and have not let interstate relocations, home renovations, marriage or the birth of children hamper their friendship. When their favourite book series ended they decided to write their own urban fantasy and their debut novel, Enlightened was born.
Not only is writing a book a huge feat for one person but to write in collaboration, stay friends and still maintain some semblance of a life with partners and children is just amazing. I am in awe of these women and thought you should get to know them a little too!


M -Tell us about Enlightened…
SJ – After reading popular books in this genre we were left wanting and decided to fill the gap. Enlightened is an Urban Fantasy aimed at an older audience. It is witty, sexy and a little bit dangerous – all of the things pure escapism requires.


M – Have you bought any parts of yourselves into the characters? If so, which parts?
SJ – There are certainly traits our heroine possesses that we wish we did but we probably have the more undesirable aspects, such as frizzy hair, clumsiness and the potential for verbal diarrhoea. The banter between our two female leads certainly reflects our own friendship and we did draw inspiration from real life experiences; we all like to watch The Walking Dead while eating Laksa.

 

M – Will there be more for fans of Enlightened?
SJ – Yes! Enlightened is the first in a series of four, we are currently working on book two and can’t wait into get to book three!


M – How did the collaboration between the two of you come about?
SJ – When the supply of books from our favourite genre dried up, we decided to write our own. We had our own little book club on opposite ends on the country which survived cyclones in Cairns and weddings in Canberra. We would chat for hours over the phone about the latest novel we had read, and an animated discussion would ensue as to what we would have done with the plot. At this stage one of us would always make the comment “You know we should write a book”. Eventually we did.


M – Most books are written by one person, what made you decide to write a book together?
SJ – It was the blending of both our original literary passions. Sarah loves the supernatural and Jen the romance. Urban Fantasy blends the two worlds, allowing each individual to bring their favoured elements to the fore, creating an exciting story via a fabulous friendship.


M – How did you manage your lives while writing?! (This always fascinates me!)
SJ – We probably didn’t manage our lives while writing, maybe it was more a case of survival – for all of us! We both work and are married with two sets of young children so finding time to write was very tricky. There were a lot of late nights and Sunday afternoons in front of the keyboard. Not to mention the frantic searches for vital plot twists, scrawled on scrap pieces of paper that had been lost in amongst school notes and shopping lists!


M – What’s next for both of you?
SJ – Life and more writing, we have already mapped out our next big project after this series, which we believe Enlightened readers will thoroughly enjoy!



An indication of how many people are loving Enlightened is that in the few short weeks it has been available it is already in the top 100 best sellers in the Australian iTunes ebook charts, top 50 best sellers in the New Zealand iTunes ebook charts and ranking 4.29/5 on Goodreads. If I still haven’t convinced you, you can download the first three chapters from Sarah and Jen’s website and I know that will be enough to hook you into the story!

 

Champagne and Thermals...

Count down to the Enlightened book launch on the 2nd of August is under way. Super excited to be on the same side of the country as each other, although Sair is packing some serious thermals for the journey south!

 

 

Taking over the world, one bookstore at a time.

The last couple of weeks have seen Enlightened venture out of the website and into the bookstore! At the moment we are represented in four stores in Canberra, two in Cairns and one on the way in Lakes Entrance VIC.  It’s incredibly exciting to see Enlightened on the shelves and we have to force ourselves not to stalk the stores; there may or may not have been a terrible attempt at covert book counting at one particular store in Cairns... Let just say that in future, we promise to leave the Black Ops to the books. 

Not satisfied with bookstores, Enlightened became available as an eBook this week! Being the old school paperback readers that we are, we hadn’t fully thought about how quickly the Enlightened story could spread in the instant world of eBooks. The last couple of days have seen the story make it all the way to the UK thanks to a couple of very vocal and social media savvy Enlightened Women. We have also found some amazing reviews of Enlightened on GoodReads Check it out if you get a chance; we have set up a profile there, so if you’re feeling wordy, write us a review!

Being so consumed in the promotion of Enlightened since its release nearly two months ago, we have been desperate for a chance to immerse ourselves in the writing process once again. So, we took a cheeky week of annual leave to bunker down and work on book two. It was amazing to get back to Lumeer and spend some time with Ana and the crew it was kind of like coming home – just to way sexier people! 

In the meantime if you have any questions for us, we would love to hear from you!

So… Have you been Enlightened?

Non Stop Start!

So the last two weeks have passed in a blur. From launch day till now SJ Jensar has not stopped - but our children have enjoyed the novelty of having breakfast for dinner!

Things are now settling down and we are slowly wrapping out heads around the whole process of sales and publicity. As we are Independent Self-Published Authors, we have to be savvy in all areas of the book business…or at least make it look like we are. So hopefully soon you will start to hear and see a little more of SJ Jensar and Enlightened. That being said we still needyou, our readers to spread the word –you are the most powerful weapon in our publicity arsenal. If you love the story, tell people. Talk to your friends or people in your book club, write a review on Amazon or jump on to an Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance blog and give us a plug! The Enlightened Evolution has begun; we just need your help to it keep moving forward!

Now for a little pudding (pants down) moment - we have been asked many questions since the release so we thought we would compile a list of the most commonly asked, so here goes…

Q– What made you decide to write a book?

Answer Jen – “When Sarah moved to Cairns our friendship stepped up a notch in the way of books. We would devour as many Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romances as we could get our hands on, sending books from Canberra to Cairns and back again constantly. All the while discussing the plots and characters and joking that we should write our own Urban Fantasy series. Then we came to the end of a particularly consuming series, the supply kind of dried up and we were left thinking ‘what now?’That’s when we started to plot. A glass of wine for Dutch Courage and a major google session later and we were off!”

Q– How did you collaborate being at opposite ends of the country?

Answer Sarah – “Telephone calls. Lots and lots of telephone calls!”

Q– When will the next book be available?

Answer Jen – “This is probably the question we get most. So, we would like to give you an estimatedtime frame - and just in case you missed the bold, underlined italics – this is an estimate only! We hope to have the second book in the Enlightened series available for purchase in six to twelve months. Obviously we are working hard at getting it to you sooner rather than later ;)”

Q– Who wrote the racy bits?

Answer Jen – “Sarah”

Answer Sarah – “Jen”

Q– Is it available in bookstores

Answer Sarah – “Not yet but we’re working on it! We hope to have Enlightened on the shelves of quality independent bookstores in the near future and will post more details of these stores when we have them. After that we will be looking to the big guys – but that is a little way down the road yet! In the meantime you can purchase via our website.” J

www.sjjensar.com

The Train To Crazy Town

So the count down to the Enlightened Online Release is well and truly under way; we have boarded the train to Crazy Town and it has left the station… no turning back now! Our palms are sweaty and our stomachs are fluttering as we vacillate between abject terror and complete elation. We made a deal at the beginning of all this, that only one of us was allowed to completely lose our potatoes at a time and that rule seems to have served us well, because here we are!

We hope you enjoy the story and characters as much as we enjoyed creating them. Even though it began with us, Enlightened is a book that seemed to write itself. Things have had a wild way of unfolding and for a long time now we have felt like passengers but we are loving the ride and hope you will too! So be a part of the Enlightened Evolution; help us get the Enlightened story heard by logging on to Amazon and giving us a review… HERE! it will take only five minutes. The more reviews we get, the further our reach and the bigger the Enlightened Evolution becomes. You can also support us by following us on twitter, Liking us on Facebook and telling your friends.


So… Have you been Enlightened?

Blurbs on Blogs

Anastasia Valinski had never really considered the safety of her remote city – at least not until one of its most prominent residents turned up decapitated.

Hidden by mountainous surrounds, Lumeer is the birthplace of the Kresniks; a race of superior beings, the Enlightened among them possessing supernatural abilities. Abilities used to fight their mortal enemy – Kudlak; vampires that scour the land as solitary hunters, their relentless attacks always savage, their appetite for blood never sated… until now.

When whispers spread that Kudlak have breached Lumeer walls, fear consumes everyone.The Kresnik Council summon Commander Dominik Bravnica – leader of the Kresnik Army, back to Lumeer to protect its people. Working alongside the Commander, Anastasia gets more than she bargained for as the threat escalates and she is forced to face the monster under the bed. She must survive but in doing so may lose all that was promised.

And this is not her only battle, for Anastasia is plagued by a secret shared, of her own hidden demons and the fight to overcome them, before it’s too late…